There might be a better place to start your community than Kajabi, Facebook, Discord, or Circle. I’ve used them all and while they each have their own individual perks, let me show you why Skool is probably the best option for building your own profitable online community or course.

Building an online community full of engaged people is hard. The internet is a distracting place and getting everyone in one focused place is a challenge. You need software that is easy to navigate, not overwhelming, and designed for thoughtful communication. Skool is here to deliver.

In this review we’ll break down the features of Skool and what it’s like to run one yourself.

My personal experience using Skool:

I’ve been using the software for a year now to run two separate communities. One paid course and another free online community. I’ve loved every second of it. I’m also plugged into several other free and paid communities across the platform. (Skool makes it really easy to switch between your communities)

I’ve previously used Facebook groups and Discord for my free communities and Kajabi for paid masterminds. Consolidating everything into the Skool platform has made community management easier and increased engagement from my members. I really do recommend it to everyone.

What is Skool?

Skool is a simple tool, primarily for combining your community and courses into one inviting platform that your members will adore. I’ve onboarded hundreds of people at this point into my own communities, and I’m yet to hear one complaint.

I think Skool is growing so fast because it’s an opportunity for like-minded people to gather in a focused, distraction-free space where they get to learn and connect. The platform feels fast, everything just… works and the gamification elements they’ve hidden inside keep people inside my community coming back over and over again.

Who founded Skool?

Skool was co-founded by Sam Ovens and launched in 2019 in a private beta to members of Sam Ovens’ Consulting business. Sam has made a name for himself on the internet because he’s an exceptionally clear thinker and it’s no surprise that his thinking skills helped him construct such an exceptional piece of software.

He’s also put together an incredibly talented developer team that clearly prioritizes simple and fast design.

Skool’s 5 Main Features

Inside a Skool community, you’ll find 5 main features:

1. Community

2. Classroom

3. Calendar

4. Leaderboards (Gamification)

5. Chat

(plus some other cool stuff)

Let’s break down each key element of the platform so you can decide if Skool is the right fit for you.

1. Community

The community of a Skool group is an interface that prioritizes focused engagement, unlike Facebook or Discord. The community feed is sorted by recent activity but you can also sort by the newest and best posts. Every community can create its own categories so you’re not limited at all.

Creating a post is easy. Just write something, give it a title, and pick a category. You can also attach files, videos, images, gifs, and polls. Engaging with a post is simple too. Like posts that you find valuable. Commenting is the exact same as posting

2. Classroom

The classroom is where your courses live. You can control who has access manually, within settings, or with Zapier. There is no limit to the number of courses you can create.

Inside you can organize each course with sets and modules. Each module can include a video, descriptions, timestamps, links, files, action items, and transcripts.

There’s also a comment section that can be toggled on or off where your community members can respond to the content. Every module can be set to drip release, delaying access based on how long a member has been a member.

3. Calendar

The calendar is a simple public agenda where you can schedule recurring events for everyone to see. If you have no events within your community this tab stays hidden until you create one.

Scheduling an event works similarly to Google calendar. Enter a title, then choose your date, timezone, and duration. You can also choose to notify your members via email 24 hours prior to the event.

The time of your event will automatically be converted to the default timezone of each member to prevent any confusion.

Members can easily select an event and add it to their own external calendar. Any event that is happening soon appears at the top of your community tab so your members can’t miss it if they want to attend.

After a call, you can easily throw a recording in your classroom where members that missed out are able to view the recording and transcript. With a transcript, they’ll be able to search for specific text through Skool’s universal search bar.

4. Leaderboards (Gamification)

Now let’s discuss my favorite feature of Skool. This is the secret sauce that changes everything. If a member posts or comments something people within the community appreciate, those people will like it. Those likes translate into points that help you level up.

Each of these levels can be custom named and each level can unlock special perks, usually a new course within the classroom. I’ve also seen private calls, Notion templates, and whatever you can come up with really.

Additionally, you can reward the top spots on the 30-day leaderboard. The leaderboard is a great place to track where you stand within the community and see what you’ll be able to unlock in the future.

