Steve PMHI took an interest in Monthly.com when I realized it was dedicated to hands-on learning for creative skills. There are endless websites offering courses for marketable business skills like proofreading, public speaking, and website design.
But what about songwriting, baking, and portrait oil painting?
Creative skills are just as important as business skills because they make life more meaningful and encourage innovative thinking and problem solving. They may also point your career in a new direction that is more fulfilling.
Let’s take a closer look at what Monthly.com offers to see if it’s as valuable as it seems at first glance.
What is Monthly.com?
Monthly.com is an online course platform that focuses on the creative arts. Each class lasts for just 30 days and offers an intensive learning opportunity led by experts already well established in the field.
This isn’t one of those course platforms that allow just anyone to create a video course and turn it into a nonstop stream of income for years to come. Each instructor is a known figure in the creative art they teach. They share their personal strategies and offer an inside look at what it’s like to create at the elite level.
For example, novice bakers can watch Christina Tosi bake something delicious and then try her techniques in their own kitchens. What about learning vocal arrangement and a cappella singing from none other than Pentatonix or producing a hit song under the instruction of three-time Grammy winner Ryan Tedder?
All of that and more happens through the Monthly platform.
Noteworthy Monthly.com Features
There are some features that allow Monthly.com to stand out from the many competing course platforms online today:
- Recognizable Instructors — Many students are sold on Monthly classes when they see the instructors name list. Anyone can teach a class online, but only proven experts can genuinely show the processes and hard work that occur behind the scenes.
- Hands-On Learning — Listening to someone talk about a creative process in generic terms is interesting, but it’s nothing like watching a true expert perform their magic. Monthly encourages students to put each lesson into practice rather than simply watching generic videos. The instructor creates original work using their own process and then turns students loose to create their own magic.
- Peer Feedback — Classmates can share their work in progress and the final product with one another. That feedback helps build confidence and deepen understanding of lessons. It may also lead to ongoing relationships between people who share a creative passion.
If you do the assignments and keep up with the class schedule, you will end your Monthly course with proof of your hard work. You will have written an original song, choreographed a dance, recorded your version of a hit song, or otherwise created something of value.
That hands-on component makes Monthly more valuable than countless other video courses that are limited to educational videos.
How to Use Monthly to Learn Something New Every Month?
If you relate to one or more of the following statements, you’re an ideal student for Monthly courses:
- You have a creative passion and want to take your skill to a new level.
- You’re interested in a creative art but haven’t given yourself permission to invest much time in learning.
- Your lack of confidence and self-sabotaging behaviors have stopped you from taking your creative interests seriously. You need something that forces you to create despite that insecurity.
- You’ve taken other creative courses and were disappointed in the generic lessons. You want something with deeper value and more advanced insight.
- You don’t want to just listen to someone talk about a creative craft. You want to see the instructor in action and then act yourself.
- You have taken other courses in the past but didn’t follow through. You would like to create while in the class instead of just taking notes.
If you want to learn from an expert and increase your creative skills, let’s look at the sign-up and application process for Monthly classes.
How to Sign Up
1. Look at the classes offered by Monthly.com and identify the course that best matches your creative interests. You’ll see a list of current offerings on the site’s homepage.
2. Click the link for the class that you want to take. That will open a page with more information regarding that class, including the following:
- Time Commitment — how many hours you can expect to dedicate to the class each week
- Upcoming Class Dates — classes are offered at least a few times per year
- Final Product — what you will create by the end of the class
- Skill Level — most Monthly classes are open to students of all skill levels
- Price — each class is sold separately for a one-time fee
This page will show screenshots from the pre-recorded lessons. You will see what the class offers and what work you will create as you follow along.
Pay close attention to the upcoming class dates because you may have to wait months to sign up if you miss the next session.
3. Click “enroll now” and follow steps to sign up for the class. You will enter your email address and provide basic contact and billing information.
4. Introduce yourself to your classmates. Students are placed in groups of 20 and are encouraged to interact and learn from one another throughout the course. Many students create strong friendships and working relationships that extend beyond the one-month course.
5. Watch pre-recorded lessons and follow through with assignments each week. While the lessons aren’t unique to each session, the interactions between students are always genuine and fresh.
Monthly encourages all students to keep up with the structured pace of the class, but you can go at your own pace if you choose. All students have lifetime access to the course, so you can take longer than one month if needed.
Class timelines include opportunities to share work with the group, so it’s to the advantage of all students to keep up with the class. You can always go back later for a more in-depth review of the material.
6. Use your new skill level to do something hugely creative. Monthly courses are easily jumping off points that allow students to turn their creative hobbies into paying opportunities or just explore their creative sides on a much deeper level.
Monthly.com Pricing
Monthly creative classes are sold individually. There is no subscription available, so you must pay for each class separately. Most classes are priced under $300, but fees can go as high as $649.
You can sign up for each class as many times as you want, but you must pay the fee each time. You will have lifetime access to all videos and other course materials after paying the fee once, but some students enjoy working through the process with classmates multiple times. There is so much to learn from diverse classes made up of students from around the world.
The Pros and Cons
At this point, you’re probably leaning heavily towards taking a Monthly class or avoiding the platform altogether. Before you make a final decision, it’s important to weigh the general pros and cons. I put these points together based on my own experiences with the platform and reviews left by past students.
Pros
- Instructors are industry experts
- Instructors demonstrate rather than lecture
- Limit of 20 students per class
- Students create and share their own work
- Classes are available to students around the world
- Students receive lifetime access to all course materials
- Structured courses ensure completion in 30 days
- 5-day money-back guarantee
- $20 credit for referrals
- Most classes are reasonably priced
- Includes creative subjects that are ignored by many course websites
Cons
- Only 14 classes currently available
- Each class is offered only 3-5 times per year
- No subscription service available
- No live lessons, everything is pre-recorded
Monthly.com FAQs
Why do I have to wait to sign up for a Monthly class if all lessons are pre-recorded?
Small group interaction between students is a key component of Monthly classes. While the instructors aren’t teaching in real time, students do share their work with one another and provide feedback in real time. All students go through the process together, and that requires one start date for everyone in the group.
Why is Monthly so slow to add new classes?
Monthly instructors are well known in their fields and have extensive experience in their craft. They’re often recognizable social figures with unique creative processes. It takes time to find those professionals and then turn their everyday work into valuable lessons for students.
Anyone can talk to a camera and quickly create a generic course on any subject with limited knowledge. Those low-value courses are available all over the internet today. Monthly courses take longer to create because they provide a peek into the working practices of industry elites.
What if I purchase a course and then decide it’s not right for me?
Monthly does have a 5-day money-back guarantee. You can request a full refund within the first five days of the course for any reason. You will receive your money back with no questions asked during that introductory period.
The Final Verdict
Monthly.com is a valuable resource if you have a creative interest or passion. It’s even more valuable if your creative outlet is ignored by most other online course platforms. It caught my attention by simply focusing on the creative arts, but the high-caliber instructors and hands-on approach that encourages active, real-time creation has kept my interest long term.
The catch is that many students will only need to purchase one course from Monthly. There aren’t many classes available, and more than half are centered on music. That will hopefully change as the course catalog expands and a more diverse range of creative arts are included.
Even with the current limitations, I believe Monthly.com is a high-value investment if you can find a class that relates to your creative passion. You may also want to pick something that you haven’t tried before and use the class as an introduction. Some of the best creative pieces are hybrids of what you already love and something newly discovered.
