SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

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

BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Money is at the root of every successful content business. People give you money in exchange for something. But what should that something be? Should it be only one thing?

To answer the first question, keep reading. (The answer to the second question is no. The Tilt founder Joe Pulizzi says diversifying your revenue streams is essential.)

The top five profitable revenue streams cited in The Tilt’s 2023 Content Entrepreneur Benchmark Research include consulting/coaching, books, online courses/workshops, advertising/sponsored content, and paid communities.

1. Consulting and coaching: Almost half of creators (49%) tap into the consulting and coaching revenue – it’s the most popular and profitable stream.

​Alexis Grant, founder and CEO of They Got Acquired, sold services in her first entrepreneurial foray. “Offering services is a great way to earn revenue and learn what your audience needs and will pay for. Then you can figure out how to create products and other offerings that decouple your earnings from your time,” she says.

Gregarious Narain, co-founder of Zealous, used consulting as his first revenue stream. He’s a big advocate for revenue streams derived directly from the audience – something he sees as a missed opportunity for many creators. He also believes in turning that audience into a community for long-term gains.

2. Books: Over one-third of expert creators (37%) publish books – digital and print – to bring in revenue.

Nora Dunn, founder of The Professional Hobo, turned her blog content into a book. How To Get Free Accommodation Around the World is in its third edition. She’s also published Tale of the Trains: Where the Journey Is Also the Destination.

Interested in adding a book to your revenue streams? These two articles can help: 5 Things To Do To Publish a Book and Diversify Your Revenue by Publishing a Book.

3. Online courses/workshops: About one-third of expert creators (35%) sell online courses and workshops. Becky Pierson Davidson, head of product at bossbabe, says her first revenue came from a “power hour” workshop. “I set it up without an official launch, and I saw passive sales (of the workshop) from my newsletter after a month of sending it,” she says.

Chris Ducker, CEO of Youpreneur.com, agrees. “Create a digital, evergreen product or course. The ability to be monetizing ‘all the time’ cannot and should not be underestimated.

Learn more about this revenue stream from Chris Lema, who shares how to start an online course.

4. Advertising and sponsored content: One-fourth of expert creators (26%) tap into advertising and sponsored content. Bernie Borges, host of the Midlife Fulfilled podcast, uses a sponsorship model. “This approach enables me to take the focus off the reach of my podcast (i.e., downloads) and put the focus on the alignment of my podcast audience with the brand’s target audience,” he says.

​Trish Witkowski, chief folding fanatic of FoldFactory.com, sells corporate sponsorships for her video series. “I had to prove that I had an audience and that I had enough great content to keep going. I also had to prove I would actually show up and produce a quality show every week,” she says. “After a year, I could point to 50 episodes, and that closed the (first) deal.”

Help ensure your sponsorships bring in sufficient revenue with help from this article: Paid Sponsorships: Build a Better Negotiating Table.

5. Paid communities: Eighteen percent of content entrepreneurs earn revenue through paid communities. Jay Clouse, 2023 Content Entrepreneur of the Year, built his business, Creator Science, around a paid community.

To understand if a community model might be right for your business, read up on what building one – free or paid – requires in this article on the audience vs. community royal rumble.

– Ann Gynn

​Read the online article which includes a bonus revenue stream.​

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Supported by Lulu

The long-term success of your creator business is built on fostering a dedicated audience. And a book is the gateway to clients enrolling in your course or buying your coaching sessions. The data you collect from book sales is a goldmine for remarketing to your audience. Learn how to use this data to grow your audience, your brand, and your bank account.

Entrepreneur: Andrew Rea

Biz: Binging With Babish and Babish Culinary Universe​

Tilt: Recreating foods seen in movies and television

Scene: Website, YouTube (10.1M), Instagram (1M), Facebook (691K), X (190K),cookware, cookbook​

Snack Bites:

• Andrew Rea took his love for food and his education in film studies and turned it into a content business.
• He received his YouTube Diamond Creator Award in recognition of his 10M subscribers on The Drew Barrymore Show.
• Andrew expanded Binging With Babish into a wider vision with the Babish Culinary Universe, which includes a team and hosts with new series.

Why We Stan: Andrew didn’t prioritize his physical and mental health in his early years. But he does now, realizing he doesn’t need to produce so many videos. He now consistently posts a new video every week. He also wants to grow his video business to become a full-fledged production company for other streamers.

– Ann Gynn

​Read more of Andrew's story.​

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We’re teaming up with Jess Ekstrom and her team at Mic Drop Workshop to get more women on stage as public speakers.

Mic Drop Workshop has their next LIVE 5-Day Speak on Stage Bootcamp coming up September 14 👇

• Day 1: Discover Your Personal Brand Mission
• Day 2: Create Your Speaker Statement
• Day 3: Package Your Talk to Get Booked
• Day 4: Land Your Ideal Audience and Speaker Fee
• Day 5: You vote on the topic!

Plus, meet other like-minded women walking through these 5 days right there with you.

We’ve partnered with Mic Drop Workshop to make your enrollment FREE for the Tilt community.

​Register here and use the code TILT and we’ll see you on stage!

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• Joe answers a listener question about how to survive with your content creator business when your audience is still very, very small. Hint: There isn't just one way. (Content Inc.)
• ​A very special episode of This Old Marketing where Joe and Robert take questions from LinkedIn. (This Old Marketing)
• ​Tilt Your Business: A Weekly Mastermind for Entrepreneurs in the Creator Economy hits LinkedIn Live at 12 p.m. US ET Tuesday.
• ​Will AI lead to a web of paywalls? (Insider)

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