Skool

Skool is a community platform built for creators, coaches, and educators who want to turn their expertise into recurring revenue. It combines community discussion, course hosting, and gamification in one place—no duct-taping multiple tools together.

What Makes Skool Different

The Network Effect (The "Skool Tailwind")

This is the big differentiator. On most platforms, you drive 100% of your own traffic. On Skool, about 30% of new members come from the Skool network itself—and for established communities, that number can be much higher.

Real example: Nate Herk runs an AI automation community. He has 500K+ YouTube subscribers driving traffic. But in the last 30 days:

• 15,000 members came from the Skool network
• 7,000 members came from YouTube

The platform is now driving more traffic to his community than his massive YouTube channel. That's the tailwind effect.

All-In-One Platform

Skool replaces the typical community tech stack:

• Community — Discussion feeds, member profiles, direct messages
• Courses — Host video courses with progress tracking
• Live streaming — Native streaming built in (added in 2025)
• Gamification — Members level up, creating engagement loops
• Payments — Stripe integration for paid memberships
• Analytics — See exactly where your members come from

No more paying for Teachable + Circle + Kajabi + Mighty Networks. One platform, one login, one bill.

Discovery Features (2026 Focus)

Skool's 2026 theme is discovery. The platform is actively improving:

• Search and recommendations
• Traffic routing within the network
• Analytics showing member origins
• Features to help good communities find their audience

Pricing

Plan	Cost	Best For
Starter	$9/month	Testing your community idea
Full	$99/month	Serious community builders

The $9 starter plan (launched in 2025) makes it accessible to experiment without major commitment. Previously it was $99/month only—11x more expensive to get started.

Who Uses Skool

Skool works across every niche. Some examples with real numbers:

Community	Niche	Members	Revenue
Nate Herk	AI Automation	226K free / 3.1K paid	$238K/month
Jillian Berry	Raw Vegan Recipes	Growing	$5.2K/month
Kim Thompson	Circular Machine Knitting	1,100	Growing (37% from Skool)
David Mincy	Metal Detecting	49	New (36% from Skool)

The pattern: even hyper-niche communities (knitting machines, metal detecting) see 30%+ of members coming from Skool's network.

How Communities Succeed on Skool

Phase 1: Launch Free

Start with a free community. Your goals:

1. Get your first members (friends, existing audience, social media)
2. Figure out what people actually want
3. Build engagement and value
4. Learn what resonates

Phase 2: Add Paid Tiers

Once you have engagement, add paid access levels:

• Free tier for discovery and community
• Paid tier for courses, premium content, direct access

Phase 3: Let the Tailwind Build

As your community grows, Skool's network drives more traffic to you. Good communities get surfaced to relevant members. The more you put in early, the more the platform gives back.

Skool vs Alternatives

Feature	Skool	Facebook Groups	Discord	Circle
Network discovery	Yes (30%+ traffic)	No	No	No
Course hosting	Built-in	No	No	Add-on
Gamification	Built-in	No	Limited	Limited
Payments	Built-in	No	No	Built-in
Owned audience	Yes	No (Meta owns it)	Yes	Yes
Starting price	$9/mo	Free	Free	$49/mo

The network discovery is Skool's killer feature. No other platform actively sends you members.

Getting Started

1. Sign up for Skool — starts at $9/month
2. Create your community around your passion
3. Invite your first 5-20 members from your existing network
4. Post consistently and build engagement
5. Add paid tiers when you have something worth paying for

Learn More

• Full Skool Breakdown — Detailed walkthrough with more success stories
• Skool News — Weekly recaps with platform updates and success stories
• AI SEO Mastery Pro — Example of a successful Skool community

See Also

• HighLevel — CRM that pairs well with Skool for lead capture
• Facebook Groups — Free alternative (but you don't own the platform)
• online business — Building income online