How to Create Live Virtual Classes That Students Will Love: Tips for Craft Business Owners

You're ready to share your craft expertise via live virtual classes. Learn the benefits and how-tos to create great live virtual classes.

As an experienced crafter, you’ve developed your practice over many years and learned from all kinds of resources, including other crafters, reference books, how-to videos, and classes. If you’re at a point in your craft where sharing your knowledge and growing your craft community is a priority, then you’re ready to create a live virtual class to share with the world. Today we’re focusing on the benefits and how-to’s of live virtual classes for craft business owners.

A woman is sitting at a computer, looking at the camera and smiling. — Live virtual teaching is a rewarding way to share your craft with a larger audience.

What is a live virtual class?

A live class can consist of one or multiple sessions where the teacher and the learners are logged in at the same time. A virtual class is supplemented by emails to communicate course basics, scheduling, class objectives, and resources. PDF downloads are typical and usually include handouts that restate the key points of the class, worksheets, instructions, and patterns.

Why should a craft business owner offer a live virtual class?

Think about the educational experiences you’ve had. What stands out? It’s safe to bet that great teaching was involved. Great teaching is attentive, thorough, and responsive. One or two days before the class, email your participants to ask them about their experience with your topic and any questions they hope the class will cover. Incorporate references to these questions during the class. During the live class, let students know how to pose their questions and when you’ll be taking time to respond. (Recruit a friend to monitor the chat if you can!)

This responsiveness is unique to live virtual courses and can be enormously valuable to students.

Another reason to offer a live virtual class is something marketers love—creating scarcity. When you promote a live class, readers know that this opportunity is limited. This scarcity can motivate undecided students to sign up so they don’t miss out.

Graphic of a “first class checklist” with four items including “learn zoom settings,” “proofread pattern,” “schedule practice class,” and “what else???!!!”. — Does your checklist look like this? AVT can help!

How do I create a live virtual class?

Once you know the topic for your course, you need to prep for it. If you think about the seamless live presentations you’ve watched online, you may not realize the amount of preparation that happened before the event. Preparation should be invisible to the audience. Since it’s been invisible, you might not know how to best prepare for your own event.

One essential step is to hold a practice class over Zoom. A practice session will let you iron out any wrinkles with Zoom and will help you get comfortable with your content. Share the link with your mentors, peer teachers, colleagues, and friends. (Consider offering to send them $5 for a coffee to thank them for their time!)

Deliver your presentation and make sure you record it. Ask your volunteer students to offer feedback.

What did I do well?
What parts were unclear or confusing?
What could I improve?
What other questions do you have about this topic?

If time permits immediately after your presentation, open a discussion and ask your volunteers to discuss their feedback right then. If that doesn’t work, ask them to email their feedback to you.

You’ll use this feedback to make judgment calls about what to change and what to keep the same. Remember that not all feedback is equally relevant- keep the feedback that will help you share your knowledge with your future students.

Learn from experienced live virtual teachers

If you are tech-shy, tired of the time and exhaustion of travel-teaching, and don't know where to find the information you need, the Virtual Teaching Masterclass has the resources you need.

Imagine yourself simply pulling out your prepared supplies, checking your setup, and turning on a live Zoom class to reach and teach your students from all over the world!

Expert online teacher, Lyric Kinard can guide you through the entire process of building a sustainable, profitable, business teaching what you love.

The next Masterclass begins September 9, 2024, so visit our website now to learn more about how AVT can help you grow as a teacher and craft business owner. If you’re reading this after this date, visit academyforvirtualteaching.com to join our free community and learn more about all our virtual teaching resources!

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