news

Content Creators – Give Your Audience Money – #69

Published: | Last Updated:

If you’re a listener of my Content Inc. podcast (five minutes every Monday), you know that I’ve been struggling with a new concept.

I’ve been going down the rabbit hole with DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations), Social Tokens, Crypto and more. I’ve learned a lot. I’m also struggling with a number of issues.

In Web 2.0, the content creator could leverage multiple platforms, build an audience and monetize that audience. We did that fairly well at Content Marketing Institute and had a successful exit in 2016. Now, I’m starting to believe that this is a dated model.

I believe that first, it doesn’t have to be just the one creator, one founder, one CEO model. More and more I’m starting to believe that a collective approach to content may work better. I’m watching some of these DAOs, like the Bankless DAO, that aligns under the mission of, well, pretty much the end of banks. They tokenize and then people are compensated initially on their stake, like equity, and then ongoing through their work. So if someone takes on a certain role in the DAO, they can ultimately be an owner.

From the one to the collective. It’s possible to do this now with crypto.

And that leads to the second point, almost one in the same. But when a content entrepreneur builds an audience, the goal is to generate revenue, right? Build a business? Of course. But can that be done while at the same time helping your audience drive revenue? I think so.

I know it doesn’t seem like much, but this is a huge concept. Think of a media company like The New York Times creating and distributing content, while at the same time the readers of that publication generate money or retain some kind of ownership in the New York Times for being part of that community.

When I look at the Content Inc. model and the 10 different ways to drive revenue, I’m thinking…hmm…conferences and events, could the attendees own the event? Training…could the trainees own the training program? Products, could I buy a product and win some long-term value over and above what the product does?

The answer is probably yes and no…all I want to communicate today is that there is something here. This is actually a thing…and it’s moving fast.

If I had to choose right now, I think the best model would be for a creator or multiple creators to start the mission, and then slowly start to give that back to the community (the audience) over time. Seems to be the best of both worlds.

The next time you think about your audience and the value you are delivering, think about if you can help them financially as well as through the information you deliver. And then, let me know what you decided.

A Go-To-Market Framework

I’ve been a fan of Sangram Vajre ever since Robert Rose and I did a case study on his company, Terminus, for the book Killing Marketing. Sangram is one of those people that see the better way. He was doing content marketing before most and built an amazingly successful business.

His new book, called Move: The 4-Question Go-To-Market Framework, is an excellent one for understanding your audience (customer) and how to scale your business for growth. You can get it on Amazon now. And FYI, this is not a paid link. 😊

The Importance of Body Language

My oldest is taking a class on communications and talked to me about the importance of non-verbal communication (and shared a video with me).

When I was in college, I was told that 97 percent of meaning is derived not from verbal words, but non-verbal communication. Could it also be that your body language can shape who you are as a person?

If you get a chance, watch this 20-minute TED talk from Amy Cuddy. It’s a powerful video, and I believe, one filled with truth.

Building Principles

I’m a big fan of Jack Butcher, founder of Visualize Value and a case study in the latest version of Content Inc. He put together an amazing Tweet string I felt compelled to share.

Building Principles:

Value = doing things that other people don’t do, won’t do or can’t do.
Service is a high-touch result generation (building experience), product is low-touch result generation (scaling experience).
In a world of infinite distraction, focus on the only path to freedom.
Sell time to buy experience, sell experience to buy time.
Use free time to build systems that free up time.
You can’t get good unless you get going.
Make media work for you. Write, record, design, edit once, publish twice.
Build once, sell twice.

And finally, in listening to the latest Prof G podcast (always a good listen) he talked incessantly about the importance of time. How we should be doing everything possible to free up time that gives us a chance to make an impact on ourselves or others.

Love those Savannah Bananas – #68

Published: | Last Updated:

It’s mentioned in every other podcast I listen to, and in articles like this one. The global supply chain is royally screwed up. So much so that supply chain experts are advising we buy presents for Christmas now if we want to receive them in time.

