Local Media HQ

Local Media HQ is the definitive podcast and consulting resource for entrepreneurs or anyone interested in modern, creator-led local media brands, as well as local newsletters. Host TJ Larkin provides exclusive insights, proven frameworks, and actionable strategies that help local media and newsletter publishers accelerate growth and maximize profitability.P.S. If you're monetizing an audience, check out greetform, the form that turns your signup moment into instant revenue. greetform.com

Local Media HQ is a business podcast hosted by TJ Larkin, with 86 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

TJ Larkin hosts Local Media HQ, a business show with 86 episodes published.

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  Local Media HQ

  Local Directory is his Best Sponsorship Funnel (Part 2)

  Sep 28, 202634 min

  Build a greetform that turns new newsletter subscribers into data, leads, and offers, https://greetform.com/ Ken Jee built Austin Founders Feed into a newsletter for Austin founders and entrepreneurs, growing it to approximately 6,500 subscribers by the time of this recording. After years of creating data science content on YouTube, Ken is now focused on local media, newsletter growth, community-building, and AI-resilient businesses in Austin. In this Local Media HQ interview, Ken walks through how Austin Founders Feed grew through Meta ads, organic community campaigns, founder interviews, sponsorships, and a local business directory. He explains why partnered expert columns can outperform traditional ad placements, how the directory became a source of warm sponsorship leads, and why real-world relationships are becoming more valuable as AI makes content easier to commoditize. Ken also shares his plans for the Austin Creator Brief, a newsletter agency for content creators, creator-focused events, and a potential physical space for Austin’s creator economy. Ken’s guiding principle is that local media should create win-win relationships by investing in the community before asking for anything in return. Chapters 00:00 The vision for a physical creator space in Austin 09:09 How Austin Founders Feed's business directory works 13:56 Why monetizing a newsletter requires sales 16:03 Ad break 16:54 Choosing sponsorships that create real value 21:48 Ken's advice for building and nurturing community 28:05 Using Luma to grow local events 30:06 Final thoughts on relationships, community, and AI Guest Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenjee/ Austin Founders Feed: https://www.austinfoundersfeed.com/ Austin Creator Brief: https://austincreatorbrief.com/ AI Survival Guide: https://ai-survival-guide.beehiiv.com/ The Growth Account: https://the-growth-account.beehiiv.com/ Work with me: https://www.localmediahq.com/ Discord: https://discord.localmediahq.com/ TJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjlarkin1 TJ on X: https://x.com/TJLarkin23 TJ on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.larkin #LocalMedia #Entrepreneurship #NewsletterGrowth #CommunityBuilding #AustinFoundersFeed #CreatorEconomy #NewsletterMonetization #CommunityEvents #KenJee #LocalMediaHQ

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  Local Media HQ

  His Local B2B Newsletter Sells Out Expert Columns (Part 1)

  Sep 22, 202636 min

  Build a greetform that turns new newsletter subscribers into data, leads, and offers, https://greetform.com/ Ken Jee built Austin Founders Feed into a newsletter for Austin founders and entrepreneurs, growing it to approximately 6,500 subscribers by the time of this recording. After years of creating data science content on YouTube, Ken is now focused on local media, newsletter growth, community-building, and AI-resilient businesses in Austin. In this Local Media HQ interview, Ken walks through how Austin Founders Feed grew through Meta ads, organic community campaigns, founder interviews, sponsorships, and a local business directory. He explains why partnered expert columns can outperform traditional ad placements, how the directory became a source of warm sponsorship leads, and why real-world relationships are becoming more valuable as AI makes content easier to commoditize. Ken also shares his plans for the Austin Creator Brief, a newsletter agency for content creators, creator-focused events, and a potential physical space for Austin’s creator economy. Ken’s guiding principle is that local media should create win-win relationships by investing in the community before asking for anything in return. Chapters 00:00 Ken Jee and Austin Founders Feed introduction 00:57 Why Ken started a local B2B newsletter 03:57 Austin Founders Feed's early growth and business model 06:19 Why expert columns build more trust than traditional ads 08:42 Using interviews and human content to stand out from AI 10:55 The Top Connectors campaign and organic growth 12:40 Building a collaborative local business community 15:19 Why local communities are a hedge against AI 16:05 Ad break 17:41 The Austin Creator Brief and Ken's three-business roadmap 19:37 Building a newsletter agency for content creators 23:08 Ken's vision for a larger national newsletter 26:54 How past relationships create long-term leverage 30:13 Why Ken prefers partnering on events Guest Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenjee/ Austin Founders Feed: https://www.austinfoundersfeed.com/ Austin Creator Brief: https://austincreatorbrief.com/ AI Survival Guide: https://ai-survival-guide.beehiiv.com/ The Growth Account: https://the-growth-account.beehiiv.com/ Work with me: https://www.localmediahq.com/ Discord: https://discord.localmediahq.com/ TJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjlarkin1 TJ on X: https://x.com/TJLarkin23 TJ on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.larkin #LocalMedia #Entrepreneurship #NewsletterGrowth #CommunityBuilding #AustinFoundersFeed #CreatorEconomy #NewsletterMonetization #CommunityEvents #KenJee #LocalMediaHQ

