For early-stage startups, every marketing decision counts. With tight budgets, teams often ask: should we prioritize owned media or earned media to build awareness and trust? There’s no universal answer — both play key roles in brand building.

Owned media includes channels you control: your website, blog, newsletter, and social media. It lets you shape your message consistently.

Earned media is third-party exposure like press mentions, op-eds, or expert quotes. It often carries more credibility, especially in trusted outlets.

In this article, we’ll compare both approaches to help you choose where to start.

Comparing owned and earned media for startups

The right media strategy depends on your stage, resources, and goals. And, as with everything, both strategies have distinct advantages and trade-offs. 

At Mindset, there are five factors that we use to evaluate: cost and resource requirements, speed of results, control over messaging, credibility and trust, and scalability. Below is a breakdown that illustrates how owned and earned media compare across these. 

Cost and resource requirements

Owned media is typically more cost-effective over time. You invest upfront by creating content (like blogs, LinkedIn posts, or case studies), but you don’t pay to distribute it. The caveat is that it requires top-notch consistency and internal effort. 

Conversely, earned media doesn’t involve direct payment, but it often demands time, relationships, and PR expertise to be effective — whether through cold outreach or working with an agency. 

Speed of results

Owned media builds gradually. It takes time for SEO to kick in, for audiences to grow, and for trust to compound.

Earned media can create fast visibility spikes, as a single article can drive traffic, credibility, and even investor or client interest. But it also takes time to secure, particularly when starting from scratch. At Mindset, we usually begin seeing the first placements by month two or three — a reflection of the time it takes to engage in proper relationship-building and match editorial timing.

Control over messaging

Owned media gives you full control over your tone, message, and narrative. Earned media is in the hands of editors, and even positive stories can highlight unexpected angles. 

One of the clearest examples is a TechCrunch story we pitched for months, and that involved over 30 follow-ups. When it finally ran, the opening line read: “Private jets were one of the ways for the rich and famous to avoid traveling with the potentially infectious plebeian classes.” That framing was entirely the journalist’s, and there was nothing we could do about it. 

While the article itself was accurate and valuable, this served as a perfect reminder — once a story is in someone else’s hands, so is the narrative. 

Credibility and trust

Owned content helps establish your brand’s voice and thought leadership over time, but it’s inherently self-promotional. Audiences understand it’s coming from you, which can limit perceived objectivity — especially for those encountering your brand for the first time. 

Precisely, earned media carries more weight because it’s seen as independent validation. A third-party mention from a respected journalist or outlet can immediately boost credibility and position your brand as credible in the eyes of your audience. 

Scalability

Owned media scales with consistency and clarity. One strong post can lead to sustained engagement, especially on platforms like LinkedIn. Our client, Dan Lifshits, founder of Dwelly, offers a great example. Over the past year, his content has generated 313,000+ impressions, reaching over 70,000 members. His growth is the result of a consistent publishing strategy and a clear, authentic voice that resonates with his audience.

Another success story is Alexander Lis, Chief Investment Officer at SDV, who used thought leadership to strengthen his presence in the finance space. With a consistent tone and relevant insights, one of his LinkedIn posts hit 470,000+ impressions and nearly 400 likes — all organic and all within a professional network. 

Yakov Filippenko, founder of Intch, grew his early-stage brand through regular, insight-driven content. One of his posts reached 57,000+ impressions, building valuable awareness with zero paid promotion.

Finally, Mikhail Taver, founder of Taver Capital, took a strategic approach to LinkedIn to grow his personal brand and attract limited partners. His follower base grew by 53%. This presence helped secure media coverage in several high-quality publications — an outcome of long-term, insight-led engagement.

These examples show that owned media can generate lasting visibility, compound over time, and reinforce brand positioning at scale.

Earned media, by contrast, is more difficult to scale predictably. It’s powerful — a great feature can open doors and drive attention — but you can’t “publish on demand.” The process relies on timing, editorial interest, and relevance. In a nutshell, you have to earn it by consistently being valuable and knowing how to inject your narrative into what’s going on. 

