To collect testimonials from Skool members, ask right after they share a win, give them three short questions to answer, and get written permission before you use their words anywhere. The best testimonials are already in your feed. Your job is to notice them, ask, and make it easy to say yes. Most owners wait until they need a testimonial for a sales page, then scramble. Build a small habit instead and you'll always have fresh ones. Where testimonials hide Look for these moments every week: • A member posts a win in the feed • Someone comments "this call was so helpful" • A member thanks you in a DM • Someone finishes a course • A member mentions a result in their intro update Each one is a testimonial waiting to be asked for. If you run a weekly wins thread, it does a lot of this work for you, because members post their results in one place every Friday and you only have to read one thread. The ask Send a DM within a day of the win. Keep it short: "Hey Priya, congrats on your first paid client. That's huge. Would you be up for sharing a few sentences about your experience here? I'd love to use it on our About page. No pressure at all." Most people say yes when they're excited. Ask a month later and the moment is gone. The three questions People freeze when you ask for a "testimonial." Give them prompts instead: 1. Where were you before you joined? 2. What changed, and what helped most? 3. What would you tell someone thinking about joining? These three answers give you a before, an after and a recommendation. That structure reads far better than "great community, highly recommend." Get permission in writing Always confirm before you use someone's words: "Can I use this on our About page and in posts, with your first name and photo?" Save their reply. Some people are fine with full name and photo, others want initials only. Respect whatever they choose. If you want to screenshot a public post from your community, ask too. It was posted inside a private group, not on a billboard.

To get Skool members to refer their friends, ask right after a member gets a win, make the ask specific about who to invite, and give them something easy to share, like a free event or a guest pass. Members refer when they're proud of the community and know exactly who it's for. Generic "share this with your friends" posts almost never work. Referrals are the best members you'll get. They arrive warm, they already know someone inside, and they tend to stay. Here's how to get more of them. Step 1: Ask at the right moment The best time to ask for a referral is right after someone gets a result. They just shared a win in the feed, finished a course, or told you a call helped. That's when they feel the value most. A short DM: "Congrats on landing that client. Do you know anyone else who's stuck where you were three months ago? I'd love to have them here." Asking at random, like a monthly "refer a friend" post, gets polite silence. Step 2: Be specific about who "Tell your friends" is too broad. People don't know who to think of. Give them a picture: • "Know any coaches who are tired of posting on Instagram every day?" • "Anyone in your running group training for their first marathon?" • "Who's the friend who keeps asking you how you grew your list?" A clear description of the right person makes it easy for them to think of one name. Step 3: Give them something easy to share Asking someone to recommend a paid membership is a big ask. Asking them to invite a friend to something free is small. Options: • A free live workshop or Q&A open to guests • A free lead magnet, like a template or a mini course • A free community that feeds your paid one If your paid community has a free entry point, members can invite friends without feeling like salespeople. The post on growing a Skool community with zero following covers more of these entry points. Step 4: Recognize referrers

You should discount your Skool community only when the discount has a clear reason, a firm end date, and doesn't make current members feel they overpaid. A discount helps when it pulls in the right people at the right moment. It hurts when it becomes the only reason anyone joins, or when it trains people to wait for the next sale. With Black Friday and year-end promos everywhere this time of year, it's worth thinking about before you post a sale. When a discount helps • Launching. A founding rate for your first members rewards the risk they took. • Pushing annual plans. A discount on annual brings cash in now and keeps people longer. • A real moment. A new course drop or the start of a cohort gives the discount a reason beyond "it's a sale." • Win-backs. A returning-member rate can tip someone who left for price reasons. When a discount hurts • It never ends. A permanent "50% off" isn't a discount. It's your real price with a fake one next to it. • It's frequent. If you run a sale every month, nobody joins at full price. • It brings deal hunters. People who join for a deep discount often churn faster, because the price was the reason, not the community. • It annoys current members. Someone who paid $49 last week sees a $25 offer today and feels like a fool. Rules for a good discount 1. Discount annual, not monthly. "$390 a year instead of $490" protects your monthly price and brings committed people. 2. Limit the time. A few days, with a clear end. Then actually end it. 3. Give it a reason. "Year-end founding rate" or "new cohort starts soon" works better than "SALE." 4. Take care of current members first. Offer them the same deal on switching to annual, or a bonus, before you announce it publicly. Do the math before you run it Say your community is $49 a month and members stay an average of seven months. That's about $343 per member. If you discount the first three months to $25 and members stay the same seven months, you get $271. That's a $72 loss per member. The discount only pays off if it brings in more than about 27% extra members, or if those members stay longer.

