
JANUARY 17, 2025
content entrepreneur spotlight
Jamie Northrup Takes Minimalist Hustler from Low-Content Products to Robust Newsletter
Entrepreneur: Jamie Northrup
Biz: Minimalist Hustler
Tilt: Minimalist methods to create a successful business
Primary Channel: Newsletter (7.6K)
Other Channels: Substack (11K), Medium (8.3K), LinkedIn (1K), X (7.4K), website, Gumroad
Time to First Dollar: 3 months
Rev Streams: Digital products, merch, low-content products, membership/community, book
Our Favorite Actionable Advice
- Find a niche that combines passion and profit: Jamie’s early ventures, such as selling hockey cards, handling eBay consignments, and managing websites, highlight the importance of aligning personal interests with revenue-generating opportunities.
- Start small and know your goals: Jamie’s ultimate goal was to leave his 9-to-5 job, but he later added a goal – a business without customers to manage. Experiment with ideas to identify what resonates with your audience and your own goals and iterate based on feedback and sales.
- Build a central product: The Minimalist Hustler daily newsletter is the cornerstone of Jamie’s business. Having a central place where you funnel your content creates an anchor for your business and a cohesive experience for your audience.
- Pick the best platforms for your needs: As the newsletter grew, Jamie moved it to Substack because it offered more necessary features than Gumroad. With his paid community, he selected Skool because it worked best for the community and his goals.
– Marc Maxhimer
supported by: Take Control of Your Content Business with MemberfulIn a media world increasingly dominated by AI content and tech giants, Memberful empowers creators and content entrepreneurs of every size to reclaim control of their business and earn sustainable, recurring revenue. Whether you’re an independent journalist, podcaster, or business coach, Memberful provides a way to connect with your audience and diversify revenue. Offer exclusive articles, premium podcasts, or private community chats by integrating with the tools you already use, or build a unique membership business using Memberful’s powerful in-house features. With Memberful, you retain full control of your brand, audience, and content while simplifying payments, renewals, and content protection.
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tilt publishing book club
- Tell the story of your story … Maris Kreizman explains how authors should sell your book long after you’ve finished writing it. [LitHub]
- Self-publishing prediction … 2025 will be the year “big publishing houses … focus more resources on acquiring self-published books with a proven following,” according to some industry pros. [Book Riot]
- Coming true … Simon & Schuster launched an audio-first imprint featuring content from self-published authors. [Publishers Weekly]
- Uh, oh … The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly investigating Publishing.com, which sells courses on creating AI-generated books. [Business Insider]
- Funnel talk … Learn how a sales funnel works and can help your content business. [Lulu]
things to know
Money
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Untapped profitability: To build up their video generators, AI companies, including Google and Open AI, want content creators’ unused videos. Reports say they pay $1 to $4 a minute. [PetaPixel]
Tilt Take: Frankly, the revenue might not be worth your time combing through your unpublished videos to find something to sell. -
Marketing move: In the potentially last days of TikTok in the US, Substack has a promotion – $25K for the “creative genius” who can make a video that sparks a trend. Judging isn’t about virality but how well it inspires other creators to post a video inviting their audience to join them on Substack. The winner gets paid no matter what happens on Jan. 19 (the TikTok ban deadline). [Fast Company]
Tilt Take: Substack tapped into a trend (the ban of TikTok) affecting its target audience with a fun promotional stunt.
Audiences
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TikTok boon: Though the ban might not be good for TikTok, it has prompted creators to invest in personal websites, blogs, newsletters, and more to have a direct relationship with their followers, says Sarah Gerrish of Movers+Shakers. [Digiday]
Tilt Take: Nothing like a deadline to prompt entrepreneurs to take action on what they should have been doing all along.
Tech and Tools
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Rank answers: New research suggests a website’s Google rankings are related to ChatGPT’s answers, according to a new study published by Seer Interactive. [Search Engine Land]
Tilt Take: Search rankings still matter even though search audience behaviors have changed.
And Finally
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Tall order: Dubai’s Creators HQ has opened at Emirates Towers. The goal is to become the world’s hub for digital content creators, aiming to attract 10K influencers to the United Arab Emirates. [Forbes]
Tilt Take: Cool deal if you’re tempted to move. No deal if you like working from home.
business of content
- The Anti-AI Opportunity (Content, Inc.)
- How to be Content Marketing Meh in 2025 (This Old Marketing)
- Can Books Add Value to Your Business (Beyond Just Revenue)? (Publish & Prosper)
- We are hard at work building our best agenda ever for Content Entrepreneur Expo. Be sure to get your ticket today!
- ICYMI: Creators Can Turn to Kickstarter To Crowdfund Their Content Products
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