FEBRUARY 14, 2025

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content entrepreneur spotlight

How Chenell Basilio Reverse-Engineered Success From 0 to 40K Newsletter Subscribers

Entrepreneur: Chenell Basilio

Biz: Growth in Reverse

Tilt: Reverse-engineering how top creators grew from 0 to 50K subscribers

Primary Channel: Newsletter (40K)

Other Channels: X (18.6K), LinkedIn (11.2K), Youtube (583)

Time to First Dollar: 5 months

Rev Streams: Sponsorships, affiliates, membership

Our Favorite Actionable Advice

Identify an audience need: Chenell’s journey started with a curiosity about how another creator built his business. She wasn’t alone and decided to address this gap in the marketplace.
Use revenue-producing skills in the early stages: Chenell used her SEO and paid ad experience to start a consulting business that brought in revenue as she transitioned to her newsletter business.
Prioritize relationship-building: Chenell grew her newsletter to thousands of subscribers without spending money on ads. She also thanked every newsletter operator who recommended her.
Monetize early but don’t wait to raise prices: Chenell monetized her newsletter at a low rate ($100) when she had fewer than 5K subscribers. Within a year, she raised her rates to over $1.1K an issue when she had 26K subscribers and a 48% open rate.
Diversify revenue streams: Chenell’s next major revenue stream was a paid community instead of an online course because it gave her more enjoyment and revenue and gave members more value. This year, she started a podcast and sold a sponsorship for five episodes before publishing the first one.

– Marc Maxhimer

And be sure to join Chenell this August at the Content Entrepreneur Expo. Register today for the best rates!

Rally a team: Nonfiction author Tracy Otsuka says she enlisted 130 passionate readers to help promote her book and create a movement around her message. She tells more of her story from podcast host to published author in this episode. [Author’s Edge podcast from Allison Lane]
Get on the shelf … SXSW, the well-known media and music conference, is turning the page and adding a book imprint. [Publishers Weekly]
Not so great … Here are five pieces of bad book publishing advice. [Alyssa Matesic]
Take a journey … Creators with a travel tilt should consider adding this new revenue stream. [Lulu]
2025 book releases … Have you grabbed copies of the latest books from Tilt Publishing?

100K creators: Men earn 40% more per influencer collaboration than women. And women make up 70% of the influencer marketing, according to the the 2025 State of Influencer Marketing Report that looked at first-party data from 100K creators and over 40K advertisers. [Collabstr]
Tilt Take: Don’t be afraid to ask for what you’re worth (and know your worth is high)!
Pay up: The UK’s Revenue and Customs has launched a campaign to remind content creators that they may owe taxes. Those making over 1K pounds or $1,244 a year must fill it in on a tax return. [Bloomberg]
Tilt Take: No matter where you pay taxes, plan the cost into your fees (and pay the taxes).

Apple bite: Fourth quarter podcast listens were down 13% compared to the same period last year, according to Acast research. However, the drop is primarily attributed to Apple’s new download process. [Acast; h/t Sounds Profitable]
Tilt Take: In other words, all those automatic downloads aren’t calculated, giving a truer reflection of podcast listenership.

Newly social: Buzzfeed, the media giant once known for its listicles and quizzes, plans to launch a new social media platform. It will be designed as an alternative to TikTok and Meta, which Buzzfeed says don’t “care very much about the content” and are “much more interested in technology and AI.” [The Hollywood Reporter]
Tilt Take: Build a new platform if you already have a huge audience that is likely to convert. Otherwise, it’s a much tougher road.

On pause: Chinese ecommerce outlet Shein stopped partnerships with content creators until at least March after the U.S. implemented new tariffs. [Tubefilter]
Tilt Take: World events can affect your business, that’s why you shouldn’t avoid the news headlines.

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