TL;DR – My PESO Model© Learning Journey
This blog is a personal, humorous, and relatable account of how I transitioned from being clueless to confident using the PESO Model©.
I compare learning PESO to my adventures in crocheting, wine tasting, and cooking, full of false starts, awkward moments, and eventual breakthroughs. I walk through five stages of learning:
- Awareness & Confusion – I thought PESO was just another acronym. Spoiler: it’s not.
- Exploration & Curiosity – I started asking questions and using tools like the PESO Model Advisor to make sense of it all.
- Application & Friction – Real-world campaigns got messy, but templates and AI tools helped me stay on track.
- Integration & Confidence – Suddenly, I was explaining PESO in meetings without breaking a sweat.
- Expansion & Mastery – Now I coach others, spot PESO opportunities everywhere, and keep learning through podcasts, quizzes, and community.
The big takeaway?
You don’t have to master PESO overnight. Just start. Use the tools. Ask questions. Make mistakes. And remember that every expert was once a beginner (who may or may not have forgotten the sugar in their pumpkin pie).
From “Wait, What’s the PESO Model?” to “Let Me Show You How It’s Done”
Let me take you back to a moment I know all too well.
A few years before I joined Spins Sucks, I was sitting in a meeting, sipping my third cup of coffee (because obviously), when the Senior Vice President casually dropped the phrase “PESO Model©.” When he asked, “Who knows what PESO stands for?” Then he added, “Anyone but Shelly,” and I froze with anticipation, hoping no one answered, “A foreign currency?” Causing him to turn to me for the answer.
Suddenly, the conference room transformed into a scene from a nature documentary.
You could practically hear David Attenborough narrating: “And here we observe the marketing professionals in their natural habitat, frozen mid-sip of their third coffee, desperately hoping no one asks them to explain what they just nodded knowingly about.”
The room fell silent. A few brave souls offer tentative nods, pretending to understand (we see you, Karen from accounting).
A skeptical eyebrow raised from the person who’s convinced this is just another marketing buzzword that’ll be forgotten by next quarter.
The room fell silent, not because they didn’t know what it was.
They did. Well, technically anyway.
They had sat through the PESO town hall. They’d seen the slide presentation. But in that moment, their brains decided to play a fun little game called “Let’s Forget Everything You’ve Ever Learned.”
It reminded me of the first time I tried to describe the taste of Sauvignon Blanc in a wine class and blurted out, “Uh… it smells like grass?” Spoiler: I wasn’t wrong. But I wasn’t exactly right, either.
That’s the thing about learning something new, whether it’s wine, crocheting, or the PESO Model, it rarely sticks the first time. Or the second. Or maybe even the third.
But with the right tools, the right mindset, and a little humility (okay, a lot), you can go from “Wait, what now?” to “Let me walk you through it.”
Here’s how I mastered the PESO Model and how you can too.
Stage 1: Awareness and Confusion
(Also known as: “I Definitely Nodded Like I Understood, But I Did Not.”)
The first time I heard “PESO,” I thought, “Oh, cute. An acronym. I love acronyms.” Secretly thinking, “Just what we need, another acronym.”
Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned. Easy enough, right?
Except… not.
I had flashbacks to my crocheting disaster when I picked a 12-skein blanket pattern for my very first project and thought, “I’ll have this done by Monday.”
Not even close!
Just like I underestimated the complexity of yarn tension and hook sizes, I underestimated the nuance of PESO. I thought it was a checklist. A formula. A plug-and-play model. Simply have tactics in each Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned.
Turns out, it’s more like learning to cook without a recipe. You need to understand the ingredients, sure, but you also need to know when to stir, when to simmer, and when to scrap the whole thing and start over. Like chocolate chip cookies made with powdered sugar instead of flour. YUCK!
That’s where microlearning came in. Instead of trying to memorize everything in the certification, I created my own using bite-sized tools, quick reference guides, AI nudges, and daily reminders that explained one concept at a time.
It was like having a crochet coach whisper, “Hey, maybe don’t start with a striped blanket and wool yarn.” Except this time, it was, “Hey, maybe don’t start your campaign with paid media before you’ve nailed your owned content.”
