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.

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I just interviewed Éva Raposa - Skool Games winner who built 366+ members and $30K+ MRR by refusing to follow guru formulas. Her approach? "Soul First CEO" - build your business around who you are, not what some 17-step system tells you to do. What Caught My Attention: → She won Skool Games WITHOUT cold DMs or aggressive pitches→ Built genuine loyalty - members tracked the leaderboard FOR her→ Her "missing tooth" experiment (yes, really) taught her authenticity > perfection→ Turned health crisis into $100K+ food coaching business using connection-first strategy Why This Matters for Monetisation: Most community owners copy tactics that don't fit their personality, then wonder why they burn out or fail to convert. Éva's path shows you CAN build sustainable revenue without feeling like a sleazy marketer. Her VIP tier ($99/month) filled naturally because members already trusted her authentic approach. Key Takeaway: Your monetisation strategy should match YOUR values and energy. If cold outreach drains you, don't do it. If you love deep conversations, build your revenue model around that. Watch the full interview: https://youtu.be/vlnfVVdnDNs Éva's Community: https://www.skool.com/connection/about?ref=c75adaa832e449d8b1ef463c22b1d8a9 Your Turn: What "guru tactic" have you tried that felt completely wrong for your personality? Drop it below - curious to hear what you've walked away from. --- 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

You've launched your Skool community. You've got the perfect niche. You've set up your classroom modules and started posting. But three months later, you're staring at zero revenue, members are leaving, and you're wondering what went wrong. Here's the brutal truth: Most Skool owners fail because they launch without a validated audience. They build elaborate courses, create engagement systems, and obsess over gamification—all before proving anyone will actually pay for their community. The statistics back this up: 98% of Skool communities make zero money, and average churn hits 28% in the first 90 days. The difference between the top 1% and everyone else isn't luck—it's launching with buyers, not browsers. In this post, you'll learn: • Why launching before validation kills Skool communities • The 5 interconnected mistakes that amplify this core error • Proven strategies top earners use to validate first, build second • How to fix a struggling community (even if you've already launched) The Core Mistake: Building Before Validating Most Skool owners treat community building like Field of Dreams: "If you build it, they will come." They spend weeks creating content, setting up forums, and perfecting their about page—only to launch to crickets. The validation gap looks like this: - No pre-launch audience to invite on Day 1 - No survey data proving people will pay - No test offers to gauge willingness to buy - No engagement history to indicate demand The result? You launch with zero momentum, struggle to hit 10 members, and burn out before you hit profitability. If you're starting your Skool community, validation isn't optional—it's the foundation of everything that follows. The top 1% of Skool owners do the opposite: they validate demand before writing a single classroom module. They build audiences on YouTube, newsletters, or free challenges. They test pricing with surveys. They presell memberships before the community even exists.