The Membership Stack for 2025: Run a 6-Figure Community on Skool

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You don’t need 12 tools and a duct-taped Zapier monster to hit six figures with a membership. You need one clean home for community, courses, calls, and checkout—and a simple, repeatable operating system. Skool gives you the platform; this post gives you the stack. 👉 Start your Skool community now.

Why “tool soup” quietly kills your membership margins

You’ve felt it. One app for the group. Another for courses. Calendars somewhere else. Stripe in the middle. DM chaos on top.

Every switch costs attention. Every missing login costs a member. Every manual task burns your time (the one resource you can’t buy back).

Six-figure memberships run on rhythm, not chaos. So let’s replace the pile of tools with a lean Skool-first stack and clear, weekly habits.

The Skool-first membership stack (designer’s cut)

This is the full stack I recommend for creators, coaches, and community-led programs. Start with Core, add Nice-to-haves later. Keep it light until the numbers say “add.”

Core (Day 1)

Skool Community & Classroom – Threads, courses, events, leaderboards in one place.

Skool Payments – Native checkout + subscriptions; weekly payouts to your bank via Stripe Express.

Email list (lightweight) – Any ESP just for announcements and retention (even basic works).

Recording tool – Zoom/Meet/StreamYard for live calls; upload replays to Skool.

Nice-to-haves (Month 2+)

Booking – If you offer 1:1s, use a simple scheduler.

Automation – A few key webhooks or Zaps (welcome emails, churn surveys).

Analytics – Track MRR, churn, activation (a simple sheet beats “no data”).

That’s it. Four essentials, three optional. The platform is Skool. The product is your promise. The process is your weekly rhythm.

👉 Ready to build on one platform? Open your Skool in minutes.

Pricing reality in 2025 (so you don’t guess)

Skool keeps pricing simple:

Hobby — $9/month: all core features, unlimited members/courses, 1 admin, 10% + $0.30 per transaction.

Pro — $99/month: all core features, unlimited admins, 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (with tiering on high-ticket).

Payouts: weekly to your bank via Stripe Express (first payout takes longer for checks; then it’s weekly).

Grandfathering: change your public price any time; existing members keep their original rate unless they leave and rejoin.

Start on Hobby to validate. When fee savings beat the extra $90, switch to Pro. (Math in a sec.)

Hobby vs. Pro: when to upgrade (clean math)

Example @ $19/month:

Hobby fee: 10% + $0.30 → take-home ≈ $16.80

Pro fee: 2.9% + $0.30 → take-home ≈ $18.14

At 100 members, that’s $1,680 vs $1,814. Pro nets +$134/month. Subtract $90 plan delta → +$44/month ahead.

If you sell >$901 one-time offers, Pro’s rates matter even more.

Rule of thumb: if your Pro fee savings ≥ $90/month, upgrade.

The 6-Figure Membership OS (the weekly rhythm)

Six figures is boring when you build it like this. Boring is good.

Weekly cadence

One live event (training/Q&A/office hours)

One ritual thread (Wins Wednesday, Ship-It Saturday)

One lesson drop (5–12 minutes; one idea, one action)

Leaderboards shout-outs (status fuels return visits)

DM 10 members (churn-catching by conversation)

Monthly cadence

One challenge (7 or 14 days)

One guest session (borrowed authority)

Pricing check (is demand > supply? raise $5–$10 for new joins)

Offer audit (is the promise still the promise?)

Everything runs inside Skool—events, threads, classroom, replays, and the game layer (points/levels). Less flipping. More showing up.

The Membership Stack—component by component

1) Promise (you can say in one breath)

“We help [WHO] get [RESULT] using [METHOD] in [TIMEFRAME].”

Examples:

“We help indie devs land their first 100 customers with no ads in 90 days.”

“We help guitarists nail 5 staple solos using a 20-minute daily loop.”

If you can’t say it in one breath, you can’t sell it in one page. Your promise drives price, content, and community rituals.

Action: Write yours. Pin it. Repeat it. Everything else hangs off this line.

2) Onboarding (the first 7 days)

Skool makes the mechanics easy. Your job is the path.

Inside your Skool:

Start Here classroom → 3 lessons:

How we win here (promise + norms)

Your first hour (one setup task)

Your first win (one micro-project with a checkmark)

Pinned threads: Start Here, Wins, Office Hours signup

Event: “Orientation Call”—run it live weekly for new cohorts

Auto-welcome post: short video + “comment with your goal this month”

Goal: member gets a visible win in 72 hours. That’s retention.

3) Content (short, useful, scoped)

Course strategy:

One Core Path (8–12 lessons, 5–12 minutes each)

Two Side Quests (templates, checklists, swipe files)

Replay Vault (trim the fluff, label by outcome)

Less Netflix, more “do this today.” Upload everything to Skool’s classroom so the value lives where the people live.

4) Community (threads that move people)

High-signal beats high-volume.

Thread templates:

Wins (weekly) — dopamine hits + social proof

Office Hours Questions (weekly) — collect topics before the call

Teardowns (biweekly) — member submits asset, you review

Accountability Pods (monthly) — opt-in cohorts, one rule: post progress

Add leaderboards and levels so progress is visible. That one piece keeps lurkers returning until they become contributors.

5) Events (one anchor, one bonus)

You don’t need five calls. You need one call they won’t miss.

Anchor call — same day/time every week (Q&A or hot seats)

Bonus slot — guest or focused training 1–2×/month

Publish events on Skool’s calendar; replay hits the classroom within 24 hours.

Rituals build habit. Habits drive retention.

6) Payments & pricing (simple beats clever)

Starting price: clean monthly (e.g., $19, $29, or $49).

Founding offer: first 50 seats get today’s price forever.

