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Key Takeaways Paid media isn’t unethical. Poorly told, non-transparent stories are what destroy credibility.
The smartest founders use paid placements to educate audiences, not promote themselves.
As an entrepreneur and publicist, I’ve spent years trying to figure out the most effective ways to get my message out. Early in my career, I approached several publications with pitches about the services I offered, confident that the right story would catch a journalist’s attention and propel my business. More often than not, I got polite rejections or no response at all.
Then, one day, I received a different kind of reply.
My first experience with pay-to-play
One of the publications I had pitched to offered to publish an article about my work for a set fee. At first, I hesitated. Paying for coverage felt foreign — maybe even a little uncomfortable. But then I realized, why not?
I was already investing in social media ads and marketing campaigns to reach potential customers. So, paying to share my expertise in a good magazine was no different. It was simply another way to educate my audience I wanted to serve.
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