The Local Media HQ Podcast
Learn what's working, from the people doing it.
Local media operators from all over the country share how their businesses actually grow and make money. Watch every episode, and read the full breakdown.
Now playingKen JeeHis free business directory finds most of his sponsors
- 86full episodes
- 65hours of conversations
- 2025first episode
Recent episodes
with Ken JeeHis best-selling sponsorship is a column written by the sponsorKen Jee grew Austin Founders Feed to 6,500 Austin business owners in under a year. His top sponsor slot is an expert column, and it's booked out for months.September 22, 2026 · 36 minWatch and readwith Sam HarperHe Left His W-2 to Go All In on Local MediaSam Harper grew The Waco Buzz to 16,000 readers, waited until it beat his salary for months, then went full-time. Here's how he spends the week now, and why he rented Baylor's football stadium.September 14, 2026 · 47 minWatch and readwith Katie MyersA free roof, 12 videos and 170 leads for a local rooferKatie Myers built Localish Janesville on Facebook and TikTok, not a newsletter. Here's how a free roof giveaway turned 11 or 12 videos into 170 leads.September 3, 2026 · 56 minWatch and readMore to catch up on
August 10, 2026 · 48 minWhat 2,000 newsrooms taught him about growing local mediaWatch and readJuly 27, 2026 · 58 minA roofer started a local newsletter. Here's why the math works.Watch and read
July 20, 2026 · 58 minFrom Instagram page to media company on the Gold CoastWatch and read
July 13, 2026 · 62 minA PE Teacher, 25,000 Subscribers and a Six-Figure Local NewsletterWatch and read
July 7, 2026 · 34 minHer carousel got 40,000 views. The reel got 9,000.Watch and read
June 30, 2026 · 36 minOne Salesperson Quadrupled Her Sponsorship SalesWatch and read
May 26, 2026 · 55 minHow to Create 3 Monetization Buckets as a Local Media BrandWatch and read
May 20, 2026 · 56 minWhy AI is a boon for local media, not a threatWatch and readEvery episode
74 more conversations, newest first.
202619 episodes
May 6, 2026Nick Pollock stopped chasing sponsors and let them come to himwith Nick Pollock51 minWatch and readApril 29, 2026Why local newsletters are the easiest media business to understandwith Francis Zierer50 minWatch and readApril 24, 2026Earn back your Meta spend after the signup clickwith Louis Nicholls45 minWatch and readApril 20, 2026Why a Media Brand Is Worth Real Moneywith Dylan Redekop49 minWatch and readApril 17, 2026Why a Seattle parents newsletter sells ads so easilywith Mike Richardson52 minWatch and readApril 7, 2026A $50 wine and cheese night, a $15 door upgrade, and 10,000 subscriberswith Kyra Adams50 minWatch and readMarch 27, 2026Automating Local Media Workflows with Claude MCPwith Shane Brady48 minWatch and readMarch 23, 2026Dinner clubs went from stuck to cookingwith Rae Lambert58 minWatch and readMarch 16, 2026How Cincy Scoop hit 75,000 Instagram followers in a 2.1 million person marketwith Mitko Karshovski52 minWatch and readMarch 6, 2026Wichita Life Sells Out Dinner Clubs and a Puzzlewith Landon Huslig37 minWatch and readFebruary 26, 202616 Years In, Potomac Local Runs on a Paywall and AIwith Uriah Kiser45 minWatch and readFebruary 23, 2026The LA Grind hit $100K in nine months with events and a $59 membershipwith Justin Gordon27 minWatch and readFebruary 17, 2026Nearly 5,000 subscribers, zero ad spend, and one Reddit alert appwith Michelle Rueda46 minWatch and readFebruary 13, 2026His Newsletter Launched a Real Estate Companywith Tad Moore58 minWatch and readFebruary 6, 2026A Local Media Company Is Calling About Shane's Newsletterswith Shane Brady52 minWatch and readJanuary 28, 2026Buying and rebuilding a legacy local media brandwith Keith Pepper42 minWatch and readJanuary 19, 2026Start on Instagram and reach 41,000 Salem followers with a phonewith Jacob Espinoza49 minWatch and readJanuary 9, 2026A local newsletter built on one person's voice, funded by a plumbing ownerwith Amy Vartenuk47 minWatch and readJanuary 7, 2026How to Sell Newsletter Ads: Lessons From a Sponsorship Coachwith Justin Moore59 minWatch and read202555 episodes
December 26, 2025Newsletters Are Still Early, and Niche Winswith Dan Oshinsky57 minWatch and readDecember 17, 2025How Salina 311 Hit $500k in a Town of 60,000with Matt Moody60 minWatch and readDecember 9, 2025Local Memes and MrBeast Style Content Are a Recipe for Successwith TJ Larkin21 minWatch and readDecember 5, 2025How He Turned PR Firms Into Repeat Advertiserswith Nick Hageman60 minWatch and readNovember 24, 2025How Nate Spangle Built Get Indiana Into a Half-Million-Dollar Media Companywith Nate Spangle56 minWatch and readNovember 19, 2025What Alex Hormozi Told a Local Newsletter Operatorwith Jas Singh61 minWatch and readNovember 3, 2025How Catskill Crew Makes Money Beyond Adswith Michael Kauffman48 minWatch and readOctober 30, 2025A 31-Year Retail Broker Built a 10,000-Reader Newsletter by Being the Face of