Thomas Frank
@TomFrankly
Building @FlylighterHQ and other tools for @NotionHQ. YouTuber (2.9m) & @WatchNebula co-founder. 💪 Less Friction = More Action.
$1 Million in Notion Template Sales
Sharing a milestone!
My team and I made $1 million selling @NotionHQ templates in a single year (Jan-Dec 2022).
Here's a look at:
- Our full income/expenses breakdown
- Traffic stats
- The apps and tools we use
- Marketing strategy
- How we'll grow in 2023
Yes, It's Easier Than Ever to Make a Living as a Creator
Loosely-held thought:
I truly believe it is easier than ever to make a living as a content creator.
However, the increased visibility of "content creator" as a job makes people THINK it's possible to do so in literally any niche or genre.
And that's just not always true.
A couple things lead to this over-confidence:
1) It's easier than ever to get started.
The gear is cheaper than ever, there are way more tools, and tutorials for literally everything are free.
2) You can point to examples of successful creators in nearly every niche.
How to Land Brand Deals: 7 Concepts You Must Know
In 2017 I landed my first brand deal on my YouTube channel.
Since then I've made:
- $1.2M+ in sponsorship income
- 150 sponsored videos
Here are 7 must-know concepts for landing brand deals and maximizing your income.
An entire business course in a single Twitter thread:
🧵
Here's what you'll learn:
- How to get brand deals (even if your channel is small)
- How to keep brands coming back (sustainable income)
- How to increase your sponsor rate
- How brand deals are REALLY priced behind the scenes
- How to not get screwed (unlike most creators)
Practice > Learning > Gear
There are 3 ways to make progress in anything:
1. Buy new gear.
2. Learn academically through books, courses, etc.
3. Spend time in deliberate practice.
In order of importance:
Practice > Learning >>>>> Gear
So many people get stuck on Gear or Learning.
"I can't start until I have a better camera."
"I just need to take one more course."
"I'm too scared that I'll mess up."
They fail to realize that practice is the school of life, and a lack of gear is a useful constraint.
9 Apps and Tools I Use to Make Better Content
8 apps and tools I use to make better content that gets more views & subscribers:
1. HeadlineStudio by @CoSchedule
2. ThumbsUp.tv by @standardshows
3. @ahrefs
4. @typefully
5. Creator's Companion
6. SnagIt
7. Handbrake
8. @StoryblocksCo
Here's how I use each 👇
9 Tools I Use to Sell Digital Products
9 tools I use to sell digital products (currently making $2k-$3k/day):
Group 1 - Marketing/Sales Tools:
- @NotionHQ - product, onboarding
- @Gumroad - payments
- WordPress w/ @elemntor - landing page, website, blog
- @ConvertKit - email marketing
- @testimonialto - testimonials
Group 2 - Customer Experience Tools:
- @circleapp - support community
- @HelpkitHQ - help docs
- @YouTube - video tutorials
- @zapier - automations
Most of these have free plans/features, except HelpKit, Circle, and WordPress (requires self-hosting to use Elementor).
Pick One Niche
So many people want both:
1. The freedom to jump back and forth between multiple interests and niches
2. A large audience that pays attention to them
I'm here to tell you: Pick one.
People only pay attention to the exceptional, and you can't be exceptional without focus.
You don't have to stick to the same niche for the rest of your life.
But if you're trying to build an audience and don't currently have one, pick one niche and stick to it for at least a year or two.
Building an exceptional body of work takes time.