The Tilt - Joe Makes a Confession

The Tilt had to leave its “rented land” for $TILT coin.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

JANUARY 10, 2023

View in Browser

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

Today's click: Ready to rise to these challenges?


full tilt

Our Creator Coin Experiment

I have a confession to make.

We built the $TILT coin Web3 model on rented land.

Yes, me, Joe Pulizzi, the one who speaks at conferences all over the world telling content creators and brands not to build their audiences solely on social media or other “rented” platforms.

In 2020, I learned about the power of the token – a creator with scarce assets can build and at the same time give property rights to their audience or community.

I saw Web3 as the ultimate in community-building. I wondered:

  • Could both the creator’s business AND its fan base be financially rewarded as the community grew?
  • Are social tokens just a rewards program or could they be the engine of a content business model?

In March 2021, we launched $TILT coin. Thousands of subscribers actively shared this newsletter and received $TILT coin for their efforts. Our community used it to buy merchandise, access courses, and join exclusive groups on our Discord channel.

In less than a year, we had over 1,500 token holders. Our token price, which started at a few pennies, rose up to $50 USD value per token.

Our “lease” worked well for 18 months. We became the No. 1 social token by coin supply and support volume on the Rally.io network for a year running, thanks to The Tilt community, who supported the experiment.

Then, the landlord faced problems it couldn’t fix. And now, in January 2023, we let everyone in the TILT community know that $TILT coin was to be no more.

Why did we build on rented land? We saw $TILT coin as an opportunity to dip our toes into Web3 – after all, we couldn’t very well talk about it to our audience of creators if we didn’t have some stake in the game.

But as early adopters, we didn’t believe we could go it alone. We believed we needed a third-party platform. But that meant Rally.io had the direct relationship with the coin holders. We didn’t have a way to communicate directly with them. Any changes made to the platform were out of our control. (Yes, it was really Web 2.0.)

We thought that concession would be OK. After all, we had the email addresses of our newsletter subscribers – and they had been given $TILT coin for subscribing as well as referring. So we accepted that we wouldn’t know who purchased $TILT coin outside our reward system and couldn’t quantify the coins held by any token holder.

Our bet on Rally.io ultimately didn’t work. But the experiment taught us a lot.

First, I will forever be thankful for the opportunity. $TILT coin had over 2.3K coin holders. Almost 1.5K of these holders are active on our Discord channel. Even though the $TILT token is no more, the TILT community, built through the token, will go on.

Second, I’m still extremely bullish on Web3. My belief in the creation of shared assets remains the same. The blockchain is the way to make that happen. For the next project, we will control the contract on the blockchain, so this rented land situation won’t ever happen again.

My sincere thanks to everyone for going with me on this ride.

– Joe Pulizzi

Read Joe’s full article and his letter on what $TILT coin holders should do next.


The Tilt is partnering with Rogue Mogul to bring you the chance to win a FREE all-access ticket to Creator Economy Expo in May (along with one-night hotel stay in Cleveland)!

Be sure to enter today. Winner will be drawn January 25, 2023, at midnight EST.


we stan Emmalynn Cortes Ellendt

Entrepreneur: Emmalynn Cortes Ellendt

Biz: Emma’s Edition and podcast

Tilts: Help people to create in style and help creators grow their brand

Scene: Blog, podcast, Instagram (51K), Facebook (1.9K), LinkedIn (1.6K), Twitter (1.1K), YouTube (366), Pinterest (171)

Snack Bites:

Why We Stan: Emma has learned the power of negotiation that a creator has. She didn’t even accept the first offer for her first deal, ending up doubling the first price quoted ($800) to $1.5K plus a $100 gift card.