Grandfathering: raise price for new members as value stacks; existing members keep theirs.

One-time add-ons: audits, VIP days, or a 6-week cohort—collect via Skool checkout.

You can change the public price in minutes. If someone needs the new price, they leave and rejoin—points/progress carry over on rejoin. You don’t need spreadsheets and headaches.

7) Growth loops (compounding without ads)

You don’t need to “go viral.” You need 3 loops that never stop running.

Member → Win → Share

Screenshot and celebrate wins in-community.

Ask members to share clips (blur private details).

New joins see proof. Proof sells.

Event → Replay → Snippet

Cut 30–60s clips.

Post snippets wherever you are (YouTube/IG/LinkedIn).

CTA = join the next call inside Skool.

Challenge → Results → Case Study

7-day sprints (simple tasks).

Publish 3 case studies after each sprint.

Pin them in your classroom and sales page.

Run these loops forever. That’s how you fill a membership without a big ad budget.

The “Simple Stack” checklist (print this)

Platform

Skool group created (community + classroom + payments)

Public price set (founder price locked)

Payouts connected (Stripe Express)

Product

One-breath promise written

Core Path (8–12 lessons) published

Orientation call scheduled weekly

Community

Pinned: Start Here, Wins, Office Hours, Rules

First 4 weeks of prompts drafted

Leaderboards visible; levels named

Growth

7-day challenge outline ready

Snippet workflow set (clips → posts)

Referral post template (members invite a friend)

Numbers

Weekly retention check (attendance, active members)

Monthly price review (demand > supply?)

Break-even on Pro plan calculated

Tape this above your desk. Run it until it’s boring. Boring pays.

Money math: revenue, fees, and plan break-even

Use these to sanity-check your pricing.

Price	Hobby take-home	Pro take-home	Difference
$9/mo	~$7.80	~$8.40	+$0.60
$19/mo	~$16.80	~$18.14	+$1.34
$49/mo	~$43.80	~$47.28	+$3.48
$99/mo	~$88.20	~$95.83	+$7.63

When to go Pro: Multiply the “Difference” by your member count. If it’s ≥ $90, Pro pays for itself and then some.

High-ticket note: If you sell one-time payments around or above $901, Pro’s payment tiers improve your net even more. That’s your green light to move up faster.

30-day launch plan (ship the MVP, not the museum)

Week 1 — Define + Build

Write the promise, pick the name.

Create Skool group (community + classroom + events + price).

Record the 3-lesson Start Here and 3 Core Path lessons.

Schedule your first 4 weekly calls.

Week 2 — Seed + Show

Invite 20–30 warm people.

Post the welcome video and Wins thread.

Run Orientation (record it).

DM personally: “You’re in the first 50—keep this rate for life.”

Week 3 — Proof + Offer

Share 3 wins.

Open 7-day challenge (simple, one outcome).

Post snippets to socials (clip from Orientation).

Offer founding price ends at 50 members or Friday (whichever first).

Week 4 — Tune + Raise

Ship 2 more Core Path lessons.

Survey new members (one question: “What nearly stopped you joining?”).

If you’re at 40–60% of goal and engagement is high, raise price $5–$10 for new members only.

Announce next month’s guest.

Keep the scope sane. You can always add more later. Launch now, learn in public, iterate.

Common traps (and how to dodge them)

Overbuilding content. Members don’t want a library; they want a ladder.

Five pricing tiers. Confusion kills conversion. One public price is plenty.

Three different communities. Fragmentation kills engagement. Keep one home.

Irregular events. If the time changes weekly, you just taught people not to show up.

No scoreboard. If progress isn’t visible, it doesn’t exist. Use levels + leaderboards.

Why Skool as the hub (not “just another tool”)

Unified UX → fewer clicks, more action.

Game layer → built-in habit loop.

Events + classroom → live and leverage in one place.

Native payments → no duct tape, weekly payouts.

Simple plans → start at $9, upgrade when your math says so.

You don’t need perfect funnels. You need a home people return to.

👉 Make it real: Create your Skool community today.

FAQs

What’s the fastest way to 100 paying members?

A clean promise, one weekly call, a short Core Path, and a 7-day challenge you run every month. Keep price simple ($19–$49). Post wins relentlessly.

Do I start on the $9 Hobby plan or go Pro?

Start Hobby to validate. When your monthly fee savings with Pro’s lower rates are ≥ $90, switch. If you sell high-ticket, you’ll likely move sooner.

Can I change my price later?

Yes. Update the public price in seconds. Existing members are grandfathered (they keep their price). If someone should be on the new price, they leave and rejoin—progress carries over on rejoin.

How do payouts work?

Connect payouts once (Stripe Express). First payout takes longer due to checks; after that, payouts go out weekly to your bank in your local currency (timing varies by country/bank).

What should I put in the classroom?

A short Start Here, one Core Path (8–12 lessons), and your replay vault. Add templates/checklists as Side Quests.

How do I keep engagement high without living online?

One anchor event at a fixed time, one ritual thread, a weekly lesson drop, and leaderboards shout-outs. That rhythm beats volume every time.

How do I handle 1:1s or VIP access?

Offer them as add-ons. Use your scheduler + Skool checkout. Keep the core membership clean.

Sources

Skool pricing page: Hobby $9/month, Pro $99/month; plan features and transaction fees; competitive fee comparison. Skool

Skool Payments FAQ: fee examples, payout handling via Stripe Express. Skool Help Center

Payout setup and timing (Stripe Express in Skool; first payout window; weekly cadence). Skool Help Center

Changing subscription price / grandfathering behavior. Skool Help Center

Educate article summarizing $9 Hobby vs $99 Pro (context and comparisons). Skool

Membership Stack: Everything You Need to Run a 6-Figure Community on Skool