Welcome to the 159th Edition of the Orangeletter

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Now Is the Time

​CEX (Content Entrepreneur Expo) 2025 early-bird pricing ends in three days. Now is the time to sign up. If you are a content creator, or you wish to become a real-life content entrepreneur, this is YOUR event.

So come to Cleveland August 24-26^th. I’ll see you there (with 40+ other incredible content creators to learn from ).

Mel Robbins & The Three Legs of the Creator Stool

I started in the publishing industry over 20 years ago. Back when I started, we used an antiquated publishing strategy called the “three-legged stool.” The concept was that, in order to be the industry’s leading media content provider, we needed to be the expert provider of information using online, print and in-person – the three legs of the stool. In short, it means you were the leading .com destination, you had the number one print magazine in your industry, and you had the industry’s leading in-person event. Online, Print and In-Person.

Funny thing is, this strategy is still the core to success as a content creator today…but it’s changed just a little bit.

Let's break it down.

If you look at successful content creators now, they have a modified three legs of the stool that vault them to success.

Mel Robbins is an excellent example of this.

After starting her career as an attorney, she joined CNN as a legal analyst. She parlayed that success into her debut book called “Stop Saying Your Fine” in 2011.

Enter stool leg number one – the book.

From that, she started spreading her message through public speaking. In June of 2011 her TEDx presentation went viral, and has now been viewed more than 33 million times. From that point, Robbins worked as a keynote speaker around the globe, making millions in the process.

Enter stool leg number two – speaking.

Good model, right? But not great. Not yet. She was missing the third leg of the stool. She needed a regular show.

In 2019 Robbins partnered with Sony Pictures Television for a daytime talk show called The Mel Robbins Show. It ran for one season, but it gave her the idea for the third leg.

In 2022, Robbins launched the Mel Robbins Podcast. This is where, two times a week, she creates and distributes a show for millions of listeners to tune into via YouTube or their favorite pod player.

Enter stool leg number three – the show.

Book, Speaking, Show – the three legs of the content entrepreneurial stool.

Funny enough, that is the exact model I used.

In 2008 I created my first book, Get Content Get Customers, with Newt Barrett (this book is outdated...if you want to buy a similar book try Content Inc.). From there, I started speaking around the country and ultimately into Europe to promote the book's concepts. I took the audience I built through the book and the speaking and, in 2010, created Content Marketing Institute (my show).

Now is the perfect time to take a look at YOUR model.

What legs of the stool do you already have? What’s missing?

Or, maybe you have all three, but one of the legs is not pulling its weight (causing your business model to fall).

Take a look and be honest with yourself. If you can’t, ask someone in your life who knows your business.

Setting SMART Goals

The year was 1997. I started my first “real” job after graduating with a master’s degree from Penn State University. I was making $25,000 a year working in internal communications for a Cleveland, Ohio insurance company. I was elated.

At a family gathering on my fiancé’s (now wife’s) side I had a discussion with Jim. Jim, a successful forty-year veteran in the publishing industry, asked me if I knew who Brian Tracy was. I did not.

A few weeks later he dropped off over 20 different cassettes of Brian Tracy’s teachings. I remember the first cassette clearly where Tracy says:

“Most people have no goals, no priorities, and no plans for success. Without a plan, you’re essentially leaving your success to chance.”

In my nearly 30 years in business, Tracy's insights are spot on.

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A few years ago, I presented a workshop to a group of 50 small-business owners.

My first question was, “how many of you have a written-down exit plan for your business?”

Not one person raised their hand.

During the open discussion time a few of the owners talked about leaving the business to their kids. Others talked about selling the business. Others talked about surviving the next year. But no definitive plans could be found anywhere.

So even with a group of motivated entrepreneurs, who risked so much to start a business, there was no plan.

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Recently I did a little experiment with some mentor calls I was taking. When the person started talking about the things they wanted to accomplish, I went straight to the Brian Tracy playbook (also called SMART goals). They are:

Specific – Instead of “grow sales” we want to include how much revenue and in what kind of time frame.

Measurable – Goals have to be quantifiable. If they aren’t, you can’t measure them.

Achievable – Challenging but realistic goals.

Relevant – Does the goal align with your life and career mission?

Time-bound – We need to set a date to accomplish the goal by and then work the plan backward from that date.

If you are a long-time reader of this newsletter, you already know that I set a goal like this when my wife and I launched our business in 2007. In January of 2008 I wrote:

My wife and I sell the company in 2015 for $15 million dollars.

This is the goal that I reviewed every morning, and paved the way for our ultimate exit in June of 2016.

If you want more detail into my goal-setting process, check out this post on Record – Repeat – Remove.

If you would like me to talk about something specific for next issue or ask me a question, just reply to this email.

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Keep learning and growing,

Joe

17040 Amber Dr, Cleveland , OH 44111-2908
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