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Online Fitness Business On Skillshare

13th August 2021By DZ TeamSelf-Improvement, Skillshare

The online fitness business is a booming industry. This is your go-to guide if you want to learn how to transition into your fitness trainer career, using Skillshare.

Skillshare is an online learning platform that lets you work at your own pace by launching your course/classes, without going through the long process of approval or applications. Skillshare teachers are regular professionals and creators – people just like you. You do not need to have extensive experience and expertise to start your online fitness business on Skillshare.

Today, online fitness training is considered a more convenient method of teaching people from all over the world. It is easy on the pocket since you do not have to rent a gym and pay bills etc. You are not restricted to go to a particular place, at a particular time, when you can create videos anywhere, anytime.

Now, many people prefer establishing a home workout routine due to the convenience it provides. Besides that, due to the pandemic, many people lost their jobs. So, now they find online fitness training a more cost-effective method of meeting their health and fitness goals. They can learn from the comfort of their homes – all they need is a good internet connection!

It speaks a lot about why the online fitness industry is growing with each passing year. The digitalization of the world and the development of innovative technologies have also greatly supported the online fitness industry. With Skillshare, launching an online fitness business is so easy!

This 9-step easy-to-follow guide will provide you with a roadmap to start and launch your online fitness training course and take it to the next level!

Who Is This Article Aimed At?

COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the labor market metrics. The rate of unemployment hit 14.8% in April 2020. Millions of people lost their jobs when the governments imposed countrywide lockdown. Gyms and training centers were all closed down to reduce the spread of the virus.

Despite the changing circumstances and several challenges, many fitness trainers started their online fitness training, not only to earn from the comfort of their homes, but also to help people cope with the pandemic-related stress and stay fit.

If you have also lost your job as a fitness trainer or discovered your passion for fitness training during the lockdown, you have come to the right place. This article will provide you with a step-by-step guide to starting your online fitness business, as an online fitness trainer, and boosting your business revenue over time.

Start your online fitness training and share your fitness-related experience with people from all around the world, to earn money even when you sleep!

Why Should You Teach Fitness Online?

Due to the pandemic, the fitness industry has seen remarkable changes as people adapt to life without fitness centers and gyms. The pandemic has created new fitness trends, which have led to the exponential growth of online fitness training.

Now more and more people are looking for online fitness programs on platforms like Skillshare. Seeing this increasing demand for online fitness training and its benefits, many professional trainers are shifting to virtual workout training and reaching more clients than ever before. This shift has also created more opportunities and made things easier for both students and trainers.

Online Fitness Business Stats

Let’s go through a few current stats to comprehend the true importance of online fitness training.

The recent pandemic has made people realize the value of health and well-being more than ever. In a survey of 12,913 participants from different countries, it was found out that people who used to exercise 1 to 2 times a week started exercising 88% more during the lockdown.
During the lockdown, many people started doing the workout at home. As a result, a 55% increase in the sales of fitness equipment was recorded.
One of the popular exercise equipment companies, Peloton, noticed a huge surge in sales – their sales of fitness equipment doubled in 2020.
In 2020, the download of fitness apps increased by 46% People started taking virtual fitness classes and watched recorded exercise videos to stay fit despite the closure of gyms and fitness clubs.
Live streaming became quite popular during the lockdown. As a result, the number of consumers who preferred live-streamed workouts increased from 7% in 2019 to 80% in 2020. Out of these, 43% are planning to go back to their pre-COVID-19 routine but also include live streaming and online videos in their fitness routine.

More Stats

The Fitness world saw many new trends, and many of them are here to stay even after the pandemic. 60% of gym-going Americans liked home workouts a lot, and they intend to cancel their in-person training memberships.
In a survey conducted in April 2020 by Harrison Co., 40% of the participants said that they worked out at home for the first time due to the coronavirus. It is believed that many will continue to do so.
As a result of the coronavirus, 74% of Americans downloaded at least one health and fitness app for online fitness training and maintaining their overall health.
Since many fitness trainers lost their jobs and started virtual training to survive the crisis, during a survey, 83% of the online fitness trainers said that they would continue to work online even when the pandemic is over.
Online fitness trainers made more money during and before the pandemic. 97% of fitness trainers plan to train clients after the pandemic by combining in-person and virtual coaching.

