OCTOBER 4, 2022

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In This Issue: An entrepreneur explains what led up to The 10K Creator Podcast and how you can follow the same model. We stan a pro-aging advocate. And Google is delivering online forum content to its search results.

full tilt

10K Creator Podcast Origin Story Highlights How to Do Winning Collaborations

Collaborations can fuel the growth of your content business. Too many creators fail at this strategy because they think they can’t do it or receive too many rejections. This three-step system supercharges my collaboration outreach and ultimately led to The Tilt’s newest podcast, The 10K Creator.

1. Do something that gets you noticed: My creator journey started with a book project. I piggybacked on the August 2021 #Tweet100 challenge by Jay Clouse. As I wrote the book in public, I used the hashtag to get more exposure.

Two things happened: 1. I got the attention of other creators (my target audience) doing the same challenge. 2. I had a mechanism to keep me accountable, so I showed up every day to do the work.

2. Give value first: Too many creators reach out to prospective partners with an ask rather than a give. I’ve worked with creators with audiences of 10K, 50K, and even 150K+. How? I connected with them long before I asked them to come on the podcast. When I made the ask, I also made it relevant to them.

3. Offer to do all the work: To make it as easy as possible for your potential collaborator to say yes, use this phrase: “… and I’ll do everything.”

The 10K Creator Podcast: I followed these steps to create a collaborative podcast with The Tilt founder Joe Pulizzi that debuted Sept. 28.

A few months ago, I emailed Joe. He and I chatted at Creator Economy Expo in May. I referenced the conversation, mentioned his interest in growing The Tilt audience, and said I had a win-win-win idea to share. I also included my calendar link so he could schedule a call with me.

On our call, I pitched him my idea – a 10-episode podcast documenting the content creator journey from zero to 10K, as in 10,000 audience members and $10,000 a month in revenue.

Joe ultimately concluded the podcast would work as long as it could sell sponsorships before we created it. Making a revenue-generating podcast from the start was a brilliant idea.

He reached out to brands that already worked with The Tilt. Lulu, ConvertKit, and Streamyard signed on in a matter of weeks.

Could I have done this on my own? Probably, but not to the same extent or in the same time. I don’t have hundreds of thousands of social followers, an email list of 16K people, or a podcast that already gets 20,000 downloads a month as Joe does.

Six weeks after the deal was done, Joe and I have recorded the first four episodes of The 10K Creator that lives on the Content, Inc. podcast page – and the debut podcast went live Sept. 28. It’s delivered to Content Inc. subscribers as bonus episodes.

– Daren Smith

See the dollar amounts generated from the sponsorships and the revenue for Daren and The Tilt in the full article.

we stan Rolonda Rochelle

Entrepreneur: Rolonda Rochelle

Tilt: Gen X pro-aging advocate

Scene: Website, Instagram (689K), Facebook (337K), YouTube (109K), TikTok (165.3K)

Snack Bites:

Rolonda Rochelle found life after 50 to be an exciting time and fruitful content tilt.
Developing an audience online helped her gain a recurring role and producer credits in DeWayne Colley’s KountryWayne digital series.
Rolonda partners with brands who want to connect with her audience and has launched her own product lines to expand her business revenue.

Why We Stan: Rolonda embraces her content tilt in all that she does, from her pro-aging advocate blog and social media content to her acting roles and her partnerships and products. She also recognizes the value of building an email audience – making it the first option people see on her site and requiring email addresses to learn more about some of her new products.

– Shameyka McCalman

Read the full story of Rolonda Rochelle.

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

things to know

Money

Dynamite play: Replay did an NFT drop on its Rewarded.tv platform to fund a pilot reuniting three cast members from Napoleon Dynamite in a pilot called Cyko KO. (tubefilter)
Tilt Take: NFTs can be a helpful tool to crowdfund content projects. Unlike a Kickstarter or similar campaign, the funders get a traceable piece of the ownership pie.
Media kit twist: Instagram continues to work on its in-app media kit creation to guide creators through the process of building their pitch to secure brand deals. It will be called the Creator Portfolio. (Social Media Today)
Tilt Take: Media kits are essential tools to represent your content brand to potential sponsors, advertisers, and more. If you’re on Instagram, use Creator Portfolio when it’s ready, but don’t make it the only home for your kit.

Audiences

Crowds in search: Google will add a new feature to search results – discussions and forums. It will include results from popular forums and online discussions relevant to the keyword phrase. (Google)
Tilt Take: If your content tilt is frequently searched, this move is another reason to get involved in online communities.
Gaming system: Podcast publishers now use in-game ads to get players to tap, and some win virtual loot. The move triggers the download of a podcast episode. (Time)
Tilt Take: It’s a new idea to manipulate download numbers. After all, triggering a download is not the same as wanting to listen to the podcast.

Tech and Tools

Down and out of sight: TikTok’s new down-vote button for comments is designed to indicate abusive or hateful content that violates community guidelines. But no one sees it except for TikTok’s moderators. (Search Engine Journal)
Tilt Take: While we get why users who report these comments might not want to be revealed publicly, a dislike count could help others realize they’re not alone in recognizing the inappropriate behavior.
Theft on YouTube: Creator Lord Lambert had his account stolen and the thieves started deleting videos and making other changes. “Hey @YouTubeCreators @YouTube my google password was just changed on me without my permission and I seem to have lost my channel/email. I need help ASAP.” (Lord Lambert)
Tilt Take: His pleas on Twitter were shared by many, and eventually, he got his 25K subscribers and account back. We hope he builds his audience outside of social media platforms (and saves the data to a hard drive).

And Finally

Stadia funeral: Google shutters its video game streaming service Stadia on Jan. 18. (The New York Times)
Tilt Take: You probably don’t care about Stadia’s demise, but it’s a reminder that building or using another’s platform means you’re beholden to their business decisions.
Wait a minute: People are more likely to be heard when they wait until the issue is relevant, they’re ready, and the audience is responsive. (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes via Adam Grant)
Tilt Take: Reactive takes are usually not the best for building a strong relationship with your audience.

the business of content

Getting Started with Social Tokens [Do’s and Don’ts] (Content Inc. podcast)
Creator Economy Goes Bear Market (This Old Marketing podcast)
3 critical mistakes startup founders make. (StartupDaily)
Public relations basics for new entrepreneurs. (Alibaba)
It’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month. How secure are you? (Small Business Trends)

the tilt team

Your team for this issue: Joe Pulizzi, Pam Pulizzi, Ann Gynn, Laura Kozak, Marc Maxhimer, and Dave Anthony, with an assist from Daren Smith and Shameyka McCalman.

10K Creator Podcast Origin Lessons – October 4, 2022