APRIL 1, 2022

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.

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In this issue:

Full Tilt: Start a Newsletter First
Stan: The Professional Hobo

full tilt

New Creators Should Start With Newsletters in a Web3 World

Blogs are great. They served a need in Web2 and provided many digital creators a path to online entrepreneurship. But they’re no longer the best way to start your content entrepreneur journey.

Where should you start instead?

A newsletter.

Here’s why: A blog visitor reads your post, clicks a few links, and vanishes. A newsletter subscriber wants your content enough that they give you their contact information – their email address.

Not convinced? Here are a few more reasons why starting a newsletter first is better than starting with a blog as your first content product.

Starting a newsletter is free and frictionless. You can create, write, and publish your first newsletter in 30 minutes. Platforms like ConvertKit, Substack, and Revue make this possible. However, starting a blog can be costly as you likely need to buy a domain, pay for monthly hosting, invest in a theme or designer, operationalize the site, etc.

Newsletters are active content. Think of starting a blog like opening a coffee shop. You flick on the “open” sign – and crickets. (I’ve done this – it sucks). But starting a newsletter is like Uber Eats. You promote the newsletter, and people intentionally sign up to get it delivered to their inbox. (I’ve done this – it’s awesome).

Newsletters can bring in bigger ad or affiliate revenue more quickly. Blog revenue through services like Adsense is based on total impression numbers – you have to continually attract a large audience to reap the ad revenue. With newsletters, once you hit a few hundred subscribers, you can attract sponsors or advertisers. The more different your newsletter’s content tilt, the more you may be able to charge for advertisers who covet that subscribed audience more than they do a large group of people who can’t be identified.

A newsletter can expand to become a blog. Most email newsletter platforms offer a blog-style content feed. You can use that link to promote and share your content. You also can leverage the SEO benefits by migrating your newsletter content to a hosted domain at some point.

Starting your content entrepreneur journey in Web3 requires evolutionary thinking. I believe starting a newsletter is more productive than starting a blog.

– Dylan Redekop

Read all about Dylan’s blog vs. newsletter debate. And tell us what you think in The Tilt Discord or @TheTiltNews.

tilt shout-out

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we’re a stan for … Nora Dunn

https://www.thetilt.com/content-entrepreneur/the-professional-hobo

Entrepreneur: Nora Dunn

Tilt: The Professional Hobo

Scene: Blog, Twitter (18.2K), Facebook (17K), YouTube (6.71K)

Snack Bites:

Twelve years ago, Nora sold her possessions and started chronicling her globe-trotting travels in her blog – The Professional Hobo.
She found her niche – financially sustainable travel – after learning how to cut down her cost of living abroad.
Recently, Nora launched The Remote Work and Travel Show, where she features everyday people living and talking about nomadic business life.
Nora will be speaking at CEX: Creator Economy Expo on May 4.

Why We’re a Stan: Nora is following her dreams with her feet firmly planted on the ground – and that’s her differentiator. Her background as a financial planner informs her content to help others follow her successful blueprint.

– Shameyka McCalman

quick talk

Caught on … Twitter

“To succeed in the future, you MUST learn Web3.” – Misha Da Vinci

things to know

Money

Tumblr tips: Tumblr expanded its tip jar feature so audiences can tip the blog, not just individual posts. (Tech Crunch)
Tilt Take: It’s a better option to reward creators who publish consistently valuable content, not a one-off post that energizes one-time viewers.
Block support: The Visa Creator Program will now help entrepreneurs grow their businesses with NFTs. They say it will help the new breed of small and micro businesses tap into new mediums for digital commerce. (Seeking Alpha)
Tilt Take: A global payment brand sees big potential in NFTs and the creator economy – another indicator of the potential power of blockchain.

Audiences

More interest: Pinterest added $700K to its creator fund for its second year in existence. First-year participants gained 60% more followers after receiving grants and completing the platform’s four-week course. Brands see potential in partnering with these creator funds. L’Oréal USA is sponsoring the first cycle for fashion and beauty creators from marginalized communities. (tubefilter)
Tilt Take: Brands are beginning to see the power of connecting through the platforms rather than doing individual deals with creators.
Be you: To grow an Instagram audience, make sure your profile is on point. Ensure your username, Instagram bio, link in bio, profile picture, album highlight cover(s), and feed aesthetic work together so users instantly recognize your brand. (Entrepreneur)
Tilt Take: Pay attention to individual elements, but always look at the big picture because that’s what your audience probably does.

Tech and Tools

Cannes creators: Brut, the digital media startup, is hosting a House of Creators at Cannes for about 100 creators. They will meet high-profile filmmakers, actors, and agents in small groups. (Variety)
Tilt Take: Building bridges from traditional film avenues to the new digital creators is helpful to both groups.
Great eight: Koji introduced Top 8, a new app for creators to showcase their top friends directly from their link-in-bio page. (Koji)
Tilt Take: The top 8 selection could be an interesting way to create (and sell) a limited VIP tier of your subscribers. Or, if you’re starting out, it could be a good cross-promotion opportunity.

And Finally

Lasting NFT: Autograph, the Web3 business co-founded by Tom Brady, partnered with AEG Presents. At BUKU Music + Art Project festival this month, Autograph let attendees mint their own NFT festival posters, which are linked to ongoing utility through next year’s festival. (Variety)
Tilt Take: It’s good to see major players treat NFTs as more than digital art. The potential is great.
Who’s next?: YouTubers of the latter half of the 2010s hit it big by pushing the envelope as far as they could without getting banned. But change is coming as audiences evolve and edgy creators burn out. (BuzzFeed News; h/t CreatedEconomy)
Tilt Take: Stunt videos (or any content for that matter) aren’t the way to create a sustainable business.

the business of content

Your Web3 Business Model. Start here. (Content Inc.)
Tech Companies as Media Companies Becoming Old Hat (This Old Marketing)
Top Income Tax Deductions for Creators, Influencers, and Gig Workers (Entrepreneur)
Get Secured With Credit: New BoA Card Creates a Small Business Option (PaymentJournal)
Setting Interns Up For Success at Your Startup (Harvard Business Review)

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, Dylan Redekop, Shameyka McCalman, and Don Borger.

Newsletter Starting Line – April 1, 2022