The Tilt - Side Hustle for Content Entrepreneurs

Need money to sustain you and your early-stage content business? Here’s an idea.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

MAY 30, 2023

View in Browser

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


full tilt

Need Money To Sustain Your Early-Stage Business?

I’ve spoken to a few people trying to build a content business but who aren’t yet consistently earning the revenue they need to pay their personal bills.

That makes sense. It takes an average of 18.4 months for a content entrepreneur to support themselves, according to The Tilt’s research. For many, it takes even longer than that average.

I see an opportunity for expert creators to bring in revenue indirectly related to their content business – freelancing your content creation skills and topical expertise. Marketing and PR agencies have a need for people like you.

Pivots can take time to gain traction, so I’m testing how to make agency work a sustainable, friction-free revenue stream. Here are some of my observations so far:

  1. Familiarity does not always breed contempt. This is particularly true for ex-journalists. Companies and agencies in your market that know your work may be more comfortable putting you in front of their more important clients, particularly if they’ve either had to cut back or have added new clients but aren’t ready yet to ramp up.
  2. Remember, you don’t show up on the taxes, benefits, or occupancy lines of their budget. I pitched a former client on a new project retainer a few weeks ago, who later told me she decided to bring someone in-house for the same price. I realized I didn’t do a good enough job reminding her that the same price for a freelancer and a full-time employee isn’t really the same. She wouldn’t have been responsible for my health care insurance or employer taxes, and she wouldn’t have to train me because she already knew I deliver clean copy quickly.
  3. You generally don’t have to be “managed.” Agencies don’t necessarily need to schedule weekly one-on-one check-ins with contract workers. They don’t need to go over KPIs (key performance indicators) beyond telling me whether my writing exceeded the goals or fell far short. I’m happy to have those conversations if you really feel they’re necessary, but I will likely factor standing team meetings into my pricing. I don’t need to be invited to social events or included in offsite retreats. That said …
  4. Set the tone early. Make sure you ask for detailed content briefs and examples of content the clients have liked in the past. Don’t let your first project be a rush job and be clear on pricing. In writing assignments, I try to avoid per-word and hourly pricing in favor of project pricing. Ask how and when you’re going to be paid; a growing number of agencies pay net 60 (60 days after invoice submission) or worse.
  5. Contracts are good – particularly if they’re only a page or two. Detail the payment, payment terms, schedule, and deliverables. Also include, for example, what happens if you’re subjected to 23 revisions as it wends its way through myriad reviewers.
  6. Develop thick skin. I was told recently my writing required “massive rewrites” and “was not what we were looking for” because they wanted to cut my payment. That would have been fine if I hadn’t seen it published nearly verbatim, with only a change in the introduction.
  7. Don’t ever steal the agency’s clients. It’s one thing to be approached; it’s something else to email the client and solicit their business proactively.

Whether you create written, visual, or video content, agencies can benefit from your skills and you can benefit from the income as you grow your content business.

– Peter Osborne

To learn more about Peter’s strategy, read the longer story.


we stan Nico Leonard

Entrepreneur: Nico Leonard

Tilt: Hot takes on luxury watches (and the celebrities who wear them)

Scene: YouTube (1.36M), Instagram (132K), Twitter (11.5K), God Tier merch, Pride and Pinion store

Snack Bites:

  • Nico created YouTube videos to save his pandemic-closed luxury watch store. He ended up with two enterprises – the retail outlet and a content business.
  • Talking about watches could be boring to many except the most fanatic, but Nico’s vivacious reactions and hilarious takes on fakes and more are fun even for those not interested in timepieces.
  • Though he started the YouTube channel under his retail business name, he soon learned his personal brand was the star and switched the name.

Why We Stan: Nico has an extremely niche tilt (luxury watches) that he elevates to a broader audience through his content delivery. He also is authentic, even turning down huge deals (FTX anyone?) when they didn’t feel right.

– Ann Gynn

Want to know more? Read the longer story of Nico Leonard.


things to know

Given the US holiday weekend, you have fewer things to know today.

Money
  • Real money: VRChat, the virtual reality platform used by millions of creators, is testing a monetization method – Groups. Players who pay to subscribe to a creator’s Group can access special roles, perks, features, and special events. (TubeFilter)
    Tilt Take: Players will pay if creators make it worth their while. It’s all about the benefits.
Audiences
  • Pop-up newsletters: Vox Media’s New York Magazine newsletter strategy works – doubling its subscribers from 500K in 2019 to 1M in 2023. Five subscriber-only pop-ups are among its 30 email products, including Succession featuring the magazine’s writers extolling on each episode. (AdWeek)
    Tilt Take: Short-term newsletters can work well if you have an established audience. Or try it with a new audience. Just make sure to move them to a long-term product.
Tech and Tools
  • Instagram search ads: Meta will soon integrate ads in Instagram search results into their Instagram Marketing API. So third-party platforms can include that option for their customers. (Social Media Today)
    Tilt Take: One-stop advertising tools are time-savers. Good to see Instagram making them even more “one stop.”
And Finally
  • AI or search: ChatGPT and similar AI tools work best for informational queries – open-ended questions. But Google remains tops for transactional queries. (Search Engine Journal)
    Tilt Take: Think about your audience’s intent. Then, test each tool to understand if and how your content works to answer their questions in the appropriate tool.


the business of content

  • Joe talks about a few examples and some opportunities to think about when considering getting attention at half the price. (Content Inc.)
  • Advertising continues to plummet for media companies and creators. How long will this ad recession last? (This Old Marketing)
  • What advice do small business owners have? It’s rarely the same. (Index by Pinger)
  • 5 pieces of horrible start-up advice (Entrepreneur’s Handbook)
  • Digital Pass sales for Creator Economy Expo are ending soon. Get yours while you still can. Use code TILT100 to save! (Creator Economy Expo)


Be Part of the TILT Nation with Our New Rewards Program

Share The Tilt Newsletter with other content creators and get exclusive swag and more.

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.

Key phrases

Older messages

Stop the Guess

Friday, May 26, 2023

Learn how to learn to motivate your audience to do what you want them to do. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Special Offer: Watch the Jay Clouse Keynote Session at Creator Economy Expo

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Missed CEX? We are giving you a sneak peek at one of our highly-rated keynotes. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Watch and Grow

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Experience prompts advice on how to make the most of YouTube. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Stop the Billboard Treatment

Friday, May 19, 2023

Merchandise can be a profitable revenue stream and much more if you do these five things. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

You Need To Hear This

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Your audience is talking, but are you really listening? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

You Might Also Like

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 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Notice What Repeats

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Your recurring ideas reveal how you think and who you are. If you find a pattern in your insights, let it be a sign of what you need to write about. View in browser Write of Passage logo transparent-1

🔥 How to: Land a front-end job

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Landing a front-end job is hard. We've had an open position at my company for about 3 weeks now, and it's gotten almost 100 applicants. That's a lot of competition, no matter how good of a

Ex-technology companies. @ Irrational Exuberance

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Hi folks, This is the weekly digest for my blog, Irrational Exuberance. Reach out with thoughts on Twitter at @lethain, or reply to this email. Posts from this week: - Ex-technology companies. Ex-