MAY 30, 2023

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

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.
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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.
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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 …
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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.​
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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.
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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.
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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.​

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.

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

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• 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)

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