We all are seeing an increase in the use of Artificial Intelligence. It is expected that Al will replace humans to perform different tasks; as a result, many people could lose their jobs. It is the right time to start an online fitness business, as an online fitness trainer, on Skillshare. This will enable you to put down your roots in the online fitness world and build a following in an ever-growing industry.

The Advantages of Starting an Online Fitness Business

This is not a get-quick-rich kind of business. However, if you follow the right method to create and launch your online fitness training course, then it can be a lucrative and rewarding business option.

Here are the top benefits of starting your online fitness business as an online fitness trainer.

○ The earning of an online fitness trainer depends on several factors like the niche, course quality, etc. On average, an online fitness trainer can make around $44,105 per year. You can earn even six figures if you launch multiple courses and use the right marketing strategies for your online fitness business.

○ Do you have fitness-related knowledge? Then why create only one course when you can create multiple courses of different niches to target a diverse audience through different courses. You can resell these courses and keep earning for the same videos over the years.

○ It’s quite flexible as it does not restrict you to be at a particular place at a particular time. You can record your videos whenever you want and wherever you want. Your students also have the freedom to watch videos when they have time. It gives both the online fitness trainer and student the freedom of time and place.

○ This business gives you the professional freedom that the studio teaching method does not provide. You can create course content and videos however you see fit. You become in charge of everything. In short, you become your own boss.

Additional Benefits

○ There is no need to rent a place to train students when you can do the same by virtual training your students from your home. All an online fitness trainer needs is a professional-looking space, an internet connection, ample lighting, and some basic fitness equipment to get started.

○ You can reach out to people from all around the world. Your students can be from the United States, England, Canada, Germany, or any other part of the world.

○ You can offer a variety of courses that vary based on their duration, content, niche, and other factors.

○ You can expand your online fitness business by directing your online fitness training course students from the course to the fitness equipment you are selling.

○ Online fitness training is considered a more economical training option compared to in-person training, where students have to buy expensive memberships.

○ It is also safer for ill people who are advised to stay at home until they recover.

○ This type of business also requires little money to establish. You just have to invest in the beginning to create the course and launch it. Once it has established its roots, it will keep on reaching more and more students.

The Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Fitness Training

○ Exercise is a natural way of boosting your metabolic rate and burning more calories in less time. It can help people lose weight and even maintain it over the years.

○ Regular workout elevates the level of happy hormones in the bloodstream. It is one of the reasons why you feel happier and lighter after exercise.

○ Staying physically active is crucial to increasing and maintaining muscle strength and muscle mass. Exercise stimulates the production of hormones that encourage your muscles to produce more protein and build faster.

○ Engaging in physical exercise can elevate your energy level and may also keep you motivated. It is quite helpful for people who feel fatigued or have a medical condition.

○ Loss of bone density is an ageing sign. However, you can reduce it by exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy diet. It will also decrease your risk of bone fractures.

○ Fitness training helps people reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes by diminishing blood cholesterol levels and maintaining blood pressure.

○ A simple workout can be one of the best natural anti-anxiety treatments. It encourages the release of endorphins and relieves tension.

Do You Need to be an Expert to Start Teaching Fitness Online?

One of the most common concerns that people interested in launching an online fitness course have is “we are not expert trainers, how can we teach fitness?”

But who told you in the first place that you have to be an expert to launch your online fitness training course? Probably, no one but your own thoughts. Now hear the truth: “you do not have to be an expert and a certified trainer to successfully launch an awesome online fitness course.”

If you have a passion for teaching fitness and have sufficient authentic knowledge, then you are good to go!

Guide to Launching and Taking Your Online Fitness Course to the Next Level

STEP 1: DECIDE WHAT TYPES OF STUDENTS YOU WANT TO ATTRACT ONLINE

To build a solid foundation for your online fitness business, you need to first identify your target customers then market your course with a suitable pitch. The fitness industry is usually divided into four popular markets. As an online fitness trainer, you have four market options.

○ Sports performance

○ Fat loss

○ General health

○ Corrective exercise

You should evaluate these markets thoroughly then choose one that goes well with your interests and likes.

STEP 2: LET’S GO A BIT DEEPER

All of the markets mentioned above are quite huge. It is better to select one sub-market so that you can link to your ideal clients better. It will help you cater to a particular group's needs and teach your students in a way that they can easily and effortlessly relate to.