Itwith Jimmy Farrell52 minWatch and readOctober 10, 2025Why "ugly" ads work in a 20,000-person marketwith Tance Hughes41 minWatch and readOctober 3, 20253,000 subscribers in a year with no Meta adswith Nick Roberts47 minWatch and readSeptember 30, 2025A Dinner Club Your Audience Fills for Youwith Rae Lambert41 minWatch and readSeptember 26, 2025A Local Newsletter for Startup Founders Hit 5,200 Subscribers in Four Monthswith Justin Gordon53 minWatch and readSeptember 22, 2025Finding Advertisers With Lead Gen Adswith Ashlyn Brooks50 minWatch and readSeptember 16, 2025A Paid Happy Hour, Rivian Calling and Cold Email for Sponsorswith John Apolinar57 minWatch and readSeptember 12, 2025A 300-listen podcast that feeds a 40,000-follower Instagramwith Jacob Espinoza52 minWatch and readSeptember 5, 2025Local podcasts grow with geo-targeted audio adswith Paul Gewuerz57 minWatch and readSeptember 2, 2025The media mullet: free news up front, big money in backwith Nathan May57 minWatch and readAugust 29, 2025Start With a Local SEO Service, Then Add Media and Directorieswith Tim Stoddart47 minWatch and readAugust 18, 2025A giveaway that became a Christmas lights lead listwith Jas Singh44 minWatch and readJuly 31, 2025$80 on duct tape, 1.5 million views, 500 new subscriberswith Matt Diehl54 minWatch and readJuly 22, 2025What an Apartment Locator Taught Us About Selling Newsletter Adswith TJ Larkin30 minWatch and readJuly 18, 2025Why Marin Buzz Is Selling Instagram Followers More Than Emailwith Brian Skinner57 minWatch and readJuly 15, 2025Building Two Businesses on the Back of His Local Newsletterwith Jas Singh48 minWatch and readJune 26, 2025How to Make Back Your Ad Spend in the First 7 Dayswith Louis Nicholls54 minWatch and readJune 20, 2025The Local Instagram Strategy That Actually Workswith Jacob Espinoza49 minWatch and readJune 18, 2025Why a local directory can sell leads instead of adswith Frey Chu40 minWatch and readJune 16, 2025Hats, Beer Cans and Cold Emails: Six Months of Monetizingwith Geoff Matthews60 minWatch and readJune 13, 2025Why Justin Gordon Started a Second Newsletterwith Justin Gordon46 minWatch and readJune 11, 20255,000 subscribers in three months, building in publicwith Matt Diehl52 minWatch and readJune 9, 2025A $1,000 a Month Local Newsletter Is Just the Startwith Alec Kremins52 minWatch and readJune 6, 2025A $300 AI Workshop for Your Newsletter Readerswith TJ Larkin15 minWatch and readMay 22, 2025Instagram DMs and Chamber meetups filled his sales pipelinewith John Apolinar43 minWatch and readMay 19, 2025How Wichita Life Sells Ads, a Job Board and Eventswith Landon Huslig39 minWatch and readMay 14, 2025A 17,000-Subscriber Beach Town Newsletter, and Why Kyle Scott Moved Onwith Kyle Scott58 minWatch and readMay 5, 2025Can a Welcome Email Pay for Your Facebook Ads?with TJ Larkin17 minWatch and readMay 1, 2025A Power Washing Franchise and a Newsletter at 20 Cents a Subscriberwith Ethan Realander54 minWatch and readApril 28, 2025Why Phat Chiem walks into rooms to sell The 518with Phat Chiem31 minWatch and readApril 26, 2025A journalist's local newsletter, and why reporting is the moatwith Phat Chiem34 minWatch and readApril 24, 2025Cutting the links off his landing page halved his cost per subscriberwith Jas Singh48 minWatch and readApril 22, 2025He went from one newsletter a week to three and the readers stayedwith Shane Brady28 minWatch and readApril 16, 2025A Full-Time Job, 10,000 Readers, and a One-Hour Newsletterwith Shane Brady32 minWatch and readApril 14, 2025Why Scott Brodbeck Won't Run Those Junk Adswith Scott Brodbeck29 minWatch and readApril 11, 2025Six DC Sites, Two Sales Reps and 100+ Zapswith Scott Brodbeck33 minWatch and readApril 10, 2025Don't Start a Local Newsletter to Get Rich on Adswith Trenton Hughes49 minWatch and readApril 4, 2025Mike Higgins' First Issue of Green Bay Buzz, Edited Livewith Mike Higgins46 minWatch and readApril 3, 2025Why a local newsletter isn't enoughwith TJ Larkin19 minWatch and readMarch 28, 20253,300 subscribers in 90 days with a dining and events newsletterwith John Apolinar52 minWatch and readMarch 24, 2025Discount cards, a Monopoly board and the $10,000 he turned downwith Michael Kauffman29 minWatch and readMarch 21, 2025He Turns Down $10,000 Ad Deals to Protect the Vibewith Michael Kauffman30 minWatch and readMarch 20, 2025How a Suburban Newsletter Gets From 3,400 to 10,000with Alex Robertson35 minWatch and readMarch 17, 2025Why Mount Juliet Buzz isn't chasing $150 adswith Alex Robertson30 minWatch and readMarch 13, 2025Pick Up the Phone and Sell Ads, Says the Arlington Bagelwith Billy Howell48 minWatch and readMarch 9, 20250 to 14k Subscribers in Six Monthswith TJ Larkin31 minWatch and readMarch 7, 2025How a Wichita Instagram page became a 25,500-subscriber newsletterwith Landon Huslig55 minWatch and readMarch 6, 2025Local Newsletters 101: What the Business Really Takeswith TJ Larkin21 minWatch and read