I go behind the scenes into how I make money with my freemium communities. What are your thoughts and questions?

When @Christine Vabre first came to me, she was doing what so many online business owners believe they have to do. She was creating content for Facebook.Growing her Skillshare audience.Driving traffic to her website.Trying to keep multiple platforms alive—all while teaching watercolor and serving her students. Like many entrepreneurs, she was working hard to stay visible. But visibility wasn't the problem. Her business was spread too thin. Over the past year, Christine made one powerful shift: 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗦𝗸𝗼𝗼𝗹-𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. Instead of trying to send people everywhere, she started sending everyone to one place—her community. That single decision completely changed the way she runs her business. Today, 80% of the members joining her community come directly from Skool. Think about that for a moment. Instead of constantly chasing attention with endless content creation, the platform is bringing qualified people to her. That means she spends far less time marketing and far more time doing what she's truly passionate about—helping people discover the joy of watercolor. But the biggest transformation wasn't just where her members came from. It was what happened once they arrived. Without distracting ads, algorithms, or competing notifications, Christine is able to build trust much faster. Her students get to know her. They engage. They stay. They experience her teaching instead of simply scrolling past another social media post. And when trust grows... Sales follow. Christine shared that nurturing people inside her community has led to roughly four times the sales she experienced with her previous business model. That's what happens when you stop renting attention on social media and start building relationships inside a community you own. My favorite part of Christine's story isn't the sales, though. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲. Today she's running a thriving business while working just 25–30 hours a week. Instead of living on the content treadmill, she's spending her time where she creates the greatest impact—supporting her students, growing her community, and doing work she genuinely loves.

I’ve been thinking about something lately as I say yes to more bundles and summits. My niche is actually just a small slice of the bigger audience these events are targeting. My people are in the room… but they aren’t the whole room. And it made me realize I need to be clearer about my why before joining more of these opportunities. Am I trying to: - Grow my email list? - Bring people into my community? - Plant seeds for future offers? - Or just build awareness? I also started wondering how others position their freebies/resources when there’s a difference between their niche and the broader event audience. Do you: - Stay super niche-specific? - Create more of a bridge resource? - Focus on list growth over conversions? - Something else? I’m genuinely curious how others navigate this because I feel like being intentional changes everything here 💜 So how do you approach this?

As our communities continues to grow, I'm looking for a small team of Skool leaders to help support members across multiple time zones. I'm looking for members who are: ✅ Level 5+ ✅ Summit speakers or Bundle contributors ✅ Actively growing a Skool community ✅ Positive, engaged leaders ✅ Flexible to be a Moderator in the Skool Scale Camp or AI-Driven Business Communities The commitment is for a 3-month term. In exchange, you'll receive a complimentary Premium Membership to Skool Scale Camp during your moderator term. This is a volunteer leadership role and is not employment with Rigney & Associates. Interested? 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘

If Skool's $9 Hobby plan could cover its own costs with just a few members each month, would you launch a low-ticket community around a specific topic you're passionate about? 💬 If yes, what would the community be about? Share in the comments