Sometimes a phone call isn’t intimate or long enough to convey all the information you have for a reporter.

Two examples would be: if you have a dozen or so story ideas, or if you’d like to explain an extremely complex financial concept or strategy to a reporter.

If this is the case, you should consider offering to meet the reporter over coffee or for a quick lunch, for a "backgrounder" on your topic.

It’s a relatively common event in the media world. Many reporters jump at the chance to pick a knowledgeable expert’s brain. You may be able to get information from them about what types of stories they are interested in, and what other reporters at their outlet might want to use you as a source.

And, as I’m sure you’ve recognized from your years of client service, meeting a client in person jumpstarts a personal relationship that can cement a professional one.

One caveat: Whereas you might take a client to an expensive restaurant to emphasize your financial planning success, don’t do this with a reporter. No lavish, expense-account spots. It looks like you’re trying to buy favor.

Most publications have pretty strong ethics codes—the reporter will probably be obligated to pay for their own meal, and they won’t like shelling out for filet mignon. Suggest too fancy an establishment and they probably will turn you down.

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele’s MediaImpact, he is the author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice. To learn more visit http://www.MediaImpact.biz or call 212-243-8383.

In an ideal world, your business would be overflowing with
newsworthy stories, and the media would be waiting with bated
breath for your next press release, ready to give you front page
coverage.

In the real world, however, it’s not always so easy to generate
real news.  There are only so many hot new products or
breakthrough achievements with which a business can capture a
journalist’s attention.

So what do top publicists do to get news coverage for clients who
have no news to share?

They create opportunities for publicity from thin air.  A good
publicist can quite literally invent a story that the news media
will eat up.  And, best of all, they’re usually stories that can
be presented with little or no adjustment year after year.

Here are  few of the ways you can create a great story from
scratch:

Start a Hall of Fame.  There are two reasons for you to take a
look at http://www.publicityinsider.com/HallOfFame.asp — my very
own Public Relations Hall of Fame. First, it’s filled with
examples of companies who have created great publicity stories
from thin air (the Pillsbury Bake-Off and the National Discount
Broker’s Duck Quack, to name a couple) and second,  it’s an
example of a time-honored publicity technique — the Hall of
Fame.

It couldn’t be easier. For your field, create a Hall of Fame,
induct some of your industry’s top luminaries, send out a press
release. You don’t need a marble-columned building or bronze
plaques. A simple press release (and maybe a supporting website
similar to the Public Relations Hall of Fame) will do the trick.
Each year, induct some more members and send out another release.
Really, it’s that simple.

Make a List.  Mr. Blackwell made himself  a household name with a
simple "Worst Dressed List".  And the "Most Boring People of the
Year" list that gets huge press every year?  It’s the creation of
a single, very clever publicist from New Jersey.   And take a
look at one of the more recent lists to get massive publicity –
the Most Annoying People of the Year from AmIAnnoying.com (
http://www.amiannoying.com/2002/mostandleast.aspx).

The media simply devours lists. The best, the worst, the most,
the least, the top 10, the bottom 10, whatever. Is there actual
news here? Nope — it’s just entertaining, fluffy and a bit
gossipy. In short, lists are the perfect fodder for an editor
seeking to balance out all the horror and sadness of a typical
news day with a bit of levity. Lists such as these are
practically the reason "People" columns in newspapers were
invented.

Craft an Index. Here’s a neat variation on the list concept.
Essentially a twist on the government’s cost of living index, a
publicity index is a fun way to quantify a trend.

Let me give you an example of a good index that generated strong
publicity year after year. Back in my agency days, one of our
clients was the company that imported Moet Champagne.  Somewhere
along the line, a very sharp publicist had a brainstorm, and
invented "The Moet Index". It was basically a list of some luxury
items — such things as a Maine lobster, a jar of Russian caviar,
a diamond bracelet and, of course, a bottle of Moet — with the
total cost of all the items if one were to purchase them.  The
number was compared with the amount they would have cost last
year, and the year before and — voila — the Moet Index was
born. The Index purported to ask the question "How much more
expensive is living the good life this year as opposed to
previous years?"  The media loved it, and Moet had a nice annual
story. They simply tallied up the new numbers each year,
distributed a press release, sat back and counted the clippings.

Create a Petition. Is there a hot topic in your industry? A
growing controversy? Something people would like to see happen
that’s not taking place? Create a petition!

