JUNE 18, 2024

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

Plan for a Vacation Even If You Don’t Go Anywhere

Freedom.

It’s the most common reason creators turn into content entrepreneurs.

The Tilt research finds that 79% say it’s the independence that a content business offers, 77% value the flexible work hours, and 39% say it lets them have more time for non-work activities.

But in reality, as you well know, freedom doesn’t mean you can do anything (or not do anything) when you want to do it.

So, how do you plan to do what you need to do and still enjoy the freedom content entrepreneurship provides? Plan and work like you’re taking a week or two away from the business.

Even if you won’t be taking a vacation, planning like you are allows you to get ahead in the business and gives you the flexibility you desire as a content entrepreneur.

(BTW, some entrepreneurs opt to suspend delivery of new products, such as their newsletters, podcast episodes, etc., when they go on vacation. But we don’t recommend that strategy, particularly for early-stage entrepreneurs. As The Tilt’s founder, Joe Pulizzi, says, consistency is essential for short- and long-term success.)

Determine your minimum viable work: A business introduces a minimum viable product (MVP) to the market—it has enough features to attract consumers' attention. In some cases, the business updates the MVP after receiving feedback from buyers.

In the get-ready-for-vacation strategy, you can follow a similar process. Create a list of what must get done in a week to deliver for your audience and business.

For example, The Tilt publishes this newsletter twice a week. So, we would need to complete the content and production for two newsletters. However, we could take the week off from working on a long-term research project.

Caveat: Consider how you can reduce your MVP, so it’s still valuable for the audience but requires less work. For example, when three-day holiday weekends come around, The Tilt reduces its Things To Know section in the Tuesday newsletter to five items instead of the usual 10.

Use tricks and tools: Unless you’re really taking a vacation where cell and internet service are unavailable, you’ll be tempted to cheat this process. You’ll say to yourself that you don’t need to get X done before you go because it will just take 15 minutes to get done the next week. Resist the temptation.

Break down your must-do projects into a list of tasks and set deadlines for each one. Run into a scheduling problem? Don’t just miss the task deadline and expect to get to it later. Reschedule the deadline, so it’s still done before you go.

Automation tools are your closest friends at this stage. If you publish your social media posts, blog articles, or newsletters in real time, now’s the time to explore their native scheduling tools or other scheduling services. And when you get back from vacation, I bet you won’t return to live posting any time soon.

If you do have tasks that cannot be done in advance, consider contracting with someone to help while you’re away. Virtual assistants can be helpful with this. Of course, you can’t wait until the last minute to hire someone and grow to trust them with your business. So plan ahead. Hire them for a month or two and work with them on the tasks before you expect them to do them by themselves.

Update your calendar: Mark your calendar as “busy” not only for the time you plan to take off but also for the two days before and after. You’ll need time to finish tasks and get organized upon your return, and having meetings or other scheduled events will thwart those efforts.

Now that you know what must get done, you can plan how to do it. I’m a big proponent of calendaring my work – even when it doesn’t include appointments. By blocking out time each day or week to complete tasks, I have a better chance of actually doing them.

Even if you don’t subscribe to the calendaring strategy, you should do some form of it when creating your vacation strategy. How much time does it take you to create and produce?

Caveat: Not sure how long it takes to get a task done? Use a time-tracking tool, like Toggl, to assess. You’ll find the data invaluable not only when planning for a vacation but also when evaluating your business model and more.

Whether you’re taking a vacation or just getting ahead in your business, planning to remove yourself from the business can bring both immediate benefits and help you shift how you operate the business going forward. You’ll gain more flexibility, so you can grow the business and do the non-work things you want to do.

-Ann Gynn

supported by: It’s time to take your next step toward membership. As a company committed to empowering creators to thrive with membership businesses, we valued the chance to connect with many of you face-to-face at the Content Entrepreneur Expo (CEX) and answer your questions about membership. As a refresher, here are some key points about Memberful that matter most to content entrepreneurs: Memberful helps you become independent from advertisers and social media algorithms. Memberful allows you to sell access to your online courses, blogs, newsletters, podcasts, and more all while earning sustainable recurring income and building your community. Plus, Memberful is EASY! Quickly integrate with your favorite tools like LearnDash, MailChimp, and Discord to build a membership business directly on your website. ​ Start your membership business today,

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Entrepreneur: Leo Babauta

Biz: Zen Habits

Tilt: Self-improvement, minimalism, and Zen living.

Scene: Blog (200K), books, subscriptions, website, X (170.4K), Facebook (19.1K), Instagram (3.9K)

Snack Bites:

• Leo Babauta quit smoking in 2005. Since then, he has turned his life around, completing marathons and fitness challenges, adopting a vegan lifestyle, and losing over 60 pounds.
• He wrote those lifestyle changes in a blog, which led to his content business, where he shares his methods through blogs, books, and coaching subscriptions.
• Leo’s success has come by starting with small steps to achieve every monumental change.

Why We Stan: Leo transformed himself and then realized he could help others do the same through a content business. His candor about his journey has helped him build a large and dedicated audience on multiple platforms.

-Leo Bonacci

​Read Leo Baubata’s story.​

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

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• Join Michelle and Ann at 12 p.m. US EDT Tuesday for Tilt Your Business: A Weekly Mastermind for Content Entrepreneurs.
• ​Sell More Using This Method (Content Inc.)
• ​Is Google the Big Loser in Apple Intelligence? (This Old Marketing)
• ​3 Steps to Prep for an Author Event (and What to Do When You’re There) (Publish & Prosper)
• Experience CEX 2024 from anywhere in the world! Purchase a Digital Pass today to receive instant, on-demand access to all recorded sessions for the next 12 months, allowing you to watch and rewatch at your convenience.

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