JULY 23, 2024

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

It’s Still Work

They say, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” But even if your work is fulfilling, it’s still work.

You can set healthy boundaries and habits to maintain balance. There’s plenty of opportunity to love your work, set boundaries, connect with your communities, and produce quality content. Let’s dive into some tactics.

Early in your journey, work-life balance will look more like work-work-life balance: You’re tackling the day job, then poring over the content job, all while nurturing personal relationships and interests.

Whether content is your only business or just one of your responsibilities, don’t see content creation as a part of your personal life; it’s still a type of creatively demanding labor. Setting specific weekly times to plan, edit, and publish your content will help you progress steadily toward your goals without overloading your schedule.

Finding ways to reduce stress at your current job can also give you more energy to devote to content creation. You could try to negotiate a more manageable workload or adjust your schedule if you have a flexible work arrangement. It can be nerve-racking, but your manager and teammates could also prove a surprising source of support.

Your personal relationships and interests should not be the things sacrificed when trying to find balance. The people who mean the most to you will become your biggest supporters on your journey, and cultivating your other passions and hobbies will make your life more fulfilling and your content more engaging.

Content creators at any stage should focus on consistent publishing schedules that are sustainable to follow. Aim for a balance that keeps your community engaged but accommodates enough time for rest. For example, if you’re a streamer who works 40 to 50 hours a week, maybe only stream an hour or two every couple of weekdays and prioritize longer streams on the weekends. And if you get vacation time at work, use it as vacation time. Resting and recharging are integral to the creative process.

It’s easy to feel that time not spent building your following is time wasted, but avoiding burnout will allow you to have a longer, healthier content business. Repurposing content comes in handy here. Streams, blogs, and podcast episodes are easy to mine for short-form content. You can also be more efficient by expanding your content’s reach by simulcasting videos or streams or sharing content across platforms.

As your community grows, so will the pressure to always be on, and boundaries can erode whether you are running a Discord server full of viewers or constantly refreshing your Instagram for new comments. The weight of your visibility can become overwhelming.

It can feel strange to be tired of the attention and managing so many people who have come together because of you. After all, feedback is the lifeblood of a creator’s career. To drive engagement, you need comments and shares on your content. Email inboxes and DMs must be open for business inquiries.

But while positive feedback gives you a rush like no other, negative feedback can be earth-shattering. That first hate comment will feel like your first heartbreak. Be receptive but selective when it comes to negative feedback. Understand that some can help you grow, but learn to filter out the bad-faith comments.

As you become more prevalent online, my advice is to ground yourself in real life to achieve a work-work-life or work-life balance. Lean on friends and family for support, but also build a support network of other creators, especially those who live geographically close to you. The people who share your content, give you professional advice, and help you rise will also be able to empathize with your struggles when things get tough.

-Ashray Urs of Streamlabs

Entrepreneur: Hanna Raskin

Biz: The Food Section​

Tilt: Hard-hitting and investigative food and drink journalism across the US South

Primary Channel: Newsletter (850 paid, 10K free)

Other Channels: LinkedIn (1K), Instagram (5.4K), Facebook group (150)

Time to First Dollar: 2 months

Rev Streams: Paid subscriptions, partnerships, events, sponsorships, paid events

Our Favorite Actionable Advice

• Follow your interest: A former reporter turned museum studies graduate, Hanna combined her interests in investigative reporting and food into a Substack newsletter.
• Gain freedom with some help: Hanna won a year-long grant from Substack, so she quit her full-time job to devote all her time to the content business.
• Add revenue stream quickly: After two months, Hanna added content behind a paywall for subscribers — $9 a month or $99 a year. Later, she offered a “thrift shop” option, charging $4 for a collection of six to eight evergreen stories.

-Marc Maxhimer

​Read Hanna Raskin’s story.​

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

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• Join us at 12 p.m. Tuesday for Tilt Your Business, a podcast for content entrepreneurs.
• We will be selling the CEX digital pass until the end of this month. Instant access to over 40+ sessions to view at your leisure. Use code DIGITAL to save $95. Be sure to buy your pass today!

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