Thanks to the Internet, starting a petition drive is a breeze.
No need to stand outside supermarkets with a  clipboard — just
provide a link for your visitors and you’re off and running!
Sites such as PetitionOnline.com
http://www.petitiononline.com/petition.html allow anyone to
start a petition for free.

Take a look at some of the petitions on the site:  "Operation
Keep Vanessa on General Hospital";  "Request to CBS to air the
Lane Bryant Lingerie Show"; "Declare Sept. 11 a National
Holiday"; "Eminem For President In 2004". Whether serious or
lighthearted, a petition that generates lots of signatures is a
great publicity hook.

For example, take a closer look at the "Lane Bryant Lingerie
Show" petition. It notes that, because 60% of women in America
wear at least a size 14, CBS should provide a plus-size fashion
show as a counterpart to its airing of the Victoria’s Secret
show.  Now, I don’t know who was behind this petition, but
imagine if you ran a website for plus-size women, and you were
the one who started the petition.  And let’s say you managed to
get 3000 people to sign the petition. Do you think you might have
a pretty good shot at getting coverage in newspapers, women’s
magazines and other media outlets.  Heck, yeah!

Petitions are an awesome way to create publicity from thin air –
and hardly anyone is using them for that purpose. Jump on this
idea and keep it to yourselves. This is one just for my Publicity
Insiders!

Here are my tips to create a story from thin air:

*  Keep it light.  Journalists know what you’re up to, and
they’ll play along if it’s all in fun. Think in terms of placing
the story in the "People in the News" column or with a "notes"
columnist who specializes in lighter stories. Don’t try to
pretend that your "Top 10 List" or online petition is
earthshaking news. Keep your tongue planted in your cheek and
you’ll have a much better chance of placement.

*  Keep it positive.  Mr. Blackwell is pretty tart in some of his
comments and, I suppose, one of his targets could up and sue him
one of these days. That probably won’t happen because he’s well-
established and a star who took him to court would end up looking
like a bad sport. Still, for your efforts, try to stay positive
and avoid criticizing, ridiculing or otherwise embarrassing
anyone.  We live in a litigious society, and there are folks who
wouldn’t take kindly to finding themselves on the "Top 10
Buffoons of the Year" list.  Let others take those chances. While
calling people boring, or annoying, or hideously dressed does
seem to generate attention, there are plenty of ways to succeed
taking an opposing approach.  What about the most heroic, the
most inspiring, the coolest, the smartest, and so on? Let your
list, index, petition or Hall of Fame celebrate the positive in
our society or your industry, and it will reflect well on your
business.

*  Keep it Relevant.  To make it work for you, a created story
needs to fit your business. Mr. Blackwell is a designer, so a
worst-dressed list makes sense. It would do no good, however, for
a car dealership to put out such a list. Keep it relevant.Let
your story support your marketing message (e.g. Moet Index =
"Moet is part of the good life") and it will do more than fill
your clipping book — it will fill your cash registers, too.

Bill Stoller, the "Publicity Insider", has spent two decades as
one of America’s top publicists.  Now, through his website, eZine
and subscription newsletter, Free Publicity: The Newsletter for
PR-Hungry Businesses http://www.PublicityInsider.com/freepub.asp
, he’s sharing — for the very first time — his secrets of
scoring big publicity.  For free articles, killer publicity tips
and much, much more, visit Bill’s exclusive new site:
http://www.publicityInsider.com

When you are planning to call a reporter for the first time, it can help to imagine that you are a phone solicitor (albeit one with terrific, useful ideas).

When phone solicitors call you, you don’t want to hear a long explanation of their product. You just want to know the basics so you can make a quick decision and get back to work.

That’s why, in a first call or contact with a reporter, keep it short and sweet. Have one or two story ideas – no more – ready to convey.

Don’t try what I call the "shotgun approach" — firing away with seven or eight ideas in the hope that one will hit the mark. Would you want a phone solicitor trying to sell you that many products at once? Of course not. It’s too much for the person at the other end of the line to absorb and process.

Before you call a reporter, pick your best two story ideas. Take a few minutes to rehearse your explanations of the stories, then make your call. If the reporter isn’t interested, don’t be discouraged. Thank them politely for their time, and then make a note to call them back in a month with two more story ideas.

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele’s MediaImpact, he is the author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice. To learn more visit http://www.MediaImpact.biz or call 212-243-8383.

