How Richie Built a 2,200-Member Homeschool Mom Community

Richie knows what it’s like to feel alone in a house full of people.

Because when you start homeschooling, your whole life flips upside down:

• The kids are home all day, so you’re making three full meals instead of packing one lunch.
• The house is always a mess, but you still have to teach math and history in the middle of it.
• And somewhere in between, you’re supposed to keep your sanity.

Richie started Homeschool & Humor to help moms through that transition. She wanted to give them inspiration, encouragement, and a little lightheartedness.

But then COVID hit, and everything exploded.

Homeschooling rates jumped by an insane margin. We’re talking 800% more families trying to figure out how to teach fractions while the dog’s barking and the baby’s crying.

Suddenly, Richie’s inbox flooded with questions.

Facebook groups became chaotic because thousands of posts disappeared into the abyss as quickly as they came. And homeschool bloggers and curriculum creators wanted to help, but nobody could find each other.

That’s when Richie had her lightbulb moment. She would build a virtual summit, a place where homeschool moms, speakers, and sponsors could all gather in one spot without the distracting cat videos or political rants.

Now she runs 3 summits a year on GroupApp, and her last one drew 2,200 registrants.

Let me walk you through how she does it. Trust me, you’re going to want to steal every single idea.

The Problem With Facebook Groups Is That Facebook Exists

Richie learned this the hard way. She tried using Facebook groups for her summits, but:

• The algorithm kept hiding her posts.
• Attendees couldn’t find the workshop links.
• Speakers got lost in the noise.
• And worst of all, the platform itself was a giant distraction machine.

“Your attendees aren’t going to know where your stuff is,” she says. “They want it all right there in front of them.”

Plus, homeschool moms already feel isolated enough. They spend all day with little kids who don’t talk about adult things, and when they finally get a chance to connect with other moms, they’re often shy at first.

They need a space that feels safe, not a public feed where anyone can jump in and start drama.

Richie wanted a place where she could control the experience, broadcast important updates, and keep everything organized without fighting an algorithm. That’s why she jumped on GroupApp as soon as she saw it.

She also had a painful lesson about platforms that don’t deliver. At one point, she was running her free resource hub on a different system, but it was just a series of files with no visual organization. The library feature in GroupApp finally gave her a way to store replays, swag bags, feedback forms, and workshop binders.

So her first big takeaway is this: if you’re running a summit, stop trying to hack Facebook. It’s not a community platform. It’s a casino that occasionally shows your posts to people.

How Richie Builds a Summit That Doesn’t Feel Like Work

Here’s the part that blew my mind. Richie doesn’t scramble at the last minute because she prepares everything months in advance and then schedules it to run like clockwork.

She opens her community two to three weeks before the summit actually starts. 

That’s her early bird period. During those weeks, speakers and sponsors post in the main discussion channel to build excitement. They run little contests, share behind-the-scenes content, and get everyone used to checking the community every day.

She uses a “Start Here” channel that walks new members through everything

That includes how to change notifications, where to download the app, and a video tour of the space. She puts the same information inside the course area too, because she knows people will miss it no matter how many times she repeats it.

Then comes the Summit Kickoff Party.

This is pure genius. The night before the summit begins, Richie schedules a flurry of posts, about 45 of them over an hour and a half, each one spaced five minutes apart. Each post features a door prize, a giveaway, or a freebie from a speaker or sponsor.

One sponsor gave away a coaching program worth $629. Another offered a scavenger hunt printable. Attendees comment to enter, and suddenly the whole community is buzzing.

She goes live in the events area at the same time and directs everyone to the kickoff channel.

She reminds them to refresh their phones regularly to catch new posts. It’s like a virtual block party, and it works. Her second-highest conversion day is always either the day before the summit or the day it starts.

After the kickoff, the summit runs for four or five days.

Each day features keynote speakers, bonus live workshops, and morning welcomes. Speakers can come and go from a single live link all day, and attendees can just leave their browsers open to catch whoever is speaking.

At the end of each day, Richie chops up the videos and puts individual replays in the library for VIP pass holders.

Speaking of VIPs, Richie created an exclusive channel just for people who upgrade from the free summit. That channel offers VIP perks like discounts, free products, and sometimes an entire VIP Day with premium workshops, live panels, and giveaways all day long.

She also gives 5% of her summit proceeds to a charity that fights sex trafficking, so VIPs know their upgrade is doing real good.

The VIP bonuses are listed in a clean, scannable format, and each one expires after 30 days, so Richie can archive the channel later without worrying about broken links.

She also creates a separate channel for workshop binders, which are digital note‑taking organizers.

VIPs can buy them as an order bump, and about 80% of them do. She offers five versions: Trello, Airtable, Google Sheets, digital annotatable, and printable. Because homeschool moms love their paper planners as much as their iPads.