Stage 2: Exploration and Curiosity
Or: (“Wait… This Is Actually Kinda Cool?”)
Once I got past the initial “What even is this?” phase, I started to get curious.
Kind of like when I discovered that Champagne is actually wine (mind blown), or that my grandma’s “handful of herbs” was not, in fact, a standardized measurement.
I started asking questions. Playing with campaign ideas. Testing out PESO combinations like I was pairing wine with cheese. (Which, by the way, I also highly recommend.)
I used the PESO Model Advisor that nudged me with real-world examples: “Working on a product launch? Start with a blog post (owned), pitch it to media (earned), share it on socials (shared), and boost it with ads (paid).”
Suddenly, it clicked.
PESO wasn’t a formula. It was an operating system. A rhythm. A flow. A way of thinking that made everything else make sense. Allowing each tactic to work harder.
Stage 3: Application and Friction
(AKA: “Why Is This So Much Harder in Real Life?”)
Let’s be honest, this is where most of us want to quit.
It’s the stage where your beautifully planned PESO campaign runs into real-world chaos. The content team wants one thing, the review team wants another, and someone just asked if TikTok counts as owned or shared. (Answer: it depends. Isn’t that fun?)
It reminded me of the time I tried to make pumpkin pie and forgot the sugar. Spoiler: it was not pie. It was sadness in a crust.
But here’s the thing: friction is part of the process.
And just like I eventually learned to read recipes all the way through (mostly), I learned to lean on performance support tools. Templates, checklists, PESO Model Advisor, and other AI assistants that gently reminded me, “Hey, you forgot earned media again. Want some help?”
These tools didn’t eliminate the messiness. But they made it manageable. And they gave me the confidence to keep going.
Stage 4: Integration and Confidence
(Also Known As: “Look at Me, Actually Knowing Stuff!”)
One day, I was in a meeting, and someone asked how they should structure a campaign.
And without even thinking, I said, “Let’s start with owned content to anchor the message, then build out earned and shared for credibility and reach. We’ll use paid to amplify once we see what’s resonating.”
I didn’t even flinch.
It was like the first time I ordered wine in French and didn’t accidentally ask for a horse steak. True story. Not mine. Thankfully.
The best part? I wasn’t doing it alone. I listened to Gini’s weekly podcast to gain PESO insights, re-examined the PESO Model Certification©, and even created quizzes to keep my brain sharp.
It wasn’t about being perfect. It was about being supported.
Stage 5: Expansion and Mastery
(Or: “I’m Not Saying I’m a PESO Jedi, But…”)
These days, PESO feels like second nature.
I see opportunities everywhere, like how a TikTok chef’s viral pasta recipe could be a masterclass in shared-to-owned content strategy. Or how my wine fridge (which is now dangerously full) is basically a metaphor for integrated marketing: curated, intentional, and occasionally overwhelming.
I use our quick reference guides to spot gaps, design test campaigns, and even coach new team members. I’m not just applying PESO, I’m evolving how I understand and use it.
And the best part? I know I’ll never stop learning. Because just like cooking, or wine, or language, mastery isn’t a destination. It’s a practice.
Final Thoughts from a Former PESO Model Newbie
If you’re staring at the PESO Model like it’s written in ancient Greek (or worse, marketing jargon), I get it.
But here’s what I’ve learned: you don’t have to master it all at once. You just have to start.
Use the tools. Ask the questions. Make the mistakes. (Just maybe don’t start with a 12-skein blanket or a sugar-free pie.)
And remember: every expert was once a beginner. Every confident communicator was once asking AI, “What does PESO stand for?” under the conference table.
You’ve got this. And if you don’t yet, well, that’s okay.
We’ve got you. Follow the Spin Sucks blog, listen to the podcast on your favorite service, complete the PESO Model Certification, use the quick reference guides, and join the Spin Sucks Community.
Cheers to the journey. And if you need me, I’ll be over here, pairing PESO strategies with Pinot Noir.
© 2025 Spin Sucks. All rights reserved. The PESO Model is a registered trademark of Spin Sucks.
