JULY 9, 2024

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

Are You Prepared for the Rest of 2024?

With the first half of 2024 in the books, it’s a good time to take stock of where your content business is and what you should plan to do with the less than six months remaining in the year.

It’s also an excellent time to revisit the hot topics and ideas for content entrepreneurs. We curated the seven most popular features in The Tilt newsletter since January. Get a glimpse of what they’re all about, then click on the title for more helpful advice.

1. What Six-Figure Success Requires From Content Entrepreneurs​

Recap: Kajabi’s State of Creators ’24 Report finds revenue diversification makes a difference in earnings. Creators earning less than $100K have an average of two revenue streams. However, creators earning between $100K and $150K operate five or six revenue streams. The top earners – over $150K – have seven revenue streams on average.

Lesson: Expand your revenue streams. Consider how to maximize one content product by turning it into related revenue streams. According to Kajabi, online courses, digital downloads, subscriptions/memberships, and online coaching/consulting are the most profitable formats.

2. ‘Consulting Is Dead’ Instigates Innovative Marketing, Reminder of Popular Revenue Model for Content Entrepreneurs​

Recap: The Wall Street Journal front page screamed, “Consulting is dead.” Though it was a clickbaity print ad, it created a conversation. The Tilt research finds consulting the most frequently used and profitable revenue stream. Forty-nine percent of those surveyed sell consulting services, followed by books for 37% of the entrepreneurs.

Lesson: As an expert creator, you’re growing a business based on specialized knowledge or passion. For your consulting revenue stream, think about what you know – and how you can help others benefit from that knowledge. In designing the revenue stream, don’t offer too many choices publicly (i.e., on your website) so that your potential consulting clients get confused and move on. Weigh the pros and cons of retainer, project, and hourly models.

3. Newsletters Still Represent Big Opportunity for Creators Who Know How To Retain Subscribers​

Recap: Tech Crunch says it’s a prime window of opportunity for newsletters. Newsletter platform Beehiiv announced a $33M investment. Visitors to Substack grew from 34.8M in August 2023 to 49.4M in January 2024, and LinkedIn newsletters tripled to 450M in a year.

Lesson: Strategize now how to sustain your newsletter for the long haul. Do more of what your audience says they want, and don’t forget the value of personalization.

4. Accessibility Isn’t Just for a Few, It’s for Growing Your Audience​

Recap: Many people think of disability or impairment in a singular and absolute sense – a permanent condition. While many people fall into the permanent categories, such as those who have permanent hearing or vision loss, temporary and situational disabilities also exist.

Lesson: Make your content accessible to all of those categories, and you’ll grow your audience and business.

5. Stop the Data Overload: How To Narrow The Metrics That Matter for Your Content Business​

Recap: In a digital world, you can know a lot about your content’s performance. But, frankly, so many data points overwhelm even the most analytical entrepreneur. To make metrics a helpful tool that you’ll actually use in your business, narrow the choices to what matters most.

Lesson: Pick five to 10 data points, then create a spreadsheet template to track them at least every month. How do you know what data to select? Look to the goals of your content business.

6. The Content Entrepreneur Book Collaboration Worked For This Reason​

Recap: The Content Entrepreneur book debuted with 33 co-authors from the newly launched custom imprint Tilt Publishing. This wasn’t the infamous group project in school, notorious for a few people doing the work and everybody getting the credit. The Content Entrepreneur authors all wrote chapters and marketed the book.

Lesson: “The No. 1 thing to do any kind of group collaborative content-related project is to make sure the people on it care about the outcome, not what they’re going to get from the outcome,” says co-author Rebecca Achen.

7. Forget Resolutions: 21 Things Content Entrepreneurs Should Start and Stop in 2024​

Recap: New Year’s resolutions usually don’t work. Instead, CEX speakers share what content entrepreneurs should stop and start doing this year.

Lesson: Skift CEO Rafat Ali advises you to start producing. “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.

As for his stop advice? Wasting time on X. But he really means you should figure out where your target audience is and don’t assume they’re just on social channels.

-Ann Gynn

What’s on your to-do list for the rest of 2024? Reply to this email to let us know.

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Entrepreneur: Carl Landau

Biz: Pickleball Media​

Tilts: 50+ year-olds who don't want to retire but want to build their (un)retirement good life and pickleball fans

Primary Channels: Podcast – I Used To Be Somebody (2K - 3K per episode)

Other Channels: Blog, newsletter (3.5K), LinkedIn (11.9K), Facebook (610), YouTube (8), Pickleball for Dummies book (+12K copies sold)

Rev Streams: Sponsors, book, tours​

Our Favorite Actionable Advice

• Start with an audience: Before Carl launched the I Used To Be Somebody podcast, he and his wife Diana launched a newsletter to ensure they had their audience’s email addresses.
• Get creative: Their newsletter and podcast about second acts also included a segment on life lessons in pickleball, a rapidly growing sport Carl and many in their target audience did, too.
• Listen to listeners: A podcaster listener who once worked on the Dummies publishing series reached out to suggest Carl (and his team) author the version for pickleball.

-Ann Gynn

​Read Carl Landau’s story.​

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

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• Listen Tuesday for Tilt Your Business. The podcast hosted by Michelle and Ann starts at 12 p.m. US EDT.​
• ​Do or Do Not ...There Is No Supposed To (Content Inc.)
• ​Did Marketing Eat Content Marketing? (This Old Marketing)
• ​5 Things to Know Before You Start Publishing (Publish & Prosper)
• We will be selling the CEX digital pass for just a few more weeks. Instant access to over 40+ sessions to view at your leisure. Be sure to buy your pass today!

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