There are many companies out there that say they're going to get you front page because you're going to pay and that's cool paid media. Now, the problem with paid media is it's paid and it's not as credible as owned or earned. We'll talk about that in a minute. So, for example, let's say that somebody says they're going to get you on a TV program and it's going to be X dollars to get you on for 20 seconds.
Oh, this is great. I'm going to be on this major channel in New York City or in my local town. And this is going to be amazing. Well, yes, it is going to be amazing. However, most people that will do business with you are probably going to know that you actually paid for that spot because the people that appear there are sponsors.They don't really call them sponsors, but they are sponsors. They pay to have a prominent position. Thus, they don't really have credibility.
That's all your owned media. There's another type of media and it is called earned media. What the heck's a difference I'm getting now? Earned media is when you get on a TV show, get interviewed for a newspaper or some other type of media. Usually what happens is a reporter will contact you and they'll say, I want to do a story on you that is earned media. Now that might air on TV, that might be the local newspaper, or it might just be to promote you in some type of a journal that they're running or sign. That is what we call earned media. The reporter basically does a story on you and they feel that you're credible and they want to share what you've done to the world.
This is extremely credible and you don't pay anything for earned media, but earned media doesn't happen overnight. You have to demonstrate that you are someone who is an expert in your field. And once you've done that, the media usually wants to reach out to you.