It’s safe to say that we live in interesting times.  It seems we
hardly have a breather between wars, tragedies, scandals,
epidemics, circus trials and other events that capitalize the
media’s attention.  For the business seeking publicity, the "news
hole" for more traditional stories — new product reviews,
business features, offbeat promotions — keeps shrinking as the
"big story" mentality takes hold.

Fortunately, you’re not completely at the mercy of world events
when it comes to obtaining some exposure.  By being smart and
aggressive, you can find a way to break through the logjam by
tying-in — where appropriate and tasteful — with the news of
the day.

Here are a few good examples (including a couple in which I was
personally involved):

Taco Bell’s Mir Brainstorm.   The Soviet Mir space station was
falling, and Taco Bell reaped the benefits. The company set up a
40’ x 40’ vinyl target — emblazoned with the company’s logo and
the words ‘’Free Taco Here!'’ — 10 miles off the coast of
Australia. In the extremely unlikely event that Mir hit the
target, the company promised free tacos to all 281 million
Americans. Space-travel experts said the prospects of the debris
hitting the mark were slim to none. Taco Bell added relevance to
the public relations stunt by claiming to have taken out an
insurance policy. A minute-by-minute countdown of Mir’s descent
and a photo of the floating target were anxiously seen by
millions of hungry websurfers on the Taco Bell site. The result?
Millions of dollars of free publicity on major news programs and
media outlets around the world. Their website could hardly handle
the traffic.

5 Star Shine Goes to War.  Fellow Free Publicity subscriber Glenn
Canady discovered that his car polishing product — 5 Star Shine
– was being used by the U.S. Navy to keep the Aegis radar
equipment up and running in the face of saltwater, sea air and
other potentially damaging elements.  Take a look at Glenn’s
press release — along with a great hit he earned in the San
Diego Union Tribune–by going to:

http://www.5starshine.com/press-coverage.html

Dan’s Lucky Angel.  We were charged with getting publicity for
the "My Little Angel" doll, so we sent one to a photographer in
Ireland, who took a shot of the doll "kissing" the lucky Blarney
Stone.  We then sent the newly-lucky doll on to Olympic
speedskater Dan Jansen at Lillehammer.  When the previously hard-
luck skater finally won his elusive gold medal, we took the
credit — and got lots of press!

Here’s how to tie-in with a news event:

1. Be prepared.  If something happens that can offer the
possibility of your involvement, you’ll need to act quickly.
Make sure you have press materials prepared beforehand so they’re
ready to go when needed.  Obviously, you can’t predict news
events, but you can begin examining your product, service or area
of expertise to discover the types of events that may occur and
the role you can play.  Put together a strong bio that details
your background and expertise.  Make a list of the news editors,
assignment editors and producers at, respectively, your local
newspaper, TV stations and talk radio stations.

2. Be appropriate.  This means two things, actually.  First,
don’t force a fit where none exists.  If the world is focused on,
say, a manned mission to Mars, your carpet cleaning business
probably has nothing much that it can do to tie-in.  There has to
be some legitimate connection, or else you’ll be laughed out of
the newsroom (on the other hand, if it’s proved that the germs
behind some fast-spreading respiratory illness can live in
carpeting, you’re just the person to talk to the press about how
to kill germs hiding in carpets).  The second measure of what’s
appropriate is common sense and decency.  Jumping on a tragedy
with a hype-filled press release is just plain ghoulish.  In the
aftermath of something truly awful, go to the press only if you
have something unique, helpful, non-promotional and newsworthy to
offer.

3. Be timely.  If you have something of immediate value to offer
(e.g. you’ve written a book about a major figure who’s just
died), time is of the essence.  Work from the media list you’ve
already prepared and hit the phones.  Tell the reporters, editors
and producers who you are and the kinds of insight you can offer
about the current situation.  Since seconds count, offer to stop
by with a copy of your book, or to email or fax your press
materials.   If you really are an expert on the subject of the
breaking news story, you’re doing the journalist a huge favor
right now, so don’t be shy.

4. Be timely, part 2. The other side of the coin: You have a
story that might fit in with what’s happening, but it’s lighter,
softer and less timely (5 Star Shine is a great example.  It fits
with world events, but it’s not hard news).  In these cases, wait
until the dust has settled.  The first few days covering any big
story, the media is interested solely in the hard stuff.  The
who, what , when , where and why info.  If you can help with
that, great.  If not, hang on until the media machine needs more
fuel.  After a little while, there will be huge blocks of time to
fill, breaking news will dissipate and the media will begin
turning to lighter stuff to fill the void.  Consider that, just
in the past few weeks, you’ve begun hearing about such things as
the "Talking Iraqi Information Minister Doll".  Expect much more
to come.

