If you’ve got knowledge to share, a masterclass is an ideal way to reach your target audience and get people talking.
The best part? Masterclasses can be as short or as long as you like, so you can share your expertise and deliver maximum impact in a fraction of the time of a regular course.
Here at Thinkific, we know a thing or two about masterclasses and we’ve helped countless creators produce, deliver, and sell their own masterclasses online.
Here’s our guide on how to create an excellent masterclass – plus insider tips and examples from some of the true masters of the masterclass.
Skip ahead:
- What is the format of a masterclass?
- How to create your own masterclass in 7 steps
- Top masterclass examples from Creator Educators
What is the format of a masterclass
Masterclasses don’t follow a strict format – a masterclass can range anywhere from a single event to an entire video course.
But typically masterclasses include three key components:
- A clear learning goal(s): Every masterclass should have an aim or learning goal that your attendees will learn or complete by the end of the session.
- An expert instructor: Masterclasses are usually taught by an expert – someone with experience, education, or training related to the masterclass topic or industry.
- An activity or assessment: Many masterclasses also include activities or some form of assessment to help learners apply and test their knowledge – successful learners might also receive a certification when they’ve completed the masterclass.
Are masterclasses just videos?
Yes and no. Masterclasses are a type of learning content where specific skills are taught by an expert in the field. They’re usually videos – but they can also be live webinars, blogs, podcasts, and more. The best masterclasses also include extra resources and learning opportunities like quizzes, assignments, Q&As, as well as certifications and accreditations.
How to create your own masterclass in 7 steps
If you’re looking to host your own masterclass, there are seven steps you need to follow to make sure your product is structured, marketable, and ultimately valuable to your target audience.
Here’s how to create a masterclass (click to skip ahead to more detail):
- Choose a topic: Find your niche and pick a topic for your masterclass that will be relevant and inviting to your target audience.
- Plan your masterclass: Carefully plan your masterclass format, content, and style – including writing an outline and a rough script.
- Create your masterclass: Record and edit your masterclass to create a professional product that people will be eager to buy.
- Find a hosting platform: Choose a platform for hosting your masterclass where you can publish, promote, manage, and sell your products all in one place.
- Market and promote your masterclass: Get the word out about your masterclass through a combination of marketing channels – including social media, email marketing, and targeted landing pages.
- Review and edit your masterclass: Collect student feedback and revisit your masterclass content to continuously edit and improve your product.
- Expand your business: Keep creating digital products to expand your masterclass business, grow your brand, and open multiple revenue streams.
Ready to dive in? Here’s what you need to know about how to create a masterclass – including tips, examples, and links to extra resources to guide you through the process step-by-step.
How to create a masterclass:
If you want to create a masterclass, you first need to get clear on what your topic or niche will be. This process will look different depending on whether or not you already have an established brand or if you’re starting your business from scratch.
If you’re starting your business from ground zero, start by making a list of everything you’re good at, passionate about, and qualified to do – and make sure it’s something that you would feel confident teaching to other people. This helps you get clear on your unique offering and the types of expertise you have to share with the world.
If you have an existing business, it’s likely that you’ll already have a good idea of where your specialty or niche lies – but this step can also be helpful to give you the space to generate new ideas and opportunities if you wish.
Next, you need to validate your idea. Here’s how:
Audience research
It’s not enough to just have an idea for a topic and then start creating a masterclass right away. First, you need to do audience research to make sure there’s a market for your masterclass and a specific group of people who are willing to watch and pay for it.
- Audience research might include:Customer surveys
- Interviews
- Focus groups
Talk to your intended target audience to help you learn more about their interest in your topic or idea – and whether or not it’s something they’d be likely to purchase. Download this Audience Research Survey Template to help you get started.
Learn more: How To Define Your Target Audience
Competitor research
As well as talking to your ideal audience, you can also find your niche by conducting competitor research. Competitor research involves looking at what your top competitors are currently offering customers to help you see what you could do differently – and better – to win over customers.
