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.

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.)

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.

Skool just shipped some game-changing features—and one community owner is proving you don't need 1,000 members to build something real. You can watch the video here - https://youtu.be/vI6dwkjHFwM?si=6fVlAlnHNmnQvoE_ Here's what matters for monetization-focused community owners: New Feature: Member Risk Score (Already Live) What it does: When you review membership requests, Skool now shows a "spam risk score" to flag potential bad actors before they join. Why this matters for monetization: Paid communities can't afford spammers tanking engagement or credibility. This auto-filter protects your member experience without requiring manual detective work on every signup. Coming soon: Auto-approve low-risk members, auto-decline high-risk ones, hold medium-risk for manual review. This solves the painful choice between time-consuming manual approvals or letting in occasional spammers. Roadmap Highlights (What's Coming) Traffic Sources Dashboard (Est. February Launch) This is massive for understanding what actually drives revenue. You'll see: - Where your about page visitors come from (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Skool network, etc.) - Conversion rates by traffic source (which platforms turn visitors into members) - Member-by-member tracking (see exactly how each person found you) - New MRR attribution (know which traffic source generated paying members) Why this is a big deal:Right now, you're guessing which promotional efforts work. Soon, you'll have data proving whether your YouTube videos, Instagram posts, or affiliate referrals actually convert. Optimize what works, cut what doesn't. Example from the video: Underwater Squad (breath-holding community, $3K/month, 70 members) gets 30% traffic from Instagram, 20% Facebook, 19% YouTube, 9% Skool network. That's actionable data you can double down on. Moderation Tools (In Progress) - SMS verification requirement: Force members to verify phone numbers before posting/commenting (limits multi-account spam) - Smart auto-approve: Auto-accept low-risk, auto-decline high-risk, manual review mid-tier - Better spam controls: Protect engagement quality in large communities

If you're running a free Skool community and wondering how to turn all that engagement into actual revenue, you're asking the right question at the right time. In 2026, top creators are building $10K-$335K/month businesses by starting free, delivering massive value, and strategically layering monetization—not the other way around. The mistake most community builders make is thinking "free" means "no money." The reality? A free community isn't "free forever"—it's a strategic asset that amplifies paid offers through value-first relationships. Creators like Julian Goldie run massive free groups (38,000+ members) that funnel into paid communities generating $88K/month. Others use freemium models to launch $20K revenue spikes in 12 hours. The mindset shift is critical: Your free community is the top of your funnel, not your business model. It builds trust, proves value, and creates warm audiences who are pre-sold on what you offer before you ever pitch. Free removes friction for growth. Paid captures the value you've created. This post reveals seven proven strategies to monetize free Skool communities without killing engagement or feeling sleazy. These aren't theoretical frameworks—they're tactical approaches I've tested in my own communities and watched top creators execute at scale. In this post, you'll learn: • How to use freemium tiers to convert 20-50% of free members to paid • The high-ticket upsell strategy that turns free communities into $1K+ coaching pipelines • Paid challenge frameworks generating $25K+ MRR from engaged free audiences • Affiliate and referral systems that create passive income streams • One-time course monetization that scales without recurring churn pressure • Partnership strategies for communities with 500+ members • The "free-to-paid" transition playbook that preserves engagement while adding revenue If you're ready to start your free Skool community and build the foundation for monetization, these seven strategies will show you exactly how to turn engagement into income.