Turn Your Free Facebook Group Into a Profitable Skool Community

Why moving off Facebook is the growth lever you’ve been missing

• You don’t own access. The feed chooses who sees your posts.

• No built-in monetization. You have to duct-tape payments, course hosting, and events across tools.

• Distraction kills depth. Notifications yank your members away the moment they arrive.

What you can (and can’t) take with you from Facebook

• Invite members to join your Skool via posts, pinned announcements, and DMs.

• Ask new join requests to leave an email using Facebook’s membership questions (so you can follow up later).

• Manually copy your best threads (or rewrite them better) into Skool’s categories.

• Export email addresses of existing group members from Facebook. There’s no official one-click export for groups; you need opt-in.

• Scrape data at scale without running into policy and account-risk issues.

The 14-Day Migration Sprint (copy/paste this plan)

Day 1–2: Prep your Skool “home”

• Create your Skool group (community + classroom + calendar + payments).

• Set one clear promise and name: “We help [WHO] get [RESULT] using [METHOD].”

• Publish a 3-lesson ‘Start Here’ mini-course: How we win here → Your first hour → Your first win.

• Schedule one weekly live call (same day/time every week).

• Price: start with monthly ($19–$49 works) or free + paid track. If you’re testing, the $9 Hobby plan is ideal.

Day 3–4: Seed with insiders

• DM your top 25–50 Facebook regulars: “We moved the good stuff to Skool. I’m saving you a founding spot.”

• Add your first deliverable (template, checklist, or short course) so there’s immediate value.

• Post a “Wins” thread and tag early members to share quick results.

Day 5–7: Public announcement in Facebook

• Pin a banner post: What’s moving, what’s inside Skool, and the date your FB group goes read-only (2–3 weeks out).

• Turn on membership questions for new requests: email + goal + consent.

• Run a 7-day challenge with daily prompts in Skool; mirror the daily nudge in Facebook with a CTA to join the full thread in Skool.

Day 8–10: Momentum & social proof

• Post clips from your first Skool call (blurring private info).

• Share screenshots of threads, wins, and the leaderboard (status sells).

• Offer a founding price for the first 50 members that join Skool (grandfather that rate forever).

Day 11–14: Consolidate

• Remind Facebook members about the read-only date.

• Move your best evergreen posts into Skool categories.

• On the switchover day, set Facebook to read-only with a final pinned CTA to Skool.

Pricing & plan math you can trust (so you don’t guess)

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

• Pro — $99/mo: all core features, unlimited admins, 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction on payments ≤ $900, 3.9% + $0.30 ≥ $901.

• Payouts: weekly to your bank via Stripe Express.

• Hobby take-home ≈ $16.80; Pro ≈ $18.14.

• At 100 members: $1,680 vs $1,814 → Pro nets +$134; minus $90 = +$44 ahead. That’s your switch signal.

The Skool setup that makes your community “stick”

• Categories that mirror your promise (e.g., “Start Here,” “Wins,” “Office Hours,” “Teardowns,” “Resources”).

• Pinned prompts: weekly Wins thread, Office Hours Questions.

• Leaderboards & levels on—status drives return visits.

• One Core Path (8–12 short lessons) plus 2–3 Side Quests (templates, scripts).

• Replay vault for your weekly call (trim the fluff, title by outcome).

• One anchor call same time every week; optional guest session 1–2×/month.

• Publish all events inside Skool; add replays to the classroom within 24 hours.

• Start with a clean monthly price.

• Add one-time purchases for audits, workshops, or cohorts later.

• Grandfather founding members as you raise price for new joins.

Offers that convert free members to paying members

1. Founders Circle (limited to first 50)
• Perks: lifetime price lock, private Q&A thread, early access to new courses.
• Price: your monthly rate at a $10–$20 discount vs. the public price.

2. Challenge → Program
• 7-day challenge inside Skool → upsell into a 6-week cohort or ongoing membership.

3. Deliverable First
• Sell a single outcome (template, system, or mini-course).
• Include community access for 30 days. Renewals happen because they stay for the people.

4. Event-Driven
• Run one flagship workshop monthly. Ticket includes 30 days in the community.
• Convert attendees with a “stick-around” member rate.

Ethical list-building from your Facebook Group (no policy drama)

• Use membership questions to ask for email + consent.

• Create a landing page (any ESP works) offering a lead magnet tied to your Skool community.

• Post a weekly ‘Resources’ thread with your lead magnet at the top.

• DM active members with a short, respectful note and a direct invite to Skool.

“Will I lose engagement?” Here’s how you keep it (and grow it)

• One ritual + one call + one lesson every week. Rhythm > volume.

• Tag new members into starter threads to create quick wins.

• Shout-out leaderboard climbers in a weekly post (and on calls).

• Ask specific questions (“Post your offer’s one-line promise below”) vs. vague prompts.

• Post replays fast with timestamps so members who miss live can still win.

Troubleshooting the migration

The 10-item migration checklist (print this)

FAQs

Sources

• Skool official pricing: Hobby $9/month (10% + $0.30), Pro $99/month (2.9% + $0.30 ≤ $900; 3.9% + $0.30 ≥ $901); plan features, unlimited members/courses, admin limits; lowest fee comparisons shown on pricing page. Skool

• Skool Help Center: pricing overview and plan selection/trial; Payments FAQs including fee tiers and payout cadence; leaderboards/levels feature; one-time purchases. Skool Help Center