Here are four tips:

Create a top ten hit list – The more narrowly you target the media, the better off you’re going to be. So start by putting together a Top Ten Media Hit List, which is a list of publications and individuals with whom you will create a strong relationship. These will serve as your primary publicity channels. The media outlets on your list should be those that are read by your target. Keep the list to ten or only a few more than that; you want to develop good relationships with these media people, and you can’t do that with more than ten or so.

Aim low – When figuring out exactly who to establish a relationship with, aim fairly low on the publication’s totem pole. Start developing relationships with the writers and beat reporters who write about your topic, not with the editors at the top who have to worry about a load of managerial responsibilities. The reporters are the ones who have to come up with their own story ideas, so will be receptive to a proven source for ideas they can use.

Look ahead – Call the publication’s advertising department and ask them for a copy of their media kit and get it from the web site. You’ll get free material about that publication, including the editorial calendar that lists the topics they will be writing about by issue. This schedule of topics will let you pitch ideas and stories that fit into the editorial plan, unquestionably a win-win for you and for your contact.

Do the work for them – Think in terms of “problem/solution.” What are the top three problems that your customers face, or that people who would do business with you face? Identify these problems, formulate the solutions, and then pitch to the media. If you can throw in a statistic that ties into it, that’s even better. Or note a trend you are seeing in your business, identify as a larger problem in your market area, then suggest solutions. The media will always be interested in stories that are solutions to problems.

Jeff,
http://www.readtheanswer.com/index.php?RTA=web2

Sean from Franchise Pick here. I was in the neighborhood and always enjoy dropping by for a quick spark!

Here’s a story on the other side of word-of-mouth – avoiding negative WOMA:
Here’s an interesting story you may want to share with your readers both as a warning about vending or other scams that use well-known names to add credibility, and the damage a company’s reputation can suffer by associating with the wrong people.  While Red Bull spends millions in advertising and sports sponsorships to create a positive image, a bad vending franchise program has ignited a controversy involving a very angry & vocal group of investors.  Feel free to link to and or quote from the dozens of comments they are leaving on franchise watchdog site Unhappy Franchisee and Franchise Pick.

Have a great weekend. I enjoyed your post – as always!