5. Be creative.  For non-tragic events, taking a fun approach
often works wonders.  Consider the Mir idea (it was already
determined the station would land in the water, so there was no
element of potential tragedy involved.  If there was a chance
that people could have gotten hurt, the promotion wouldn’t have
been such a great notion).  Or think about how ice cream
companies that get mileage out of naming flavors for newsmakers,
or fashion designers who send out lists of fashion hits and
misses for major Hollywood events or DJ’s who do things like
sleeping in a billboard until the hometown team breaks its losing
streak.  When there no lives at stake and the story is purely for
fun, be as creative and "out there" as you can to tie in.

6. Be smart. One very important caveat has to be mentioned:
unless you specifically cater to a particular audience — all of
whom are in agreement a particular issue — don’t take sides
politically.   No matter how strongly you may feel about a
certain issue, if a segment of your potential or existing
customer base may feel differently, you’re taking a major gamble
by choosing sides.  If you want to poke fun at politicians,
include both Democrats and Republicans.  Unless your area of
expertise requires it, steer clear of divisive issues such as
religion, abortion, gay rights, etc.  Using your business as a
personal political soapbox can come back to haunt you.  This
isn’t about "wimping out", it’s common business sense.  Customers
are hard enough to attract and keep — there’s no point in going
out of your way to alienate them by showing disdain for their
beliefs.

Bill Stoller, the "Publicity Insider", has spent two decades as
one of America’s top publicists.  Now, through his website, eZine
and subscription newsletter, Free Publicity: The Newsletter for
PR-Hungry Businesses http://www.PublicityInsider.com/freepub.asp
, he’s sharing — for the very first time — his secrets of
scoring big publicity.  For free articles, killer publicity tips
and much, much more, visit Bill’s exclusive new site:
http://www.publicityInsider.com

Just because a publication is small doesn’t mean that getting your name in it won’t have great impact.

Trade on the reputation of the trades

Some of the trade publications have very loyal audiences who are much more likely to trust someone they see there than someone on the local news or in The Wall Street Journal. Now I’m not talking about the trade publication for your profession – the only people you’ll reach are your competitors. Get yourself in the publications your prospects and clients read!

Don’t forget the Sewer Cleaner Association’s newsletter

It’s a great to get yourself in the newsletters of the associations your prospects in that niche belong to. Whatever your market is, you can bet it has a professional or trade association. Sure, their newsletters are “smaller.” But there’s nothing better or more tightly focused on reaching your targets – and no one else!

Offer yourself as a guest columnist

Unlike the major publications, which receive 100 times more material then they could ever print, smaller publications usually scramble to get enough content. Ask one of those industry publications, or your local paper, if they’d like a guest columnist to write advice articles on your topic. Or offer to answer “reader’s mailbag” questions.

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele’s MediaImpact, he is the author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice. To learn more visit http://www.MediaImpact.biz or call 212-243-8383.

Radio is a powerful publicity tool. Most stations offer news and talk programming. Those shows are put together not necessarily by the voice you hear on air, but by people called producers.

Getting to know producers, and giving them reasons to showcase you on air, is a very doable for most people in most towns. How? The same way you’d contact a print reporter, which I discuss in my other articles for financial planners.

Getting on the radio is possible in huge markets like New York and L.A. too, but it’s not for the weak or the timid.

Radio stations love to team with community resources – like you – on promotional activities. Call your station’s promotion department and tell them you’d like to explore ideas. Need an idea or two? Don’t worry – tell the promotion folks what you do, and they’ll probably think of the rest. (Hint: yes, as a successful professional, you can do this with appropriate dignity. You might offer free screenings or consultations; you probably don’t want to sponsor a beer float at the big parade)

Always remember that radio’s two best words are "drive time – the morning and evening commutes. Try your best to get on radio during these peak listening times.

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele’s MediaImpact, he is the author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice. To learn more visit http://www.MediaImpact.biz or call 212-243-8383.

You won’t accomplish much if you call the gas company to ask about your cable bill. Make sure that when you call about your story that the reporter you are contacting is the right person.

Don’t call a business reporter who covers the pharmaceutical industry with ten tips on getting kids to take their medicine. Find the writer who handles parenting or consumer medical stories for that.