To make this clearer, here’s a side-by-side comparison of the key factors:

Cost:

• Owned media: Cost-effective long-term; requires time and consistency upfront. 
• Earned media: No direct cost, but needs time, relationships, and often a specialized PR agency. 

Speed of Results:

• Owned media: Slower to build traction.
• Earned media: Can quickly create visibility spikes, but it takes time to secure placements.

Control of Messaging:

• Owned media: Full control over narrative and tone.
• Earned media: Limited control. Journalists may highlight unexpected angles.

Credibility & Trust:

• Owned media: Self-published, may be seen as promotional.
• Earned media: Seen as unbiased and more credible due to third-party validation.

Scalability:

• Owned media: Highly scalable with the right strategy — strong posts can reach 50K-400K+ views, as our cases show.
• Earned media: Harder to scale predictably. Depends on media interest and timing.

Where should startups invest first?

Early-stage startups operate with limited time, resources, and headspace. Prioritization is key, and even though both types of media matter, most startups should start with owned media. Here’s why.

Why start with owned media

Owned media builds your brand’s foundation

Before anyone writes about your company, they’ll likely visit your website or social profiles. If those channels are outdated or poorly maintained, strong media coverage won’t make up for it. Owned media gives you space to introduce the problem you’re solving, explain your approach, and build early clarity — all of which are essential to becoming pitch-ready later. Journalists are more likely to pick up a story when there’s already some context and clarity.

Owned media compounds over time

Unlike some media outlets — which may get an overhaul or go out of business — owned content doesn’t just disappear. Blog posts, case studies, and newsletters can continue driving visibility, leads, and investor confidence long after they’re published — especially when they are supported by a clear optimization strategy and consistent cadence. 

Owned media sharpens your message

Creating your own content forces you to have clarity about what you’re aiming to do and why. Also, it helps refine your tone of voice, align your team on key narratives, and prepare you to engage more confidently with journalists, customers, and partners. This creates a positive ripple effect.

Owned media gives you a destination — something to amplify

Earned media is more powerful when it leads somewhere. Even when coverage doesn’t include direct links, it often sparks curiosity. Readers will search for your brand, and if they land on an outdated website, an empty blog, or dormant social media profiles, that initial interest can disappear just as quickly. 

That’s why strong owned channels — a clear homepage, consistent blog, or well-curated LinkedIn presence — are critical success factors. By turning fleeting visibility into lasting engagement, they mitigate the risk that you’ll lose attention at the exact moment it peaks.

When should we pursue earned media early on?

With all of that said, there are moments when investing in earned media early can work — if and only if the story is timely and strategically aligned. Here are some potential scenarios. 

You’re launching with a newsworthy angle

Do you have a strong founding team, have you secured funding recently, or do you boast a clear market relevance? If there’s a real hook, media interest might come early. In these cases, a targeted press strategy can accelerate awareness and build credibility quickly. 

You’re in a trend-driven industry

For startups in fast-moving spaces — AI, climate tech, energy, some consumer apps — speed obviously matters. Earned media can help you ride the wave of public interest before it moves on. 

A solid example is our client We Do Solar. When we began working together, the company had little to no visibility and no developed owned media channels. However, they were solving a problem at the center of European conversation — how to achieve energy independence from Russian gas. 

Within the first few months, we secured coverage in both English- and German-language outlets like TechCrunch, Fast Company, and Forbes, along with TV coverage on CNN, Euronews, and WELT. This shows that when the moment is right and the story aligns with a broader topic of interest, earned media can deliver impact quickly — even for a brand-new startup. 

You’re targeting influential early adopters

In spaces like fintech or health tech, early credibility is often a prerequisite. Whenever you’re asking customers to take a leap of faith — whether this happens with their data, health, or money — earned media can help establish legitimacy and assuage people’s doubts or concerns. 

Summary

Owned and earned media aren’t either/or. But they’re not interchangeable either. For most startups, owned media is the best starting point — it offers control, consistency, and space to shape your narrative on your terms. 

Once that’s in place, earned media can do what it does best — add reach, trust, and third-party validation to amplify your message and open doors. 

From our experience, the best startups don’t choose one over the other — they learn to use both in harmony. Our final piece of advice: Build the foundation first. Then earn the spotlight.

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