Here’s one data point from the article:

“A year ago, businesses shipping merchandise from China to the UK could expect to pay around $1,500 per 40ft container.

Since then, those charges have increased tenfold – and some retailers claim to have been billed as much as $30,000.”

What does this mean? Many of those containers are simply NOT going to ship this year.

And it’s not just retail. Businesses are getting hit as well. A friend of mine that works in the chemicals industry said that he’s been waiting for a part from China for almost a year now (it used to take just a couple weeks).

On Being Different

Most organizations fail at content marketing because they don’t have what’s called a Content Tilt. This is an area of differentiation that helps your message break through all the clutter. Most companies create and distribute information that is too much like everything else out there.

Need a great example of actually being different? Take six minutes and watch this video of the Savannah Bananas, a minor-league franchise in Savannah, Georgia.

The Savannah Bananas are a self-proclaimed baseball circus. On their About Us page you’ll find this:

“We are not your typical baseball team. We are different. We take chances. We toe the line. We test the rules. We challenge the way things are supposed to be.”

Some of the perks of going to a Bananas game include:

– They sell one ticket and it’s all inclusive (food and drink).
– The players perform choreographed dances every game.
– They play in kilts.
– The hitters introduce themselves.
– The owner, Jesse Cole, wears a yellow tuxedo.
– They have The Banana Nanas, a senior citizen dance team, and the Man-Nana’s, a Dad Bod Cheerleading Squad.
– Every game they honor the Banana Baby (played to Lion King opening music).
– The team went from nonexistent to selling out every game.

Everyone reading this needs to give the same examination of our own content efforts. Look at your point of view, your content category, your platform, your audience, etc.

Stop Building on Social Media Rented Land – #67

Published: | Last Updated:

My youngest child sends me articles on occasion for this newsletter (the image above is him in his new dorm room). The first one he sent as a gag and told me not to publish it, but I hadn’t heard about it before. Last month, Snoop Dogg recorded a six-hour Twitch stream muted. That’s right, none of his fans could hear him and Snoop didn’t know. Just something to keep in mind when you make a stupid mistake with your content. Even Snoop makes mistakes.

But the real story my son wanted published is this presentation from Patreon CEO Jack Conte on adjusting your packaging. This video is eight minutes long and worth the watch (there is some NSFW language).

It’s a great talk and truly inspiring, but it resonated with me this week because I had three separate content creators ask me for advice. Each one was putting in the work. Each one had incredible passion and expertise. And each one was struggling to make a living.

All their problems were in the packaging. In how they presented themselves. In choosing the right key words. In focusing on less and not more. In choosing to be an expert in one thing instead of many.

Maybe this is your issue as well?

If you want to listen to a great overview dealing with this on goal setting and building an audience, check out my interview with Ash Roy on the Productive Insights podcast.

Don’t Build on Rented Land

OnlyFans started as a content subscription service about five years ago. It allows content creators to receive money from fans as one-time tips, pay-per-view or monthly subscriptions. There are a lot of musicians, physical fitness experts and more who use the channel, but it’s core user base are not safe for work (NSW) creators, sex workers, porn stars or other creators that show nudity or sex acts.

These adult content creators helped turn OnlyFans into a multi-billion dollar company. It literally prints money.

Last week OnlyFans announced that certain sexually-explicit content would not be allowed anymore. This decision crushed many content creators’ livelihoods.

Regardless of how you feel about OnlyFans from a moral perspective, this happens all the time. Content creators need to stop being surprised, and those OnlyFans creators who built an audience there needed to be working on a Plan B (a web property they could control).

This is just another move by a platform that has every right to change the rules as they see fit. Facebook used to show all our posts to people that liked our page, but now they don’t. Twitter can kick people off its platform for all kinds of reasons. Google Plus, oh…Google Plus shut down.

I wrote a full article on The Tilt about this. This will happen again. Over and over. For years. If you create content for yourself or for a company, you need to create a better strategy now.

