{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"If I Had to Start Over, Here's the Plan (499)","description":"If I lost everything \u2013 the audience, the money, the reputation \u2013 and had to start over, here\u2019s what I\u2019d do. Step 0: Take Inventory What do I still have? My skills. My story. My scars. Just because the list is gone doesn\u2019t mean the asset is. This helps frame that even starting from \u201cnothing\u201d isn\u2019t truly nothing. Step 1: Cry I\u2019d spend at least a week screaming into the void. \u201cWhy me Oh Lord, why me?\u201d Then I would get down to business. I\u2019d remind myself: \u201cThere\u2019s never been a better time to start over. The tools are free. The gatekeepers are gone. The only thing missing is your plan.\u201d Step 2: Pick a weirdly specific niche I\u2019d need to spend time to really find my purpose\u2026my Tilt. As Warren Buffett and Simon Sinek discuss, every successful person is really good at one thing. What am I really good at or know something about to truly differentiate? And it\u2019s not about being louder or flashier. It\u2019s about being more specific, more real, and more essential to a group of people who need exactly what I have. I\u2019d need to work on it, but things like: \u00b7         Helping laid-off corporate marketers build a business around one weekly email. \u00b7         Guiding former agency owners to repurpose their network into a publishing-driven business. \u00b7         Helping Midwest Gen Xers who want to escape the job ladder and own something by 50. \u00b7         Coaching marketers over 40 to build businesses that don\u2019t require social media. \u00b7         Teaching people with 1,000 email subscribers how to make a full-time income. \u00b7         Helping podcast hosts averaging over 10,000 downloads per month turn their show into a live event, a book, and a revenue flywheel. I\u2019d obsess over a tiny group of people with a burning problem. I\u2019d need to remind myself that you can\u2019t be too niche. The more specific the better. I\u2019m already thinking that a number of the ones I listed are not specific enough. Step 3: Define Success What will success look like? I\u2019d spend some time visualizing what that could be. Family life? Money needs? Living situation? Career goals? Basically, what do I really want here? What\u2019s the dream? Then, I would write that statement down in my journal and review it every day. Something like: We are the leading event education resource for podcast hosts and sell the company for two million dollars in 2028. Something like that. Step 4: Start an email newsletter. Twice Per Week. Non-negotiable. I\u2019d write one useful, entertaining email two times per week. No fluff. No templates. Just my honest take. This would be the home base for everything. The email list is the new land. Social is just rented space. Even though I really like using Kit (how you received this email), I probably would opt for Substack, where you get the benefit of the direct connection (email) with a little more help from a network (social media). Step 5: Spread the Word I would create a list of 15-20 places where I believe my audience is hanging out, mostly other newsletters and podcasts. I would reach out and form relationships with these people to do guest articles and serve as podcast guests. I would also prepare a few sample speeches and start submitting to relevant in-person events. Step 6: Write the Book As I create my newsletter I would start thinking about how I can take these newsletters and put it into a print, ebook and audiobook for sale. This will, ultimately, become my greatest marketing vehicle\u2026the business card everyone wishes they had. Of course, I would use Tilt Publishing. Step 7: Launch a product before I feel ready By month 2, I\u2019d offer something\u2014a digital guide, a paid workshop, a 1-hour consult. Not to make money at first. But to get skin in the game and test what people will pay for. Revenue doesn\u2019t come from a viral moment. It comes from consistent service to a small, loyal group. Step 8: Build in public I\u2019d document every win, fail, and lesson. Why? Because people don\u2019t follow perfection. They follow momentum. I\u2019d most likely include my own creation strategies in every newsletter. Step 9: Stack assets By month 6, I\u2019d package my best content into a course I could sell forever. Not for viral growth. For long-term leverage. Step 10: Diversify into second channel By six to nine months, I should have a small but growing email newsletter following, a newly published book, a speaking event here or there, some podcast appearances, a couple small consulting clients and a newly launched course. If the small wins are there, I\u2019d diversify into a second channel, most likely a podcast, which could also be a YouTube show. More than anything, this would be marketing for the main channel, the email newsletter. Register for Content Entreprenuer Expo at CEX.events today. ------- Like this episode? SUBSCRIBE on Apple, Spotify or Google. See all Content Inc episodes at the Content Inc. podcast home. Get my personal newsletter today and receive my free goal-setting guide today.   ","author_name":"Content Inc with Joe Pulizzi","author_url":"https:\/\/www.contentinc.io","html":"