You can choose any of the following sub-markets.

Sports performance

○ Any sport

○ Injury rehab

Fat loss

○ Women

○ Men

○ College students

General health

○ Energy

○ Mood

○ Stress

Corrective exercise

○ Mobility

○ Injuries

○ Pre or postnatal

STEP 3: HOW TO FIND YOUR UNIQUENESS

Now, it is time to narrow down the chosen sub-market more and select a particular niche. There are numerous niches in each sub-market. So, it won’t be hard to find the one that matches your interests the best. If we consider the pre or postnatal sub-market, some of the possible niche options you have, include:

○ Teen & inexperienced moms

○ Older & experienced moms

○ Moms of a single kid

○ Moms of multiple kids

○ C-section moms

○ Moms having diastasis rectus abdominis

You can be creative and combine two niches to create a unique niche like “older moms who had a C-section and have only one kid.” It will help you target an even narrower audience and provide them with online fitness training that specifically caters to their needs.

To understand why you should narrow down the niche, imagine you need heart surgery. Would you go to a general surgeon or a heart specialist? Now you got the point!

Finding an online fitness business niche will also help you market the course in a more efficient way. Your efforts will be more focused and produce better results. You will be able to use the right pitch for a specified group, saving you both time and money.

STEP 4: FIND YOUR TEACHING STYLE

People have their own unique teaching styles. You should also create your personal teaching style that engages students and keeps them attentive throughout the class. There are many teaching styles that you can use during a session.

If you opt for the instructional teaching method, below are the popular ways of recording an instructional video for your online fitness training as an online fitness trainer.

Recorded class

You can give online fitness training through recorded fitness sessions. For it, you will have to record a video beforehand and publish it on the website to let the students watch. There will be no live interaction between the student and the trainer.

Voice-over instruction

In voice-over instruction, you use a voice-over to train the students during your online fitness training.

Follow-along instruction

It is the form of training in which you give instructions during your online class like you would give during an in-person training session.

If you do not yet know which method you would prefer, try different styles during your online sessions and see which method keeps the students more attentive while conveying the message correctly. You can always get the feedback of your students in this regard.

People who are new to teaching can improve their teaching style by regularly practising in front of the mirror.

STEP 5: SETTING UP YOUR ONLINE FITNESS TRAINING SPACE

The environment and space you use for your online fitness business will directly impact how focused and attentive your students stay during the class. That is why you must carefully select a space that is free of distractions and provides you with enough room to perform different exercises.

Consider the following things while selecting a space for your online fitness training.

○ Is the space large enough to accommodate all the fitness equipment?

○ Will I be able to adjust the equipment and still perform exercises in the chosen space?

○ Does the area look professional and distraction-free (like TV noise, family members crossing the room in the background, etc?)

○ Is the area lit enough to create a suitable ambience and make everything visible to students no matter which time of the day it is?

STEP 6: FITNESS EQUIPMENT CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR ONLINE FITNESS BUSINESS

Fitness equipment is not a must-have item for online fitness training because you can perform a great workout easily without them. However, your students may have some basic equipment like dumbbells, and teaching them how to use them could them a plus point for an online fitness trainer.

Below is the list of the basic fitness equipment that you should consider investing in.

○ Exercise mat

○ Medicine ball

○ Dumbbells

○ Kettlebells

○ Slamball

○ Stability ball

○ Resistance bands

○ Skipping rope

If you already have the equipment, then that’s great! Otherwise, if you need to buy them, choose items that have bright colors and look prominent on the camera. It will maximize visibility and help students track fast movements during online fitness training easily. Black and greyish equipment could easily mix with the background if you have a dark background.

STEP 7: LIGHTING FOR YOUR ONLINE FITNESS TRAINING SPACE

Proper lighting of your workout area is crucial. Dim lighting will make the video look pixelated and boring. It will fail to keep your students fully attentive, and they may also miss some of your moves due to the visibility issue.

You can brighten up the room with either natural or artificial light. It depends on what is available easily. You can use a ring light if the room is not bright enough.

Also, try not to stand in front of the opened windows. It will make you look shadowy on the screen, which may seem you are unprofessional or inexperienced. Instead, cover the windows with decorative and catchy blinds.

