If you saw the WATER COOLER drop in schedule last week and you were wondering how you too could become a VIP member and host your own hour, wait no longer - application are opening soon for our next VIP cohort. There are several benefits of being a VIP member, but the most sought after is the ability to participate in the VIP Collab Action Group. Want to learn more about all the benefits? Attend the information session on May 12 (exact time on your calendar). Can't attend live? No worries. It will be recorded. And what's even better, is that this time around applications will be collected in different categories, so if you serve parents, or women over 40, or animal lovers, or if you are in a health and wellness niche, or a hobby niche, or a business niche, you will be able to apply to collaborate with others who will compliment you instead of compete with you. I can't wait to see your application. Keep your 👀 open for application dates, and mark your calendar for the info session on May 12!

In the words of my friend @Mimi Ramsey today was totally epic!!! Thank you to everyone who participated in the 7-hour long (!) WATER COOLER drop in today. Based on the comments and feedback I have received, it was a total success with a lot of wonderful conversations and connections made. The most astounding thing - conversations were had for the ENTIRE 7 hours!!! Every single time I logged in to see how it was going (which was often!), there were between 3 and 9 people in the call. My hope is that as more and more people hear about the wonderful opportunity that this is, the larger and larger the conversations will get. My apologies to everyone for the mix up with the links at the beginning of the day. We tried something new, and it did not work as anticipated! And if anyone has feedback or suggestions for improvement, I'm all ears. Thanks so much for being a wonderful part of this amazing community - yes, I am talking to you! 😊 @Traci Poe @Jing Wang @Diana Frank @Sybil Hall @Kevin Gebert @Sondra Verva @Mimi Ramsey Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to contribute and share your skills in such a wonderful way!

I've been thinking about the metrics that I want to focus on moving forward and how I want to judge success. The goal of this community has always been visibility and meaningful connections. As I've seen other communities grow faster, sometimes it's been a struggle to maintain the bar of only allowing Skoolers in. I get tons of requests every day that I turn down. The vanity metrics could be a lot higher. The reason I've stayed true to the original intention of the group is because I honestly believe that it is the right decision in the long-run and that it directly relates to the quality of the group as a whole - and it doesn't negatively affect anyone's visibility because we are a public group that can be seen by anyone. As I was thinking more about what to watch in terms of metrics, I decided to take a look at a few other larger communities to evaluate where we stand in terms of active members, which I believe is an important indicator of the health of your community. These screenshots below were taken within minutes of each other. Yes, this only represents that people are online in Skool and not necessarily this community, but if people aren't logging in to Skool at all, that's an even bigger problem. So, in a nutshell, I'm moving forward with my commitment to make this a community for Skoolers only, and I hope that at the end of the day, the quality of the interactions that you have in the community, during masterclasses, and in the live meetups will continue to prove that this is the right decision.

On The ART of Online Course Creation, @Mary Nunaley and I talked about gamefication and how to do it right. In episode #61, Beyond Badges and Leaderboards: Better Gamification for Online Courses, we dove into what works and what doesn't work and how different people respond to different types of incentivization. Mary is a learning engineer and co-founder of The Lavender Dragon Team. She turns complex ideas into human-centered learning experiences using storytelling, game-based design, and thoughtful applications of AI. Mary focuses on building learning that actually changes behavior not just checks a completion box. Her work sits at the intersection of learning science, creativity, and practical AI integration for modern educators and creators. I was honoured to have Mary on the show, and I hope you'll take some time to listen to the episode. It is definitely food for thought, and will give you practical tips and insights for your own courses and communities. Listen here!

Creating an online course should not feel like trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing, and yet, for so many people, that is exactly what happens. You have the idea, the expertise, and tons of motivation, but once you sit down to actually build the thing, it starts to feel heavier, messier, and more confusing than you expected. That usually does NOT mean you are not ready. It often means there are important decisions underneath the surface of a good course that most people have never been taught how to make and that is what you are now encountering. I created a new free diagnostic called "Why Course Creation Feels Harder Than It Should" to help you uncover some of the overlooked issues that may be making your course harder to build, teach, or scale. Inside, you’ll explore: ✨ what may be making the process feel so overwhelming ✨ where your course idea may need more clarity or structure ✨ what kind of support may make the most sense for your next step If course creation has been feeling harder than you thought it would, this will help you see why.