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Skoolology: Bring Your Build

73 members • $17/month

269 contributions to Skoolology: Bring Your Build
In the ‘very messy’ middle!
I’m popping this here as an accountability post for myself to make sure I actually sort this and make a decision before moving forward with anything else. As I was working on the onboarding and member journey today, I have found that the difference between free and premium could become a bit of a messy ‘grey’ area if I don’t have really strong and consistent boundaries. Seeing as it’s more of a support and knowledge sharing community, over being clearly defined products or services that I’m selling, I am feeling that it could be hard to define what should be Free and what should go into Premium as people ask questions. If I’m honest with myself I’m not sure I could comfortably answer with “upgrade to premium to get the soap recipe”! While I would love that everyone could have this knowledge for free, that’s not going to help us to get our trees planted and bills paid. I am confident that I can definitely bring value to this space and create a special and safe space for members, it’s just a little harder to define with specifics - especially when one of my super powers is holding space and meeting people where they are at. (If only I could do this for myself 😅). So, I am currently sitting with that, for my type of quirky community, Freemium may not actually be the ‘right’ fit. This is me, pondering out loud that perhaps a paid community with a free trial could be my way forward. I will sleep on this and revisit it in the morning - hopefully with the clarity that a good night’s sleep can bring. Thank you everyone for holding this space for me.
In the ‘very messy’ middle!
3 likes • 11h
@Helen Harris This is something almost every community owner struggles with. There are a lot of ways to approach it, but this may help simplify things. In most communities, the tiers are really determined by what people value most. For example, some members value accountability. Others want closer access to the community owner. There are Skool communities where 95% of the content is free, but people upgrade to Premium just for weekly calls, then upgrade to VIP for an additional higher-level call. As a general rule, I would focus on 2–3 things people really value in Premium, then add another 2–3 meaningful benefits if you offer VIP. With soapmaking, you will probably have people who are making soap for themselves and others who eventually want to sell what they make. You do not necessarily need to separate your tiers into “hobby” and “business,” but that difference can help you decide what belongs where. For example, people who want to sell may need things like: - Recipe variations and product ideas - Testing products before making large batches - Packaging and labeling advice - Pricing and marketing help - Craft fair checklists - Ideas for getting samples into places like bed-and-breakfasts, boutiques, or gift shops - Those could all be good candidates for paid content. Granted, I know nothing about soap production, and soap is only one type of product you may cover. I mainly wanted to give you a way to think through what belongs in each tier. I also would not try to cram a huge list of benefits into Premium or VIP. If you have 2–3 things people find genuinely valuable, especially things that save them time, money, mistakes, or effort, that can go a long way toward getting people to upgrade. (You only get six bullets maximum) One final thought. I’m assuming you are always experimenting with different products and recipes. I would definitely consider putting some of that behind the paid tier. If you develop something unique that people love, getting access to those experiments, recipes, and lessons learned could be a very strong reason to upgrade.
🎂 IMPORTANT SKOOLOLOGY RESEARCH 🎂
Today’s research question: Exactly how much cake is required to properly celebrate Sara's birthday? We’re going to need a LARGE sample size. 😂 Happy Birthday, @Sara Fredrick !! 🥳 I hope your day includes good people, lots of laughter, something delicious, and at least a little bit of doing exactly what YOU want to do. We’re awfully glad you’re here. 💛 Everybody help us wish Sara a VERY Happy Birthday! 🎉🎈
🎂 IMPORTANT SKOOLOLOGY RESEARCH 🎂
3 likes • 12h
@Sara Fredrick Hope you are having a fabulous day!
🎙️ Okay...this Behind the Build is going to be a GOOD one.
@Sybil Hall @Todd Thornton and I just wrapped our conversation, and we went all over the community-building map. 😂 Free vs. paid. How you show up as the community owner. What you do when building gets HARD. Affiliate links and whether they actually make sense for your community. And quite a bit more that I wasn’t expecting us to get into. What I loved most, though, was how much of Sybil’s experience applies whether you’re just opening the doors or you’ve been building for a while. There’s a little something in this one for everybody. ❤️ I’m going back through the conversation now because there are definitely a few pieces I want to pull out and make sure we don’t lose. Sybil’s Behind the Build is coming soon. 🎙️ And Sybil...thank you again for letting us into the REAL build. ❤️
🎙️ Okay...this Behind the Build is going to be a GOOD one.
2 likes • 3d
@Sybil Hall I have AI splitting the video as I am typing.
1 like • 3d
@Sybil Hall I've always found Opus Pro does more of what I would do and it's been around and has a large user base. All kinds of tools are popping up, but for this you really need a tool that will easily deliver a consistent result. I will be uploading all 41 videos to a Google Drive folder and share so DM your email address.
Skool News 9/15/2026 (video attached)
Skool's roadmap In progress: - Reviews (filtering coming soon, best reviews will appear first) - Languages (done) - Global fast payouts (done) - Growth boost V2 (work in progress) Up next: - Secret project (Sams favorite of all time) - Payment methods - Currencies Growth boost update Growth boost V2 is working better than V1, but it isn't at full scale yet. Here's what's powering it: - Deep research - Variable bidding - Partnership ads (ad will show Skool and group owner both pushing ad) - Creator creatives (they will test differences between Skool ad performance vs group owner) In the meantime, the best thing you can do is make your group great. Growth boost tips 1. Put your Skool link in your bio on every platform. 2. Drive as much traffic to your about page as possible. 3. Improve your packaging: cover image, description, and about page. 4. Offer an annual option with a 20 to 50% discount. 5. Start with the slider up high, then dial it back once it starts working. (see note below) Note: Very few people are telling me that growth boost is working well for them. For most people, I don't think it makes sense to push the slider up to 60 or 70% until everything else is dialed in. It's your call, of course, and it may be worth testing. In my view, though, the time to ramp up is after you've fixed the fundamentals and know they're working. Only then does it make sense to trade a share of your revenue for more traffic. As I always say, take my advice with a grain of salt and a margarita or two.
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Skool News 9/15/2026 (video attached)
If AI Ends Humanity, What’s Your Final Skool Post?
There’s a lot of “AI may end humanity” talk going around lately. So let’s prepare responsibly. If you only had one Skool post left before the robots took over, what would you post? Bonus points if it’s: “Join my 30-minute How to Stop the Robots Challenge.” “Comment ‘ROBOT’ and I’ll DM you the survival checklist.” “Only 3 spots left in my AI Apocalypse Mastermind.” P.S. I’m not trying to minimize the real concerns around AI. Sometimes humor is just a good way to start the conversation. P.P.S. AI companies asking to be regulated will reduce their long-term liability and freeze new startups out of the bigger AI market. Also, they don’t need anyone’s permission to make their current models safer on their own. Just saying.
0 likes • 3d
@Arnold Wong Like the connection reference!
1 like • 3d
@Elsebeth Fogh Definitely No Refunds.
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Todd Thornton
6
511 points to level up
@todd-thornton
Call me a what-works-ologist. I find what actually works with AI and on Skool, then teach Christians and leaders to apply it, step-by-step.

Active 8m ago
Joined Jun 8, 2026
Kentucky
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