Here are some simple steps to help you with competitor research:
- Do a Google search: The easiest way to start with competitor research is to search for your masterclass idea on a search engine like Google. See which brands pop up first and what they’re offering – how similar is it to your idea? What are they doing differently? What are they not doing?
- Look at their website: When you’ve got your list of top competitors, dive deeper into your research and look at their websites and masterclass landing pages. What topics are they talking about? Who are they targeting? What are their core messages?
- Check social media: As well as looking at their online presence, check out their social media channels and the types of content they’re posting and engaging with. Browse through your competitors’ followers, comments, and take a look at the other brands they’re collaborating with.
- Read customer reviews: Customer reviews and testimonials are also a treasure trove of insights into your current competitors and their products. Look at customers’ main complaints, compliments, and the types of products their customers are buying.
Evaluate your competitors based on these key factors:
- Product: What does their masterclasses contain? What resources do they include? What features are good or bad?
- Pricing: How much does their masterclasses cost? Do their prices vary for different customers? Do they offer bundles and discounts?
- Promotion: What marketing tactics are they currently using to engage their customers? What social media channels do they use? What type of content are they posting?
- Place: Where are they based? Where are their customers based?
- Positioning: What is their unique selling proposition? How are they positioning themselves? What are their core messages? Who is their target audience?
- Reputation: What are people saying about their products and services? What problems are customers encountering?
Throughout your competitor research, you’re aiming to be able to answer these questions:
- Who are my top competitors?
- What are their strengths and weaknesses?
- What are the opportunities and threats within this market?
- What are the characteristics of my ideal customers vs my competitors’ ideal customers?
Keep track of all your research in a spreadsheet to help you analyze the data from your findings and use it to come up with a unique plan for your masterclass.
Ask yourself: “What am I good at compared to my competition and what do I want to focus on?”
The idea is to identify gaps in the market where your product could fit – this is your product niche.
If you’ve done your research, you should have a clear idea of your masterclass topic and niche – including who your target audience is and how you will differentiate your product from existing products on the market.
Next up, it’s time to plan your masterclass.
Choosing your format
Depending on your masterclass topic and your target audience, you’ll need to choose a specific format for your masterclass. For example, your masterclass could be:
- Video tutorials
- Audio
- Live or recorded webinars
- Blog posts or ebooks
- Slideshows
Opt for the format (or combination) you think will be most effective for presenting your content to your audience while keeping your masterclass engaging and interesting for customers. What is your target audience most likely to enjoy?
Creating an outline
Focus your masterclass by writing a detailed outline that’s built around your key learning objectives and goals. Your outline should include:
- What topics you’ll cover
- How long your masterclass will be
- What activities you’ll add
- What additional resources and materials you’ll provide
- What assessments or certifications learners will complete
By breaking your masterclass session down into specific topics, activities and assessments, you can develop your content in a structured way to make sure you include everything you want and deliver on your promises to your learners.
Writing a script or plan
When you’re got your outline, you can then get to work on drafting a detailed plan or script for your masterclass. To make sure your content feels natural and flows well, you’ll want to avoid reading from a script word-for-word – instead write out what you want to say and the key points you’ll cover to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Related: How To Build A Lesson Plan (+ Templates)
Now it’s time to create the content for your masterclass based on your outline and planning.
The exact steps for how to create a masterclass will depend on the type of masterclass you want to produce – including your chosen format and style.
Most masterclasses are pre-recorded video tutorials. These usually take the form of talking-head style videos with the expert or instructor speaking to the camera, aided by diagrams, visual prompts, and animations to help explain key concepts.
To create this type of masterclass, you’ll need some basic equipment, including:
- A camera or video recording equipment
- Lighting equipment
- Audio recording equipment
- Editing software
Check out our guide: How To Set Up A DIY Home Video Recording Studio For Cheap
This type of masterclass relies on the energy of the instructor or expert – including how engaging they are, how clearly they’re able to explain the topic, and how they convey their personality on camera. Don’t forget to smile!