– Ann Gynn

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

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


things to know

Money
  • Master on Web3: Mastercard will host a new incubator program to help artists connect through fans using Web3 tools. They’ll learn how to mint NFTs, represent themselves in virtual worlds, and establish a community. (Tech Crunch)
    Tilt Take: Building a community using Web3 tools is a powerful opportunity all creators should consider.
  • Top of the top: 1440, SmartAsset, Adobe, Impact, and Startup Jobs top the newsletter sponsor list in 2022. They make the top five of the top 100 list based on ads run in over 250 newsletters. (Who Sponsors Stuff; h/t Inbox Reads)
    Tilt Take: Helpful list for newsletter creators interested in the sponsorship or advertising revenue stream.
Audiences
  • Reality augmented: Snap sees the use of AR by creators to engage audiences growing. For example, Snapchatters engaged with its Crying Lens more than 9.7B times. (A.list)
    Tilt Take: Always think of how new tech and features can help you strengthen or grow your connection with your audience.
  • Poll subscribers: A poll of her newsletter audience likes and dislikes led her to cut her email lengths drastically, rework subject lines, previews, and email banner text, and A/B test colors and banners. The results? A 30% increase in click-through rates. (Shruti Deshpande)
    Tilt Take: Ask your audience for feedback and then use it!
Tech and Tools
  • Next up: Searchers with a query that will lead to a new query may see a new feature – popular next steps. (Search Engine Roundtable)
    Tilt Take: Creators of content that leads to a “next step” should consider amping up its SEO for that content.
  • ChatGPT bings: Microsoft plans to update its Bing search engine with results from OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot. It will answer search queries with complete sentences rather than listing links. (Search Engine Journal; h/t Growth Marketer)
    Tilt Take: Bing needs all the help it can get. But we’re wondering how well the results will be attributed to the original creators.
And Finally
  • Get thee to LinkedIn: Building a personal professional brand with your content works better on LinkedIn than on Twitter. A tweet’s half-life is 15 to 18 minutes and it’s only 280 characters. LinkedIn posts engage audiences for 24 to 48 hours after publishing. (Marketing Brew’s Future Social)
    Tilt Take: Consider the life of your content when choosing which platforms to focus your distribution and promotion on.
  • Phase 3: Phase one – the traditional economy (working for a larger organization). Phase two – the gig economy (independent work tied to a larger organization). Phase three – the creator economy (individuals do not have to work with larger organization). (Venture Beat)
    Tilt Take: We like this simple take to explain the economy evolution.


the business of content

*The Tilt receives a small commission if readers (at no additional cost) make a purchase using this link.


Please Help Spread The Tilt Message!

Refer a fellow content creator to The Tilt and earn exclusive swag!

Your unique link: https://www.thetilt.com?rh_ref=1c5f8ff0

Track your referrals here.

Or share via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or email.

*Please note the rewards program is only available to US readers at this time. The Tilt reserves the right to reject referrals at their discretion.


the tilt team

Your team for this issue: Joe Pulizzi, Pam Pulizzi, Ann Gynn, Laura Kozak, Marc Maxhimer, and Dave Anthony.

Key phrases

Older messages

Quick-to-Sell Products

Friday, January 6, 2023

Bring in revenue sooner than expected. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

What To Do in 2023

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Effective and practical advice to help you grow your content business this year. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Most Popular

Friday, December 30, 2022

In a few minutes, discover 5 actionable tips to propel you in 2023. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Mistakes to Thwart in 2023

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Experts in the creator economy share the mistake(s) you shouldn't make in 2023. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Success Tips

Friday, December 23, 2022

We'll be brief today so you can get back to shopping, cooking, or working on your content business. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

You Might Also Like

3-2-1: On muddy puddles and leaky ceilings, the secret to productivity, and how to spoil a great relationship

Thursday, March 28, 2024

3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to consider this week. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

24 Hours Left: Grab Your Discounted CEX Ticket Now!

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Last call to save on your ticket - spring pricing goes away at the end of March ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Every cold outreach intro:

Thursday, March 28, 2024

I'm so impressed by what you are doing ‌ ‌ ‌ We have 4 updates for you this week: 1. On Peep's Mind Every cold outreach starts with a variation of "I'm so impressed by what you're

Here's What You Missed

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Last week, David hosted a live Q&A about all things writing and Write of Passage. Here are ten of the best questions we covered. Write of Passage logo transparent-1 The Write of Passage Bootcamp is

Do you know where your burnout is hiding?

Thursday, March 28, 2024

When “outer work” meets “inner work” ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Beard Dough

Thursday, March 28, 2024

When Russians paid the government for the right to have facial hair ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

🧙‍♂️ 6 new sponsorships opps we hunted down

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Plus secret research on Lululemon, NerdWallet, and WHOOP ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

It's Q2: Time to build

Thursday, March 28, 2024

When people ask what Copywriting Course is, I have to explain it's actually a series of courses. It's like a tote bag that comes with a bunch of items: ​ You don't become a world-class

• Email marketing for authors + posts to 100K FB Group readers + Tweets

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Reserve your date... Email Marketing for Authors by ContentMo enable images to see this "Books of the Day" Promotions for Authors and Publishers with Social Media Extras! Dates Fill Up Fast,

How Scrum Teams Fail Stakeholders

Thursday, March 28, 2024

From Overpromising Results to Neglecting Feedback ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