STEP 8: CREATE A DISTRACTION-FREE ENVIRONMENT

Your online fitness business background says a lot about you. Having disturbing noises and family members moving in the background can divert the attention and focus of your students. They will find it hard to hear your words clearly.

If you want to present well as an online fitness trainer, you should choose a setting for your online fitness training that looks uncluttered and professional. You should be alone in the room while recording the video, so that your family members do not disturb you.

Choose a space where you can avoid distracting noises better. Common examples of distracting sounds that you may have to deal with include the noise of a barking dog, traffic, crying baby, loud music, TV, etc.

STEP 9: SETTING/CREATING PROJECTS FOR YOUR STUDENTS

This essentially means giving your students homework after each online session. Students should have tasks to do in between classes which will enhance the value of the course and make students more committed to completing the course.

It will keep them motivated and push them forward towards the next stage of your online fitness training course. Giving them something to do on their own will also encourage them to discuss fitness with the people around them.

Homework can be as simple as practising a new exercise three times a day or following a nutritional tip. You can also ask your students to write a fitness journal and discuss the content in your online community section. Homework will improve their understanding, retention, and attitude towards the course.

They will be able to better connect with you as their online fitness trainer and ask questions that may arise in their minds while doing homework.

Design your course content in such a way that it benefits the fitness community, and they come back to you to learn more. Run your business by catering to the basic needs of your target audience.

The bottom line

Shifting from offline training to online on Skillshare may not be an easy task, but it has amazing benefits that make it a lucrative and attractive online business idea.

The fitness industry is an ever-growing industry. So, make commitments to running your business successfully and set practical goals to set yourself apart as a dynamic online fitness trainer. Help clients reach their fitness goals, and they won’t stop coming back to you over and over again!

Overcome the setbacks and hindrances to achieve great success.

We hope this guide helps you on your journey to creating and launching your online fitness business!

Join Skillshare today!

Diet Zest earns a small commission from Skillshare, for every person who signs up for a free trial on Skillshare, after visiting links on our site. This does not add to the cost of the product/service for you, and it provides a small amount of income to help keep Diet Zest going. 🙂

Skillshare Empowers you to Create and Sell Online Courses!

25th July 2021By DZ TeamSelf-Improvement, Skillshare

Skillshare is a great platform that empowers people to create and sell online courses. It has 4 million users and counting!

If you’re looking for a career change, and you’re interested in teaching online, then keep reading! In this article, we will explain why it’s the perfect time to create your own unique course to sell online! If you’re looking for a career change, you should try teaching online!

Skillshare is a low barrier to entry (it’s free to upload your course), and it provides you with a built-in marketplace of keen members who are eager to learn new skills!

Why Should You Consider Teaching Online?

The job market hasn’t been stable after the pandemic. In fact, it has been on a downward trend since then. People are losing their jobs, and the trend seems to pick up in the future.

So, you need to realize that if your job is safe right now, it might not be in the future. A lot of those jobs won’t be coming back, even long after the pandemic is over.

Life has changed and will continue to change. The way things are going, we may all be working from home in the future.

Soon, face-to-face meetings and physical lectures would be things of the past. Zoom will probably replace face-to-face meetings and college lectures!

Plus, it’s not like artificial intelligence is going to help the job holders either. While it makes our work easier, automation will also replace many jobs in most sectors.

So, it’s easy to assume that the post-covid era is going to move more towards digitization. Only the people who evolve in these unprecedented times are going to thrive.

By teaching online, you not only will move into an emerging market, but you can also help others in these testing times.

This is your opportunity to provide a valuable service for people and thrive in the post-Covid economy. Teaching online can be an incredibly rewarding career in the coming days.

How Creating An Online Course Can Change Your Life

If you are knowledgeable in any topic and want to make money from it, creating an online course is the best course of action for you.

Even before the pandemic hit, the e-learning sector was booming like never before. Its value was expected to reach $300bn by 2025 according to Global Market Insights.

Moreover, the industry is only going to see better days ahead.

The best thing about online course creation is that you don’t have to work more than once, and the money keeps coming in, on autopilot.

People are learning virtually everything online courtesy of the internet and the readily available material on it. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that online courses are going to be the next big thing in the online money-making industry.