The best part about this gamification feature is that the best content rises to the top, spam posts will receive zero likes and members are incentivized to add their own valuable content to the community.

5. Chat

Skool’s chat is a great way to personally connect with everyone inside your community and it’s a great way for them to connect with each other, which will only increase their commitment to the group.

Chat is simple and easy to use, essentially the same as creating a post.

If you’re looking to upsell members on additional products or services, Skool’s chat is an incredible place to do that. Your team can easily engage with every member inside the Skool privately, answer their questions, book calls, and promote offers. Skool’s auto DM feature is a great way to get the conversation started.

Additional Features

Broadcasts

As an admin, you have the ability to send email broadcasts to your community members every time you create a new community post. You are limited to doing this once every 72 hours to prevent spam, so make them count. This means Skool can basically be your newsletter if you want to keep things really lean.

Universal Search

Skool has a powerful global search bar for finding posts, comments, and member profiles that match specific keywords. You can easily tab between the various type of search results and find exactly what you’re looking for. This becomes increasingly powerful as your users create their own valuable community posts. Your members can easily find and reference old posts and resources within your community.

Public vs Private Skool Groups

Any Skool group you create can be made public or private. A private group is only accessible to its approved members. It won’t be indexed by search engines. it’s perfect for paid content like courses and masterminds.

A public skool can serve as a great lead magnet. Members can join to connect with like-minded people and unlock free stuff inside the classroom. All posts inside a public Skool are indexed via search engines and eventually could serve as its own growth channel for your business.

You could totally create a free community with courses that only unlock after a certain number of posts or after a certain number of days as a member.

Application Questions (Optional)

When a new member joins your group you have a chance to prompt them with a few select questions before they’re able to access your community. You’re limited to just 3, so make them count. This usually includes their email, phone number, and maybe a qualifying question like income goals. You can send all answers to your favorite CRM through Skool’s Zapier integration.

Skool Pricing

Skool’s pricing is just as simple as Skool. There is one plan that includes everything for $99/month. That includes unlimited members and unlimited courses.

If you want to run multiple groups, for example maybe a free community that upsells into a paid group that will be $99 each. If that’s expensive you can easily put everybody in one group and unlock individual courses as they buy each one.

Skool does include a 14-day free trial so you get a taste of the platform and introduce it to your community.

Is Skool worth it?

If you currently run a Discord or Facebook group and are noticing extremely low engagement like everyone else, then Skool might be perfect. It provides a list of things that are good without all the extra stuff you don’t need. All value, zero distractions.

Alternative platforms are consistently hard to navigate, overwhelming, and distracting. Skool fixes all that. You’ll probably notice a decrease in customer support questions.

Skool puts community first and courses second as you can see in their main menu. If you care about connection, providing value first, and building a digital legacy, Skool is the perfect place to set up shop. They’re a perfect long-term solution.

Right now everyone is overwhelmed daily by endless TikTok and Instagram feeds. Provide your people with a place to focus, learn, and grow with similar people. It feels like an oasis compared to the cesspool that is social media. From my experience, you make more money when people focus on you and what you’re doing.

Join now and get a 14-day free trial

If you want to start your own Skool community right now visit Skool.com or start a free 14-day trial.

Try it out and let me know if you enjoy it as much as I do. I think you’ll love it.

Chat with Skool’s team by joining their community!

You can contact the Skool team directly via email. You can also ask questions and chat with the Skool team inside their own Skool community.

Skool’s platform is extremely easy to use and has very detailed documentation. You probably won’t even need to use their customer support.

Skool Discounts and Offers

Skool doesn’t currently offer any discounts or limited-time offers for their software as of March 2023.

I’ll make sure to update this post if that changes.

The best deal is going to be their free 14-day trial.

Get Skool for free:

Skool is definitely not free but their auto-affiliate system is an incredibly powerful way to cover the cost.

If you invite 3 people to Skool you will make back the monthly cost and have an extra $18 left over for a pizza.