MAY 31, 2022

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

In this issue:

Full Tilt: Golden Tickets
Content Entrepreneur: Not Really About the Content
Tilt Education Free Course: Web3 in 30 Minutes

full tilt

The Realized Potential of Never-Ending Tickets

I’m back with an update on the business potential of NFTs for content entrepreneurs in the form of a Never-Ending Ticket. (Need to catch up? Check out NFTs 101 for content creators and the introduction of Never-Ending Tickets.)

Quick recap: Last fall, I introduced NFTs into The Tilt’s business model by creating an NFT that I dubbed a NET – Never-Ending Ticket. Our NETs were for the Creator Economy Expo. We created 100 to sell that gave holders access to the event and all VIP activities. Buyers paid between 0.75 and 1.25 ETH [Ethereum crypto currency].

What happened: We sold 34 NETs before the event. I suppose most of those who purchased them were betting on me. After all, there was no product. CEX hadn’t even happened. How could they know there would be a second or third event when they hadn’t seen the first?

Lesson 1: You can’t expect successful NET sales if you’re just launching your personal and content brand.

Two of the NET holders took the main stage the first day. My only ask of them was to introduce the next keynote speaker. But before they did that, each shared with all CEX attendees why they purchased a NET. Frankly, it was magical.

Lesson two: Create a powerful community where NET holders want to spread the word about their value.

I got a text from NET owner no. 8. He suggested giving a NET upgrade option: “They bought a ticket to this year, and that money is gone. Well spent, but gone. If they upgrade to a NET, they get to come next year and they can resell that NFT anytime. It makes their fee an investment, not an expense.”

I decided to do it and read his text from the stage. By the time the event was over, 20 more people had signed up to become NET holders. Frankly, this is a much better event ticket business model than “buy at a discount rate before the price goes up next year.”

Lesson three: Listen to your NET holders. They have a vested interest in you and your business doing well.

Lesson four: Credit a payment from those who want to buy lifetime access after acquiring your first product.

All that interest – and eventual transfer of currency – is great. But NETs present a unique challenge because many people aren’t familiar with them.

Lesson five: Be prepared to teach your audience about the unique aspects of buying and owning an NFT.

– Joe Pulizzi

Learn one more thing about NETs and why Joe believes they really are a golden ticket for content businesses.

New Free Course From The Tilt

What is Web3? How would you describe Web3 to your friends? Why does it matter to me as a creator? What are those NFT things?

Join us on a quick and informative journey down the Web3 rabbit hole. Learn why Web3 is important, how social tokens can create community, and exactly why NFTs are a huge opportunity for creators.

content entrepreneur spotlight

https://www.thetilt.com/content-entrepreneur/kat-kamalani-changes-tilt

Entrepreneur: Vantana

Biz: VantanArt

Tilt: Variety Twitch gamer and yoga instructor

Primary Channels: Twitch (3.9k followers)

Other Channels: Twitter (1.5K), TikTok (732) Instagram (183)

Time to First Dollar: 1 month

Rev Streams: Bits, subs, donations on Twitch; online yoga class; sponsorships

Our Favorite Actionable Advice:

Know your power: Initially, Vantana wondered if he should be playing more popular games or providing different content to attract an audience. Then, he realized his audience was coming to see him first. The topics were secondary.
Grab a pen: Take notes on how creators built their brand and found success, whether it’s Beyoncé or another streamer. Then make their path your own.
Find the free: Vantana takes advantage of the free resources available to improve his Twitch-based content business, such as how to boost production quality and manage the stream.

– Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

Get the full Vantana story.

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

quick talk

Caught on … Twitter

“Being a creator and having a day job can be tough. Your process is never going to look the same as a full-time creator.” – Ev Chapman

things to know

Money

No gifts: The gift debate in the influencer space is narrowing to one takeaway: Brands better be willing to pay in cash as a product “gift” isn’t enough to prompt them to create content. (Marketing Brew; h/t KimekoM)
Tilt Take: It takes the creator to make the first move and say no to trade deals with brands that can well afford to pay to access your audience.
Growing family: Pocket.watch, the family content studio, acquired 13 new channels, including Vania Mania Kids, Hudson’s Playground, and Mackenzie Turner. The family library now totals over 70K videos. (tubefilter)
Tilt Take: Acquisition is a viable strategy for content creators who grow their business with the intent to sell eventually.

Audiences

Snap together: Snapchat added a Shared Stories feature. You can ask others to contribute their stories, takes, and insight. (Social Media Today)
Tilt Take: A combo of creator-initiated, user-generated content is a great way to strengthen your community.
Moving out: Among the 2022 trends: “Creators moving their top fans off social networks and onto their own websites, apps, and monetization tools.” (Hackernoon; DanielTech)
Tilt Take: That’s the only way to build a long-term, successful business.

Tech and Tools

TikTok scheduled: TikTok now integrates with social media management tools like Hootsuite, Sprinklr, Later, Sprout Social, etc. (Matt Navarra)
Tilt Take: On multiple social platforms? It’s helpful to schedule posts and track activity in one place.
Dash the dashboard: Automated SEO dashboards can be helpful, but don’t stop there. Customize reports to communicate SEO results, explain the cause, and identify the next actions. (Search Engine Land)
Tilt Take: It’s a smart business to do this, even if you report to no one.

And Finally

Wave bye, bye: The friends designated to help you get back on Facebook if you lose account access soon won’t be able to help. Facebook is soon getting rid of its trusted contacts feature. (Facebook; h/t Mahmoud Elsayed)
Tilt Take: Update your security contact info (and don’t forget Meta is always in control.)

the business of content

This Recession Not All Bad for Content Creators (Content Inc.)
DarkWing84 & Other Marketing Conspiracies (This Old Marketing)
How To Get Deals Done for Your Startup (Startup Daily)
The Future of Virtual Assistants (Small Business Trends)

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, and Don Borger.

Golden Ticket – May 31, 2022