Moreover, the content you create in an online course is a lot more rewarding than any other form of content.

For instance, you can charge a lot more than an eBook.

You don’t have to even show yourself in an online course; all you have to do is create a PowerPoint presentation and record your videos.

Plus, as your online course is present over the web, you can have students from all over the world.

Not only that, there isn’t much cost associated with creating an online course either. The only thing that you’d be investing is your time; most of which will be dedicated to content creation.

Deciding What Online Course To Teach

Deciding on the right course to teach is important because you want it to be profitable. A course can only make you money when it solves a particular problem for a specific audience.

So, you can create anything your audience wants to learn about. For instance, it could be:

Yoga or fitness

Nutrition or healthy cooking

Home and garden

Life coaching or mentoring

A lot more

Online course websites like Skillshare are seeing good demand in topics like mental health and fitness. However, the better way to go about it would be to teach something you already have a good grip on.

It could also be something that you can quickly figure out. After all, good teachers don’t leave the path of learning.

You could create a course on something that complements your business. For instance, if you are a blogger, you could create a course on different aspects of blogging.

Like “How to drive traffic to your blog posts?” Or, “How to do SEO of your Blog?”.

Plus, if you are a service provider, you can teach people how you do that. This way, they won’t have to hire someone like you.

While deciding on a course topic, make sure it somehow connects to your brand’s voice, values, and goals.

Earning Potential on Skillshare

There is virtually no limit to what you can earn from your Skillshare courses. It does take some time to build a sizeable audience, however.

Instructors that have a good audience size earn upwards of $100,000 a year.

How Do Skillshare Payments Work?

There are essentially two ways to earn passive income from your Skillshare courses:

(1) Get a 7% commission against every subscription you generate through your referral link.

(2) Receive royalties based on the watch time of your course (per minute basis).

So, in addition to increasing your course watch time, you can maximize your revenue by attracting more people to the platform.

How much can you earn by teaching on the platform will majorly depend on your niche. Some topics can generate more revenue than others.

Let’s take a few examples.

(1) Mariya Popandopulo, a photographer made more than $1000 on her first month teaching photography on Skillshare.

(2) Whereas, Ron Mulvey, an art’s teacher made $107 in his first month on the platform.

Now, it all comes down to the number of minutes your students watch. On average, for every minute of watch time, you get $0.05 to $0.1 in revenue.

So, let’s say by the end of your first month, your total watch time is 10K minutes. That would translate to $500 to $1000 in that single month.

Once you have your course up on the platform, your major job is done. So, you sit back, relax, and see the revenue flowing in.

Of course, the more you market your course, the more money you’d attract.

Features and Benefits of Skillshare

Skillshare – Benefits

Probably the most attractive thing about Skillshare is that you don’t need anything other than your knowledge to get started. You can start teaching for free on Skillshare right now!

Plus, the interface is user-friendly and easy to get accustomed to. So, even if you have no experience with online teaching, you won’t have a problem.

Skillshare also provides the flexibility to design your course with the easy-to-use drag-and-drop builder.

Moreover, as a content creator, you can choose from a wide variety of courses. As Skillshare is a hub of close-knit communities, you get to interact with your students more effectively.

Not only that, but the platform also allows you to give practical assignments to your students, helping them learn more effectively.

Plus, all your students need to access your content is a stable internet connection and a device. This works for the benefit of students as well as teachers.

Thanks to the subscription model, a learner can enroll in any course of their choice on the platform. Plus, you can enroll in as many courses as you want

Skillshare VS Udemy: Probably the number one reason learners might tilt a little bit towards Skillshare is the subscription model.

As a learner on Udemy, you need to pay for every course. Whereas, you pay a monthly subscription fee on Udemy and can learn from a plethora of available courses.

So, Skillshare seems to be a lot more cost-effective option.

Skillshare – Cons

While the platform creates a win-win situation for learners and teachers, there are a few tiny gripes worth mentioning.

For one, Skillshare allows the students to leave comments and timestamps on a video. This can be distracting as you try to focus on a video

Secondly, Skillshare doesn’t let a subscriber keep learning from a course after they discontinue their subscription

So, if at any point, a student stops paying the subscription fee, they won’t be able to access any content on the platform

Tools You Will Need to Get Started

If you decide to host your course on a reputable platform like Skillshare, the number of tools you’d require is pretty low.

