Local Media HQ

Build a greetform that turns new newsletter subscribers into data, leads, and offers, https://greetform.com/New Media Summit, February 25-26, 2027, Austin: https://newmediasummit.com/Use promo code TJ20 for 20% off tickets.A new subscriber gives you their email. Why send them to a dead-end thank-you page? Matt McGarry, founder of GrowLetter and New Media Summit, joins me to explain what local publishers can ask, offer, and sell while that reader is still paying attention.Matt walks through a signup flow that collects reader interests, identifies potential advertisers, and introduces an offer immediately. A parent can get relevant family content. A business owner can enter an advertiser follow-up. A short welcome video filmed somewhere recognizable can show readers the real person behind the publication.Then I push Matt on using a local newsletter to grow a service business. He sees potential, but not for every business: the audience needs to fit the offer, and sometimes direct lead generation is the better first move. He also explains why chasing every possible revenue stream can leave a small team doing none of them well.We finish with events: how tickets, sponsors, vendors, and on-site purchases support different business models, and why a meetup can be a starting point rather than the whole ambition. Matt also makes the case for keeping an email list that works instead of abandoning it over predictions about AI.Chapters00:00 Matt McGarry and the local media opportunity02:28 What local publishers can borrow from bigger brands04:16 What happens after someone subscribes?09:24 A welcome video that builds local trust13:25 A personality-led brand, not just an influencer18:13 Don't abandon email over AI predictions24:10 The problem with chasing every revenue stream28:42 Should a newsletter feed your service business?32:27 When direct lead generation makes more sense36:33 Turning a local audience into in-person events41:58 Start small without thinking small45:19 Three event business models49:12 New Media Summit in AustinGuest LinksGrowLetter: https://www.growletter.com/Mentioned in This Episodebeehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com/Other Ways to ConnectConsulting, community discussion, and social updates, respectively:Work with me: https://www.localmediahq.com/Discord: https://discord.localmediahq.com/TJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjlarkin1TJ on X: https://x.com/TJLarkin23TJ on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.larkin#LocalMedia #NewsletterGrowth #MattMcGarry

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.Chapters00:00 The vision for a physical creator space in Austin09:09 How Austin Founders Feed's business directory works13:56 Why monetizing a newsletter requires sales16:03 Ad break16:54 Choosing sponsorships that create real value21:48 Ken's advice for building and nurturing community28:05 Using Luma to grow local events30:06 Final thoughts on relationships, community, and AIGuest LinksLinkedIn: 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/tjlarkin1TJ on X: https://x.com/TJLarkin23TJ on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.larkin#LocalMedia #Entrepreneurship #NewsletterGrowth #CommunityBuilding #AustinFoundersFeed #CreatorEconomy #NewsletterMonetization #CommunityEvents #KenJee #LocalMediaHQ

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.Chapters00:00 Ken Jee and Austin Founders Feed introduction00:57 Why Ken started a local B2B newsletter03:57 Austin Founders Feed's early growth and business model06:19 Why expert columns build more trust than traditional ads08:42 Using interviews and human content to stand out from AI10:55 The Top Connectors campaign and organic growth12:40 Building a collaborative local business community15:19 Why local communities are a hedge against AI16:05 Ad break17:41 The Austin Creator Brief and Ken's three-business roadmap19:37 Building a newsletter agency for content creators23:08 Ken's vision for a larger national newsletter26:54 How past relationships create long-term leverage30:13 Why Ken prefers partnering on eventsGuest LinksLinkedIn: 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/tjlarkin1TJ on X: https://x.com/TJLarkin23TJ on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.larkin#LocalMedia #Entrepreneurship #NewsletterGrowth #CommunityBuilding #AustinFoundersFeed #CreatorEconomy #NewsletterMonetization #CommunityEvents #KenJee #LocalMediaHQ

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 intro01:52 16,000 readers and going full-time03:31 When the side hustle beat the W-206:42 Filling a 40-hour week with relationships10:34 Community builder vs more products13:33 Dinner Club and Social Studies14:56 Paper airplane championship at Baylor Stadium20:23 When local news covered Dinner Club29:58 LinkedIn social selling playbook36:18 Good Life in Waco (reader-generated stories)39:09 Job board + 30-day wealth campaign45:03 Where to find SamGuest links discussed / find Sam:https://www.thewacobuzz.com/https://www.instagram.com/waco.buzz/https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-harper-coachhttps://wacobuzz.beehiiv.com/Work with me: https://www.localmediahq.com/Discord: https://discord.localmediahq.com/TJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjlarkin1TJ on X: https://x.com/TJLarkin23TJ on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.larkin#LocalMedia #NewsletterGrowth #Entrepreneurship #CommunityBuilding #WacoBuzz #DigitalMarketing #SideHustleToFullTime #LinkedInStrategy #LocalEvents #PodcastInterview

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: [email protected]: 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