To grandfather existing members when you raise prices, keep everyone who joined before the change on their original price, tell them clearly how long it lasts, and keep a record of who is on which rate. Grandfathering turns a price increase from a loss into a thank-you, and it's one of the cheapest retention tools you have. Here's how to set it up so it stays simple a year from now. First, check what Skool does by default Whether existing subscribers stay on their old price automatically depends on how Skool handles price changes, so confirm that before you promise anything. Your announcement has to match what members actually see on their next charge. Pick your grandfather rule There are three common versions: 1. Locked for life. Their price never changes as long as they stay subscribed. Simple, generous, and great for early founders. 2. Locked for a set time. Say 12 months, then they move to the current price. More revenue later, but you have to announce a second change. 3. Locked while active. They keep the rate as long as they don't cancel. If they leave and come back, they pay the current price. Option 3 is the most common, and it has a nice side effect: members think twice before cancelling, because they'd lose their rate. Check how Skool handles a member who cancels and rejoins, so you know what price they'd pay. The math of grandfathering Say you have 80 founding members at $29 and you're raising to $49 for new members. Grandfathering means you give up $20 a month per founder, or $1,600 a month, compared to moving everyone up. But compare that to the alternative. If you move everyone to $49 and 25 founders cancel, you'd have 55 at $49, or $2,695, versus 80 at $29, or $2,320. You'd gain $375 a month and lose 25 of your most loyal members. Founders tend to be your most active posters. Losing them costs more than the math shows. To see what a long-staying member is really worth, use how to calculate lifetime value for a paid Skool community

To raise prices in a Skool community without losing members, give at least 30 days' notice, explain what members now get that they didn't before, and protect your current members with a locked rate or a grace window. Most cancellations after a price increase come from surprise, not from the new number. People expect prices to go up as a community grows. What they don't accept is feeling tricked. Here's a process that keeps the trust intact. Step 1: Check the mechanics first Before you announce anything, confirm in Skool what a price change does to existing subscriptions, so your announcement matches what actually happens to people's billing. The worst version of a price increase is promising members one thing and having their card charged another. Step 2: Decide who the new price applies to You have three options: • New members only. Current members keep their price. Lowest risk, slower revenue gain. • Everyone, with notice. Current members move up after a set date. Faster gain, more cancellations. • Everyone, with a choice. Current members can lock their old rate by switching to annual before the deadline, or move to the new monthly price. For most communities, new members only is the right first move. It rewards loyalty and gives you a selling point: "Join now before the price goes up." Step 3: Run the numbers Say you have 150 members at $39 a month, or $5,850. You raise to $59 for everyone and 15 people cancel. You now have 135 members paying $7,965. Even with 10% leaving, revenue went up by about $2,100 a month. Now the other side: if 40 people cancel, you'd have 110 members at $59, or $6,490. Still up, but you also lost 40 people who posted, commented and made the feed worth visiting. Revenue isn't the only thing that drops. Step 4: Explain the why Your announcement should answer three questions: what's changing, when, and why it's worth it. Keep it short and specific: "Starting next month, the price for new members goes from $39 to $59. Since we started, we've added weekly hot seats, two new courses and the template library. If you're already a member, your price stays at $39 as long as you stay subscribed. Thank you for being here early."