A video camera: Ignore this if you don’t want to appear yourself before a camera to demonstrate your concepts.

Even if you do want to film yourself, a good mobile camera can do the job effectively.

A video editor: A video editor like Camtasia is probably the most important tool that you’d need to get your course up and running.

Camtasia is a paid video editor that’s pretty straightforward to use. However, going with a paid video editor isn’t a necessity.

Shotcut is a good free alternative to Camtasia.

Graphics Tool: You’ll also be needing a graphics tool for your course workbooks. Canva is a free and incredible graphics software that can cater to all your graphics needs.

For branding, you’ll have to invest in the paid version of Canva.

Skillshare Support for Course Creators

As an instructor, you can always contact customer support. Skillshare has a help center with an extensive FAQ section. So, they’ll first redirect you to that.

You don’t have the option to directly call or chat live with a representative. When the FAQ section doesn’t have what you need, you can submit a ticket to get help on any related matter.

How to Create An Online Course for Skillshare

Diet Zest is passionate about empowering the community and helping people to teach and learn skills. Our mission is to support you in any way possible.

We’re going to show you how easy it is to create your online course on Skillshare! Learn the steps and tools that will help you create a successful online course business. Your profitable online business starts today!

Doing the Groundwork For Your Course

How to Get started – Checklist

Create a Skillshare account for free

Come up with your profitable course idea

Start creating your online course/ Create a class draft

Work at your own speed to publish your class whenever you are ready

Promote your course launch!

What are the aims and objectives of your course?

Before jumping into content creation, ask yourself:

What’s the goal of your course?

What change can your students expect after taking your course?

How to Make Your Course Stand Out?

Ask yourself:

What will be your course’s content?

Can you offer extra material to your students?

Are there similar courses on the platform? If so, are there any topics you can cover better?

How can you add extra value to your course content?

Think of any other ways to make your course stand out from the others. Why would your prospects prefer to watch your course over your competitors’?

Consider incorporating the following into your classes:

Expert Interviews

Bonus content

A question-and-answer list from every class

Worksheets

If you don’t do any of the above, you can package your course in a unique way and help your students understand the topics better.

Content Quality and Depth

While creating your course, be mindful of a few things:

(1) Your students don’t know anything about the subject you are teaching them. So, try not to assume anything and start the topic from scratch.

(2) Your content should be easy to consume; so break it into small parts.

(3) Also, remember that you won’t be putting in the effort again for years to come. So, as you’d be reaping the benefit of your content for a long time, give your best.

Drafting Your Course Outline

While creating your course, make sure you have a content plan in place. This can help you deliver organized and professional content. You can get detailed tips from Skillshare Teacher Manual if you need actionable tips.

The average duration of a Skillshare class is somewhere between 20 to 60 minutes, with 2 – 5 minutes sections within. Try to keep your classes between 20 and 35 minutes for maximum student retention.

You’d also want to decide on your method of teaching. You can’t simply sit in front of the camera; you won’t be able to retain your students’ attention that way.

Instead:

Use screencasts, PowerPoint slides, and demonstrations to appeal to the watching eyes.

For best results, write a script in small parts so that you can change the visuals about every 30 seconds.

Make sure to check out Skillshare Teacher Manual for any additional tips.

Filming and Editing Your Course

Filming Your Class

Getting in front of the camera can be daunting for some. That’s perfectly normal. What you can do is, get in front of a mirror and talk like you would talk with your students. This will help you prepare yourself for the recording.

Record your video in a well-lit spot with minimal visual distractions. Of course, the place shouldn’t be messy.

You can film yourself with your phone’s camera. Just make sure it’s not lower than 720p.

Keeping the camera at an appropriate level is important. While you can also use a stack of books, a tripod will be ideal if you can invest $10 to $20.

If you want to use your laptop for recording, iMovie and Movie Creator on Mac and PC, respectively can help you out.

*Lighting*

You don’t want to record your video only to find out that it is too dark to publish, right? For best results, do your recording in the daytime.

For stream classes, a lightbox might be a good option. You can get a lightbox for around $40 on Amazon.

Another option would be a Softbox lighting studio kit that consists of lightboxes, a lamp, and tripods. You can set them all and establish your own professional studio.

