In this article, I present a review of Skool, the best online community for creatives (2024); it is also a fantastic site for artists, creatives, coaches, businesses, and more. Skool is a community and learning platform that I am really excited about. It is designed to help you monetize your skills and passion.
I am a landscape artist and content creator who helps artists overcome their challenges with their painting techniques. I created an Online Art School on Skool to help the artist achieve their creative goals.
I am so impressed with Skool that I felt compelled to write this blog post. I am a total Skool fanboy. I love the site and like what the CEO, Sam Ovens, and the team stand for. Most importantly, Skool has enabled me to create an engaged and thriving art community and allowed me to monetize my passion for painting.
What is Skool.com?
Skool is the ultimate community-building platform for creators, coaches, and businesses to create and manage online communities. It offers a range of features, including courses, various community-building tools, live events, and gamification to engage and connect with members.
With its easy-to-use and intuitive interface, Skool quickly becomes a top choice for building a thriving online community and monetizing your content.
Why I Created an Art Group on Skool
In 2020, I joined Patreon to create a community and provide an affordable way for my subscribers to access my in-depth painting tutorial videos. I was active on Patreon for many years but the more painting tutorials I made and the more time I spent on the platform, the more I began to experience annoyances that were becoming a real problem.
The main issues I was experiencing with Patreon was that the user interface was clunky, and my subscribers had difficulty finding older videos. Also, the engagement on Patreon was low, and the fees were high.
In 2023, I discovered Skool after I paid for a blogging course hosted on the site. Skool was so easy to use that I figured out how to use it within five minutes of being on the platform. My next thought was that Skool would be perfect for me to create an Online Art School to replace my Patreon community. Two months later, I created my own art school on Skool, and it was a game changer.
User-Friendly Interface
One of the main reasons I switched from Patreon to Skool was because of the user interface. Skool’s interface is clean, modern, and highly intuitive. It allows me to organize my content easily into different courses and lessons, making it much easier for my subscribers to find whatever online course they want. This has greatly improved their overall experience on my site.
Key Features of Skool
Skool utilizes six core features, which include the following:
Community
This is the first thing you will see when you join a group on Skool. The community section is where members can interact, ask questions, share their experiences, post images and videos, and more.
I encourage my community to share their artwork and ask questions. I also update my community on new painting tutorial videos and upcoming Zoom meetings, and I set painting challenges.
Classroom
One of the main core uses of Skool is to create courses and coaching programs. These course creators are all hosted in Skool’s ‘Classroom’ section.
Skool allows you to make unlimited courses or create multiple courses where you can embed video links, for example, from YouTube, Vimeo, or Loom. You can also upload other course materials and resources, such as photos, PDF documents, and links.
Calendar
Skool is all about an engaging online community, and one of the best ways to engage your members is to hang out with them over Zoom. This is where the calendar section comes in, as this is the place to show the times and dates of your Zoom meetings, YouTube livestreams, and other events.
The Calendar shows you the time and date of the meeting events in your time zone, so there is no confusion.
Leaderboard
The Leaderboard is part of Skool’s gamification boost engagement aspect, which I will explain in just a moment. The Leaderboard shows the most engaged subscribers in your community.
Members
This is where you will see all of the members of your community.
About
The About page is on display to the public. Skool allows you to upload images and videos to illustrate what your community is about so you can make an informed decision about whether you would like to join. You also have 1000 characters to write a description or sales copy about your group.
Community Building Capabilities
Skool is completely community-focused and aims to provide all the necessary tools for creating a thriving community. Since switching over from Patreon and joining Skool, my subscribers have become more engaged and active. Many discussions are going on in the community with many of my members sharing their artwork.
Skool’s Classroom Feature
When I was looking for an alternative to Patreon, I wanted to find a way to categorize all of the courses and painting tutorial videos I had made.
Skool’s Classroom feature was the perfect place for go to platform and I was able to categorize all of my videos with ease. My subscribers are happy because they can easily find the course they are looking for.
Gamification Experience: Learning Just Got Fun
This is one of the most unique features that Skool offers. Gamification refers to using game elements and design techniques in non-game contexts. In Skool, subscribers can earn points, badges, and ranks by completing tasks and participating in community discussions.
You can offer rewards and prizes and lock courses at certain levels to encourage engagement in your community. For example, I have a free Painters Hub community and locked some courses at certain levels. The members must engage in the group to unlock the courses and get points. This is done through other members liking your posts or comments.
Monetizing Your Content
Skool is all about making money from whatever you are passionate about; in my case, it is painting. You can create free and paid groups on Skool, and with its in-house payment processor, monetizing your content is easy.
My Online Art School hosted on Skool is a paid group, and I am charging a monthly subscription. I have also created a free group called Painters Hub, where I give away free content but use it as leads for my paid community.
You can set your own prices and charge whatever you want. If you don’t want to use Skool’s payment processor, you can use your own and then invite your customers to your community.
Expert Team: The Masterminds Behind Skool
Skool was created by Sam Ovens, an entrepreneur and business coach who has helped hundreds of businesses grow and scale. With his experience in creating successful online communities and frustration at using multiple tools to run a community, he saw a need for a community platform that combined all the necessary tools to manage communities in one place.
Sam Ovens designed the Skool platform to be user-friendly and efficient for community leaders to manage their members. They aim to help you save time and money while providing top-notch online community management features.
