Turning Instagram Followers Into $10K a Month

TJ's musings

Hi local media operators,

The battle for attention in our cities has shifted completely. People aren't waiting for the evening news or the morning paper anymore; they are looking at their phones the second they wake up. If you aren't winning on social media, you are invisible to a huge chunk of your community.

I sat down with Jacob Espinoza recently to talk about exactly this. He has built What’s Happening Salem into a powerhouse by being "visibly local" on Instagram. We break down the specific content formats that actually drive growth and how he turns that social proof into real revenue. If you are trying to scale a city-focused brand, you need to hear Jacob’s roadmap.

New Media Summit is next week!

Stoked to go to the event in downtown Austin next week. If you’re reading this and you’re going to be there, reply and let me know. Want to make sure we get a chance to connect in person.

Podcast spotlight

How Social-First Local Media Actually Makes $10K/Month

Top Three Takeaways

Social-First Local Media Is the Fastest Wedge

Local news still matters, but distribution has changed. Instagram and TikTok are where trust, reach, and monetization now happen fastest for local operators.

• Social platforms give instant social proof through followers, engagement, and visible community overlap, which makes businesses far more likely to pay attention and partner.
• You can start with $0 using only a phone, test content daily, and improve quickly without the ad spend usually required to grow newsletters or websites.
• The opportunity is strongest in local because competition is still thin compared to crowded national niches like fitness, coaching, or real estate content.

Clear Content Pillars Beat Random Posting

The best local pages win by rotating proven formats instead of guessing what to post each day. Structure creates consistency and faster learning.

• The strongest pillars discussed were B-roll highlight reels, green screen news or announcements, city meeting clips, memes, and weekend or event lists.
• Mixing pillars increases reach and retention, while sticking to just one can still work if executed consistently and clearly for a defined audience.
• One focused hour per day is enough to produce posts if you film places you already visit and simplify editing with repeatable templates.

Monetization Comes From Business Visibility

Revenue grows naturally when you consistently feature local businesses and understand how to make content perform on social platforms.

• Highlighting many businesses creates inbound demand as competitors see results and want similar exposure, often without aggressive outreach.
• Packages work best when combining distribution on your page with simple content creation for the business, which dramatically increases perceived value.
• New operators should not underprice for long, since a few thousand targeted local views can easily outperform traditional marketing spends for small businesses.

Sell fewer ads and make more money in local media

This is a great look at the "Moneyball" approach to local media revenue. Most local media companies get stuck in the trap of chasing small businesses with zero marketing budget. The play here is to use your own email list to find the real decision makers at larger local firms. Learning how to leverage your existing audience to find these leads is a game changer for your bottom line.

Great reads

Why Obituaries Still Matter in Local News

It turns out that while almost every weekly paper charges for obituaries to keep the doors open, that money usually makes up less than 5% of their total income. It is a service that takes a lot of heart and labor for very little financial return, but that is exactly what makes a local newsroom indispensable. Even though Facebook has taken over the "announcement" space, it can’t match the permanence or the dignity of a printed record. This is a solid reminder that local media is in the trust business, and being the keeper of a town’s legacy is a job no bot or algorithm can do.

Read it HERE.

Why Newsrooms are Essential to the AI Ecosystem

I think every local publisher should dig into this data about how people are using ChatGPT to navigate their daily lives. A million queries a week for local info is a massive signal that the way our neighbors want to consume news is changing. They want to ask questions and get direct answers about their community businesses and emergency responses. As long as we are the ones providing the "civic intelligence" for our towns, we remain the most important part of the information chain.

Read it HERE.

The Year Newsletters Stopped Feeling Like a Side Hustle

This look at the newsletter business reaching a fever pitch is a great read for anyone in local media trying to figure out where the industry is headed. It highlights how the most successful creators are building massive businesses by cutting out the middleman and speaking directly to their audience. When newsrooms stop relying on social media algorithms and start owning their distribution through newsletters, they build a much deeper level of trust.

Read it HERE.