Oh…and after I wrote this entire section of the newsletter, OnlyFans basically comes out and says never mind…everything will go back to the way it was. Here’s their statement:

“We have secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community and have suspended the planned October 1 policy change. OnlyFans stands for inclusion and we will continue to provide a home for all creators.”

As Roy Kent would say…Oi! Just another example that show what these platforms really care about.

Because of the Banks

Now, you may be asking why OnlyFans originally made this move. According to CEO Tim Stokely, it was because of the banks. Basically, more and more banks were threatening to stop doing business with OnlyFans, citing “incidents of illegal content.” So, in order to keep the money coming in, OnlyFans was forced to make this decision.

We will see how this all plays out, but a couple things.

This is why I’m such a believer in Bitcoin (check out my issue on Superior Money). In the near future the payment rails for Bitcoin should be more mature and be able to handle these transactions instead of a bank. Peer-to-peer transactions (without a middle layer) will be mainstream very soon.

OnlyFans is being made an example of. Frankly, Facebook is the largest (by far) platform where “incidents of illegal content” occur. In 2020, Facebook reported more than 20 million child sexual abuse images, but you don’t see the banks pulling their liquidity when Facebook isn’t working hard enough to get rid of this (probably because they all own Facebook stock).

Something just doesn’t smell right here. More to come.

What’s Your Job Day? – #66

Published: | Last Updated:

Monday was my 300th episode for the Content Inc. podcast. I talked about the importance of celebrating certain dates. For example, did you know that John D. Rockefeller celebrated one day every year more than any other day? It was the first day he was hired for a job. He called it Job Day. Later in life he asked, “What if I didn’t get the job? What would have happened?”

We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, but we should celebrate other days that made an impact on our careers. What’s mine? April 26, 2007. It was my first blog post ever and the official start of what became the Content Marketing Institute.

What’s yours?

NFTs Are Hot Again

The NFT marketplace OpenSea’s daily volume is now exceeding its 2020 total (just think about that for a second).

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are one-of-a-kind digital contract located on the block chain. They are being made popular in the art world, but they can and will be used for many things.

In two days last week OpenSea did $95 million in transaction volume (The entire year of 2020 was $21 million). Leading the way were the OGs of NFTs, Cryptopunks. For example, serial entrepreneur and VaynerX founder Gary Vaynerchuck purchased this Cryptopunk Ape for $3.75 million. A few hours later another Ape was sold for $5.25 million.

Speaking of GaryVee, his NFT project is really flying. VeeFriends has 10,255 different digital assets. Every owner will get a pass to Gary’s three-year conference. So far, sales generated are over $23 million dollars. Truly amazing. If this keeps up, Gary will be able to accomplish his dream of buying the New York Jets.

Oh…and Mila Kunis (from That 70’s Show and Bad Moms fame) launched her new project, Stoner Cats, as an NFT only. The only way you can view the show is if you buy access through an NFT. The project sold out in minutes and is one of the most popular NFTs on OpenSea.

If the whole NFT thing still confuses you, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher joined Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast and did an extremely easy to understand explanation of crypto and NFTs. There’s some language in this so beware.

My take: there is a ton of speculation in NFTs right now. There will be a few winners and many losers. So be careful. That said, my recommendation is that you go and buy one, just to understand the process. Get yourself a Metamask wallet, fund it, and buy something for a few dollars so you can see how the process works.

The Next Wave of Jobs Is Here

Interesting interview with Patreon’s Jack Conte talking about “Phase 2” of the content creator wave.

I’ve said a few times in this newsletter that I believe there are more people launching content businesses right now than any other type of business on the planet. The problem is that these content entrepreneurs cannot grow all by themselves. They need writers, editors, designers, producers, community leaders, business development experts and more to build their businesses.

