If you’re building a community or course on Skool, having an automated waitlist can be a total game-changer. It helps you collect leads, organize new members, and start nurturing them even before they join your paid community.
In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to set up a waitlist on Skool using Zapier and connect it to your CRM, email marketing, and Slack for easy lead management.
Let’s dive right in.
Why Build a Waitlist on Skool?
If you run a Skool community and want to control who gets in, a waitlist allows you to:
- Screen new members before they join
- Collect valuable lead information
- Start building relationships before they pay
- Automate the entire process so you’re not chasing down leads manually
And the best part? This process works no matter which CRM platform you’re using.
Step 1: Set Your Skool Pricing to Free
First, go into your Skool community settings and set the pricing to Free—even if your community is paid.
Why? Because Skool only allows membership questions (which collect lead info) for free communities.
- Go to Settings > Pricing
- Set the current price to Free
Step 2: Update the Community Label to Show It’s Paid
Even though your Skool pricing is set to free (to enable the membership questions), you still want people to know it’s a paid community.
Here’s how:
- Go to your About page
- Change the visible pricing label from Free to Paid
This keeps expectations clear and avoids confusing potential members.
Step 3: Turn on Membership Questions
Next, enable membership questions in Skool:
- Go to Plugins > Membership Questions
- Create questions to collect important details like:
- Email address (to send updates)
- Instagram handle (for direct outreach)
For example, I ask:
- “What’s the best email to notify you when you can join?”
- “What’s your Instagram handle?”
This info will feed directly into your CRM and marketing tools.
Step 4: Connect Skool to Zapier
Now, let’s automate everything using Zapier. Zapier will send the lead information from Skool to your CRM and other platforms.
- Go to Plugins > Zapier inside Skool
- Follow the steps to generate an API key and connect Skool to Zapier
If you’re new to Zapier, it’s a tool that moves data automatically between different apps.
Step 5: Create Zaps to Automate Your Lead Management
Here’s how I’ve set up my automation:
1. Send Leads to Asana
I created a Zap that sends every new waitlist signup into Asana where I track leads.
Zap setup:
- Trigger: New membership question answered on Skool
- Action: Create a task in Asana with:
- Name
- Instagram handle
- Submission date
This helps manage and track each lead in my pipeline.
2. Send Leads to Your Email CRM (Hubspot, Kit etc.)
I also send the lead information into Kit (formerly ConvertKit).
Zap setup:
- Trigger: New Skool waitlist signup
- Action: Add subscriber in Kit
- Name field → Name
- Email field → Email
- Instagram handle → Custom field
They automatically get added to my email list and receive my welcome email sequence.
3. Get Instant Slack Notifications
Finally, I set up a Zap to send a notification to Slack every time someone joins the waitlist.
- Trigger: New signup on Skool
- Action: Send message to Slack channel with the lead’s details
This gives me an instant alert so I can quickly DM them on Instagram and start the conversation while interest is fresh.
Why This Waitlist to Kit Automation Works
- Fast response times: I can DM leads within minutes after signup.
- Hands-off data collection: Everything flows into my CRM and email platform automatically.
- Better lead nurturing: Leads start receiving emails immediately, keeping them warm before they join.
Setting up this system helps me stay organized and convert leads into paid members faster.
Bonus Tip: Test Your CRM Automation
Before going live, always:
- Do a test signup on your Skool waitlist
- Make sure the data flows properly into your CRM, Slack, and email platform
- Check that all notifications and automations trigger correctly
Why You Should Build an Automated Waitlist on Skool
If you’re serious about growing your Skool community and want a system that saves time and closes more leads, this setup is a no-brainer.
You’ll be able to:
- Collect high-quality leads
- Nurture them automatically
- Convert faster without manual follow-ups