It’s a good idea to get several takes of your masterclass to help you cut and edit the content to create the best possible resource for your audience.
For more help with how to create a masterclass in different formats, check out these guides:
- How to Create Training Videos (Step By Step Guide + Examples)
- How To Record Your Screen On Any Device
- How To Do A Voiceover On Google Slides Or PowerPoint
You’ll also want to create any extra resources and assessments at this stage. Here are some resources to help you make masterclass materials that will add extra value for your audience:
And when it comes to editing your masterclass, check out these guides to the best software and top tips to ace your editing:
- How To Improve the Audio Quality of a Recording in 11 Easy Steps
- Best Equipment & Software For Creating Online Courses
- The 11 Best Video Editing Software and Apps for YouTube in 2022 (Free & Paid)
When you’ve successfully created a masterclass that you’re proud of and ready to sell, you’ll need to find a hosting platform to help you deliver your expertise directly to your audience.
There’s a wide range of hosting platforms out there from online course platforms to fully-fledged learning management systems (LMS).
Here are three tips to help you choose the right hosting platform for you:
Know your payment structure
Knowing the type of payment structure you’re going to be using ahead of time helps you make sure that your platform supports and accepts your chosen payment type.
This might include:
- Subscriptions or memberships
- One-time payments with limited time access to content
- One-time payments with lifetime access to content
- Free access as a lead magnet
If you plan to create a series of masterclasses around a particular topic, following a subscription or membership business model will allow you to generate recurring revenue from your products. Users pay a monthly or annual subscription fee to access your content.
If you just want to create one or two masterclasses for now, it’s generally more suitable to charge a one-time fee for customers to access your learning content. You can either grant customers limited time access to your masterclass or charge more and provide lifetime access so they can return to your content and expertise whenever they want to.
Not all platforms allow for subscription-style payments, for example, so make sure that your platform includes the option to charge customers using the type of payment model you want.
Consider your marketing strategy
As well as thinking about your business model, it’s also important to consider your marketing strategy when choosing a hosting platform. Why? Because different hosting platforms include features designed to help you market and promote your masterclass and other digital products.
For example, Thinkific includes features for creating bundles, coupons, and cross-selling opportunities to help you sell more to your audience.
If you have a specific marketing strategy in mind – such as email marketing, live webinars and events, or dedicated landing pages – check if your hosting platform supports your plans and offers extra features to help you.
Read customer reviews
When it comes to choosing a hosting platform product for your business, current customers usually know best.
Check out customer reviews and case studies to see what other business owners and creators are saying about different hosting platforms before you sign up – and if in doubt, opt for a free trial first to try it for yourself.
Related: A Buyer’s Guide to the Best Online Course Platforms
When you’ve signed up for a hosting platform and uploaded your masterclass content, it’s time to start marketing and promoting your content to get those first sales rolling in.
Here are some effective ways to promote your masterclass:
Social media
If you’re trying to sell masterclasses in 2023, you need to have a social media presence.
Choose the best social media channels for marketing your masterclass according to your target audience. For example, if you’re selling a B2B masterclass, consider promoting your product on LinkedIn. If your masterclass is on a lifestyle topic, Instagram and Pinterest are likely to be more effective for targeting your ideal customer.
If you’re just getting started, opt for 2-3 social media platforms to start promoting your masterclass.
Create content that’s tailored to your target audience, including:
- How-to posts
- Tips and tricks
- Behind-the-scenes
- Interviews with other experts
For more help in shaping your social media strategy, check out our guide: Social Media Strategy for Coaches: 4 Techniques for Better Results.
Email marketing
As well as building a social media following to help promote your masterclass, you can also use email marketing for even more promotion.
If you haven’t already, start building your email list to help you speak directly to your target audience and build closer connections with potential customers.
