Why does a local newsletter need a real person's voice instead of AI aggregation?
Short answer
Because a real local person is the one thing AI aggregators can't fake. A short weekly editorial (your kids, your weekend, the local insight only a resident has) is what separates you from AI sites, gives readers something they'd miss, and makes them think of you when they need what you sell. Mine takes about ten minutes a week.
The AI local news sites keep showing up. They look horrible. They're just aggregating content from the internet. The fastest way to look nothing like them is a real person.
"Even though it's a brand name, it's not your newsletter, it's Leander Scoop, it's still powered by a real person."
What goes in a personal editorial?
Your life in the town. My kids are always in mine. My wife writes about what we're doing with our families. It's short, and it takes about ten minutes a week. The team handles the rest of the issue.
The best editorial lines are the ones only a local could write. When a new Chick-fil-A was planned near a McDonald's whose intersection already has traffic problems, I could comment on that. Nobody would know the intersection is weird unless they live here. AI can't know that.
"I think that type of insight is what's going to help."
Which sections can AI not replace?
- Pet of the month with a local shelter.
- Volunteer opportunities and nonprofit spotlights.
- Memes and GIFs picked by someone with a sense of humor.
- First-hand notes, like actually visiting the restaurant.
Technically AI could do some of these. It won't, for years. These are the things that make you relatable, and relatable is how you build relationships.
Why does this help the owner's business?
If you sell something (real estate, mortgages, insurance), readers constantly seeing you as a nice, normal person in the community makes you top of mind.
"Why are you going to Google for a realtor or mortgage guy if you see him all the time and he seems awesome?"
It works in person too. At the chamber, when the other insurance guys are over there and you're the only one with thousands of local people reading what you write, that's your in. Insurance becomes the secondary conversation, not the pitch.
What about Gmail summarizing my newsletter?
The answer is to build something people would proactively miss. Inbox summaries technically already exist. They aren't good. A guest on my podcast who runs a newsletter in the Catskills, Michael Kauffman, put it this way: readers still open a trusted free newsletter because they know locals wrote it.
Your competition isn't other newsletters. It's traditional media, and local businesses not understanding the model yet.
Small details that make it feel human
- Send from "Firstname at Brand," not just the brand.
- Use a real signature with a photo.
- Have a local person make your social content, not a generic offshore poster.
Answered by TJ Larkin. From Local Media HQ podcast episodes and client calls in 2025 and 2026. Last updated .