Multimedia Account Executive (Advertising Sales

Multimedia Account Executive

LINK Media | Covington, KY | Full-time, in-market

Most media sales jobs right now involve selling ad space for a company owned by someone who has never been to your city and has no plans to visit.

This is not that job.

LINK Media publishes LINK nky — covering Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties — and Cincinnati City Beat
, the region's arts and culture alt-weekly. We're looking for an Advertising Account Executive to sell print, digital, social and event sponsor ships across both. Two publications, two markets, one very small company where the person selling the ad can walk over and talk to the person writing the story.

We're not going to pretend we have everything figured out. We're building something, we're building it fast, and we need someone who finds that energizing rather than alarming. Everyone we hire is a critical member of the team. Nobody here is bigger than the thing we're making.

We'll be straight with you about how this works, because a lot of media sales postings aren't.

Months 1–9: A straight base salary of $45,000 – $50,000
, depending on experience. You're learning two markets and building a book. We're not going to make you eat ramen while you do it.

Month 10 forward: You move to 20% commission against a non-recoverable draw
. In practice, the draw is a guaranteed monthly floor. If your commission comes in under it, you keep the draw — and you never pay it back. If your commission runs over it, you keep the commission. There's no cap and no ceiling.

That "never pay it back" part is rarer than it should be in this industry, and it's deliberate. You will not finish a quarter owing LINK money. We're not going to build a comp plan that punishes you for a client's budget freeze.

Anticipated first-year earnings: $60,000 – $75,000. The AEs who build a real renewing book do better than the range, and we'd like you to.

Everything here is negotiable for the right person. If you're bringing a book or a decade of market relationships, tell us and we'll talk.

Full benefits after a probationary period.

• Sell. You'll be making calls and holding meetings every single day. Not "building relationships" as a euphemism for lunch — actual, closed business.
• Get out there. Networking across NKY and Cincinnati to find new prospects and put LINK nky and City Beat in front of people who haven't heard of us yet.
• Talk to your teammates. Clear communication with production and accounting so the things you sell actually run, on time, and get invoiced correctly.
• Keep them happy. Consultative service that makes advertisers and sponsors want to renew before you have to ask.
• Bring ideas. Our content areas and events are wide open for creative sponsorship packages. Some of our best-performing products started as somebody's half-formed pitch in a Tuesday meeting.
• Don't be a jerk. We expect honest, ethical treatment of your teammates, our advertisers, and our sponsors. This is not a tiebreaker criterion. It's the whole thing.

• B2B sales experience or formal sales training
• Proposal creation experience — you can build a pitch, not just deliver one
• Creativity, particularly the kind that finds a package where a rate card doesn't
• Strong written and verbal communication
• Comfort with a CRM and the discipline to actually keep it updated
• A driver's license and a car — this is not a Zoom job
• No degree required. One in business or marketing wouldn't hurt.
• Did we mention you shouldn't be a jerk?

• Full benefits — medical, dental, vision and life
• PTO and paid holidays
• All the equipment you need to do your job
• Training and support on LINK's internal style and our culture
• Real access to leadership. We're small enough that if you have a good idea, you can pitch it to the CEO in the hallway.
• A giant newsroom full of tiny desks in beautiful downtown Covington, KY
• A sales team with no jerks

Months 1–3: Learn the products, the markets, and the rate cards. Ride along on existing accounts. Build your prospect list. Close your first deals.

Months 4–9: Own your book. Your own meetings, your own proposals, your own renewals. This is the…