The Skool team also includes a dedicated group of developers, designers, and customer support specialists who work tirelessly to ensure that the platform is constantly improving and meeting the needs of its users. They are always open to feedback and suggestions from community leaders to make Skool the best it can be.
Skool Pricing Review
Skool charges a flat rate of $99 monthly per community. For this, you get access to all of Skool’s features. If you are unsure whether Skool is right for you, they offer a 14-day free trial so you can start building your community immediately.
Does Skool Have a Free Plan?
No, but Skool offers a 14-day free trial.
Skool vs Kajabi Comparison
Before I chose Skool to create my Online Art School, I looked at other platforms, including Kajabi. Kajabi has a starting price of $149/month for their basic plan and goes up to $399/month for their pro plan.
While they offer more features than Skool, the cost may be steep for those just starting out. With Skool’s flat rate of $99/month, you can save money while still having access to all the necessary tools to run a successful community.
On a personal note, I am a member of a community hosted on Kajabi. While the courses are easy to navigate and watch, the main annoyance for me is that the community is separate, and there is even a separate app for the Kajabi community members. Skool has one app with everything in it.
I am not saying that Kajabi is bad, but I generally don’t resonate with the platform, and it is expensive. Skool is simple, but it makes it easy to use and engages your community members more.
Skool vs Facebook Group
Many people chose to create free and paid communities or multiple groups using Facebook but there are many problems with this. First, Facebook does not provide all the necessary tools for community management. In fact, it can be quite difficult to keep track of members and engagement on a Facebook group.
Additionally, the platform is notorious for constantly changing its algorithms and making it more difficult for members to see content. This can greatly decrease engagement and limit the reach of important announcements or discussions within a community.
I have been in private Facebook groups, and quite often, there is little engagement. Also, there is a lot of noise and distractions on Facebook, whereas school is the opposite; it provides a clean and distraction-free environment for members to connect and engage with each other.
Skool vs Patreon
Whilst Patreon is a little different to Skool, the reason I have included it in this article is because I moved from Patreon over to Skool. Skool offers a better platform for building and engaging with your community.
One of the main differences between Skool and Patreon is the focus on community-building. While Patreon is primarily used for crowdfunding and supporting creators, Skool emphasizes creating a space for like-minded individuals to connect and grow together.
With features such as group discussions, live events, and member profiles, Skool provides a more interactive and personalized experience for community members than Patreon’s more transactional approach.
Patreon can be good if you are starting out; however, the platform charges you 8% plus fees. As you gain more subscribers and depending on how much you charge, that 8% quickly adds up. With Skool, however, it is a flat $99 monthly, no matter how many subscribers you have.
All up, the user experience of Skool is way better than Patreon, with the ability to organize online courses that Patreon doesn’t offer.
Skool’s Generous Affiliate Program
As if Skool couldn’t get any better, the icing on the cake is Skool’s affiliate program. Sam Ovens believes in the power of word-of-mouth marketing and wants to reward those who share Skool with others. Community leaders can earn a generous 40% recurring commission through their affiliate program for every new member they refer to Skool.
This is a great way to generate passive income and allows community leaders to expand their network and impact even more people by introducing them to the valuable educational resources, community-building tools, and support offered through Skool.
If you don’t have your own Skool community but are a member of a group hosted on Skool, i.e., you have a profile; you also get your own referral link.
Use My Referral Link, and I Will Personally Help You Build Your Skool Community for Free
Are you considering joining Skool but unsure how to start building your own network? Look no further! Use my referral link, and I will help you get started by sharing my tips and tricks for growing an engaged and active community on Skool.
As a fellow community leader, I understand the challenges of building and maintaining a vibrant community and successful group. I want to offer my support and expertise to help you grow your Skool community.
Use my link, then email me through my contact page, and I will help you.
How I Created an Online Art School on Skool
Skool is a perfect place for creating an artist community. As an artist myself, I struggled to find the right platform to share my knowledge and skills with others. That’s when I stumbled upon Skool and everything changed for me.
The first thing that caught my attention was the interactive features offered by Skool. With group discussions, live events, and member profiles, it felt like a real community where people could connect and learn from each other. This was something that Patreon, which I had been using before, lacked.
I have been able to organize all of my painting tutorial videos into categories, for example, Landscapes, Seascapes, Mountains, etc. I host weekly Zoom meetings for Q&As, painting critiques, and painting livestreams.
The community section is buzzing with discussions and tips on various painting techniques, art supplies, and even marketing strategies for artists. It’s amazing to see how supportive and knowledgeable the community members alike are, always willing to share their experiences and help each other grow.
The Skool Games
In January 2024, the entrepreneur Alex Hormozi, founder of GymLaunch and Acquisition.com, partnered with Sam Ovens to create The Skool Games.
The Skool Games is a fun opportunity for entrepreneurs to win coaching from Alex Hormozi in a monthly competition. It makes growing your online community a fun challenge and a great way to network with other entrepreneurs.
Conclusion: Skool – The Ultimate Community and Learning Platform For Creators
Skool is not just a learning platform; it is a community for entrepreneurs and creators to come together, learn from each other, and grow their businesses. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced entrepreneur, Skool offers valuable resources, a support team, and opportunities to help you reach your goals. So why wait? Join the Skool community today and take your business to new heights!
