Local Media HQ

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-b...

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-b...

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 news...

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 t...

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 r...

Check out Greetform here: https://greetform.com/ In this episode of the Local Media HQ show, host TJ Larkin interviews Price Foulger, the creator of Low Tide Local in Northern California. Price shares his journey of launching a local newsletter focused on community events in Santa Cruz while simultaneously building a new roofing business. He explains how he views the newsletter not only as a passi...

Check out Greetform here: https://greetform.com/   In this episode, TJ Larkin interviews Travis from What's on Goldie to discuss how he built a massive local media presence on Australia's Gold Coast. Travis shares his journey from managing the platform as a side project to quitting his full-time tech sales job to go all-in on his media business. The conversation focuses heavily on how loca...

In this episode of the Local Media HQ Show, host TJ Larkin sits down with Andrew Smith, the founder of Huntsville Explorer, a hyper-local media brand based in Huntsville, Alabama. Andrew shares his journey of transitioning from a planned statewide blog network to running a hyper-focused city newsletter that currently boasts over 25,000 subscribers. The conversation breaks down the mechanics of loc...

Welcome to Part 2 of our masterclass with Marissa Lavelle, the founder of From Boise. In this segment, host TJ Larkin pushes past basic business theories to uncover the exact day-to-day operations, hiring systems, and backend frameworks that keep a six-figure newsletter running smoothly. If you have ever wondered how to step back from micromanaging your brand and actually delegate tasks to a team,...

In Part 1 of this episode, host TJ Larkin sits down with Marissa Lavelle, founder of the hyper-local media brand From Boise, to pull back the curtain on building a highly profitable local newsletter. Marissa shares her foundational journey, detailing how she grew her subscriber base to over 25,000 readers and an Instagram following of over 40,000. The conversation targets the financial realities o...

In this episode, TJ Larkin sits down with Ethan Brooks, founder of the Austin Business Review, to explore the mechanics of building a successful local media company. Drawing on his background as an editorial writer at The Hustle and a founding team member at Hampton, Ethan breaks down why scaling to multiple cities isn't the only path to a multi-million dollar media business. The conversation...

In this episode of the Local Media HQ show, host TJ Larkin sits down with Paul Gewuerz, founder of LocalPod and creator of LocalPod Studio. The conversation focuses on the modern intersection of AI technology and the legacy local media landscape. They discuss how traditional media companies are adapting to a rapidly changing digital ecosystem, the shifting dynamics of audience trust, and how new o...

In this episode, TJ Larkin sits down with Nick Pollock, who transformed a side hustle into a full-time local media business in just 18 months. Nick shares how he grew his two Canadian brands, the Oakville Digest and Burlington Digest, to a combined 28,000 newsletter subscribers and 30,000 Instagram followers. The conversation explores the transition from working in tech sales to managing a local m...

In this episode, Francis Zierer of Creator Spotlight reveals how he grew a YouTube channel from 16 to over 5,000 subscribers in just two years by reinvesting in high-quality video production and "slick intro clips". He and host TJ Larkin break down why local media remains one of the healthiest business models today, focusing on curated content rather than traditional crime or political r...

In this episode, TJ Larkin interviews Louis Nicholls, the founder of Spark Loop, about a massive untapped opportunity in the newsletter industry: the thank you page. While most local media operators view the moment after a subscription as a dead end, Nicholls explains how this is actually when a subscriber is most engaged and ready for their next step. The core of the discussion centers on transfo...

In this episode, TJ Larkin sits down with newsletter expert Dylan Redekop to discuss the evolving landscape of media brands. They explore why major companies like OpenAI and HubSpot are investing millions into established media properties and what this means for independent creators. The conversation centers on the idea that "attention" is the new currency and why building a loyal, engag...

In this episode, TJ Larkin interviews Mike Richardson, the founder of Kid Friendly Seattle, a niche local newsletter that has quickly become a go-to resource for families. Mike shares his transition from professional burnout to building a successful media company centered on his life as a father. The discussion covers how he identified a gap in the Seattle market and chose to focus on a hyper-loca...

In this episode, TJ Larkin sits down with Kyra Adams, the founder of Chino Chew, a thriving local newsletter serving the Inland Empire in the suburban part of Los Angeles. Kyra shares her journey of growing a local media brand from just six family members to over 10,000 email subscribers and 10,000 Instagram followers in less than a year. She details her aggressive growth strategies, including how...

In this episode, TJ Larkin and Shane dive deep into the rapidly evolving world of AI workflows specifically tailored for local media brands. They explore the power of Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, which allow users to connect AI models like Claude directly to software like Beehive and Canva. The discussion centers on how these integrations allow non-technical users to manage complex data a...

TJ Larkin welcomes Rae Lambert, founder of DNNR, to discuss the rapid growth of her social dining platform. The episode explores how local creators and newsletter owners are using DNNR to facilitate six-person "hostless" dinners that help strangers become friends while generating significant monthly revenue. Rae shares how the platform has scaled to 70 active communities, providing creat...

Mitko from Cincy Scoop joins the show to discuss the rapid growth of his local media brand, which has amassed 75,000 Instagram followers and 12,000 newsletter subscribers since launching in 2023. The conversation explores the transition from traditional publication styles to a "new age" media format that focuses on high-quality visual content and community engagement. Mitko explains how...

Landon from Wichita Life returns to the show to share how he has significantly scaled his local media brand over the last several months. The conversation covers his impressive growth to nearly 38,000 email subscribers and how he leverages tools like ManyChat and Facebook ads to maintain steady momentum. Landon breaks down the business model behind his highly successful monthly dinner clubs, which...

Uriah Kaiser has been covering Northern Virginia through Potomac Local News since 2010 — longer than most people in this space have been paying attention to it. In this episode, he and TJ Larkin dig into what it takes to build a sustainable, multi-revenue local media business over the long haul. From paywall strategy to AI adoption to YouTube growth, Uriah pulls back the curtain on what's actu...

Justin Gordon quit his job at a venture firm to start a newsletter. Nine months later, he crossed $100K in revenue. In this episode, Justin breaks down exactly how he built the LA Grind and SF Grind into real businesses. Not just newsletters. Businesses with events, sponsorships, and a paid membership that grows every single month. We get into the specifics: how he closes $5K event sponsors like J...

Michelle Rueda shares how she grew What's Weird ATX to nearly 5,000 subscribers without spending a single dollar on advertising. As an engineer with over 16 years of experience, she built Social Radar, an iOS app that notifies her whenever someone on Reddit asks questions relevant to her Austin events newsletter. Instead of spending hours searching Reddit manually, the tool alerts her to oppor...