Congratulations! You’ve created your first class on Skillshare! We are thrilled to have you on our platform. One of the most rewarding aspects of our job is seeing our teachers grow their income and following by sharing their knowledge with Skillshare students.
Since launching the online platform in 2012, Skillshare has grown to over 7M+ students! We have purposefully structured our payment system so that as our revenue grows, the amount we pay our teachers grows as well!
On occasion, teachers have questions about how to interpret their payments. Here, we answer some of these questions so you know what to expect. Moreover, use this knowledge to set goals for your future success on Skillshare!
1. How was my payment calculated?
Your payment is calculated based on 2 metrics:
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Royalties: every month, between 30% – 50% of Skillshare’s Membership revenue goes into a royalty pool for teachers (the remaining amount goes toward running the day-to-day operations of Skillshare).Teachers are paid out based on their share of the minutes watched by students across the platform each month.
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Referrals: you earn $10 for every student who signs up for an account on Skillshare using your unique referral link. Learn how to find your referral link and see tips for sharing your referral link.
2. How are royalties calculated?
Teachers are paid out based on their share of the minutes watch by students across the platform each month. If 5% of all minutes watched on Skillshare by students happened in a teacher’s class(es), then that teacher would receive 5% of the revenue allocated to the teacher royalty pool that month.On the 16th of every month, you will be paid for the minutes students spent watching your class(es) in the previous month. For example, on June 16th, you will be paid for minutes watched in your classes between May 1st – May 31st.
3. Why does the amount I am paid per minute watched change every month?
Quite simply, the amount per minute is calculated by dividing the royalty pool by the total amount of minutes watched on the site. The royalty pool is based on subscriber activity, as well as costs of operating the website (such as video hosting), and our marketing and promotion of your classes. Therefore, the amount per minute changes each month because the size of the royalty pool and the number of minutes watched by students fluctuates from month-to-month. The more minutes watched you receive in your class(es), the higher share of the monthly royalty pool you will earn.
Even though the amount paid per minute watched fluctuates, it’s very possible that you can earn a higher amount even if the amount paid per minute watched goes down.
A hypothetical example: In May 2013, the amount per minute was .13 cents and Skillshare students watched 1,250 minutes of my class(es). On June 16th, 2013, my payment (not including referrals) was .13 x 1,250 = $162.5.
In May 2016, the amount per minute was .05 cents and Skillshare students watched 4,500 minutes of my class(es). On June 16th, 2016, my payment (not including referrals) was .05 x 4,500 = $225.
Even though the amount per minute was more than halved, I still earned 38% more overall!
4. How much can I expect to earn on Skillshare?
An average teacher on Skillshare makes about $200 a month. Top teachers on Skillshare make up to $10K a month.
5. How do I know if I am doing well?
This depends on your individual goals. On one end of the spectrum, there may be a freelancer who publishes a new class every week and counts on Skillshare for a significant portion of their monthly income. On the other hand, someone else may teach once every few months in addition to their full-time job and donate their Skillshare earnings to their favorite charity.
6. Why wasn’t I paid in my first month?
We pay our teachers for minutes watched and referrals earned in the previous month. Additionally, to receive a royalty payment for the minutes watched in your classes, students must watch at least 30 minutes from your class(es) throughout the month.
Therefore, if you publish your class in late June and you don’t reach 30 minutes watched in your class(es) in June, you won’t receive payment on July 16th.
If you didn’t publish late in the month and still didn’t reach 30 minutes, we suggest that you review our marketing materials so students discover and watch your class!
7. I love the extra income I earn by teaching on Skillshare! How can I make even more money on Skillshare?
There are several things you can do!
Marketing is an important part of getting your class in front of students. See our tips here.
Create another class. Each time you publish a new class, your followers are notified. This brings students back to your page to watch your new and existing content. Additionally, new classes have the highest potential to trend on our class listings page and get featured on our homepage, Instagram, and curated lists. Maintain a consistent posting schedule (we recommend 1 class a month) to retain your existing students and also attract new students.
Reach out to the Skillshare team with any questions! We are happy to help you come up with a class topic, provide feedback on your class outline, and answer any questions you may encounter!
8. What other resources can I use to understand my payment?
For additional information about payments, check out the following posts:
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