MAY 9, 2023

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

A lot of insights got shared at Creator Economy Expo last week. These offer a glimpse of the takeaways from the keynote stage to help your business.

Thanks to Jim MacLeod, Christine Gritmon, Christine Campbell, Laura DeMarco, Melanie Deziel, Brent W. Peterson, Jennifer Watson, Brook (Bates) Bilyj, Fernando Labastida for your tweets.

Content entrepreneurship: The creator economy is built off entrepreneurs building and monetizing audiences by delivering amazing content experiences, says Joe Pulizzi, founder of The Tilt and Creator Economy Expo.

In sharing the newly released Content Entrepreneur Benchmark Research, he breaks down what a successful content entrepreneur does:

• Monetize faster.
• Plan budget and runway (length of time to profitability).
• Focus on a niche audience.
• Use one core platform.
• Diversify your monetization streams.

Chris Ducker emphasizes the need to think like a business owner, not a content creator: “Every single time you create a piece of content and put it on the internet; you are creating a business asset.”

Getting started: Jay Baer thought, “What if I just tried to teach people part of what I know?” And so, he created a tequila content business.

But being an expert doesn’t mean creating expert-level content. No question is too basic when you start out. As Jay explains, you don’t want to be so narrow in your message that you miss the people that you are trying to educate.

Put simply: Your ideal audience is the person you used to be, according to Jay.

Connect and create: Comedian Mike Paramore twists the goal most of us would think a humor content creator would have. “As a comedian, you’re not trying to make people laugh. You’re trying to find the people who think you’re funny,” he says.

It’s a great lesson – you’re trying to find your audience, not trying to make an audience like your content.

Mike also has another nugget of wisdom for all creators: You never know what is going to hit, so you can’t worry about it.

You can’t worry about what content will work, and you can’t worry about generative artificial intelligence tools. Instead, realize the difference between you and AI.

Ann Handley gives a healthy perspective on the subject: “AI writing tools are the helper on your shoulder, not sitting at your keyboard.”

She says you can use AI for good – connect ideas, draft, edit, summarize, brainstorm, gut-checking, and outlining. But you also must use your creative brain for good as you write.

Among some of the other great tips tweeted by the Creator Economy Expo peeps:

On sponsorships

• Start engaging with a brand weeks before you want to pitch. – Dee Brissett​
• Potential sponsors only care about their goals. Ask them what they want! – Justin Moore​
• Being a big fish in a small pond gives you lots of room for negotiating. – Justin Moore​

On operating a business

• Success doesn’t rely on doing all the things all at once. Success lies in your ability to prioritize well. – Alexis Grant​
• When you can work anywhere at any time, it doesn’t mean you should work everywhere all the time. – Nora Dunn​

– Ann Gynn

Let’s talk Creator Economy Expo at 12 p.m. US EDT Tuesday (5/9). Join The Tilt’s Ann Gynn and Tilter Michelle Peterson Clark to talk about what got your entrepreneurial brain jumping. Did a presenter motivate you to make a change? To think about something differently? Didn’t make it to CEX? Listen in to the helpful takeaways. See you on Twitter Spaces.

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Entrepreneur: Alexis Grant

Biz: They Got Acquired

Tilt: Guidance for entrepreneurs interested in selling their $100K to $50M businesses

Primary Channels: Newsletter, podcast, reports​

Other Channels: Twitter (2.3K)

Time to First Dollar: Secured a newsletter and podcast sponsorships before launch by reaching out to potential advertisers.

Rev Streams: Sponsorships, grant, reports, fees from advisors and brokers

Our Favorite Actionable Advice:

• Create a valuable, not necessarily big, audience: Though They Got Acquired’s subscriber list has only 5.5K subscribers, it’s valuable to sponsors and advertisers because the readers and listeners are entrepreneurs who plan to sell their businesses in the next few years.
• Stick to the core: Alexis says she gets the itch to add Instagram to the mix, but she resists it because a year into the business, she must stay focused where she started.
• Find an audience that spends: As you shape your content tilt, target an audience you can help – and who can pay for the content you produce or the advertisers and sponsors who promote their business.

– Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

Read more of Alexis Grant’s story in the longer story.

Want to get more to help grow your business and manage your life as an entrepreneur? Purchase a CEX digital pass today. Over 40 hours of recorded sessions all at your fingertips for on-demand viewing.

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• Joe shares the five key findings for content entrepreneur success. (Content Inc.)
• The boys do a complete roundup of the latest creator economy research, as well as an overview of the keynotes at CEX, all inside the Evergreen Podcast Networks studio at CEX. (This Old Marketing)
• Have you ever received any of this bad advice? (Entrepreneur)
• A lesson in failure from a defeated NBA champion. (SmartCompany)
• 10 tips for starting a small business. (Forbes)

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