MAY 2, 2023

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

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New Research Finds Fascinating Activities of Content Entrepreneurs

The creator economy spurs a lot of research. Unfortunately, too much of it just scratches the surface. They talk about what grabs the headlines – 303 million creators, $100 billion-plus industry, etc. Or they focus on the high-profile, big-bucks influencer category of the industry.

The Tilt opts to go beyond those popular headlines. In the 2023 Content Entrepreneur Benchmark Research, we gather data from content creators to truly understand the successful journey of a content entrepreneur. Your and your peers’ answers reveal what it takes to build a successful content business.

Remember, The Tilt research isn’t about influencers or maker creators. We focus on expert creators – people who create content about their area of expertise or passion. Expert creators build media companies (even small ones) and monetize their content. Some expert creators also sell a service (e.g., coaching, consulting, educating).

Among the key findings in the 2023 research:

• Succeeding without a massive audience: Creators have 4K followers on average and use just four channels to reach their audience (and just two channels to monetize).
• Walking an 18-month financial runway: Creators say it takes five months to earn the first dollar, 13 months to go full-time, and 18 months to fully support themselves.
• Doing it for more than money: Content creators are in search of enjoyment, independence, and flexibility before all else. In other words, quality of life beats everything else.

Of course, money is a reason (this is a business, after all). We find content entrepreneurs most likely use consulting/coaching, book publishing, and online classes to make money, and they report those three are the most profitable.

Creators who spend most/all of their working time on the content business report they earned approximately $86K in 2022 — a figure highly dependent on how long they’ve been in business.

We also asked content creators to tell us what they expect to gross in 2023 (i.e., revenue before expenses and salary), expected profit, and the amount they say would be “enough.”

The full-time creators say they’ll bring in approximately $108,199 in revenue in 2023 and will pay themselves $62,224 — a gross margin of 59%. The $62K figure is a little more than half of what they would like to earn ($109,250) from the content business.

That just scratches the surface. Read on to find out more details – from early launch decisions to scaling ventures. You have a question? We have a stat for it.

– Joe Pulizzi

​Download the 2023 Content Entrepreneur Benchmark Research (no registration required). ​
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Entrepreneur: Rebecca Rogers

Biz: Mrs. Rogers

Tilt: Humorous stories about teaching and life

Scene: YouTube (1.94M), TikTok (2.6M), Instagram (146K), Facebook​

Snack Bites:

• Rebecca started on TikTok to bring a smile to her students' faces during the pandemic-forced distance learning.
• A year later, her school system gave her a choice – the classroom or the content business. For many reasons, she opted for content.
• She already earned more than triple her $42K teacher’s salary through TikTok sponsorships.

Why We Stan: Rebecca uses humor to help the teaching industry feel seen and heard. She also recognized when she left the classroom, she had to tell her stories differently. Even with the shift, viewers continue to watch.

– Ann Gynn

​Read more of Rebecca’s story.

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

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• Congrats to Daren Smith and Joe Pulizzi for being named a best startup podcast in the Publisher Podcast Awards. Daren and Joe did The 10k Creator in conjunction with the Content Inc. podcast.
• Do you possess the psychology of startup speed? (Elizabeth Bailey Weil)
• Community Powered Marketing (CPM*) is a daily newsletter from Blue Terra, the #1 newsletter growth platform. Each edition offers valuable insights on how to grow and nurture a loyal community that drives organic growth and word of mouth referrals. Subscribe today!*
• ​Are you goal settling? (Content Inc. podcast)
• Joe and Robert ask AI in content: How much is too much? (This Old Marketing podcast)

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

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

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