Kim Thompson Pinder migrated a 25K Facebook group to Skool. Now she's #8 in ALL English-speaking hobby communities with 1,200+ members. Here's a link to her community - Circular Machine Knitting Addi But here's what everyone's missing: The ranking isn't the story. The monetization model is. She converted 4% of her founding members to paid. If even half her 1,200 members are paying $20- 30/month, that's $12K-18K MRR. From a hobby community. And she doesn't answer every question. Her members call themselves "family" and do it for her. That's not community building. That's revenue engineering. The 4% Benchmark (And Why It Matters) Kim got 4% of her founding members to convert to paid. That's not impressive by SaaS standards, but for a hobby community migrating from Facebook? That's actually really good. Here's why this number matters to you: It's a validated baseline. If you've got 100 members and you're trying to figure out what "good" looks like, now you know. Get 4 people to pay you $29/month and you're tracking with a Top 10 community. That's $116/month. Not life-changing, but it's proof the model works. Now scale that. 500 members at 4% = 20 paying members = $580/month. 1,000 members = $1,160/month. You can see where this goes. The real question: Are you even trying to convert 4%? Or are you stuck at 0% because you haven't asked anyone to pay yet? The Member-Led Sales Model Kim has 1,200 members. She can't possibly answer every question, respond to every post, or hold everyone's hand. So she doesn't. Her members do it. Seven of them have fire icons (Skool's "most engaged" badge). Those seven people are essentially unpaid staff. They answer questions, welcome new members, keep discussions going. Here's the revenue angle most people miss: When members answer questions instead of you, you get your time back. That time can go into creating paid products, running Roadblock Calls, building referral systems, or literally anything that generates revenue.

Your discovery rank determines where your community appears in Skool's discovery feed. High rank = more visibility = more potential members finding you organically. How to Check Your Rank 1. Navigate to Your Community Click on the community you want to check. 2. Access Settings Click the Settings icon (gear icon) in the bottom right corner. 3. Click on Discovery On the left sidebar, click Discovery. 4. View Your Rank You'll see: - Whether you're showing in discovery (Yes/No) - Your category - Your current rank - The language your community is ranked in That's it. Why This Matters Skool ranks communities based on engagement, not member count. A community with 50 active members can outrank one with 500 inactive members. If you're ranked in the top 10-20 in your category, you're getting organic traffic. If you're ranked 50+, most people will never see you. How to Improve Your Rank Your rank isn't fixed. Here's what moves the needle: Post consistently Aim for 3-5 valuable posts per week, not daily low-effort content. Drive engagement Comments and replies matter more than likes. Ask questions, respond to members, create discussions. Get members active early New members who engage in their first 48 hours are more likely to stay active. Send a personalized welcome, point them to high-value content. Focus on retention Skool rewards communities where members stick around. If people join and leave within days, your rank drops. When Should You Care About Discovery Rank? If you're running a free community, discovery rank is critical. It's your primary growth channel. If you're running a paid community, discovery rank matters less. Most paid members come from external traffic (YouTube, ads, referrals), not Skool's discovery feed. But a high rank still builds credibility. One Thing Most People Get Wrong Checking your rank obsessively won't help you grow. What matters is the activity driving that rank: consistent engagement, valuable content, and active members.

Want your Skool community to grow on autopilot? The Skool referral system pays your members up to 50% commission for bringing in new paying members - turning your community into a self-sustaining growth engine. Why Use Skool's Built-In Referral System? Most community owners struggle with member acquisition. But what if your existing members did the marketing for you? Skool's affiliate program incentivizes members to share your community with their network. They earn lifetime recurring commissions (not one-time payments), it's built directly into Skool (no third-party tools), and you only pay when it converts. The best part? Members promote authentically because they're already experiencing value. They're not just sharing a link—they're vouching for you. Important: Skool Pro Plan Required This feature is only available on Skool Pro, not the Hobby plan. If you're serious about scaling your paid community, you'll need to upgrade. How to Enable Skool Referrals (Step-by-Step) 1. Access Skool Settings Click the Settings icon (gear icon) in your community dashboard. 2. Navigate to Affiliates Select Affiliates from the left sidebar. By default, this feature is turned OFF. 3. Set Your Commission Percentage You can choose rates from 10% to 50%. Most successful communities use 40% commission because it balances member motivation with profitability. That's what I use in my communities. 4. Preview the Member Experience Click the eye icon to see what members will see. Navigate to Community, then Invite People. Members will see their unique referral link and commission rate. 5. How Members Use Their Referral Links Members copy their unique link and share it via posts, DMs, emails, or social media. When someone joins through that link and pays, the member earns their commission - for life. What Do Members Earn Commission On? Your members earn their commission percentage on: - Paid community memberships (recurring revenue) - Membership tier upgrades (Standard to Premium to VIP) - Classroom product purchases (courses, templates, etc.)

Want to declutter your Skool community and focus members on what matters most? Customizing your Skool tabs is one of the fastest ways to improve member experience and streamline navigation. You can watch the video here - https://youtu.be/s6vyzcs27Yo?si=35_xZtk9EiHIMnuY Why Hide Skool Tabs? A cleaner community layout helps members focus on the content and features you actually use. If you're not running events, hide the Calendar. If your leaderboard isn't active, remove it. Fewer tabs = less confusion = better engagement. How to Show or Hide Tabs in Skool (Step-by-Step) 1. Navigate to Your Community - Log into Skool - Click on the specific community you want to customize 2. Access Settings - Click the Settings icon (gear icon) in the bottom right corner 3. Open the Tabs Section - Select Tabs from the left sidebar menu 4. Toggle Tabs On or Off - You'll see toggles for: Classroom, Calendar, Map, Leaderboard, and Members - Click any toggle to hide a tab (turns it off) - Click again to show a tab (turns it back on) 5. Changes Apply Instantly - No need to refresh—tabs appear or disappear immediately - Go back to your community to see the updated navigation Which Tabs Should You Hide? Hide the Map if: - Your community isn't location-based - Members don't benefit from seeing where others are located Hide the Calendar if: - You're not hosting regular events or calls - You use external scheduling tools instead Hide the Leaderboard if: - You're not running engagement competitions - You prefer a less gamified community experience Keep tabs visible if you're actively using those features to drive engagement and value. Pro Tip for Skool Community Owners Your tab setup should reflect your monetization strategy. If you're focused on course delivery, keep Classroom prominent. If you're building a high-touch community, Calendar and Members matter more.

I presented in The Business Connector today (Claudio's the new owner, asked me to kick things off). Spent 60 minutes breaking down the 3-tier CTA system that converts YouTube viewers at 5-8%. Why this matters for you: Most YouTube-to-Skool advice focuses on "make better content." This is different—it's about how you structure your CTAs based on what you're offering (free community, paid community, or product). Same principles I use to drive members here. If YouTube's part of your member acquisition plan (or should be), this will shortcut a lot of expensive mistakes. 📺 Presentation replay: https://www.skool.com/the-business-connector-7896/replay-the-3-tier-system-for-youtube-skool-traffic?p=1e5fb894 🔗 The community: https://www.skool.com/the-business-connector-7896/about?ref=c75adaa832e449d8b1ef463c22b1d8a9 40mins. Zero fluff. Immediate implementation. Want more monetization strategies? 🆓 Free Community: Join 300+ community owners in Content Revenue Lab 💰 Paid Community: Turn 25-50 members into $1K-$5K/month → Skool Monetization Lab Connect with Des: LinkedIn • Facebook • Instagram • Instagram 2 • Substack