Hi everyone,
If you’re getting this, you’re one of 64 “investors” in Thought Liters. You haven’t written a check, but you’ve committed to watch and read along as I attempt to build a better brand of business content.
That deserves some sort of return. So, in this note I’m unpacking the complete H1 2026 numbers as well as tentative plans for the second half of the year.
Before reading on, here are a few recent episodes to middle-click and watch (in the background or otherwise) later:
In addition, if you wait until Wednesday AM, this is the link to the newest episode (it’ll go live at 11am ET on 7/6): I Let An Executive Coach Fix My Business feat. Max Polec.
OK, accountability time.
Money
First, here’s what most people actually are about: what came in and what went out.
Income: $10,000
Comprised of partnerships for upcoming series. (The first income the show has ever had!!)
Expenses: $18,720
Most of this went to an editor, with second-place going to some travel for episodes and a creator conference.
Here’s what’s going to impact $ the most in the second half:
Editor: After a year of investment, I just haven’t gotten to a place where an editor has helped. That’s probably poor direction on my part. And it’s not to say I’ve gotten nothing from it — I got some decent episode trailers that performed well on LinkedIn — but it’s way too expensive for what it takes off my plate.
This week’s upcoming episode was edited entirely by me. We’ll see how it performs.
Event: I’m planning another Thought Liters Ship event aboard a boat in downtown Pittsburgh. I estimate that’ll be at least a 10k hit. I see that as investment in my community here in town — aka, spending money on staying relevant. Also, it’s a nice time.
Travel: I might get out of town for the show one more time for another creator conference, or possibly a short stint in NYC to film. I think it’s important to broaden beyond Pittsburgh (and recently had an eye-opening chat around that, but more on that in some future newsletter)
Partnerships: To the extent that I can find partners for the show, that'll help ease the costs.
So if you’re done reading here: in short, the show still runs red…but less red. That’s progress. Working my ass off to try and turn it green. Next thing you’ll see from me is the 10-year plan.
Now before you go, go watch one of these videos plz for some of those sweet watch hours.
And if you don’t know what “watch hours” refers to, then I guess you have to keep reading.
Fame
Alright, so the show’s still underwater financially. But, the audience is slowly growing:
YouTube (the main hub for now):
270 subscribers (+97 year-to-date)
YouTube requires 1,000 to qualify for monetization. So, we’re 27% of the way there.
428.5 long-form watch hours (defined as the total time viewers watched long-form Thought Liters content)
YouTube requires 4,000 over a 12-month period to qualify for monetization. So, annualized, we’re 21% of the way there.
LinkedIn (the next place I care about):
3,973 followers (+363 year-to-date) on the Adam Conner page
313 followers (+78 year-to-date) on the Thought Liters page
Everything else has been a trickle of growth. Honestly, I put time into YouTube and LinkedIn and that’s about it for now. I also understand that the Pittsburgh business community isn’t the biggest in the world. I’d like to try attacking some slightly broader topics with the same guy-at-the-bar persona.
What’s Next
Very quick, here’s the plan for H2 2026:
Content:
12+ long-form interview videos (I released 12 in H1; the goal is to accelerate)
The original goal for 2026 was 40 long-form videos. I’m still striving for as much as possible. Having the second kid definitely squeezes time.
Proof Points series
this is a partnered series, filmed out of the studio. There is 1 in motion and a 2nd in negotiation.
Daily Draft series test (this will be on short form first)
Think a 60-second daily breakdown of business news to be aware of. Inspired by my wife who often asks me “what happened in the world today?”
Events:
Thought Liters Ship 2026
Brand-wide:
don’t go broke; survive to 2027
The number one thing you can do to help me and the show is to watch, like, and comment on the show on YouTube. Consider subscribing as well.
Thank you, as ever, for being here as one of the 64 most tuned-in followers to this crazy-ass story.
I read everything, and respond to everything.
Cheers.
Adam