Email marketing can include:
- Monthly newsletters
- Updates and product launches
- Round-ups and recommendations
- Industry news
- Tips and mini how-to guides
The number one rule for email marketing is to make sure that every piece of email content you create is helpful to your audience – no one likes spam emails, so make sure your content is providing value every time it drops in your subscribers’ inbox.
Need more help? Check out our full-length guide to How To Build Your Email Marketing Strategy (Steps & Examples).
Related: How to Create Successful Email Drip Marketing Campaigns
Landing pages
Of course, you also want somewhere to direct your customers to a place they can learn more about your masterclass. This is where dedicated landing pages come in.
Landing pages – or sales pages – tell your target audience exactly what they need to know to convert them from interested readers into paying customers.
The best landing pages include:
- An attention-grabbing headline
- Enticing overview of your masterclass
- A bit about your instructor
- Highlights or key topics
- Customer testimonials
- Call-To-Action (CTA) e.g. a sign-up button
Learn more on how to create a top-converting landing page here: How To Build a Masterclass Landing Page and check out our guide: 9 Critical Elements of High Converting Landing Page Design.
Related: 25 Best Landing Page Examples
So you’ve created, launched, and started selling your masterclass – congratulations! But what comes next?
Your work isn’t done when you’ve finished your first launch. The most successful businesses are the ones who keep refining and evolving their content to better suit their target audience and create an even more impressive product.
To help you do that, start collecting customer feedback after your masterclass, including:
- Post-attendance surveys
- 1:1 customer interviews
- Follow-up emails
The more feedback you can gather from past learners, the more you can improve your masterclass and tailor it to your target audience for improved customer satisfaction and more repeat sales.
Customer feedback can also give you hints on what digital products to create next, as well as open opportunities to reconvert your existing customers in the future.
For many Creator Educators, creating a masterclass is just the start. Masterclasses are an ideal digital product to help you build your reputation as an expert in your industry and grow your brand, while also generating revenue for your business.
The trick is to expand on your success by opening up multiple revenue streams – for example, you might choose to create a full-length online course related to your masterclass or set up a membership community for your existing customers.
When you’re ready to take the next steps to expand your business, check out these guides for inspiration:
- 7 Steps To Building An Online Community (With Examples)
- How to Create Digital Products
- 25+ Digital Product Ideas
- 10 Steps To Creating A Wildly Successful Online Course
Top masterclass examples from Creator Educators
Check out these examples of top masterclasses from successful Creator Educators to help you get inspired and generate ideas for your own masterclass.
George Pitts: The Money Management Masterclass
George Pitts was motivated to start his own personal finance business after successfully getting himself out of debt. Back in 2017, he was living paycheck to paycheck and had no idea how to change his financial situation – so he took a week off of work to learn exactly what he needed to do to fix his credit and his finances.
As a self-taught financial strategist, George became determined to help other people like him achieve financial freedom. Since starting his business, he has taught over 10,000 students through a series of masterclasses and online learning programs, and generated a seven-figure annual income in the process.
Check out George’s tips on creating and selling masterclasses here.
XayLi Barclay: Camera Confidence Masterclass
Content creation coach and Thinkific expert XayLi Barclay specializes in helping entrepreneurs be the best version of themselves online. This masterclass teaches creators to stand out from the crowd and make an impact through compelling visual content and videos.
Since starting her business, XayLi has created multiple masterclasses to help deliver her expertise to more students – including her Camera Confidence Masterclass to give creators the chance to feel more confident in front of the camera.
Learn more about how she got started here.
Create your own masterclass
Taking the first step to create your own masterclass can be scary – but if you go one step at a time you can plan, produce, and deliver a masterclass that you’re proud of. You owe it to your audience to create that masterclass that’s hiding in the back of your mind. Don’t let imposter syndrome keep you down!
Ready to take the plunge? Try Thinkific for free and create your own masterclass today.
