The Media Hit List and Lean-In Story Method
Find the right outlets and pitch stories audiences already respond to
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 95%
This method begins by reframing publicity: if your expertise genuinely helps people, visibility enables those people to find you. Next, identify relevant media by asking clients what they watch, read, follow, and listen to. Add outlets where comparable experts already appear, using jealousy as evidence of both possibility and audience fit rather than as a reason to withdraw. Then build a bank of “lean-in stories” by observing which experiences make listeners become visibly curious. A story need not match the current business literally; it qualifies when a meaningful lesson connects the earlier experience to present expertise. The resulting media hit list supplies the destinations, while the lean-in stories supply differentiated angles that can be pursued through warm relationships.
Origin
Extracted from The Jasmine Star Show, where Jen Gottlieb explained Super Connector Media’s mindset-first approach to publicity and illustrated it with client placements.
Core principles
- 01Treat visibility as a responsibility when your work helps people
- 02Choose outlets based on audience attention rather than prestige
- 03Use comparison as market intelligence
- 04Notice stories that make listeners lean in
- 05Connect past experiences to present expertise through a clear lesson
How to run it
- 1
Claim the Responsibility to Share
Determine whether your work genuinely helps people. If it does, treat visibility as a way to make that help discoverable rather than as self-promotion alone.
Pro tip Focus on the people who cannot benefit until they know you exist.
Watch out Confidence does not excuse exaggerating expertise or results.
- 2
Research Audience Attention
Ask current or ideal clients which podcasts, blogs, magazines, television shows, and social accounts they consume.
Pro tip Collect recurring answers rather than relying on one person’s preferences.
Watch out Do not choose outlets solely because they are prestigious.
- 3
Mine Comparison for Targets
Observe where comparable experts receive coverage and add relevant outlets and topics to your media hit list.
Pro tip Use envy as a prompt to document what is possible and where your market is paying attention.
Watch out Do not copy another expert’s claims or identity.
- 4
Collect Lean-In Stories
Notice which personal experiences cause listeners to become more curious, ask follow-up questions, or visibly pay attention. Record those stories even if they seem ordinary to you.
Pro tip Outside reactions are useful because familiarity can hide what is distinctive about your own life.
Watch out Stories that consistently make attention drift are unlikely to become strong media angles.
- 5
Find the Through Line
Extract the lesson, transformation, or capability created by each compelling experience and connect it honestly to your current work.
Pro tip Ask how the earlier experience prepared you to solve today’s problem.
Watch out Do not force a connection that the story cannot support.
- 6
Pursue the Match
Pair each strong story with the outlets whose audiences would value it, then use relevant relationships from the Top 20 to seek an introduction or pitch.
Pro tip Lead with a specific story and audience benefit rather than a generic request for coverage.
Watch out Do not mass-pitch the same angle without adapting it to each outlet.
In the wild
A sales coach initially dismissed her previous work teaching yoga, meditation, and spiritual practices to children because it appeared unrelated to sales. Gottlieb’s team encouraged her to use the transformation as her story. Forbes then framed her journey as a teacher who left the classroom and created a seven-figure coaching business.
→ The overlooked personal history became the relatable angle for a full Forbes feature.
Gottlieb’s fourteen seasons interviewing rock stars on VH1 appeared unrelated to owning a PR agency. By identifying lessons learned from interviewing public figures and connecting those skills to media work, she turned an unusual past role into a distinctive credibility story.
→ An apparently unrelated experience became a memorable entry point for explaining her present expertise.
Common mistakes
Chasing Prestige Instead of Audience
An impressive outlet has little strategic value when ideal clients do not consume it.
Dismissing Familiar Stories
People often overlook their strongest material because an extraordinary experience feels ordinary after they have lived it.
Hiding an Apparently Unrelated Past
Past experiences can provide a compelling transformation story when their lessons connect honestly to the work being done now.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for credible experts and founders who help people but struggle to identify suitable outlets or distinctive media angles.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for promoting unsupported claims or manufacturing personal stories solely to attract attention.
From the transcript
“ask your clients, what are they watching? What are they listening to?”
“I want you to follow that person because that person is showing you where you should be showing up.”
“pay attention to when you tell a story, when people lean in.”
From the episode
How to Get Anything You Want in 20 Days with Jen Gottlieb