SEPTEMBER 27, 2022

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Welcome to The Tilt, a twice-weekly newsletter for content entrepreneurs.

In This Issue: Chris Penn goes back to the early days of podcast marketing. Justin James is the King of Reads. While YouTube rewards smaller and TikTok goes bigger.

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In Chris Penn’s Almost Timely newsletter, he shared with his audience the lessons he’s learned since he began podcasting in 2005. Chris graciously agreed to allow The Tilt to share his advice, most of which works for any content format.

Your podcast is a product. You have to market it like any other product or service. Develop a marketing plan for it, and market it hard if you want it to succeed.

I started my first podcast in 2005, the Financial Aid Podcast. It ran every weekday from 2005 to 2010. My second podcast, Marketing Over Coffee, which I co-host with John Wall, started in 2007 and is still going. My third podcast, In-Ear Insights, started in 2018.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane and see what worked in the old days and see what still sticks.

Every podcast needs this first: Your podcast has to be worth consuming. Ask yourself: If you didn’t make your show, would you willingly tune into it? Would you subscribe if it weren’t your show?

Publish everywhere but focus on somewhere: Though your podcast service likely automatically uploads it to most distribution networks, pick one to optimize. Do some market research about the channel people tune in on most, and then focus your efforts on marketing your show on that channel. Maybe it’s Spotify. Maybe it’s YouTube. Wherever your audience is most, that’s where your time, effort, and maybe some ad dollars should go to grow your audience.

Cross-promote: By far, the best tactic for new shows in the first age of podcasting was the promo swap. You swap 30- to 60-second promotional spots with other non-competitive podcasts that have audiences you want to reach. Think of these as simple audio ads, but audio ads that you exchange with another show without paid compensation. Your best bet is to find podcasts with similarly sized audiences.

Guest host: Find out through market research which podcasts your target audience listens to and then approach those podcasting personalities about guest hosting a show – they could guest on your podcast and/or you can guest host on their show.

Publish show notes: Show notes – hosted on your own website – help listeners find and recommend episodes of your show to others. They also help search engines find you and index your show, especially if you’re linking to your media from your show notes. It seems obvious, but back in the day, a number of shows never built a digital home for themselves and relied on a podcast network. That was fine until the network went belly up, and the show went with it.

– Chris Penn

Get three more tips in the full-length article from Chris Penn and his Almost Timely newsletter.

Looking for more ways to increase revenue, grow audience, and build your content business without relying on social platforms? Be sure to join us at Creator Economy Expo 2023. Register now before prices go up next month.

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Ashley Guttuso and the team at Audience Ops really deliver in this newsletter about publishing newsletters (so meta, right?) and the relationship-building power of content marketing.

Ann Handley once replied, “You do a nice job with this newsletter. I always enjoy it.”

​Check it out for growth stories, writing tips, and content marketing insights.

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Entrepreneur: Justin James

Biz: King of Reads

Tilt: Blunt, funny, and accessible ways of engaging with pop culture, politics, etc., affecting Black people globally

Scene: Patreon (1.2K), YouTube (186K), Instagram (43.1K), Twitter (27.1K), and TikTok (6.6K)

Snack Bites:

• Justin James, aka the King of Reads, fills a gap in mainstream media, providing a Black perspective on Black culture.
• Justin looks directly into the camera in his videos to promote a dialog with his audience.
• Living with HIV, he incorporates his health status into his everyday content rather than dedicating a video or blog post to discuss it.

Why We Stan: Justin James brings refreshing, fun, and thought-provoking takes on pop culture and more. He also has a confidence in who he is that his audience appreciates. (We’re also fans of his cheeky business name, and that’s no shade.)

– Shameyka McCalman

To learn more about Justin, check out the longer story.

Know a content creator who’s going full tilt? DM us. Or email tilt@thetilt.com.

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• ​Tent-Pole Content Projects a Must (Content Inc. podcast)
• ​Spotify Trolls Amazon's Earhole Strategy (This Old Marketing podcast)
• Don't miss the Leap Into Podcasting virtual summit this week. (Free Registration)*
• ​How do you know when to leave your day job? (Forbes)
• ​What Suze Orman says every startup founder needs. (Motley Fool)
• ​Great marketing is a long-term play. (Entrepreneur)

*Sponsored Content

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Your team for this issue: Joe Pulizzi, Pam Pulizzi, Ann Gynn, Laura Kozak, Marc Maxhimer, and Dave Anthony, with an assist from Chris Penn and Shameyka McCalman.