If you're in the productivity space, you've probably heard of Thomas Frank. Thomas went from shilling his self-built, bondage-esque college desk setup on collegeinfogeek.com to becoming one of the most respected players in the creator economy. Today, Thomas bags hundreds of thousands of dollars per month from selling Notion templates. A crazy evolution, which is second only to the evolution of his haircut. Either way, this guy is winning on all fronts.

Does the idea of selling Notion templates, racking in thousands of dollars a month sounds bizarre to you? Well, you have yet to learn the power of community, especially that of Thomas Frank’s.

Let’s have a closer look on how Thomas Frank built one of the most engaged communities in the productivity space.

Passion Mashing

If you’re an avid reader of The Community Lab, you’ve already seen our Greg Isenberg case study, which emphasises Greg’s commitment to finding superniches. Here’s what Greg means: Take two separate niches (i.e. super specific fractions of larger markets) and bundle them together. Et voilà, you’ve got a superniche. In Greg’s case, the two niches are user-friendly AI models and creator productivity, and the superniche is AI-powered productivity (both user-friendly and targeted at creators).

Thomas’ philosophy is different. One of his key strategies is "Passion Mashing." While mashing sounds suspiciously similar to mashing together two niches to form a superniche, the concept is a bit different. Passion Mashing encourages you to have one niche to which you add quirky and personal elements when conveying your ideas/telling your story. Similar to Greg, Thomas’ niche is creator productivity. Unlike Greg, Thomas mashes his niche with his own flavour and spice, by sharing personal experiences, passions, and hobbies. As a result, he intrigues is audience and becomes a more relatable character. So, what does this look like? As mentioned, Thomas’ niche is creator productivity, and some of his frequently discussed passion(s) are lifting, anime, anti-minimalism, and (a lockdown-induced obsession with) rollerblading.

Certainly, all these passions won’t resonate with everyone in his audience. But, those who resonate with Thomas’ hobbies automatically build a much deeper connection with what he has to say. For example, our whole team avidly lifts weights and exercises; when we stumbled upon Thomas’ weightlifting content, we were automatically drawn closer. Naturally, we combed through his Instagram in a bit more detail than we usually would (when we’d check out creators and what they can teach us about productivity). As fellow weightlifters, we now feel like Thomas is one of us. Thomas can now post whatever he wants and we’ll be intrigued. It’s simple, you stick by your buddies.

Don’t worry if your hobbies don’t appeal to (m)any. More importantly, don’t try to pretend to be passionate about things you aren’t. Passions and hobbies are strange, yet people generally tend to admire those who are truly themselves. Share whatever brings you joy, and whoever is listening will likely appreciate your authenticity and enthusiasm. More importantly, they will see you as a human, rather than a character on a screen trying to sell them Notion templates. Also, if you’re passionate about a few things, chances are that some of them will stick with someone.

Adapting Revenue Streams

The lesson here is simple: don’t be dogmatic. Thomas didn't always make a fortune from selling Notion templates (shock!). Some of his first online-generated revenue came from sponsorships in his videos and YouTube ads. Based on our calculations, Thomas was making some big cheese as well, his YouTube videos have millions of views. And yet, to the fortune of all Notion nerds out there, Thomas realized that there was an opportunity to provide more value by shipping out Notion templates.

In 2018, Thomas started a new YouTube channel called Thomas Frank Explains. Imagine making thousands in sponsorships and deciding to start from zero; absolutely wild. Thomas’ new YouTube channel is dedicated to high-quality videos around the Notion space. A big gamble, which paid off massively. Thomas is now delivering much more value to his audience via his Notion templates and explainer videos, and his audience is willing to spend top dollar on these templates, because these templates will make their lives easier. Are you starting to see the big between Thomas Frank who got paid sponsorship money for ads and Thomas Frank who makes top dollar by selling directly to his audience? The difference is basically the following.

Path #1: Make videos that people like to watch and get paid by sponsors for showing their ads. Admittedly, the companies paying you for the sponsorship have done their research and have found that your audience is also their target audience. Still, you are getting paid to shove some company’s sh!t product down your audience’s throat.

Path #2: Build incredible products. Indirectly advertise them by demonstrating to your audience the value that are creating and the problems you are solving. Get paid by your audience because you have built something for them, which actually improves their lives.

To each their own, but we’d take path #2 every day of the week.

We assume Thomas could’ve continued making some decent money via his old YouTube channel—probably still doing what he loved, but having to rely on path #1 to generate the majority of his income. Therefore, we applaud him for taking a risk, so he could follow path #2.

Admittedly, Thomas could’ve still relied on his old YouTube channel if the Notion thing didn’t work out, making this a risk with an asymmetrical payoff. But the lesson stays the same. There are plenty of different ways that communities can be monetized, whether it's through courses, ad revenue, or products. Try to identify the best way that you can add value to your community. And more than likely, that's also going to be the best way that you can monetize. If you haven’t built a community yet, the idea remains the same.

Solve Problems to Create a Community

One of the most effective strategies Thomas Frank has employed to build a community is solving his own problems and sharing his learnings and solutions online. People started noticing and following Thomas, and suddenly he built an engaged community. His first Notion template was designed to manage his YouTube process, and his 'Ultimate Brain' was developed to manage his knowledge. Currently, he's working on a course that tackles sponsorships, an area where he's had challenges in the past. By solving his own difficulties and sharing his solutions, he's not only adding value but also creating a sense of relatability with his audience.

The beauty of this strategy is that it's infinite. Building a community around your personal journey and the solutions you've found can sustain engagement for years. This is why communities built around fleeting trends are less effective. Trends change, but your experiences and solutions can stand the test of time.

Conclusion

Thomas Frank's success story offers valuable insights into building an engaged community. It underlines the importance of passion, adaptability, and personal relatability. Building a community is no easy feat, but as Thomas Frank demonstrates, with the right strategies, it's more than achievable.

So, take a page from Frank's book and mash your passions, adapt your revenue streams, and share your journey. After all, your experiences might just be the inspiration someone else needs.