MARCH 19, 2024

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

full tilt

You work and work in your content business. One day, you take a moment – or perhaps the moment takes you – to see it’s working, and often working really well.

So, how do you know when success hits? Since there is no singular definition of success, we asked some of the expert creators speaking at CEX to complete this sentence:

I knew my business was a success when …

My audience started paying for access to my content. It provided me the proof I needed to believe that my insight, advice, and perspective was truly valuable to an audience I own.” – Andrew Davis, bestselling author and internally acclaimed speaker

My podcast got the No. 1 spot in the running category in the US in its debut week.” – Claire Bartholic, creator, host, and author of The Planted Runner

“I created my first digital, scalable product. No longer was I making money only on one-on-one coaching but on a book that I wrote part time over a few months that immediately bumped me up to an income that was equal to my non-creator friends working full time.” – Rachel Smith, founder of Rachel’s English on YouTube

I had the freedom to go on field trips with my kids. Why? I want to be the dad who’s always around, yet I’m also the primary breadwinner in my family. Add to that my own desire to do meaningful work while keeping control of my calendar, and that idea of field trip freedom communicates various values coming together.” – Austin L. Church, founder of Freelance Cake and author

I was getting referrals off referrals. Knowing that I was making an impact for not just clients but anyone who hopped on a Zoom call with me, enough for them to refer me to someone else who trusted them, proves to me time and time again what a difference I make, even in just a single conversation! I still get most of my business via referrals from past clients, and I’m proud to say that my clients not only become great friends, but also my greatest marketing allies.” – Cat Margulis, host of Passion Project podcast, author, and book coach

Creators whom I had never met stopped me in the hallways at conferences saying I had helped them land five-figure sponsorships because of my videos.” Justin Moore, founder of Creator Wizard

Well-known industry leaders started asking me to mentor inside their programs, create curriculum for them, and partner on projects together.” – Michelle Martello, founder of Minima Designs

Helpful Resource: How To Set Goals for Your Content Business

– Ann Gynn

You can fill in the blank about your next success with the support of these and other speakers at CEX. Spring pricing ends next week. Register today!


Supported by Ecamm:

The Brand Everyone’s Talking About

Hi, I’m XayLi. Can I tell you a secret? When I first started in the online space, I felt invisible. I knew that I had a ton to offer and wanted to share my my knowledge and experiences, but no one saw my value.

I wanted to be the brand that everyone talks about, but knew I’d need some help. So I started taking a look at what some of the greats were doing. And with some pointers in hand, I began to craft the concept of what an in-demand brand consisted of, and I was mind blown.

These people had audiences (large and small) who trusted them! They were clear, consistent, and focused on building community. And the most prominent folks were doing all of this on camera. They were using video content to attract an audience, nurture that audience, and sell to that audience, too.


we stan Taylor Tieman

Entrepreneur: Taylor Tieman

Biz: The Legalmiga Library

Tilt: Legal content for content entrepreneurs and small business owners

Scene: Website, monthly newsletter, Instagram (2.3K) X (36), Facebook (330)

Snack Bites:

  • Taylor Tieman is an attorney who created a content business around legal content sought by creators, such as contracts, privacy policies, terms and conditions.
  • She sells a monthly membership for access to her Study Hall sessions, a quarterly Q&A with her where she answers questions and addresses legal topics.
  • While a few of her content products are free, most have an affordable fee. She even offers payment plans.
  • Taylor also is a legal content influencer. Her first deal was a $250 Instagram post from Bank of America.

Why We Stan: Taylor saw a gap, particularly for Latinx, women, and BIOPIc communities, and filled it. The Legalmiga Library also donates 5% of its profits to LEAP, a fellowship program for students who are historically underrepresented in the legal field.

Read Taylor’s story.

Know a content creator who’s going full tilt? DM us. Or email [email protected].


things to know

Money
  • Yippee move: Yahoo for Creators is in beta mode. It’s a play to get more lifestyle content – fitness, DIY, travel, home, style – for Yahoo News, paying writers to publish and monetize stories under its brand name. [Fast Company; h/t Lindsey Gamble]
    Tilt Take: It won’t be a primary revenue source, but it could work as a good marketing play for creators.
  • No more: Kast Media has filed for bankruptcy less than a year after accusations that it wasn’t paying creators (proven true given the debts listed in their filing). [podnews]
    Tilt Take: If you aren’t getting paid promptly, start investigating then. Negotiate payment plans or even partial payment if that’s the only way to get some of what you’re owed.
Audiences
  • AI get-together: Respond to LinkedIn’s AI-prompted questions and add your voice to its collaborative article. The tool has seen a four-times increase in weekly member contributions. [Social Media Today]
    Tilt Take: Add a reply that furthers the conversation or stands out among the many who respond.
  • Gaming business: LinkedIn may get in on the word and puzzle games play. Its early efforts are called Queens, Inference, and Crossclimb. [Tech Crunch]
    Tilt Take: Another indicator that LinkedIn is developing an environment that motivates users to stick around and make it their daily go-to platform. Will it create the next Wordle?
Tech and Tools
  • Crawl update: Google says despite what some SEO experts advise, it doesn’t have a fixed crawl budget time for websites. It bases its crawling time on sites’ content quality. [Search Engine Journal]
    Tilt Take: Another nod that you can’t game the Google system unless you count content quality as a “gaming” tactic.
  • Label it: Creators must label AI-generated content is one provision among many in the EU’s new AI Act. [Tubefilter]
    Tilt Take: Even if you’re not in the EU, your content may be held to its standards since the internet makes it available there.
And Finally
  • TikTok business: TikTok creators continue their outrage about the US House of Reps’ passing a bill to ban TikTok if it remains under a China-based owner. They say it will hurt the economy, given their business relies on it. [Associated Press]
    Tilt Take: Expect TikTok to dominate headlines as creators outside the platform continue to build small businesses without government interference.
  • Last sip: Starbucks won’t go full steam ahead with its Odyssey NFT (non-fungible token) rewards program. [NewsBytes]
    Tilt Take: No formal word on why, but perhaps the masses aren’t prepared to live in an NFT world.


the business of content


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