Finally, she uses the events area for everything.

Her last summit featured 32 separate events, including live workshops, keynote sessions, and a VIP panel. Each event has its own RSVP link, and because GroupApp controls access by membership level, free attendees can’t sneak into VIP events.

The beauty of this whole system is that Richie doesn’t answer the same question a hundred times. She doesn’t get pulled away from her family during summit week. She just watches the engagement roll in and thanks her past self for doing all the prep work.

The Playbook You Can Steal for Your Own Summit

Richie has run so many summits that she’s lost count, but here are the lessons she wants you to take.

1. Start with your goal before you build anything. 

Some summits exist to grow an email list. Others launch a paid product. Some are just about community building. Your goal will determine everything else, from your pricing to your content schedule to how you follow up afterward. Don’t skip this step.

2. Prepare at least 3 months in advance. 

Richie brainstorms everything, fleshes out the tasks, and schedules her posts long before summit week. This prevents the last-minute scramble that burns out most creators. When you rush, you make mistakes. When you plan, you sleep.

3. Use a single main discussion channel. 

Richie tried having separate channels for the summit and the community, but it confused people. Now she has one channel for everything. Speakers and sponsors post there, attendees comment there, and nobody gets lost.

4. Create a “Start Here” channel that answers every possible question. 

Include a video tour, written instructions for notifications, a link to download the app, and a clear explanation of what to expect. Then duplicate that information inside your course area. People will miss it the first time, so give them two chances.

5. Open your community two to three weeks early. 

This gives attendees time to get comfortable. Use those weeks to run engagement contests, introduce speakers, and build excitement. When summit week finally arrives, everyone already knows how to use the platform.

6. Throw a kickoff party the night before. 

Schedule posts every five minutes for an hour and a half. Each post should feature a giveaway, a freebie, or a door prize from a speaker or sponsor. Ask attendees to comment to enter. This floods the community with activity and sets a fun tone for the whole summit.

7. Use events for all your live sessions. 

Create separate events for keynote speakers, bonus workshops, and VIP panels. Set access levels so free attendees can’t crash VIP events. When someone RSVPs, they get the link immediately. No more “where’s the Zoom link?” texts five minutes before start time.

8. Store replays and resources in the library. 

Keep your course area clean by putting bonus workshops, feedback forms, swag bags, and other loose items in the library. Use permissions to hide VIP content from free members. And when something expires, just archive the channel or library item.

9. Give VIPs their own channel. 

This creates a sense of exclusivity and lets you post perks that don’t apply to free attendees. You can also set up a list view for VIP bonuses to make them easier to scan. Remember to set expiration dates on time‑sensitive offers.

10. Ask speakers and sponsors to be active in the community. 

Richie noticed that speakers who commented on posts and replied to attendees got way more engagement than those who just dropped a workshop link. So she now tells every speaker, “The number one thing I want you to do is be active in the community.” It makes attendees feel seen and builds trust that lasts beyond the summit.

11. Don’t be afraid to archive old content. 

After a summit ends, most of the channels become irrelevant. Archive them so new members don’t get confused. Keep only what’s still useful, like speaker introductions or evergreen resources.

12. Celebrate your attendees. 

Richie gives 5% of her proceeds to charity, and she uses VIP Day to thank her pass holders. Small gestures like these turn one‑time attendees into repeat customers who come back for every summit.

The Part Where She Almost Lost Her Mind (But Didn’t)

Running a summit sounds glamorous until you’re the one scheduling 45 posts at five‑minute intervals. Richie admits that it’s a lot of work, but she also says it’s worth it when she sees homeschool moms finally finding their people.

One of her favorite moments came when a VIP attendee realized she could access a premium workshop for free on VIP Day. The speaker normally charges $97 for that workshop, but she gave it away as a perk. The attendee was overjoyed. She left a long comment thanking everyone and said she finally felt like she wasn’t failing at homeschooling.

That’s the real magic of Richie’s approach. She doesn’t just sell access to videos. She builds a space where exhausted, isolated parents can breathe, laugh, and remember that they’re not alone. And she does it without burning herself out, because she built a system that does the heavy lifting.

She also learned that not every attendee will be active right away. Some lurk for weeks before posting. Some never post at all but send her heartfelt emails afterward. She doesn’t force anyone to participate. She just makes the space feel welcoming and lets them warm up at their own pace.

Throw Your Own Summit Party

You don’t need a huge audience or a big budget to do what Richie did. You just need a clear goal, a three‑month runway, and a platform that won’t bury your content in an algorithm.

Start by asking yourself one question: what problem do your people need to solve? Then build a summit that brings together the experts who can help them solve it.

When you’re ready to stop fighting Facebook groups and start hosting summits that feel like a party, see what GroupApp can do for you.