DECEMBER 21, 2021

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.

Features in this issue (view online):

Full Tilt: Need-to-Know Terms for Content Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneur: Community of Sims 4 Mods Fans
Stan: TikToker More Than His Alzheimer’s Diagnosis

full tilt

60+ Need-to-Know Terms in Business, Marketing, and More for Content Entrepreneurs

When you go from creator to entrepreneur, you encounter a new vocabulary. From A/B testing to white paper, the terms and jargon are vast.

To help, I put together a glossary of need-to-know terms in business, digital content, and more. A special thanks to The Tilt community for suggesting entries. Here are seven of them:

A/B testing – a method of publishing/distributing two versions of a web page, subject line, or newsletter to determine which one performs better.

Backlinks – when another site links to a page on your website in their content. Backlinks are a factor in search engine optimization. They can indicate to the search engines that your site’s content is valuable and/or credible.

Evergreen – content that never goes out of date. Evergreen content is attractive because it remains fresh for a prolonged time, so it can drive more traffic, including search engine visitors, and has a lower maintenance cost.

Lead magnets – a marketing term for a content asset, free offering, etc., given in exchange for the recipient’s contact details. For example, lead magnets can be trial subscriptions, samples, white papers, e-newsletters, and free consultations. The goal is to convert the recipient to become a customer. For content entrepreneurs, the conversion goal could be becoming a subscriber.

MVA (Minimum Viable Audience) – smallest potential market (audience size) to sustain the business.

ROI (Return On Investment) – attributing the resource investment impact on profit and revenue growth. For the content entrepreneur, there are different calculations you can use for ROI:

Audience ROI: total revenue divided by total downloads (or engagements, views)
Content ROI: total revenue divided by total number of content pieces
Time ROI: total revenue divided days in operation.

Squeeze page – a type of landing page to convert visitors into subscribers by providing an email address, often shorter and to the point.

– Marc Maxhimer

To learn (or remind yourself) over 60 more terms, read The ABCs for Content Entrepreneurs: A Glossary of Need-To-Know Terms in Business, Digital Content, and More.

Tilt Education

We recently expanded our educational offerings by launching our first online course, Content Entrepreneurship 101. Purchase today for LIFETIME ACCESS!

Take your content creation business from zero to millions with this online course.

Save $50 until the end of the year with coupon code TILTholiday.

content entrepreneur spotlight

Twitcher and YouTuber Troi Cultivates Community of Sims 4 Mods Fans

Entrepreneur: Troi

Biz: ItsmeTroi

Tilt: The Sims 4 mods, variety streamer

Primary Channels: Primary YouTube (197K), secondary YouTube (8.1K), Twitch (32.1K)

Other Channels: TikTok (55K), Twitter (21.1K), Instagram (8.7K), Discord (20.9K members), website

Time to First Dollar: 2 to 3 years before she earned $5 on YouTube

Rev Streams: YouTube ads, Twitch subs, sponsored content, Google ads on her website

Our Favorite Actionable Advice:

Stop looking at the numbers: Analytics are important, but checking views in real time isn’t. Troi found it would affect her streams, creating a less-than-great experience for her viewers.
Take time off: Listen to the nagging voice in your head. If you resist taking time away from streaming, you’ll burn out down the road.
Do the math: Before jumping from a paid job to full-time content creation, make sure you’ve tallied up all your living expenses, including health insurance and other costs. “If you’re not making money to sustain yourself alone, don’t leave your full-time job yet,” she says. “It’s a very rocky field.”

– Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

To learn the role her great-grandma played, how many times she applied before earning Twitch partner status, and more, check out the longer story.

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

quick talk

Caught on … The Tilt on LinkedIn

How much time will you take off for the upcoming holidays?

