I always thought Skool was a platform useful only for those with an existing audience. But over the past year, my perspective has completely changed. It turns out you can actually make good money on Skool, even without a big following.
I also realized that Skool isn’t just about creating communities and selling courses. It's so much more—a social media platform with a unique twist.
In this review, I’ll take you through my journey and how I came to these realizations.
My Initial Thoughts on Skool
It all started with the Skool Games.
Alex Hormozi had just become a co-owner and launched his own Skool community called Skool Games, where he coached everyone on how to make their first dollars online using Skool. It was the first time Alex put his personal brand on the line. In many ways, it was his first “ask” after years of giving golden advice for free.
But even this “ask” was him offering tons of value—for free. To join the Skool Games, you needed to create a Skool community (free for the first 14 days) and figure out how to generate monthly recurring revenue (MRR). Alex held weekly calls to help us with everything from crafting an offer to retention.
The “game” part was the leaderboard that tracked the top players. Whoever had the highest “new MRR” made it to the leaderboard, and the top 10 members won a chance to meet Alex in Las Vegas.
The inaugural month's leaderboard:
But I had a big problem with this: all of these guys had an existing audience elsewhere or had enough funds to spend on ads.
I’d always been an employee, never focusing on building my brand, and had virtually no audience, plus - I didn't have the money to spend on ads. I couldn’t even get three members into a free community!
I did meet people who were genuinely interested in helping me grow—the Skool Games community was incredible. Still, I came to the conclusion that Skool was only for those with an existing audience, and I quit after just two days.
My Skool Experience After One Week of Serious Use
Almost a year later, I found myself in a desperate situation. I had been laid off for months, and my freelance gigs were barely sustaining me. I needed something to work, and I was taking shots everywhere.
I was active on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Upwork, and Fiverr, hunting for opportunities. Then I thought: why not try Skool again?
Once again, I was struck by the people in it. Strangers were so kind and helpful, in stark contrast to platforms like LinkedIn or X.
Then Sam Ovens, the co-founder of Skool, announced the “Season of Madness.”
In this video, Sam explained a variety of monetization strategies, such as:
Community managers earning a fixed salary ($3,000/month)
Growth operators helping people launch communities and taking a percentage cut of all revenue
A copywriter winning the Skool Games and making $27,000 in monthly recurring revenue
It felt like a golden opportunity, and I decided to dive deeper into the Skool community.
Why Skool’s Community Is So Helpful
This time, I had a clear intent: I wanted to become a growth operator. I have a background in SaaS and copywriting, skills that could easily translate into becoming a Skool Growth Operator or at least a community manager.
I made my intent loud and clear in the comments, and I got a lot of help. Now, I’m working with my first client—more on that later! ;)
But what makes Skool’s community so helpful? Is this really where the best of humanity hangs out, or is there something else at play?
The credit goes to Skool’s algorithm and the gamification built into its communities. Every valuable interaction earns you points. Posts and comments gain points based on the likes they receive—but likes only come if your content adds real value.
Yes, the system can be misused by those trying to “farm engagement” with empty content, but with decent moderation, this is easily avoided. Moreover, bad actors lose their standing in the community over time.
In short, Skool has found a way to incentivize the best out of people. I’ll continue updating this review as I grow, so you get perspectives from different versions of me!
I started my own Community!
Just yesterday, I started my own Skool community. It only has around three members as of now, lol!
I treat the community forum as a place to log my learnings and findings. I'm also planning to create courses to help people like you get started with Skool.
It's a free community, and if you want to be a founding member, join now and unlock a Skool Growth 1:1 session with me. I’ll see you there!