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  Episode #80

  He Left His W-2 to Go All in on Local Media

  Sep 14, 202647 min

  Build a greetform that turns new newsletter subscribers into data, leads, and offers, https://greetform.com/ Sam Harper built The Waco Buzz to 16,000 readers, left his corporate job three months ago, and is now full-time on local media in Waco, Texas, newsletter, social, job board, and community events. In this Local Media HQ interview, Sam walks through the side-hustle-to-full-time jump (the newsletter beat his W-2 pay for months first), why relationship capacity is the real unlock when you go full-time, how monthly Dinner Club made Waco Buzz feel like a real brand, Social Studies talks with local professors, and the big swing: renting Baylor’s football stadium for Waco’s first paper airplane championship. He also breaks down his LinkedIn “social selling” play, Meta grows the list; LinkedIn books senior meetings, plus “Good Life in Waco” surveys that feed the newsletter, job board, and a 30-day wealth campaign with a local partner. Caveat from Sam: events should be fun, get people doing something together, and stay easy to fulfill. He’s not trying to turn the stadium night into a bloated production. Chapters: 00:00 Sam Harper / The Waco Buzz intro 01:52 16,000 readers and going full-time 03:31 When the side hustle beat the W-2 06:42 Filling a 40-hour week with relationships 10:34 Community builder vs more products 13:33 Dinner Club and Social Studies 14:56 Paper airplane championship at Baylor Stadium 20:23 When local news covered Dinner Club 29:58 LinkedIn social selling playbook 36:18 Good Life in Waco (reader-generated stories) 39:09 Job board + 30-day wealth campaign 45:03 Where to find Sam Guest links discussed / find Sam: https://www.thewacobuzz.com/ https://www.instagram.com/waco.buzz/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-harper-coach https://wacobuzz.beehiiv.com/ Work with me: https://www.localmediahq.com/ Discord: https://discord.localmediahq.com/ TJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjlarkin1 TJ on X: https://x.com/TJLarkin23 TJ on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.larkin #LocalMedia #NewsletterGrowth #Entrepreneurship #CommunityBuilding #WacoBuzz #DigitalMarketing #SideHustleToFullTime #LinkedInStrategy #LocalEvents #PodcastInterview

