🚨 Newbies Skool Toolkit (21 Steps to Success)

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Oct 13 (edited) • Communities

I’m writing this as if I’m right here with you, because being online can feel cold, lonely, and sometimes isolating, especially when you’re starting something new.

So join us here 🌱 Growth Squad Heroes

Why Skool?

Because Skool combines community, classroom, and calendar in one. Unlike Facebook Groups, LinkedIn, or Discord, Skool lets you keep your content and community in one place, create a focused distraction-free experience, use gamification and engagement tools, and get paid easily with Stripe.

Payments are processed until Wednesday, with payouts occurring on Monday, except for bank holidays, in which case payments will be cleared on Tuesday.

These steps are me walking you through Skool side by side, showing you what to press, why it matters, and how to set yourself up for success.

Think of me as one of your many mentors here in Skoolers not just giving you steps, but making sure you feel supported while you build your community.

⚠️ Avoid cold DMs. You’re limited to 10 cold messages a week, so don’t waste them. Let Skoolers organically want to follow you or ask for more information; this is how trust is built.

Don’t just join groups to pitch or convince members to join your group. Instead, engage genuinely, add value, and people will naturally check you out.

🔌 Get plugged into the source. Complete the Skoolers classroom, regularly check what’s new, help others as you learn and progress, and always give back more than you take.

Step 1

Enroll in the Skool classroom. I wish I had done this sooner I’m here regularly now. There aren’t many tutorials on YouTube, and the few available are pretty poor.

For example, I once searched for how to create a course and add a video.

The tutorial I found made it look super difficult—30 minutes of my life gone. Instead, head into the Skool classroom.

Here's how to in less than 5mins!

To add videos in your Skool classroom go to your group → click “Classroom” → either create a new module or open one you already have → hit “Add Lesson.” Give it a title, then just paste your YouTube, Vimeo, or Loom link—Skool auto-embeds it.

If you’ve got multiple videos, just add them one by one in new lessons it keeps things clean and organized. You can also add written notes, links, or resources under the video to guide people through the lesson.

Once done, hit publish followed by save, and it’s live in your classroom ready for the members you select to have access.

Step 2

Let’s get the party started! Consider inviting 50 to 100 people who already love what you do or who share your passion absolutely free.

Founding Members play a vital role in shaping your community’s atmosphere and guiding its direction.

Before you invite even one person, write your welcome post and pin it. Write it as if 1,000 people are already waiting for you. Why? Because people follow your energy. If you come in half-hearted, they’ll feel it. Set the tone from day one.

When you do invite, decide:

🔥Free group = audience/tribe building.

🔥Paid group = you’ll need Stripe.

🔥Hidden/invite-only group = VIP mastermind vibes.

Pick the one that matches your goals.

Step 3

Dedicate a time every day where you’re not distracted, and direct all your energy into your group. I left Facebook, which I’d been on since day one. Remember: where your attention goes, your energy flows. Time is your currency use it wisely.

Your group needs you to be active remember to like post and comments and leave more than a gif response, because engagement flows back to you. It’s the law of attraction.

Zero tolerance I coined...means dont leave no community members on zero likes or comments in your community!!

Step 4

Your dashboard is your control room. From here, you can see your members, activity, posts, leaderboards, and analytics.

Get familiar with this early it helps you track what’s happening and where you need more focus.

Step 5

Invite members via email or link. Skool gives you the option of free, paid, or hidden/invite-only communities.

✅️ Free is great for growing a tribe.

✅️ Paid requires Stripe.

✅️ Hidden or invite-only is best for masterminds and exclusive groups.

Step 6

About page is your landing page.

This is what shows up in external search engines like google, explorer, firefox, so make the most of your 1,000-character limit.

Use strong keywords and a clear description. This is often the only thing converting visitors into members if you don’t have a website or funnel.

Step 7

General page is what shows up in Skool Discover. Make the most of your 150-character limit. Use strong keywords and a clear description.

In the absence of a website or sales funnel, this is frequently the primary mechanism for converting visitors into members.

Payouts are handled by Stripe, and everything is automatic. Members pay through Skool, and Stripe deposits directly to your bank account weekly payouts.

Step 8

Choose your plan:

🚀$9 Hobby Plan: Solo admin, 10% + 30c /transaction for all transactions

Example: If you set your membership price to $9/month, after fees the payout amount would be $7.8/month.

🚀$99 Pro Plan: Add team members, co-creators, or moderators. Includes auto DMs and advanced settings.

2.9% + 30c /transaction for transactions under $900 USD.

3.9% + 30c /transaction for transactions above $901 USD.

Skool is cheaper than Stripe, since Stripe hits you with an extra 1.5% for international cards and 0.5% for subscriptions. Most folks who switch from Stripe to Skool save about 1-2%.

