AUGUST 12, 2022

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

In Friday 5s: Analytics are more than a numbers game. LinkedIn influencers are a thing. Newsletters are dead; long live newsletters and more.

5 things to do

“The companies that are going to win are the ones who are using data, not guessing,” Neil Hoyne, Google’s chief measurement strategist, has said.

To be a winning content entrepreneur, start by doing these analytics-related activities.

1. Take a breath: You’ve got this. You don’t need to decipher every number available to you. Pick the three most important metrics contributing to your business goals. (Not sure which to choose? Traffic, engagement, and conversions often are a great place to start.)

2. Document the metrics: Start a spreadsheet and add those metrics each week. If you have historical data in your analytics accounts, add the data from a few weeks or months earlier.

3. Add non-analytic elements: On your tracker, add what analytics don’t tell you. Add things such as content topic, format, connection to other content/activities, etc.

4. Take the long view: Look at the data over time to see patterns or identify extreme highs or lows. Does your audience behave as you think they do? What factors might contribute to the anomalies?

Don’t forget to connect it to your community data to identify spikes in new members and try to correlate that to posts or content that encouraged users where to find your community.

5. Set up conversion tracking: Conversion metrics are what success content entrepreneurs closely examine. These indicate what your audience does after consuming your content. Conversion metrics don’t have to be limited to actual sales. It could be how many convert to become subscribers or consume another piece of content.

Set up goals in Google Analytics and use UTM codes in links to track conversions.

Long versions:

5 things at the tilt

The Rented Land seduction for content creators. [Content Inc. podcast]
Joe and Robert cover the big news on Disney and ponder whether you could actually sell your content marketing division. [This Old Marketing podcast]
Looking for tech solutions? Check out what The Tilt team uses.
Did you know The Tilt rewards its guest bloggers with $250 in $TILT coin? Follow this submission process, and make sure to read the helpful hints.
ICYMI: Joe Pulizzi shares 10 reasons why serious creators have an edge over big brands.

5 things to know

Money

Get real: The BeReal social app could be months away from 100M daily active users based on its growth rate. Media ponder if the app could test a subscription model similar to Discord and how that could bode well for creators. (The Information)
Tilt Take: Don’t use BeReal and expect to add it as a revenue stream. BeReal might want to earn its own revenue first.

Audiences

Link up: LinkedIn influencers are a thing. That makes sense, since the average B2B contract is worth 10 to 20% more than a consumer influencer deal. LinkedIn has 11M members who opted for “creator” mode, indicating they are subject matter experts and 18K member-published newsletters. (The Hustle)
Tilt Take: Influencers are nice, but when creators see themselves as entrepreneurs building serious content businesses, they will go further.
Hulu hustle: Hulu doesn’t stop with social marketing plans for each show. It uses social sentiment to know what’s working and what’s not. Then, it leans into what fans are focused on. (DigiDay)
Tilt Take: Listening to your audience, and adapting your tactics based on what you have learned from those conversations, is always a winning strategy.

Tech and Tools

Time in: Instagram is working on letting users schedule posts within the app and eventually will add Reels and Stories. (Social Media Today)
Tilt Take: Sure, you can schedule in its Creator Studio, but an in-app feature will be more convenient.

And Finally

Drink up NFT: Grey Goose vodka created an NFT with the image of the martini-shaped Swarovski crystal-dotted handbag it commissioned to be created in real life. The NFT also serves as a Fashion Week New York event ticket. (AdAge; h/t ForEveryCreator)
Tilt Take: Don’t limit your NFT functions to digital art. Think about the possibilities you could offer NFT holders. (We’re fans of the Never-Ending Ticket function.)

5 things to read, watch, or hear

Newsletters are dead. Long live newsletters.
Kast Media’s robust marketing for its podcast launches puts cross-promotional partnerships at the forefront.
How I F*cked up My Entire Career as a Content Creator by Marcus Chan on Medium.
The article YouTube vs. TikTok: Which Is Better for Content Creators? It’s a subject of conversation in The Tilt Discord community.
Good content business strategies to learn from Axios’ $525M sale to Cox Enterprises.

the tilt team

Your team for this issue: Joe Pulizzi, Pam Pulizzi, Ann Gynn, Laura Kozak, Marc Maxhimer, and Dave Anthony.

Winning Secret – August 12, 2022