That’s the next wave…kind of like Fiverr on steroids. If I’m right, and the current wave of international entrepreneurship is being led by content entrepreneurs, they need picks and shovels to get the job done. I’m visualizing a million tiny agencies helping these entrepreneurs…or businesses helping businesses.

So maybe you, or even your child, doesn’t have the stamina to build a business from the ground up…but…you could help someone build their business. The need for this is going to explode in the next few years.

As my friend Jay Acunzo says, if a content entrepreneur is working “on” the business as the founder, they need many helpers to work “in” the business to make it all successful.

Why Before What – #65

Published: | Last Updated:

If you want to listen to a life-changing podcast, this interview I did with Michael Jr. may do the trick. After seeing one of his videos in 2015, we recruited Michael to be one of our keynotes for Content Marketing World in 2016. He came back with one of the highest ratings ever.

To quote Michael Jr., “If you understand your why, you have a lot of options for what. But your why never changes.”

For example, he says, “My why is to comedically inspire people to walk in purpose. But my ‘what’ looks like doing stand-up comedy, writing more books, doing more TV shows, doing more touring… I have a lot of options for ‘what,’ but my ‘why’ doesn’t change. So if you understand your ‘why’ your ‘what’ has more impact. The key is to understand why you are putting it out there and whether it connects with your why or just a why.”

Michael Jr.’s words explain a lot about the state of content right now. So many companies are creating articles and podcasts and social media posts; but is there a clear why behind the ‘what’ they are creating? Sadly, most businesses don’t have this. They just run to the ‘what’ first.

Michael always asks, “What is your why? Or are you too busy jumping from ‘what’ to ‘what’ to even ask or answer that question?”

Well, are you? Do you know the “why” behind your content? Or are you jumping from article to podcast to video without truly understanding the purpose for creating it?

You have to remind yourself of this all the time. I know I do. This came up recently. We had an opportunity at The Tilt to create a piece of content that would have generated a good chunk of revenue. The problem was, it wasn’t quite within our mission, and I didn’t think it was valuable enough for our audience. So we decided not to do this.

Maybe in your situation you are asked to create content to drive immediate sales…but you know in your heart and soul it’s not serving the customer or audience. While these activities might help short term, they will kill you long term. We have to learn to say no.

Here’s what I ask of you: Right now, stop creating all the “whats” and really put some thought into your “why.” Find a “why” that has purpose for you as well as a deep purpose and meaning for your audience. Once you find that, all the “whats” will easily present themselves.

The Superior Money

Here is a fantastic article on Bitcoin. It’s worth the read.

There are a couple of sections worth focusing on. First, why is Bitcoin superior money?

“It perfectly performs the three functions of money:

It’s the perfect store of value because I know exactly how much I have in relationship to the whole, and I know that it cannot be diluted or altered.

It’s the perfect medium of exchange because I can send what I want, to whom I want, whenever I want and there is no power in the universe that can stop me from doing so.

It’s the perfect unit of account because it’s infinitely divisible and I can thus measure all other goods and services in it. As its purchasing power grows, one can continue to sub-divide the units to measure smaller goods and services, forever.”

And finally, one cannot “invest” in Bitcoin like you can stocks or real estate.

“One does not ”invest” in a superior form of money.

In the same way that the person who holds the Zimbabwean dollar or bolívar doesn’t “invest” in USD, but flees to it as a superior money that has a better guarantee, people who understand Bitcoin are moving out of traditional government-issued currencies not as an investment but as a migration to superior money.”

My friend Jim and I were talking about this in front of a group of four other people last week. After the first two minutes of conversation, every one else left (yes, it was one of those conversations).

I think most people are overwhelmed by the concept of Bitcoin. When they become this way, I just reiterate –

It’s not controlled by any government or entity.

It will never be diluted or changed in any way.

I can do whatever I want with it and never need anyone else’s permission to do anything with it.

I believe that, in my lifetime, it will be the world’s currency. Mind you, there will be a million other currencies simultaneously, but Bitcoin will be the standard.