Plus, keep your background noise-free. A plain background without any wallpaper would be ideal.

*Audio*

You don’t want any background noise in your videos. So, before recording your video, ensure complete isolation from the outside world.

You’d need a good mic to record your audios, but it doesn’t need to be expensive. You can get one for around $50 - $100. Some mics come with Bluetooth, so you don’t have to plug them into your device.

It’s okay to make mistakes. If you go for perfection, you won’t be as effective. Just trim out the unnecessary parts after you are finished with a video.

Don’t use background music. It can be distracting for some students. Plus, you might get into trouble for copyright infringement.

Your course equipment shouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg. As someone who’s just starting out, you don’t need to spend much.

*Eliminate Distractions*

Make sure nobody enters your room/office while you are creating your video.

If you don’t have a suitable place, ask a friend if you can use theirs.

Go through your content and make sure there are no mistakes before recording:

Use your own voice in the demonstration/screencast videos.

You can use this guide from Skillshare on filming.

*Editing Your Video*

If you don’t have any prior experience of editing a video, don’t worry. It’s not rocket science; you’d be able to do it with some practice.

You can use free editors like iMovie or Quicktime. Third-party software like Camtasia and OpenShot is also a couple of good alternatives.

After importing your footage into the software, cut out any unnecessary parts like pauses, ums, and stutters to make your video flow well.

You don’t have to edit your video in one go. It can be a time-consuming process, so divide it into multiple parts.

Here is a detailed guide on video editing by Skillshare.

Publishing and Marketing Your Course

Congrats! The tough part is over. The next step would be to upload your course videos by clicking on the “Create a class” button.

Skillshare allows you to upload multiple videos at a time. You’d need to upload every section of a video separately.

You can also upload a thumbnail of your video. A thumbnail should be easy to read and attention-grabbing.

Canva is an effective free tool that you can use to create appealing thumbnails. The pixel dimension of a cover image/thumbnail for a Skillshare class is 1280 x 720.

Marketing Your Class

You can create the best content around the most in-demand topic out there, but what good it would be if no one watches it?

Make sure to create a description or a video and market your course to relevant audiences. Your personal social media profiles would be a great starting point. Don’t forget to encourage your audience to share your course.

Additional Ways To Market Your Skillshare Course

Create a website or landing page presenting your course in every aspect

Write blog posts around your course content, helping them understand the value of your course

List your online course in directories like Courseindex.com

Use email marketing to promote your course

Write guest posts on other blogs and try to attract their audience

Attend conferences and network with potential students

Skillshare also lets instructors make some money by promoting their platform. All you’d have to do is make more people sign up for your course on the platform. For every subscription, you get a $7 commission in your account

Ask for help: Getting the word out can be time-consuming; you can speed up the process by asking for word-of-mouth referrals. It’s probably the cheapest and most effective form of marketing

You can also work with social media influencers to recommend your course to their audience. Make sure their audience is related to your topic and you build a relationship with them first

Check out some effective marketing tips for your class from Skillshare here.

Interacting With Students

Provide the best content and service to your students so that your students recommend your course to their peers. This way, you’d be able to attract existing students to your future courses as well

Be polite and professional with your students. Be available and responsive

Don’t ignore complaints and negative feedback. They can help you improve your course. Honest feedback is an asset to your online business

Keep refining your course content until you feel there is no room for improvement. This is an impactful way of standing out from the crowd

Monetization – Making Money On Skillshare

This is the part you’ve been doing all that effort for. Skillshare pays you for every minute someone watches your course content. It adds $7 to your account for every student you bring to the platform

Top teachers on the platform are making thousands of bucks every month. Use this fact to stay motivated and create multiple courses

Conclusion

Irrespective of why you want to change your career path or pivot it into a new direction, it can be pretty exciting and rewarding.

Even if you have some active years ahead of you, it’s never too late to embrace a more rewarding career path.

You can transfer your existing skills and knowledge to others by teaching online with platforms like Skillshare. Or you can always take a step back and learn some new exciting skills before teaching them to your students.

However, you do need to take action to be successful. Nobody can make you successful except you. If you are looking for a career change, you can create classes on Skillshare right now and make passive income from them.

We wish you the best of luck with your exciting journey with Skillshare!

Additionally, check out our dedicated Skillshare page.

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