MARCH 18, 2022

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Welcome to The Tilt, a twice-weekly newsletter for content entrepreneurs. Each edition is packed with the latest news, strategies, and tactics, plus inspiring creator stories and exclusive education, all to help you create, grow, and monetize better.

In this issue:

Full Tilt: Audience or Community
Stan: Total Annarchy
Please Complete This Survey on the State of Content Creators

full tilt

The Audience vs. Community Royal Rumble: Who Wins for Your Content Business?

With the onus on Web3 and the new dawn of co-creation, shared ownership, and collaboration, many creators are drawn to the utopia of building a community they can call their own. However, before you make that commitment, you should investigate both the audience and community options.

An audience is made up of people who agree to receive information from you. If the content is good enough, more people come on board. You can monetize; you can connect; you can grow.

Having an audience in front of you is a privilege; it’s down to you to serve your audience well.

They are the people who sign up to receive more from you. Then, when it works, others can take notice. For instance, The New York Times wanted to grow its subscriber audience more quickly, so they recently bought sports media outlet The Athletic for $550M.

What you create must connect with others. Whether the content is an online course, an in-person event, or a newsletter, your audience is in the moment and is committed to the content. A laser focus on building your audience from a point of interest can help you scale.

A community is made up of people who maintain a shared belief, whether you direct it or not. Things can happen without your direction. But you create a deeper sense of kinship as you interact with others. You can monetize; you can connect; you can grow.

You have to invest time to be of the community, to get to know others, to be the bridge for people, and to carry the torch for the shared mission you are all reaching for. It can sap so much energy from you, but when it works, you see a return for your efforts.

At my content-based business, You Are The Media, the audience isn’t huge (2K subscribers for the weekly email), but the sense of community is liberating. The community:

Works together, from guesting on podcasts to working together where their skillsets complement each other.
Shows forgiveness. When the power went out at an event, the show moved to a pub. No one went home or asked for their money back.
Steps up and leads. Matt King signed up as a subscriber in 2019. Now he hosts one of our online learning events.
Provides feedback and perspective on new ideas, lessening your risk at launch.
Co-creates. Our Thursday newsletter always starts with a community member introducing themselves and providing helpful recommendations.

The winner in the audience vs. community rumble? Either one. It all comes down to what you want for you and your business.

– Mark Masters

Go deeper in the audience vs. community rumble.

tilt shout-out

The Publish Press is a project from longtime YouTubers Colin and Samir, who designed the newsletter to curate and analyze the most important new stories for creators, by creators.

Join nearly 20K readers by signing up here.

we’re a stan for … Ann Handley

Entrepreneur: Ann Handley

Tilt: Friendly approach to writing

Scene: Website, Newsletter (42K), Twitter (458K), Instagram (25.4K), LinkedIn (433K)

Snack Bites:

Five years after launching a newsletter, Ann pivoted it to be a letter, writing about what she’s doing and what she thinks is important. The newsletter audience has grown to over 42K.
She’s written a Wall Street Journal bestseller that frequently pops up on creators’ “favorite” lists: Everybody Writes.
A speaker, Ann recognizes the value of working with clients before she takes the stage and with the audience after she steps down from it.
An advocate for great writing, Ann says, “Our online words are our currency.”

Why We’re a Stan: Ann’s funny, personal approach to writing and creating resonates with many. She takes what can seem like a boring topic (writing) and turns it into a fun show.

– Shameyka McCalman

Hear and connect with Ann Handley as she speaks at the first-ever CEX: Creator Economy Expo May 2-4 in Phoenix. Register today.

quick talk

Caught on … Protocol

“We’re seeing a new economy rise up and a new source of revenue for people, whether people make this a full-time living, whether it’s through platforms like Twitch or YouTube or TikTok being a secondary source of income.” – Anthony Zaccaria

things to know

Money

NFTs closer at Meta: Mark Zuckerberg says NFTs are expected in “near term” on Instagram. Creators likely will be able to mint their own on the platform and all could display NFTs on their profiles (as they can on Twitter now.) (Coindesk)
Tilt Take: It will be interesting to see how minting NFTs through a social media platform works for creators.
Brands don’t get with the program: Creator-led sponsored content draws and retains an audience – something programmatic ads could never do for a brand. (Simon Owens)
Tilt Take: Don’t underestimate the value of the individual touch offered in creator-brand deals.

Audiences

Bye, bye in 2023: Digital audience analytics is evolving in the Web3 world. Google has announced its standard universal analytics properties will stop processing new entries in 2023. In its place is Google Analytics 4, which operates across platforms, doesn’t rely exclusively on cookies, and uses an event-based data model to deliver user-centric measurements. (Google)
Tilt Take: Start now to plan your analytics migration. After all, audience data is a lifeblood to your business.
Author, author: Novelists found an unexpected bonus with their Substack newsletters. They get to see and hear from their audience through the comments section. Something a novel never would allow. (Esquire; h/t Inbox Reads)
Tilt Take: Interaction goes a long way in attracting and retaining an audience. People like to feel seen and heard.

Tech and Tools

Have pins, will travel: Pinterest’s new feature lets creators take their Idea Pins to other platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. They’ll include a watermark.
Tilt Take: Idea Pins also can link shoppable links. The expansion of their use expands selling opportunities for creators. (Tech Crunch)
Help in moderation: Instagram launched Live Moderator so creators can assign a moderator to help manage comments when you go live. (Instagram)
Tilt Take: It will be nice to focus only on delivering great content rather than having to multi-task when you go live.

And Finally

Ukraine on TikTok: The White House connected with 30 top TikTok creators to brief them on the US goals in Ukraine and answered questions about aid distribution, NATO, and the US reaction to the potential use of nuclear weapons. Why? TikTok is where people are going for news. (The Washington Post)
Tilt Take: Creators can play a critical role in the lives of their audiences. It’s one that must be taken seriously.
Ape buy: Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, acquired two well-known NFT collections – CryptoPunks and Meebits. Owners of NFTs in those collections have been given commercial rights to their tokens at no charge in the new deal. (Fortune)
Tilt Take: Expect this to be one of the first but far from the last acquisition deals that give individual NFT holders new rights.

the business of content

Don’t Do What Disney Just Did (Content Inc.)
Brands Still Shortsighted with NFTs (This Old Marketing)
SBA Extends Deferment for Small Business EIDL Covid Loans (Small Business Trends)
Bitcoin for Small Businesses: Front Line Options (Bitcoin Magazine)
Advice From 5 Female Entrepreneurs on Money, Tech, and Resilience (Mastercard)

the tilt team

Your team for this issue: Joe Pulizzi, Ann Gynn, Laura Kozak, Marc Maxhimer, and Dave Anthony, with an assist from Angelina Kaminski, Mark Masters, Shameya McCalman, and Don Borger.

The Community Rumble – March 18, 2022