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  Episode #79

  170 Roofing Leads From 12 Social Media Videos

  Sep 3, 202656 min

  greetform turns a newsletter signup into revenue in the first few minutes: https://greetform.com/Katie Myers built Localish in Janesville, Wisconsin (about 65,000 people). Twelve videos for a free-roof giveaway pulled 170 leads. Her first dinner club got 50 people, and she barely has a newsletter.Katie is an insurance agency owner who opened in Janesville on March 1, 2020, knowing one person in town. Personal Facebook content was producing about $60,000 a month in new insurance business within the first year or two. Close rate on quotes is about 50% because people already know her. In 2025 she did 80 million views across platforms. About 50 million of those were content about small businesses and what was going on around town.She built a Localish app on Replit, got 1,800 downloads in the first month from three videos, could not pay the developer, and pivoted. Localish Janesville as a media brand started February 2026. It runs mainly on Facebook and TikTok (about 90,000 followers across platforms, Instagram under 1,000). She says it is averaging about a million views a month, all organic. She is launching Localish Madison with a partner (another insurance agency owner) and does not want her face on the brand. The vision is Localish in every city. She only wants advertisers spending $50,000+ a year on ads. She will not film a shop for $100.Dinner club: she heard it on this show and planned one that morning. First event, June 2026, 50 people, mostly strangers, town of 65,000. Four dinners this summer. A business-only dinner got 15 people. She is not repeating that. Localish Madison dinner club was announced the day before this recording.Free roof with Brady Boland / Rooster Roofing: idea from Cole Simpson (Soda City Simpson) on this show. Google Form, disclosed they would be contacted for a quote, stories used to pick the winner (not a hat draw). 11–12 videos, 170 form fills. Her private goal was 50. Local roofers pay $40 to $300 a lead. They gave the roof to a veteran's family (seven tours in Iraq, back surgery). She says they have already sold roofs off the list. Best videos: announcement clips and the call. A polished drone video was the worst. Crowd-sourced friend videos and a rooster mascot (Rufus) did better.Also in this episode: digitize your reputation, more volume beats three precious videos a week, a "who's hiring" poll that got 75 comments in under 24 hours, why BNI and chambers fail most operators, and why she wants to give away $100 million someday.Mentioned in this episodeRooster Roofing (Brady Boland): https://rooster-roofing.com/Cole Simpson / Soda City Simpson: https://www.youtube.com/@sodacitysimpsonLocalish Janesville Dinner Club: https://localishjanesvilledinnerclub.dnnr.io/Katie MyersEmail: thekatiemyers@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThekatiemyersshowTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_katie_myersInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_katie_myers/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-myers-388515105Localish JanesvilleFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LocalishjanesvilleTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@localishjanesvilleInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/localishjanesville/Build your own local media business:https://localmediahq.com/Subscribe to the weekly newsletter:https://www.localmediahq.com/subscribeJoin the community (Discord):https://discord.localmediahq.comFollow TJX: https://x.com/TJLarkin23Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.larkinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjlarkin1Website: https://tjlarkin.com/Work with me:https://www.localmediahq.com/#LocalMedia #LocalNewsletters #Janesville #TikTok #DinnerClub #Roofing #Localish #NewsletterGrowth #AdSales #CreatorEconomy

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  Episode #78

  How to Build a Local Media Business that Scales

  Aug 10, 202648 min

  Local Media Camp: localmediacamp.com (discount code: LOCALHQ) Check out Greetform here: https://greetform.com/ Join TJ Larkin as he interviews David Grant, GM at Blue Engine Collaborative, to dissect what separates struggling local publications from thriving media businesses. David breaks down data from thousands of media organizations, explaining why print mailing targeting high-value zip codes remains an unbeatable ad format and how Facebook's creator monetization features are paying smaller publishers real monthly returns. Throughout the episode, David emphasizes the role of localized storytelling, training dedicated ad sales personnel, and expanding media brands beyond standard editorial into local agency work. The discussion highlights real success stories from publications taking advantage of short-form video, intern talent programs, and experiential community events like dinner clubs and local summits. If you are looking to build or scale a local media empire, this interview delivers straight talk, practical frameworks, and high-impact monetization strategies you can deploy immediately in your market. Guest Information: Name: David Grant Company: Blue Engine Collaborative Website: blueenginecollaborative.com Upcoming Event: Local Media Camp (October 14–16, Durham, NC) at localmediacamp.com (Discount Code: LOCALHQ ) Socials: Instagram: @_austinpowell (Austin Powell, Meta Growth) Build your own local media business: https://localmediahq.com/ https://lightbreak.ai Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter: https://www.localmediahq.com/subscribe Join the Community (Discord): Connect with TJ, share ideas, ask questions, and be part of a growing creator & media community Join here: https://discord.localmediahq.com/ Follow My Journey Twitter/X: https://x.com/TJLarkin23 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.larkin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjlarkin1 Website: https://tjlarkin.com/ Work With Me For brand partnerships, sponsorships, and business inquiries: tj@localmediahq.com #LocalNews #LocalMedia #Publishing #MediaBusiness #Journalism #NewsletterGrowth #AdSales #DigitalPublishing #PrintMedia #MediaStrategy

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