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EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Thomas is a YouTuber, podcaster, and author who helps people become more capable and productive. His main YouTube channel has nearly 2.5 million subscribers and more than 160 million views! 

In 2020, Thomas began producing a lot of content about how to use Notion, a popular project management and note-taking software. But instead of publishing those videos on his existing channel, Thomas created a SECOND channel called Thomas Frank Explains, which itself already has nearly 80K subscribers and almost 3 million views.

So in this episode, we talk about Thomas’s YouTube journey, why he built a second channel for his Notion content, how he’s thinking about short-form video like Shorts, and how intentional he is about all of the details that go into building his business.

Full transcript and show notes

Learn more about Thomas Frank

Subscribe to Thomas Frank on YouTube

Subscribe to Thomas Frank Explains on YouTube

Follow Thomas Frank on Twitter / Instagram

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TIMESTAMPS

00:17 - Today’s guest

01:01 - When Thomas took YouTube seriously

01:49 - Thomas’s early inspiration

02:38 - What we learn today

03:39 - YouTube vs Wistia

05:27 - Why don’t Thomas’s old videos suck?

06:36 - The “true” start of Thomas Frank

07:14 - Using Reddit to grow on YouTube

08:23 - Thomas goes viral

10:26 - What changed after the viral video?

11:41 - How Thomas was making money to focus on YouTube

12:32 - Thomas didn’t turn on AdSense until 100k subs

15:40 - Creator self-doubt

16:53 - Thomas’s approach to criticism

18:09 - What took 2200 subs to 2.5 million

19:25 - Importance of platform discoverability

21:35 - YouTube podcasts

22:15 - How does Thomas think about his business today?

23:13 - The Notion Arc

26:18 - AdSense + Brand Deals vs Direct Monetization

31:18 - Why make a second YouTube channel?

32:58 - What’s the plan for the main channel?

34:41 - How does the YouTube algorithm work?

36:50 - How to think about short form video

39:20 - Looking at content through the “Jobs to be done” framework

41:39 - Why Thomas makes everything FREE

45:45 - Thomas’s skillshare hack

48:50 - Team Thomas Frank

51:15 - Every creator should hire an editor sooner

52:20 - Art vs Ego

53:19 - What is currently frustrating Thomas Frank?

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RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE

→ #183: Thomas Frank

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