NOVEMBER 2, 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

Idea Drought? Here’s How to Fill the Bucket

In the beginning, you’re overloaded with content ideas – so many to fill your content calendar for some time to come.

Eventually, though, the glut turns into a dry spell – your content calendar is almost empty.

Now what? How do you come up with content ideas when you’re all out of notions?

Tap into a well of ideas from some unexpected and some inspiring sources. And all of them are free.

Tilt Advice

Don’t just search for a single idea to help get you through your next post, video, podcast, etc. Plan for several weeks or months of ideas. Here are 10 ways to spark creative ideas:

Look to Google Trends: Input your topic to see trends happening in the past hour, four hours, day, week, 30 days, 90 days, or five years.

Ask the world: Answer the Public is an easy-to-use and helpful idea-inspiring tool. Input the topic and get a starburst design of questions people ask or search for on the internet.

Find a headline: Portent Idea Generator isn’t a headline tool, but it does generate headlines. Type a word or topic and it comes up with a headline to inspire a content idea. Don’t like the headline? Just click on the see-another-title button.

Get a week’s ideas: HubSpot’s Blog Ideas Generator gives you a week of blog ideas once you type in your topic. (Though it says blog ideas, the generator can be useful to creators of other types of content.)

Visit social Q&A communities: Quora and Reddit are two online portals where people gather to answer questions and have conversations around a lot of different topics.

Remember not every good idea is good for your content business. As you collect all the ideas, pick the ones that work best for your audience, format, timing, etc. Only then can you bring the rain to dispel your idea drought and grow your content creation effectively.

– Ann Gynn

To discover five more sources for idea inspiration, tips, and caveats, read the full story.


exciting tilt news

ICYMI The Tilt Merch Store is now OPEN.

Visit our merch store to get your goodies (and maybe some holiday gifts as well). T-shirts, mugs, hoodies, and more are available.

We accept all major credit cards and $TILT coin!

(Hint: Refer more friends, get more $TILT coin for merch.)


content entrepreneur spotlight

TikTok Star Alexa Hornshuh Uses Fan Input to Create Clothing Line

Entrepreneur: Alexa Hornshuh

Biz: BeastMode_Lex

Tilt: College life and Gen Z trends

Primary Channel: TikTok (1.2M)

Other Primary Channels: Instagram (10K), Snapchat (7K)

Time to First Dollar: 1+ years

Rev Streams: Brand partnerships, clothing line

Our Favorite Actionable Advice:

  • Ignore online bullies: Alexa chooses to cancel out the mean comments and focus on the positive ones.
  • Create collaboratively: Her TikTok audience asked for and then gave input on colors, pieces, and more for Alexa’s first clothing line.
  • Hire a professional: Alexa hired a business manager who has helped her take a more strategic and profitable approach to her content business.

– Bonnie Azoulay

Find out how fast her clothing line sold out, how she got started, and what she’s planning to do next in the full story.

Know a content creator who’s going full tilt? DM us or reply to this email.


quick talk

Caught on … Twitter

“Social media is a dialogue, not a monologue.” – Maria Marchewka


things to know

Money
  • Tip Tok: TikTok creators may soon be able to collect tips outside of livestreams. It’s under testing now. TikTokers with at least 100K followers can apply for the limited test. (TechCrunch)
    Tilt Take: These tips could work well for creators who are audience-focused and not trying to create the next viral hit. Tips outside livestreaming require that kind of bond.
  • Affiliate advice: Looking for an affiliate program? Make sure it has a good reputation. Even a good commission formula isn’t that great if bad reviews prompt people to stay away from them. (Facileway; h/t Amol Chavan)
    Tilt Take: Do your research and read the fine print before executing any affiliate or commission-based partnership.
Audiences
  • Print this: 90% of young adults read magazines, and most still love print. That’s the news from MPA Magazine Media Factbook 2021. (FIPP)
    Tilt Take: Print is more costly, but don’t summarily dismiss it because you’re targeting a younger audience.
  • Super news: On iOS? Got 10K or more followers on Twitter? You can sell a Super Follow package. You pick the subscription price from these options: $2.99/$4.99/$9.99 a month. (9to5Mac)
    Tilt Take: Before you start selling, have a plan on what kind of content you’ll create and how often you’ll be creating it.
Tech and Tools
  • Email elevated: 37% of brands say they’re increasing their email budget in 2022, a stark contrast to what they were doing pre-pandemic, according to Litmus 2021 State of Email report (gated). (Sarah Stiffin on Twitter)
    Tilt Take: Even if email isn’t your primary content distribution channel, you should think about how it can help your content business for marketing as well as provide direct access to your audience.
  • Roblox back up: The gaming platform with 43M daily active users went down for three days. It was back up Sunday after causing havoc for the millions of developers who count on revenue by touting games on the platform. (TechCrunch)
    Tilt Take: Just another reminder that it’s helpful to have a response plan ready to go if your primary channel faces an outage. Even better, always have an alternate way to reach your audience.
And Finally
  • Intellectual podcast property: QCode, a podcast startup creating audio dramas that sometimes feature Hollywood stars, has been getting attention for its business model. Every podcast is viewed not just as an audio story, but for its potential to be a movie, TV series, etc. (Variety and Simon Owens)
    Tilt Take: Your content value isn’t limited to its original or single format. Think about all the ways it can be used (and possibly sold).
  • Twitch haul: Over 10M was raised in 50 hours over the weekend. ZEvent organized the streaming event to rally the community to help those in need. (Twitch on Twitter)
    Tilt Take: We’re glad to see the outdated telethon format evolve into creators streaming for charity. Jerry Lewis would be proud.


we’re a stan for Jen Lauren

Three years ago, YouTuber Jen Lauren created her channel to post about her passion for fitness and health in a new and unique way. She had struggled to find workout reviews on YouTube, so she created her own reviews of workout classes in New York City.

Today, the nano-influencer also covers the fitness and lifestyle gamut for her 4.9K subscribers, along with her 3.8K Instagram followers. She has a small but interactive collective of fitness fanatics, making it feel as though they know Jen intimately.

Why we’re A Stan: Jen took a problem she encountered – finding helpful reviews on workout locations – and created a solution. The nano-influencer found her content tilt and has fostered a group of followers who eagerly supports her content.

– Shameyka McCalman


the business of content


the tilt team

Your team for this issue: Joe Pulizzi, Ann Gynn, Laura Kozak, Marc Maxhimer, and Dave Anthony, with an assist from Bonnie Azoulay, Shameyka McCalman, and Don Borger.