There is one exception to the previous tip: if you personally know a reporter, or you have a mutual friend, it’s fine to call that person even if you know they aren’t the right reporter. Just don’t expect them to do your story. Ask instead, “Which of your colleagues might be interested in a story on my kiddie-medicine tips for parents?”

Most sales handbooks tell you to try to make your pitch to the decision-maker. The decision maker in the media game is the editor—but resist the temptation to call them.

What works better is to try one, two, or more reporters until one gets interested. When they sell the story to the editor, it has far more power. Besides, if one reporter turns you down, you call the next. If the editor vetoes it, where do you turn?

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele’s MediaImpact, he is the author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice. To learn more visit http://www.MediaImpact.biz or call 212-243-8383.

If you’re like most publicity seekers, you probably think one
project at a time.  You’ve got a new product coming out in April,
so you send out a release in March. You’ve hired a new executive,
you’ll put out a release when she’s on board, etc.

For hard-core publicity insiders, though, there’s a rhythm to
generating coverage, based upon the natural ebb and flow of the
seasons. Such an approach can help you score publicity throughout
the year, and will help keep your eye on the ball from January
through December.

Essentially, a yearlong approach consists of two strategies:

- Timing your existing stories (new product introductions,
oddball promotions, business page features, etc.) to fit the
needs of the media during particular times of the year.

- Crafting new stories to take advantage of events, holidays
and seasonal activities.

Before we run through the four seasons of publicity, a few words
about lead time.  In this age of immediacy (only a few seconds
separate a Matt Drudge or a CNN from writing a story and putting
it before millions), it’s easy to forget that, for many print
publications and TV shows, it can be weeks — and sometimes
months — before a completed story sees the light of day.

The phrase lead time simply refers to the amount of time needed
for a journalist to complete a story for a particular issue of a
magazine or episode of a TV news program.  For example, a
freelancer for an entertainment magazine may need to turn in a
story on Christmas movies by September 15.  That’s a lead time of
three months, time needed for the editor to review and change the
piece, the issue to be typeset and printed and distributors to
place the issues on newsstands before December.  Lead time can
range from a day (for hard news pieces in newspapers) to a few
days (newspaper features) to a few weeks (weekly magazines) to
many months.

The longest leads are the domain of "women’s books" like Good
Housekeeping and Better Homes & Gardens.  These publications
often have a lead time of up to six months, which means they need
information for their Christmas issues as early as May!

Here’s a tip to help you discover the lead time of a particular
publication you’re targeting:  call the advertising department of
the publication and request a media kit.  Since advertisers need
to know when their ads must be submitted, each issue’s lead time
is clearly stated in the media kit.

Factor the lead time into your planning as you look over the
following sections.  If you have a great story idea for Rolling
Stone’s summer issues, you need to be on the ball well before
Memorial Day.

The Four Seasons of Publicity:

First Quarter:  January - March

What the Media’s Covering: Early in the year, the media is
looking ahead.  It’s a great time to pitch trend stories,
marketplace predictions, previews of things to expect in the year
ahead, etc.  If a new President is being inaugurated, you’ll see
lots of "Will the new administration be good for the
(textile/film/cattle ranching/Internet/…or any other)
industry?" types of pieces.  This is a good time to have
something provocative, or even controversial, to say about your
industry.

The media also likes this time of year to run "get your personal
house in order"sorts of pieces.  Tax planning, home organizing,
weight loss, etc.  Anything that’s geared toward helping people
keep their New Year’s resolutions can work here.

Key Dates and Events: Can you come up with a story angle to tie
your business into an event that typically generates lots of
coverage?  Put on your thinking cap — I bet you can!  Here are
some key events during the First Quarter:  Super Bowl, NCAA
Tournament, Easter,  The Academy Awards.

Second Quarter:  April - June

What the Media’s Covering:  An "anything goes" time of year.
With no major holidays or huge events, April is a good time to
try some of your general stories (business features, new product
stuff, etc.)  Light, fun stories work here, as a sense of "spring
fever" takes hold of newsrooms (journalists are human, you know.
They’re just as happy winter is over as you are and it’s often
reflected in the kind of stories they choose to run.).  As May
rolls around, thoughts turn to summer.  Now they’re looking for
summer vacation pieces, outdoor toys and gadgets, stories about
safety (whether automotive or recreational), leisure activities,
things to do for kids and so on.

Key Dates and Events: Baseball opening day, tax day (April 15),
spring gardening season,  Memorial Day, end of school, summer
vacation.

