JANUARY 2, 2024

View in Browser

Welcome to this abbreviated edition of The Tilt. Happy 2024!

21 Things To Start and Stop

Stop making resolutions and start doing in 2024.

OK, OK, I know what you’re thinking: “Wait, I already do so much; how could I add one more thing to the list?”

So to help, we’ve paired something to start with something to stop in 2024 (and a bonus extra stop) in this advice from some experts speaking at Content Entrepreneur Expo this May.

​Jay Clouse, founder of Creator Science, says:

START: Think about how the content they create CONTINUES to work for them weeks, months, and years after publishing.

STOP: Don’t think about follower growth over revenue growth.

​Claire Bartholic, author and host of The Planted Runner, says:

START: Remind your audience that you are human. Yes, you want to be seen as an expert that gives great value, but sharing a few things every so often that are off-niche can make you more relatable.

STOP: Creating 30 posts in two minutes with ChatGPT.

​Cathy McPhillips, chief growth officer of Marketing AI Institute, says:

START: Focus on small, meaningful ways where AI can assist you day to day. Think about where you spend the most time, the most money or where you're gaining traction and how more intelligent technology can assist you.

STOP: Don’t think of AI as selling out or taking shortcuts when, in fact, it can be a partner in helping your business grow the way you want it to.

​Austin L. Church, writer, marketing consultant, founder of Freelance Cake, says:

START: Double down on what's working. What 20% is producing 80% of your results? Or, if you didn't put in enough reps to produce clear patterns or insights, pick five creators who are getting the results you want, determine what they're thinking and doing differently, and map out a one-page strategy based on that.

STOP: Identify the 80% of your effort that isn't moving you toward your income and lifestyle goals. Maybe certain channels, opportunities, or relationships looked promising at first, but looking back, you see that things didn't go the way you'd hoped. That's OK. That's life. However, now is the time to shed that extra weight so you can focus more on the 20% that is working.

Michael Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner, says:

START: Create long-form written content and publish it directly on the major social media platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter/X. This will get your written content more visibility than just publishing it on your website or in your newsletter.

STOP: Anything that is not achieving your business objectives. This year is a great opportunity to audit all that you do and call it all into question. Each thing you stop makes room for something new.

​Cat Margulis, author, book coach, and host of Passion Project podcast, says:

START: I think we've seen enough trends come and go. Video! Not video! Audiences want short form! Long form is back! Lean into your individual content strengths, optimizing these channels and platforms and really developing deep, meaningful relationships with your audiences, wherever and however it is that they like to connect with you.

STOP: Chasing the latest greatest platform, audience, app, or tool. Focus on what's authentic to and about you.

​Rafat Ali, CEO, Skift, says:

START: Producing. Everything that you need to create exists either for free or almost free. No excuse not to be creating, I am a big fan of action over intent. Volume isn't everything, but a minimum volume in digital channels matters. Building direct relationships with your audiences matters.

STOP: Wasting time on X. But seriously, figure out where your target audience is, and don't assume it is all on social channels. It could be email. It could be offline at events. You could get false signals from what the fly-by audience on social channels tells or doesn't tell you.

​Adam Schaeuble, host of Podcasting Business School, says:

START: If you are a coach/consultant, find new ways to show off your skills via your content. I do a coaching-style episode called a Podcast Audit every Friday on my show, Podcasting Business School. This is a 30-minute free coaching session with a listener. I get to show off what I can do as a coach and level up my expert positioning with my brand.

STOP: I would like to see podcasters doing fewer (or stop doing) interview episodes. If you want to sell your own programs, products, and services, you need to be positioned as the expert of your show. If you primarily do interview-based episodes, you are seen as the person that interviews the experts (your guests), which actually diminishes your expert positioning (and your ability to convert listeners into paying clients.)

​Soundarya Balasubramani, author of Unshackled and creator of Unshackled.club community, says:

START: Spend more time than you think is necessary hiring good team members & delegating most of what you do.

STOP: Don’t feeling guilty for charging money for your product or service. Rather, focus on providing 10x the value for the money you're charging.

​Justin Moore, founder of Creator Wizard, says:

START: Ask your audience more detailed questions about the problems that they're having so you can provide content and offers that solve those issues.

STOP: Fearing "sales" conversations with your audience/customers. If you truly believe you can help them solve their problems, your No. 1 priority should be helping them understand how you can transform their lives.

And finally, Kate Ertmann, creator of Kate Loves Math, says stop rushing in 2024: “What do you lose when you take shortcuts to completing items on your checklist? Building something of value has layers of thought behind it; that's what makes it sustainable.”

– Ann Gynn

What do you plan to start and stop in 2024? Reply to this email or tag us on social #TheTiltNews and we’ll follow up to see how it goes.

​Meet and learn from these experts at CEX from May 5 to 7 in Cleveland, Ohio.​

Entrepreneur: Becky Powell

Tilt: Literacy worksheets for teachers of young students

Scene: ​Sight Words Activities​

Snack Bites:

• Becky started selling worksheets to teachers in a digital marketplace, Teachers Pay Teachers, while on maternity leave from her teaching job.
• Eight years later, the kindergarten teacher earns over $125K a year from over 400 digital products.
• Becky’s husband Jerome joined the content business a year after it started and now has his own marketplace of editable PDFs for educators.

Why We Stan: Becky picked a content niche that she knew would resonate and learned how to market herself by identifying the trends and keywords that resonate. She also focuses all her energy on a single platform.

​Get more of Becky Powell’s story.​

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

​