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You control it. Make it count.
Owned Media and PR
With earned media being harder to get, owned media is more important than ever. Owned media is your most controllable, reliable way to reach the people you want to reach. With it you can build your brand voice, learn more about your audience, and if all goes right, get some future media coverage like press features, podcast invites and more.
What’s the difference in Paid vs. Owned vs. Earned Media?
Paid Media: Anything you pay for. Including partnerships, advertising, branded content and sponsorships.
Owned Media: Anything you create, host and distribute yourself. Includes newsletters, social media, your website, blogs, podcasts, infographics and more!
Earned Media: when others (like journalists or creators) highlight your brand because of your story, press releases, media outreach, or reputation.
Why I Like Owned Media
It gives you a chance to take control of your messaging. You shape and create your brand voice, you tell the stories you want people to hear. With it you have a direct line to your audience.
If done right, owned media can generate earned media opportunities. How? When you have good stories, useful ideas, a clear point of view, etc, these all become proof that you are worth covering. There could be a story lurking in your owned media that a journalist has been looking for. It happens all the time.
The data is yours! You see what people open, click, read, share and binge. All those analytics, metrics and engagements let you see what messages land and which fall flat.
One good piece of content can go far. An article, post, or podcast episode can be shared and repurposed across multiple channels. Like leftovers, sometimes they are even better the next day.
Writing this reminds me of different social media accounts owned by companies that I like or are memorable. I love seeing companies that are a little cheeky, or sometimes unhinged. (I’m looking at you Wendy’s) They crack me up, not only with their content but especially the comments.
Before You Start
Before you start your owned media journey, or even if you’re already on it, don’t forget the following things: Your audience, consistency, SEO, user-generated content, and being authentic.
Know your audience. What do they care about? What problem are they trying to solve? Everything you put out should pass the “would my audience actually save or share this” test?
Be consistent. Pick a pace that you can sustain and commit.
SEO. An better way to think of SEO: You don’t need to be an expert. Just use words that your audience would use when searching in your headline, intro and subheading.
Need user-generated content and participation? Ask for it! Make it easy and fun to participate in. Ask for stories, before and afters, testimonials, then feature them in newsletters and social channels.
What does authentic and transparent look like IRL? We’re talking behind-the-scenes moments, mistakes, processes, lessons learned. Shows that you’re human. It goes extra far in this age of AI.
💫 SEO EASY TIP: Ask yourself: “If I Googled this problem (topic), would my page clearly answer it?”
Now you got the basics, it’s time to start making.
Take 5 and “Make It”
Make it meaningful: The best pieces of content are not one-way messages, but open invitations for dialogue with your audience and potential customers. Think conversation, not broadcast.
Make it connect: You know you’re the best in the world, or have the coolest product ever, however others don’t. Leave the sales talk at the door and connect on a human level. Be relatable rather than overly promotional.
Make it educational: Try showing instead of saying. Be helpful. If you’re a resource, people will keep coming back.
Make it visual: Videos, photography, even AI generated images can capture the imagination.
⚠️Note of caution: Be transparent if you’re using AI generated content. And in the interest of transparency, my opening images are always AI generated. I don’t possess the talent to make those images myself.Make it stand out: Connect with your audience by creating content that will be remembered shared. Memorable content takes effort, but that’s what gets shared and talked about.
Owned media is your foundation. It’s the part of marketing you fully control and it brings loads of value. When you consistently show up with useful, clear, and engaging content you make your audience fall in love with you even more. And who doesn’t want that?
“Combining paid, earned and owned media, now thats where the real magic happens.”
Do this now: Pick one channel you can commit to, be it a newsletter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc, and make a plan for creating content that follows the Take 5 and “Make It” guidelines from above.
FAQ
Q: What’s the best social platform to start with?
A: That depends where your audience can be found. But as a general rule here are some suggestions for different audiences.
For local business: Facebook and Instagram
For B2B: LinkedIn
For creators, educators, and experts: YouTube
For non profits: Facebook and LinkedIn for the founders.
For everyone: If you have a good email list, you should definitely be sending out newsletters.
Get PR techniques from recent news.
Newsworthy
I stopped being shy and said hi.
Stepping in to help with an interview.
As a PR pro, I’m always reading about tips people have for developing relationships with the media, why I’ve even written about it myself. I’m always emphasizing the importance of being helpful to journalists so the other day when I saw a newscaster and his cameraman hanging out at a local coffee spot being turned away by people for interviews, I took my own advice and went to help.
He needed to interview someone for a comment on a recent crime that was committed and the arrest of the suspect. A mom would be ideal, but he would take anyone, and he wasn’t having any luck. So I went to work and said, give me a minute. I asked the group that I was with if they would do the interview, they all were shy and said no. So I volunteered. He was very grateful. I gave a few minutes of my time and helped him out. In return, he gave me his direct contact, his beat, and said to send him any stories that might be a good fit for him. Proving a helping hand now, earns you good credits for the future. It’s not rocket science. It’s just being a helpful human.
Ways to Develop Your Media Relations:
Be helpful
Provide accurate information
Acknowledge any limitations or challenges upfront
Offer high-quality content, expert perspectives, and useful insights to help add value to their reporting
Respond promptly to journalists’ inquiries
Be proactive, not reactive in communications
Engage with them on social media
Build a reputation of being reliable and delivering on your promises
✍️ Key PR Takeaway: When you see a reporter or journalist IRL, go say hi and see if you can assist with anything. I’ve done everything from carry equipment and save them a seat at the movie theater to fixing their clothing, all in the name of being a helpful neighbor.
Useful PR Resources.
🧰 TOOLKIT
beehiiv
Since this episode is about owned media, and newsletters are a great tool, I’m going to recommend the Beehiiv platform. It is what I use for this newsletter. It’s a great way to get started, for free. Newsletter, podcast and website all starting at $0. (No joke)
Why I like Beehiiv:
Easy to use
Generous FREE plan for up to 2,500 subscribers PLUS you can use your own web domain (a feature rarely found for free)
Lots of built-in tools for hosting and growing blog/newsletter website
Campaign analytics so you can track what is working and what’s not
Optimized delivery
Native support for Podcasts, so your show and your newsletter can live in one place
Attention Seeker of the Week
Marlee
Marley, the 9 month-old attention seeking Bernedoodle will make sure you never pee alone. While he might be afraid of lizards, rabbits are his best friend and oh so fun to chase. Marlee wants you to know that if you see him around, you’ll definitely feel better if you pet him, and please always let him join in your conversation, he’s got a lot to say.
We’d love to feature your furry attention seeker, send me your pics!
How have you been helpful this week?
Until next week, keep your shades on and stay cool.
Your fellow Seeker,
Keren
🕶️
The GTM bets that shouldn't have worked, and did
One grew revenue 50x after half his team quit over the strategy. One brought in 50K signups in a single day with no paid budget. One generated 100M+ views from a stunt that took 50 hours to conceive. One asked every prospect to demo the product themselves instead of demoing it for them.
None of them followed the safe playbook. They treated GTM like an experiment, moved before they had proof, and made bets most founders would never get approved.
HubSpot for Startups documented all 6 stories in the free Bold Bets Playbook. The risks they took, why it was risky, and what it returned.