Uploaded August 2022 | Updated September 2026, 7 hours ago
👉 Join our community for creators: join.creatorscience.com
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.
Episode webpage: https://creativeelemenst.fm/thomas-frank/
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Opening
00:17 - Today’s guest
01:01 - When Thomas took YouTube seriously
01:49 - Thomas’s early inspiration
02:38 - What we learn today
03:24 - Intro
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
14:15 - Listen to the audio podcast!
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
29:45 - Create your own community with Circle!
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?
54:12 - Outro
***
CONNECT WITH THOMAS
🌐 Website: thomasjfrank.com
🐦 Twitter: twitter.com/TomFrankly
📸 Instagram: instagram.com/TomFrankly
📹 YouTube: youtube.com/c/Thomasfrank
📹 YouTube: youtube.com/c/ThomasFrankExplains
***
CONNECT WITH JAY
🌐 Website: creatorscience.com
📬 Newsletter: creatorscience.com
🧰 Get our Toolbox: creatorscience.com/toolbox
🐦 Twitter: twitter.com/jayclouse
📸 Instagram: instagram.com/jayclouse
🎵 TikTok: tiktok.com/@jayclouse
💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jayclouse
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TEAM
Host + Producer // Jay Clouse: jayclouse.com/links
Editor // Conor Conaboy: twitter.com/conorconaboy
Audio Engineer // Nathan Todhunter: nathantodhunter.com
Thumbnail Artist // Neaux: twitter.com/NeauxArt
👉 Join our community for creators: join.creatorscience.com
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.
Episode webpage: https://creativeelemenst.fm/thomas-frank/
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Opening
00:17 - Today’s guest
01:01 - When Thomas took YouTube seriously
01:49 - Thomas’s early inspiration
02:38 - What we learn today
03:24 - Intro
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
14:15 - Listen to the audio podcast!
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
29:45 - Create your own community with Circle!
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?
54:12 - Outro
***
CONNECT WITH THOMAS
🌐 Website: thomasjfrank.com
🐦 Twitter: twitter.com/TomFrankly
📸 Instagram: instagram.com/TomFrankly
📹 YouTube: youtube.com/c/Thomasfrank
📹 YouTube: youtube.com/c/ThomasFrankExplains
***
CONNECT WITH JAY
🌐 Website: creatorscience.com
📬 Newsletter: creatorscience.com
🧰 Get our Toolbox: creatorscience.com/toolbox
🐦 Twitter: twitter.com/jayclouse
📸 Instagram: instagram.com/jayclouse
🎵 TikTok: tiktok.com/@jayclouse
💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jayclouse
***
🙏 GUEST REQUESTS & LISTENER QUESTIONS
https://creativeelements.fm/request
🏁 PAST EPISODES & STARTER PLAYLISTS
https://creativeelements.fm/episodes
https://creativeelements.fm/playlists
💼 SPONSORS
https://creativeelements.fm/sponsors/
💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
apple.co/3c6oN4g
🟢 Leave a rating on Spotify
spoti.fi/3c6xpYH
☕️ Buy Me A Coffee
buymeacoffee.com/jayclouse
***
TEAM
Host + Producer // Jay Clouse: jayclouse.com/links
Editor // Conor Conaboy: twitter.com/conorconaboy
Audio Engineer // Nathan Todhunter: nathantodhunter.com
Thumbnail Artist // Neaux: twitter.com/NeauxArt
