Meet The YouTuber Who Ditched Netflix To Build A Creator Business
Creator Masterclass
Hey team,
Hope you’ve been rocking it!
Meet my friend Jo Franco:
She built a travel YouTube channel (DamonAndJo) to 1.2 million subscribers on YouTube.
She’s lived the ‘dream’ life of a Creator:
Travel the world
Make fun videos
Lucrative brand deals
Even landed a Netflix show!
But it all came at a cost:
A hamster wheel of endless brand deals, never sure when the next one would come. Too scared to say no. Burnt out.
A loss of control, under the direction of Netflix executives and 100 page contracts. Trapped.
She’s now on the other side.
Building a sustainable Creator business with purpose and control.
She told me her blueprint.
It’s all about:
success as content creator
monetising your passion
making your dream sustainable
being a purpose-driven entrepreneur
Sound good?
Here’s what she reccomends
1/ Use YouTube As Your Playground
Jo knew very early on what she wanted to be: the CEO of a media company.
So she got to work.
Whilst at college she started pitching a Travel Show to anyone who would take her call.
They all said no.
“You need to prove the format.”
“Build chemistry with your co-host.”
Jo turned to YouTube as her playground to test and have fun:
The first 2 years were slow.
Low views.
Slow subscriber growth.
No monetisation.
But this gradual growth actually worked in their favour.
Why?
They got to experiment without a big brand partner breathing down their neck
They built up chemistry in front of the camera – which they could then show to production companies when they pitched bigger content ideas
They built up an archive, which meant by the time their channel blew up, viewers had a stack of content to binge watch. This helped to convert one-time viewers into loyal subscribers.
2/ Find Your Format
So what caused Jo and Damon’s YouTube channel to explode?
Search terms.
Jo says they grew “70,000 subscribers in one night” once they made this gear shift.
They started to double down:
What are people searching for?
What are fun elements we can add?
What worked well last week that we can repeat?
What isn’t working that we need to ditch?
3/ Don’t wait for Monetisation
Content creation is fun but everyone’s got bills to pay!
So how did Jo bring in revenue?
By pitching to brands.
Big brands deals started to come: $5k, $10k, $20k+…
Then 6-figure production partnerships for digital shows.
Jo and Damon were being whisked away to different locations to shoot ambitious travel TV shows with large-scale production teams.
This wasn’t two people vlogging on YouTube anymore.
This was Jo’s dream.
To top it all off?
She landed a Netflix deal to present a travel show.
4/ Avoid Burning out
It looked like Jo was living the dream.
But inside:
Long hours
Endless travel
Working for brands and Netflix executives, losing control of the content
Golden handcuffs, a mindset that you can’t say no because it might be the last one
“Wasn’t this my dream?”
“What do you do when you’ve completed your bucket list?”
Jo uncovered all the flaws of being a Creator reliant on brand deals and TV presenting.
Of chasing personal achievements but lacking a real sense of purpose.
It was an unsustainable career.
She needed to take back control.
5/ Pick A Purpose Driven Business
Here’s something else you should know about Jo…
She loves journalling.
It was a big part of her life while travelling the world.
She shared random excerpts on Instagram and her followers started asking what it was all about.
Jo started thinking deeply about what she wanted to do next.
What actually mattered to her?
Loves journalling
Loves connecting with people
Loves storytelling
Wants to build something with purpose
Wants to create something that could be bigger than her
And so Jo Club was born.
A journalling and community business.
They sell journals, host a global community of people journalling together, host retreats etc.
Jo has a product to sell that she really believes in.
6/ “Entrepreneur first, Creator second”
Jo is now creating on YouTube with a sustainable business behind her:
Not reliant on brand deals - she has her own product to sell
Creating content that people are searching for
Always offering a lead magnet
Her audience can enter a Jo Club ecosystem that doesn’t rely on her
One of her content funnel’s:
7/ Make It Sustainable
Every November Jo makes a 12 month plan covering:
birthdays
big events she doesn’t want to miss
opportunities for growth within the business
This helps her to map out when she’s most needed – and when she can step back.
She’s done giving up control of her life to her career or business.
She want’s to be intentional.
Ok, that’s a wrap!
The full episode with Jo Franco is out now:
Reply or drop me a comment if you found this useful.
I read every reply.
Talk soon,
Callum
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