Third Quarter:  July - September

What the Media’s Covering:  The dog days of summer are when smart
publicity seekers really make hay.  Folks at PR firms are on
vacation, marketing budgets are being conserved for the holidays
and reporters are suddenly accessible and open to all sorts of
things.  Get to work here, with creative, fun angles.
Entertainment-themed pieces do well in the summer, anything with
celebrities works, lighter business stories, new products, trend
pieces, technology news, back to school education-themed
articles, you name it.  Reporters are about to get deluged once
again come September, so use this window of opportunity wisely.

Key Dates and Events: July 4th, summer movies, summer travel,
back to school.

Fourth Quarter: October - December

What the Media’s Covering:  The busiest time of the media
calendar, the Fourth Quarter is when the business media turns
serious and the lifestyle media thinks Holidays, Holidays,
Holidays.  Business angles need to be hard news.  Fluffy trend
pieces won’t cut it, as business editors begin to take stock of
the state of the economy and the market.  It’s a tough time to
put out a new product release.  For the non-business media, think
Christmas.  Christmas travel, Christmas gifts, Christmas cooking,
whatever.  If you have a product or service that can be given as
a holiday gift, get on the stick early.

Nail down lead times for the publications you’re targeting, call
to find out who’s handling the holiday gift review article and
get your product in the right person’s hands in plenty of time –
along with a pitch letter or release that makes a strong case
about how what a novel, unusual or essential gift your product
makes.  After Christmas, you have a brief window for "Best of the
Year", ""Worst of the Year" and "Year in Review" pieces.  Be
creative — the media loves these things.

Key Dates and Events: Labor Day, World Series, Thanksgiving,
Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s Eve.

Bill Stoller, the "Publicity Insider", has spent two decades as
one of America’s top publicists.  Now, through his website, eZine
and subscription newsletter, Free Publicity: The Newsletter for
PR-Hungry Businesses http://www.PublicityInsider.com/freepub.asp ,
he’s sharing — for the very first time — his secrets of scoring
big publicity.  For free articles, killer publicity tips and
much, much more, visit Bill’s exclusive new site:
http://www.publicityInsider.com

In previous articles for marketing-minded financial planners, I’ve discussed what to say to a reporter over the telephone.

However, if you are phone-shy or time-challenged, it’s better to send an email than to do nothing.

Many reporters favor e-mail anyway, so use it. Call the media outlet or check its staff listing to get the reporter’s email address. Sometimes reporters email addresses are at the bottom of their article in the newspaper—or linked to in the online version of the outlet. It’s rarely a secret.

Again, offer practical story ideas – one or two max per e-mail. Summarize your best story idea in the ‘subject’ line of the email.

Be specific. In fact, spend as much time composing that subject line as you do the entire body of your message. It’s that important.

Reporters get dozens of emails per day, and struggle with spam just like the rest of us, so make sure that your email doesn’t look like spam. Avoid any words (you know what they are) that would be likely to set off a spam blocker.

And never, ever send a reporter an attachment of any kind. Many news organizations, fearful that their technically unsavvy staff will introduce a virus, prevent staff from receiving attachments. Usually they accomplish this by deleting the whole email.

If you want your email to be read, include a compelling subject line, and no attachment.

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele’s MediaImpact, he is the author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice. To learn more visit http://www.MediaImpact.biz or call 212-243-8383.

You can have dozens of marvelous ideas to get free publicity, but nothing will happen unless you pick up the phone and call a reporter.

Here’s where the publicity game gets interesting for marketing-minded financial planners. You’ve been tracking reporters – you know who covers your topics. You’ve been tracking Topic A’s and trends affecting your market. You’re ready!

When you call a reporter, you’re going to say something like:

"Hi, Bob. I’m Stephanie Smart, and I am a financial planning consultant in town. I see you cover mutual funds, and I thought you might be interested in this.

Did you know that about two-thirds of my clients lately have been asking me for help with picking the right index fund? It’s a fascinating switch from what I’ve been seeing in the past."

And it has broad implications for our community, given the number of young professionals in the area, just beginning to think about retirement planning."

Or… “Bob, I saw your story last week on retirement planning by young professionals. Did you know that these folks are already leaning more towards index funds than traditional mutual funds? Would you like to know more?”

Trust me, every mutual fund reporter worth his or her weight in stock certificates is going to listen very closely to you.

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele’s MediaImpact, he is the author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice. To learn more visit http://www.MediaImpact.biz or call 212-243-8383.