DECEMBER 26, 2023

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Welcome to an abbreviated holiday issue of The Tilt.

Content entrepreneurs are a special breed. You all have a drive to work hard, grow a business, and gain the freedom this professional life brings. We at The Tilt have the privilege of interviewing some dedicated content entrepreneurs to uncover how they grew their businesses and what advice they have for you.

In 2023, these five content entrepreneur spotlights received over 15K views from The Tilt community. We’ve updated them with their most recent numbers. Each follows the winning content entrepreneur model. They have grown their business using one platform and publishing content consistently. They also have a content tilt that allows their brand to stand above their competitors.

Not unsurprisingly, the advice from all five centers around putting the audience first, being consistent, and being patient while your business grows. Maybe, just maybe, there is something to this advice.

And now, for the top five most viewed content entrepreneur spotlights in 2023:

1. Vania Mania Kids Builds YouTube Empire Across 15 Translated and Localized Channels​

Entrepreneurs: Diana and Jeka Bolbat

Biz: Vania Mania Kids

Tilt: Fun, educational content for kids featuring the family of seven

Primary Channels: YouTube (24.6M) across 15 translated and localized channels

Our Favorite Actionable Advice:

• Put your spin on a hot topic: “Unboxing” videos weren’t new when Vania Mania launched, but they found a hook and went with it. “It’s very important to look carefully at what is popular for the target audience and work with that specific topic or type of video format,” Diana says.
• Have patience and discipline: Too many YouTubers also don’t give their content enough time to grow. Diana says the first year is an investment period. The second year begins to bring results. Don’t fall into the trap of posting regularly right after launch only to find yourself unable to keep up. Consistency and patience are key to building a successful content-based business.

One More Hidden Gem: Diana and Jeka learned a lot along the way. They discovered hiring a professional to help with editing and audio helped the quality of the videos. It also freed their time to do what they do best – create the content.

As a content entrepreneur, find the areas where you can hire outside help once it is financially feasible. These areas can involve tasks you hate doing (i.e., taxes or invoices), to save time (i.e., hire a VA assistant), or improve your content (i.e., video editor or audio engineer).

2. Epiphany Turns Into Business for Body Positivity Content Creator Brynta Ponn​

Entrepreneur: Brynta Ponn

Biz: Brynta Ponn

Tilt: Body positivity

Primary Channels: Instagram (167K), TikTok (171.8K)

Our Favorite Actionable Advice:

• Pay attention to others: Monitor what other creators in your niche do. Stay updated on new features and promotions on your primary channels. Subscribe to competitor newsletters and visit their channel of choice often.
• Be versatile: Though niches are important, don’t let them restrict you too much. Be as versatile as you can within your content tilt, which will seem more authentic and less boring for your audience. But you still need a content tilt to stand out! Be willing to experiment within that content tilt.

One More Hidden Gem: Brynta discovered that being vulnerable – even naked sometimes – can trigger trolls to comment or send negative messages. Brynta responded by using those words in comedic response posts. She notes it can be exhausting to be vulnerable and emotional. Sometimes, you have to make light of a situation, especially when someone is trying to bring you down.

Her advice for others? Put down the phone. Don’t constantly check your feeds, comments, or analytics. You can drive yourself insane worrying about all the nay-sayers. Instead, pay attention to what works and resonates with your true audience.

3. YouTuber Frank James Finds Right Personality To Grow Over 1M Subscribers on Channel​

Entrepreneur and Biz: Frank James

Tilt: Personality-type theory (Myers-Briggs, etc.) with a comedic spin

Primary Channel: YouTube (1.22M)

Our Favorite Actionable Advice:

• Adapt your storytelling, not your tilt: A seemingly tiny niche (personality types) would likely attract a tiny audience, but Frank James found a technique – comedy – to draw in over 1M.
• Create a lot of content and turn it out consistently: When marketing your content, you better have a solid base so audiences can see what you’re all about and return regularly to consume more of it.

One More Hidden Gem: Frank loves what he does, not just the topic. Don’t be mistaken; he is extremely intrigued by the topic as well, but Frank loves to entertain. Communicating with audiences as an entertainer or educator is the job of a content entrepreneur. To succeed, you better be passionate about that. You have to be drawn to this profession for the love of the lifestyle, not for the money. If you love what you do, the money follows that.

4. Jeweler Transforms Career Experience Into Sparkling Online Content Business​

Entrepreneur: Peter Keep

Biz: Jewellery Training Solutions ​

Tilt: Jewelry training from a master jeweler

Primary Channels: Website, courses (1.5M), YouTube (76.8K)

Our Favorite Actionable Advice:

• Pick a lane: All of his content revolves around a single format – video. From his free lead-generation basic how-to’s to his monthly subscription services, the format is consistent.
• Stay in touch: Peter hears from students who have turned the training he provided them into their own jewelry-making businesses. That feedback is essential to propel you to keep going and can help you develop important social proof in the form of testimonials.

One More Hidden Gem: Peter is classified as an expert creator because he uses his knowledge to produce content. As a content entrepreneur, your sweet spot is the intersection of your knowledge and expertise and the audience’s desires. Capitalize on your knowledge in a specific content area. If it is a broad area such as education and teaching, figure out how you can niche down to find the best content tilt for you to be the only voice in the crowd.

5. Creator Hooks’ Jake Thomas Grows Content Business All About YouTube Titles​

Entrepreneur: Jake Thomas

Biz: Creator Hooks​

Tilt: YouTube titles

Primary Channel: Newsletter (31K), Twitter (24.5K)

Our Favorite Actionable Advice:

• Learn while working: Before working full time for Creator Hooks, Jake learned SEO, blogging, and YouTube by creating side hustles to help him improve his day job skills.
• Focus on the audience: Jake asked his newsletter audience what products they wanted. He launched a paid subscription service to his database of title breakdowns.

One More Hidden Gem: Jake firmly believes that the success of Creator Hooks is due to his content tilt. Be the only person in your field. Pick one skill and be the best in the world about it. However, you need to be careful not to diversify too much or too quickly, especially when starting out. Pick one channel, one product, and one audience and focus on growing those specifics. Become the leader in the field that your audience can depend on for credible advice and instruction. This credibility is important - especially in the age of artificial intelligence.

Being a content entrepreneur: 2023 was not the year of the creator, as many predicted. Money for creators and content entrepreneurs became scarce, and many promising content entrepreneurs folded in the towel. Being a content entrepreneur isn’t easy. These five content entrepreneurs are growing and monetizing their content businesses. You can do it too by following their models and advice.

Cheers to being a content entrepreneur, making it through 2023, and maybe we will feature you in 2024!

– Marc Maxhimer

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Join bloggers, podcasters, authors, newsletter writers, speakers, coaches and consultants, freelancers, and YouTubers at THE learning and networking event for content entrepreneurs at the lowest price of the year.

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• Joe discusses the 9 things to complete before 2024. (Content Inc.)
• Be sure to listen to Joe and Robert discuss 2024 in the annual Content Marketing Predictions Episode. (This Old Marketing)
• Reflect on the last year of your content business and your upcoming goals while contributing to research for ConvertKit's 2024 State of the Creator Economy Report. Give your insights here.​
• Joe talks with The Food Blogger Pro Podcast about developing a content strategy to stand out from the crowd.

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