Example: If you set your membership price to $9/month, after fees the payout amount would be $8.4/month. And say, if your price is set to $999, after fees the payout amount would be $959.74.

Skool Payments FAQs

https://help.skool.com/article/86-subscriptions-faq

Step 9

You can charge your members whatever you want through SKOOL, which means your first paying member can cover your Pro cost.

Step 10

Consider inviting your friends and colleagues?

Skool has an affiliate program. You earn 40% monthly recurring commission for anyone you bring onto Skool that’s $39.60/month per referral, as long as they stay active.

Step 11

In group settings, turn on plugins. Switch on membership questions (highly recommended, now available even for paid members).

This information is intended to aid in the assessment of suitability for your community.

Example questions:

1) How did you find the community? (multiple choice) This helps you determine the effectiveness of your marketing endeavors, from paid traffic to organic sources.

2) Are you on Skool? (Yes/No/Thinking about it)

3) What’s your Skool profile?

Step 12

Turn on auto DM for new members (Pro feature). Send a short, warm welcome with no pitch to break the ice and start building rapport.

Hint add the url to connect them to your community welcome post 📫 (Use tiny Url or similar)

Example:

Hello Skoolbie

Welcome to Newbies Skool Toolkit, your GO 2 for Skoolers. This isn’t just another group it’s a learning lab, a space to share, test, and grow together while mastering the platform that drives real passion. Tiny URL

See you inside, Skoolbie!

Step 13

Unlock chat at level 2 or 3 if you’re running a free group this avoids spam and prevents people from harvesting your members.

🚫Turn off instant membership approval for free groups so you stay in control.

Step 14

Use tabs wisely:

📝Classroom: Optional but powerful for courses and offers.

🔧Calendar: Highly recommended for events, Zoom calls, and lives.

🔧Map: Optional but great for local connections.

Step 15

Create categories to encourage participation, and let members suggest new ones.

For example, one member asked for a quote of the day category.

Polls are also powerful for testing what people want. The more voices, the stronger the community.

Step 16

Rules aren’t compulsory, but I recommend them.

Set rules, even if they’re simple. I recommend you consider utilizing polls to engage your founding members immediately? This encourages natural engagement.

Step 17

Discovery is where Skool ranks your group. Keep track of your ranking and make sure you’re listed in the right category.

Should you find that your community is not yet listed, please allow a few hours for the algorithm to register it.

Example: On May 4th NO RANKING! May 5th we ranked #7700. By May 12, we hit #2256. Four weeks later, we broke through to #846.

If you are not satisfied with your category, kindly contact support via [email protected]; their response time is remarkably swift, the fastest I have encountered on any social media platform.

Here are all the categories https://www.skool.com/discovery

Example: I was not happy with being listed under money, support response

Hi Andrew,

I'm so sorry, but it looks like your community focuses on helping others grow their brand and turn their voice into impact and income. However, since there is a financial claim involved, it cannot be categorized as Personal Development.

We can either leave it as is under the money category, or you'll need to remove any financial promises from the community's About page, descriptions, courses, etc., for it to be considered a true personal development community.

If you have any questions or need further clarification, please feel free to ask! I’m here to help.

Best,

Erika

How to rank higher, be an active owner. Use high-quality photos, videos, and artwork on your About page.

Engage properly in comments (avoid short, closed responses). Instead of just adding GIFs, respond with a video or audio of you responding answering the question or giving futher information.

Step 18

Metrics = your group’s data hub. Track posts, engagement, member growth, leaderboard activity. Use this to see what’s working and where your energy should go.

Step 19

Billing is simple and handled through Skool and Stripe. You can manage subscriptions and upgrades from this payment screen.

Step 20

Leaderboards: There are 9 levels, and you can rename them. Make it fun! Poll your group to choose names so they get involved.

Skool is Gamified 🎮 by liking your members post and comments it helps them to level up.

This is how you help your community by leading by example and practice modeling this behaviour in every community not just yours.

Each Like = 1 Point (You dont get a point for liking your own post and comments)

Step 21

Don’t leave the calendar empty. Add events, even small ones it shows momentum. When live events are running, Skool adds a red clickable “Live” tab at the top of your group.

Use hashtags in post threads to hyperlink to your courses.

✨️Bonus apply to be Skool Ambassador if you love Skool why not get paid to share how you skool!! Here: Skool.com/apply

✅ Remember: The formula is simple.

Be consistent.

Go Live Via Skool Call.

Give more than you take.

Plug into the Skoolers classroom.

Engage.

Avoid spam.

Build trust.

Your Skool community will thrive if you treat it as a living space, not just a platform.

🌱 Growth Squad Heroes