#54 Stop Using Free Facebook Groups: Skool’s Better Lead Magnet for Online Course Creators

If your current audience-building plan still starts with “I’ll just open a free Facebook group,” this episode offers a thoughtful pause and a practical alternative.

Shannon Boyer breaks down why the free Facebook group model has lost much of its effectiveness, what’s shifted in the online landscape, and why more course creators are moving toward an ecosystem-based approach that reduces friction for both you and your students. You’ll also hear why Shannon—who resisted Skool for a long time—changed her mind after experiencing it from the student side, and how that experience reshaped how she thinks about lead magnets, community, and course delivery.

Rather than treating “community” as a separate add-on you have to constantly coax people into, this conversation explores a model where the community is the front door—and the course content lives right beside it.

In this conversation, you’ll hear Shannon unpack:

• What changed with Facebook groups, and why “dead group” fatigue is becoming the norm
• The hidden cost of building on rented land, especially when your business relies on consistent visibility and engagement
• Why the biggest issue is not reach, but friction (and how friction quietly kills follow-through)
• How Skool flips the traditional course platform model by making community the main dashboard and coursework the adjacent layer
• The freemium concept as a cleaner “front door” into paid programs, without pulling people across multiple platforms
• The specific features that make Skool feel more like a business hub than a content warehouse (including events, reminders, native video, and member-to-member interaction)
• The tradeoffs worth knowing before you switch platforms, including the limitations that may matter depending on how you sell

The Build Lab (Skool community)
Shannon’s community for course creators who want to build high-quality, high-impact courses that deliver real results.

You can start for $12/year, which includes:

• Access to the Validate Your Best Course mini-course
• A full year inside the Build Lab community
• The option to upgrade later if you want deeper support

Skool free trial + affiliate link
If you want to explore Skool for your own offers,  you can access a 14-day free trial here.

If you’ve been questioning where to host your course, how to build community without burning yourself out, or how to replace the old free Facebook group strategy with something more sustainable, this episode will give you a clearer framework for what to do next.

Get started on your own course creation journey or learn how to make your existing course even better at The "Your Best Course" Build Lab, my interactive and supportive online community.

To get started creating your own online course, check out my new freebie that will take you through the steps of choosing a topic that will be profitable for YOU.

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