What is a Masterclass? Scaling Your Income and Impact Online

If you’ve spent some time — really, anytime at all — in the online business space, then there’s a 99.9% chance you’ve come face-to-face (or rather, screen-to-face) with a Masterclass. 

A masterclass is a live or pre-recorded video hosted or created by an expert in the industry speaking on a particular problem or topic. Masterclasses tend to build on what your students already know and focus on one main problem, compared to courses that give a broader, more thorough understanding of a topic. 

You’ll sometimes hear me refer to masterclasses as ‘single session learning opportunities’ as that’s truly what they are — you have between 30 and 90 minutes to provide someone with the tangible knowledge and action items to create change.

I love a good masterclass because it serves as a great free (or paid) resource for your community and can gauge what your audience knows and is interested in — and what they’re not. 

If you’re considering hosting a masterclass or just want to learn more about them, this post is for you:

What is a Masterclass?

A masterclass is an extremely popular and powerful method of curriculum delivery. To sum it up, it’s a live or recorded video teaching your audience how to do something or understand something that would benefit their life, business, mind, and body — it’s your solution to a problem your audience has, usually a very specific one.

Masterclasses are hosted by experts in their industry (like you) who want to provide more insight into a particular topic or address a problem using their expert experience and advice.

But, just because a masterclass is unique in its delivery, it doesn’t mean you can skip out on creating your curriculum and gathering feedback through assessment — and it definitely doesn’t mean that you should start designing your slide desk ASAP before you’ve even nailed down your concept or transformation (curriculum first, always).

How Does a Masterclass Fit in Your Offer Suite?

Masterclasses are ideal for your top-of-funnel resource and a mid-tier offer. They don’t require the same time as a signature course (even if they do offer a smaller upfront ROI) or an ebook (often a waste of time if you ask me, but more on that another time). And they give your audience what they need when they need it and let you show up as the expert.

For example, I have a masterclass as my top-of-funnel (you can watch it here) and a mid-tier offer in my resource shop (coincidentally, it’s about creating or mastering the masterclass if you want to check it out here).

Masterclasses can also be added to a subscription or membership service; they’re extremely versatile and can be placed where you need them.

Masterclass vs. Workshop: What’s the Difference?

You may have noticed that these two are often used interchangeably, sometimes by the same person (whoops). But the difference between a masterclass and a workshop is the audience and the engagement.

While both masterclasses and workshops have smaller target audiences, masterclasses are meant for a specific audience, whereas workshops involve a higher level of interaction with you, the expert. This limits the number of participants you can have (the final number is determined by your capacity and level of engagement required).

Secondly, masterclasses may have an accompanying worksheet or guide but don’t often require work during the lesson. Workshops often have at least one, if not many, moments during the lesson where you’re prompted to stop, think, and even answer questions on a worksheet or participate in discussions.

A masterclass focuses on teaching you the subject, while a workshop focuses on working with you to understand the subject. Both have a time, a purpose, and, potentially, a space in your offer suite.

Is It Time to Make a Masterclass?

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I love a good masterclass. I guarantee you have 4-5 areas of expertise that could be turned into a masterclass by next weekend.

It’s one of the best ways to scale your income and impact in the online world. If you’re looking for a way to expand your offer suite, a masterclass isn’t a bad way to go.

Still, creating a masterclass just because you “feel like it” is not always the best way to go. Masterclasses may require less time than some other digital product options, but it still require you to do the prep work to make sure your students get what they need from your class.

Essentially, yes, it’s time to make a masterclass — just do the pre-work for it, too. And if you don’t want to play the “Am I doing this right?” guessing game, check out Mastering the Masterclass here.