Just the specific holiday day: 17%
I’ll check a little each day: 28%
I’m taking off a week: 30%
Offline for more than a week: 24%

(46 votes)

things to know

Money

Web3 business boost: A decentralized web empowers creators to have more control over their work, including the creation of smart contracts. Clients automatically logged in a blockchain can expedite guaranteed payments and royalties. (Grit Daily; h/t Luis G. de la Fuente)
Tilt Take: Securing payment from brands and others can be time-consuming. We’re all for a smarter, quicker way to do it.
Athletes beat tradition: In a recent survey, the majority of retailers believe student-athlete creators perform better at driving awareness, traffic, and sales and leads than traditional social media influencers. (Inmar Intelligence; h/t The Publish Press)
Tilt Take: Given the new rules allow college student-athletes to earn money for themselves, they present serious competition for traditional creators. But it still boils down to what you can deliver for the brand.

Audiences

Rate this: Spotify listeners now can award stars to podcasts they’ve listened to for at least 30 seconds. The average star rating and total number of votes will be shown publicly. (tubefilter; tl;dr marketing)
Tilt Take: Listen to your audience who’s listening to you. However, these ratings won’t factor into personalized recommendations.
Pin to talk: Pinterest creators can interact with their audiences through the new “Reply with new Idea Pin.” You can include a visual element along with all relevant context to help your fans. (Social Media Today)
Tilt Take: Audiences will appreciate your willingness to respond directly and provide sufficient detail or further explanation. That kind of engagement contributes to a loyal audience.

Tech and Tools

PANTONE split: Adobe software will no longer be pre-loaded with PANTONE Color Libraries. The color brand is going full force with its own platform PANTONE Connect launched in spring 2020. (DesignTAXI)
Tilt Take: Fortunately, the PANTONE Connect interface works with Adobe Creative Cloud, but it requires a little more effort by Adobe users. However, it also makes it easier for more visual creators to access all of its 15K colors.
Headline goals: “Use your headlines as a filter. You may think you want to reach everyone and get as many views as possible. That shouldn’t be your goal at all. Your goal should be to reach the right people.” (Better Marketing; h/t For The Interested)
Tilt Take: When crafting your headlines, ensure they resonate with your target audience.

And Finally

45 seconds more: Instagram is testing 60 seconds for Stories from the current 15-second limit. It’s an attempt to beat Snapchat and TikTok for viewers and creators. (9To5Mac; h/t Matt Navarra)
Tilt Take: Giving creators and audiences what they want (or what Instagram thinks they want) indicates how valuable each group is to the Meta-owned platform.
Healthier Toks: TikTok is in a test phase to stop recommending content that viewed sequentially, like extreme dieting videos, could be harmful for viewers. Experts in medicine, clinical psychology, AI ethics, and more are involved in the effort. (Axios)
Tilt Take: A healthier approach to social media is definitely a great reason to update algorithms.

we’re a stan for Charles Mallet and Basia Mallet

Charles Mallet became a sensational TikToker after uploading videos of choreographed dance routines, baking delicious recipes, and taking in all life has to offer with his loved ones.

He made his first TikTok video in 2019 with the help of his granddaughter Basia Mallet, who became his unofficial personal social media manager. She tells ABC7, “I see him smiling. I see him dancing. I see him cooking things that he used to do before he got diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.”

Charles, whose content has been reshared by the pages of megastars Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, also uses the platform to educate his 4.7M followers on what it’s like to live with Alzheimer’s, a condition the 85-year-old was diagnosed with years ago.

Charles’ TikTok has attracted sponsorship deals with Crayola, Bubble, and other brands.

Why we’re a Stan: The grandfather and grandaughter duo worked together to create content close to their hearts that touches the hearts of millions of others.

– Shameyka McCalman

the business of content

A 2022 Goal-Setting Process that Works (Content Inc. podcast)
Social Platforms Burn Content Creators (This Old Marketing podcast)
14 Tips for Achieving The Desired Outcome in Any Negotiation (Forbes)
The 7 Best Apps to Hire a Real Personal Assistant Through Your Phone (MUO)
Tips for Marketing a New Startup (The Wise Marketer)

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, Sarah Lindenfeld Hall, Shameyka McCalman, and Don Borger.

ABCs for Content Entrepreneurs – December 21, 2021