JANUARY 19, 2024

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

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A signed contract is one thing. A paid invoice is another.

Almost nine in 10 businesses get paid after the invoice’s due date. In the marketing and advertising industry, 60% of invoices get paid 15 days or longer after the due date.

To ensure your content business gets paid – and paid more promptly – do these five things:

1. Send accurate invoices: Incorrect invoices account for a significant percentage of overdue invoices. Get ahead of this problem upfront. In your contract, detail the proper address (email or street) where the invoice should be sent, the accounts receivable department’s contact info (phone and email), payment terms, and the fee for late payment.

Proofread your invoices before sending them. Ensure you’ve specified the correct service, amount, due date, etc. If the company provided a purchase order number, include that on the invoice.

2. Make payment easy: Give invoice recipients several payment options. I’ve seen more medium and large companies moving to ACH transfers for regular payments. Ask if that bank-to-bank transfer option is available, and submit the necessary information even before you send an invoice. Add credit card payments as an option. Yes, those add fees (approximately 3%), but it’s usually better to get paid quickly, even if you net a little less. (Or embed the credit card payments in your original pricing and consider offering a discount for those who don’t pay by credit card.)

3. Follow up promptly and regularly: Send a friendly note asking about the invoice status on the first day after the due date to ask about the status. If you don’t get a response, follow up a week later by resending the invoice and noting “Overdue” in the subject line. Repeat the process weekly.

If the payment contact differs from the point person who worked with you, reach out to your original contact and ask for their help.

In this article, I’ve compiled language to help you create the outreach for overdue invoice follow-up.

Go old school and pick up the phone. So few ever do that a direct call can really get someone’s attention. If you didn’t secure their number, call the main line and ask for accounts receivable. (Sometimes, when I’ve done this, I find my contact never sent the invoice to be processed for payment.)

4. Negotiate terms: If you doubt the company’s ability to pay (i.e., financial trouble, no new projects moving forward), prepare to negotiate. I consider this a second-to-last resort. You could offer to accept partial payment and set up a longer-term payment plan. Or if they secured all rights for your content, they could relinquish those rights for ongoing use (and stop using your content) in return for an invoice reduction. You could trade a portion of your fee for their product or service (just make sure they are sufficiently stable to provide it).

5. Stop work: As a last resort, be prepared to stop or remove the related work. (Ensure your contract terms indicate what happens if you are unpaid. Be as specific as possible.) Send a notice and let them know when you will stop the work. Make sure to copy your primary contact as well as accounts receivable. And if they don’t pay up, follow through and stop working or remove any of their content published on your channels. If they continue to use your contact, consider working with an attorney to send a cease-and-desist letter. And if you still don’t get paid, head to court – small claims is a good option if the invoice meets its threshold amount.

Helpful Resource: How Creators Can Get Overdue Invoices Paid Without Going to Court​

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The content creator’s guide to generative AI

The robots are here to help — is how it tends to begin.

If you haven’t tried any generative AI assistants, just know that they’re getting pretty impressive. One even scored a B on the Wharton MBA exam.

Peruse the generative AI ebook we made with the smarties at Jasper.

How to heed and handle generative AI:

• Generative AI use cases and limitations
• Producing useful ideas and content
• Prompt and response examples
• Integrating across your content team

A deep introduction to speaking the language.

• An extended podcast covering six key ways you can take your content business to the next level. (Content Inc.)
• Joe and Robert talk about Apple's big change in podcast downloads that has the entire industry talking. (This Old Marketing)
• Let’s chat. Ask questions and gain insight to build your business with Tilt Your Business: A Weekly Mastermind for Content Entrepreneurs at 12 p.m. Tuesday EST.​
• Join your fellow serious content creators at the Content Entrepreneur Expo May 5-7, 2024. Save your seat today!
• ICYMI: How Content Entrepreneurs Should Use and Ask for Testimonials from Your Audience​

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