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Gaining exposure using public relations for your business is a fantastic idea in order to drive sales. To be able to consistently do that takes smart advertising and even smarter publicity tactics.

When it comes to publicity though, most people who are new at the game believe that you simply pen an effective release, send it out to the print media and wait for success. But when the requests DON'T come in, maybe you would make a couple of call to the newsroom with little to no success.

Marsha Friedman, Managing Director of EMSI, a national public relations firm says, "Taking a passive approach with the media will not get you many positive results."

What would be Marsha's first public relations tip? "Find a media niche for your message!"

You first need to look at your message and ask yourself a few questions. Is it newsworthy? What age group am I targeting? Is there a financial income I'm targeting? The answer to these questions will help you determine the correct medium.

First Up? Television.

All newscasts talk to their viewers through visuals. It's all visual. A producer is looking for something 'camera-worthy' that's also newsworthy, entertaining, informative, or a 'how-to.' "If you don't think your message can be visual, think again", says Marsha Friedman.

"We once had a life insurance agency that wanted us to arrange local and national TV appearances for their CEO. What we did was to create a pitch about a segment featuring how women can protect themselves from the pitfalls of not understanding how life insurance works."

Friedman continues, "That probably sounds to you like a visual sleeping pill, right? What we did to make the segment really terrific is that we told our client to create large, colorful graphs in order to really create a compelling and visual story. It wound up being a very successful interview for the media as well as our client."

Every newscast is targeted to a precise market. For example , early morning news shows are usually watched by working adults and families getting ready for school. Noon shows are aimed for stay at home moms and retired individuals. Late night news is usually targeted for younger business people.

Matching Up with the World of Talk Radio.

Radio talk shows, in contrast to TV, communicate through words rather than pictures. Friedman adds, "Talk radio is conversational, so be ready to talk." What's more, many radio shows love local angles. Can you tie your topic to a news story that is hot in your area?

A similarity held by TV and talk radio is that each show is targeted to a specific demographic. With news, weather sports and traffic, talk show hosts don't have time for 30-minute interviews. 12:00pm shows, now run the gamut of topics since so many people listen to the radio at work. Today, you'll find lots of business shows airing during the work hours. When work is finished for the day, when you turn on the radio you will be hearing the 2nd drive time of the broadcasting day. "You will find longer interviews here as the audience of listeners are more relaxed and susceptible to longer interviews", adds Friedman.

Let's not forget about the overnight shows! Don't think that no one is listening. You'd be mistaken. Evening and overnight interviews reach a broad audience of listeners, including 2nd and 3rd shift workers, public service employees, truckers and many people who work overnight.

Getting Yourself in Print.

The print media are similar to talk radio and television because they are suckers for hot, entertaining, news stories. They are also similar to television at times as they like to have visuals every once in awhile.

Marsha Friedman says, "If you have a story about a gourmet food product, make sure to include a delectable dish photo." If you believe your story can really be supported with a photograph, graph or other related visual, then have one at the ready when pitching your story to newspapers and magazines. If you would like to learn more about gaining national media exposure for your company, product or service, without the financial burden of monthly retainers, Marsha Friedman would love to help. Feel free to contact her directly at mfriedman@emsincorporated.com or visit her firm online at http://www.emsincorporated.com. As a PR expert Marsha Friedman has the ability to get the media attention that you desire without budget busting monthly retainers.

Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on public relations for nearly two decades as CEO of Event Management Services, Inc (EMSI). If you would like to receive her free Ebook "How to Be a Great Talk Radio Guest" visit http://www.emsincorporated.com.