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You're at your office desk opening your mail. Suddenly your mouth hangs open (always a very unattractive look). Your competitor has got a sizeable article on page three of your industry trade magazine, complete with cheesy color pic.

Suddenly your bagel and jam doesn't taste so good. His second article this month? What does he have that you don't?

Before you start thinking he has rude pictures of the editor's wife that he uses for bribery and leverage, think again. Chances are he knows two things that you don't. Exactly how he can focus a story on his services that's interesting and engaging - and exactly who his market is.

The publicity game is one you too can play successfully, once you learn its rules and quirks. So, let's start turning you into a media guru. Where to begin?

Your target audience is the most important element of the entire media relations process.

- Who are you trying to get to and what's your desired outcome from this target audience?

- What do you want them to do as a result of knowing more about you or your business?

Asking yourself these questions will define your core messages as far as media are concerned.

Which are primary and which are secondary audiences for you in this publicity drive? How will you prioritize your efforts accordingly, given available time and resources? And most importantly, how do you reach these people via publicity?

Despite much discussion on the paperless world', the printed page and daily newspaper are apparently not dead yet. Print media continues to be an important conduit to reach your audience. Newspapers or trade magazines will often be your starting point or foundation within your publicity campaign.

Take this initial exercise to kick-start your media strategy and planning:

- Put yourself in their shoes and think about what that audience wants and what you have to meet that need. Get very specific about how you are solving problems that they have. Remind yourself not to fall into the trap of thinking that they'll want what you like or are selling.

- Identify what they read or watch on a daily, weekly or monthly basis as their preferred way of receiving information. This is the way you start compiling your media database for ongoing use. Keep this database current and updated on your computer files, containing correct names and titles, media name, email, phone, fax and your comments.

It's important that you're not just taking a scattershot' approach with some vague aim of reaching people out there somewhere for

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