“Consulting is dead.” The headline screamed from the top of the front page of The Wall Street Journal last week. A print version of Clickbait was clearly an ad — black text over a bright yellow-saturated page — but it got me thinking and made me want to read the rest of the page. And when I did, I came away with two thoughts. First, the consulting firm Embark, which did the ad and a related campaign, knows how to get their innovative marketing to create conversations. And second, consulting is far from dead for content entrepreneurs. In fact, The Tilt research finds it’s the most frequently us ..read more

Entrepreneur: Sinem Günel Tilt: Grow an audience and income writing online Scene: Medium, YouTube (5K), Instagram (5.1K), Medium Writing Academy, Medium Writing private Facebook group (12.9K)  Snack Bites:  Sinem Günel started on Medium with her personal growth workshop content, earning an average of $6 per article until she committed to writing what the platform audiences wanted. Within two years, she earned more than $11K a month on the platform. She pivoted her content tilt from personal growth to writing online as a business. Though Medium remains her primary revenue stream, she ..read more

Entrepreneur: Molly Mahoney Biz: The Prepared Performer Tilt: Teaching how to create content that gets clients Primary Channel: Facebook (individual, 14K) (business, 21K) Other Channels: Newsletter (17K), blog, Facebook group (10.2K), Instagram (23.3K), X (1.1K), YouTube (5.99K), LinkedIn (2.6K), Pinterest (1.9K)  Time to First Dollar: 6 months Rev Streams: Communities/groups, mini-courses, business coaching, digital product, affiliate marketing Our Favorite Actionable Advice Realize your “Quesadilla of Awesomeness:” Make a list of 20 things that make you a uniquely awesome human being t ..read more

OpenAI opened its GPT Store earlier this year. If you haven’t popped in for a visit, you could be missing valuable AI assistance for your content business. Many creators may have dabbled in the free ChatGPT version or Google’s Gemini. But the wealth of resources – and the opportunity to create your own AI assistant – deserve consideration. Access to the GPT store comes with the OpenAI Plus subscription ($20 a month). You also would gain access to GPT-4, an upgrade to the free version because, in part, it culls information from the live internet.  To get started, try these five things: 1 ..read more

On the back cover of The Content Entrepreneur, 32 names appear. They are the co-authors who came together with author Joe Pulizzi to pen the book published earlier this month by the newly launched custom imprint Tilt Publishing. To some, having almost three dozen people collaborate on a content asset might sound like the ultimate group project in school – notorious for a few people doing the work and everybody getting the credit. However, for this and similar endeavors, group collaboration among people who are interested in the project and its mission can work well when you share a similar vis ..read more

Entrepreneur: Ben Thompson Biz: Stratechery Tilt: Analysis of strategy and business of tech and media Scene: Newsletter (44K), podcasts, X (238.7K) Snack Bites:  Ben Thompson launched the newsletter in 2013 and a paid version in 2014, which allowed him to quit his traditional job. In 2017, the founders of Substack cited Ben’s business as the inspiration for the online platform that helps writers publish, sell, and manage their newsletters. Fortune cited Ben as No. 3 on its inaugural Creator 25 list, estimating the newsletter brought in over $3M in revenue in 2020. In 2023, that estimate ..read more

OK, you don’t need a persona to operate a content business. Maybe you already have an audience, or perhaps you’re just incredibly lucky. But for most, personas are vital to understanding your ideal customers, their media habits, and how you should speak to them. Developing personas leads to a deeper understanding of your audience. That understanding will help you develop marketing and products that meet their expectations, ultimately turning potential customers into true fans. To get an assist in the process, you can add another popular technique – ChatGPT or some other generative AI tool. So ..read more

Entrepreneur: Michelle Martello Biz: Minima Designs Tilt: Teaching how to ideate and launch an online presence and offerings  Primary Channel: Newsletter (5K) Other Channels: Website, blog, Instagram (4.7K), Facebook (2.3K), Pinterest (2.2K), YouTube (700) Time to First Dollar: 2 months Rev Streams: Consulting, courses, affiliate marketing Our Favorite Actionable Advice Use what you have: Her first and second content products were ebooks of the materials she used for her consulting and design clients.  Challenge yourself: Michelle challenged herself to produce her first online cours ..read more

Online courses are a profitable revenue stream. The Tilt research ranks it in the top three, with 35% of content entrepreneurs selling them. But what if you could make your online course even more profitable? Workbooks can be a great add-on. You can charge a separate fee or increase the overall price of the class. (You can also create a workbook that acts as a marketing tool to attract an audience interested in your content.) Here are five things to do to create a workbook for your content business. 1. Determine the purpose: Your workbook should align with your online course, but it doesn’t ha ..read more

Entrepreneur: Ayman Chaudhary Biz: Ayman Books Tilt: All things books Scene: TikTok (948.8K), Instagram (155K), Amazon, Fable Book Club Snack Bites:  Ayman has been recognized as the No. 1 influencer for #BookTok. Her business began after she found success in posting TikTok videos fitting the #BookTok trend. Now, her full-time income, Ayman can influence the sales of a book. After she posted a video about V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie Rue, the book sold out at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and others. Why We Stan: Ayman takes her role as reviewer and recommender seriously. She d ..read more