The Top 20 Tool
You already know 20 people with a media connection — score and rank them to land your first press hit.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 95%
The Top 20 Tool is a four-column exercise that surfaces the media connections you already have. You list 20 people with any connection to media, score each on likelihood-to-help and influence, sum the scores, and rank them. The top of the list gets a direct, timely pitch; the bottom of the list becomes a value-building project until the relationship is warm enough to ask. Gottlieb claims it works 100% of the time if you actually do it — the barrier is discomfort, not access.
Origin
Gottlieb teaches the Top 20 Tool in her book Be Seen and through Super Connector Media; she credits it as how she and many of her Mastermind members have landed most of their media.
Core principles
- 01You have far more media-adjacent relationships than you realize.
- 02Warm relationships beat cold pitching for landing press.
- 03High-value targets get an ask; low-value ones get value-building first.
- 04You don't need a publicist when you're starting out — you need to work your existing network.
How to run it
- 1
List 20 media-connected people
Draw four columns. In the leftmost, write 20 people you know who have any connection to anyone in the media, no matter how loose — a Facebook friend, a Clubhouse acquaintance, your sister's ex who produces a show. Mine your phone contacts, Instagram, and Facebook.
Pro tip Don't disqualify weak ties; a one-time party contact who knows a producer still belongs on the list.
- 2
Score likelihood to help
In the second column, rank each person 1-10 on how likely they are to actually help you. A best friend or devoted client might be a 9 or 10; a casual Instagram contact might be a 2.
- 3
Score influence
In the third column, rank each person 1-10 on how influential their media connection is. A producer of a major show is a 10; someone who knows a local-station camera operator might be a 4.
- 4
Sum, sort, and act by tier
Add the two scores for a final score and sort descending. Reach out to the top scorers with a specific, timely pitch and a clear ask. For the bottom scorers, don't ask — build the relationship by providing consistent value until they offer to help.
Pro tip Have a ready, timely pitch before you reach out so a warm 'yes' isn't wasted.
Watch out Asking your low-score, low-trust contacts too early repels them; earn the relationship first.
In the wild
For bottom-of-list contacts you barely know, Gottlieb prescribes consistent value — commenting on their posts, reviewing their podcast, buying their book — with no ask attached, until eventually they say thank you and volunteer to help you back.
→ Gottlieb reports this relationship-building path is how she and many of her Mastermind members have landed most of their media placements.
Common mistakes
Assuming you know no one in media
People dismiss the exercise before doing it, but almost everyone can find 20 media-adjacent contacts once they actually search their phone and social accounts.
Pitching weak ties before warming them
Asking low-trust contacts for a favor immediately signals desperation and repels them; the tool deliberately routes them to a value-first track.
Is it for you?
Best for
Bootstrapped founders and personal brands who want media coverage but have no budget for PR representation.
Not ideal for
Large multi-million-dollar companies that lack time to self-pitch and are better served by an internal hire or agency.
From the transcript
“it's called the top 20 tool and it works 100% if you use it but you have to do it”
“you make four columns on a piece of paper... you're going to write top 20 and you're going to put 20 people in that column…”
“the best way to Garner a relationship is to help somebody else so you're going to figure out how to provide value to those people…”
From the episode
Jen Gottlieb: Stand Out and Be Seen, How to Build A Personal Brand From Scratch
Jen Gottlieb