Can you help a reporter and get quoted in an article?

There's a free and easy way to learn about opportunities to be quoted in an article. It's Peter Shankman's "If I can help a reporter out" email list.

Sign up and you'll get several emails daily listing what reporters are looking for. The emails also give the reporter's contact information.

It's up to you to winnow out appropriate opportunities and contact the reporter. Please don't reply if you don't fit the reporter's needs. There's nothing more annoying to a reporter. Plus, you almost guarantee that reporter won't look to you as a source in the future.

Use a tip sheet to get PR for your business

"Tip Sheets: One of the Most Effective Publicity Tools You’ve Never Heard Of" tells you how to use this PR tool to get exposure for your business.

I like that the author quotes PR maven Sandy Beckwith who taught me everything I know about tip sheets. You can go to Sandy's website to read more detailed instructions on how to write a tip sheet.

Looking for magazines as PR targets?

Looking for magazines to pitch stories to?

Wooden Horse Publishing provides information--including editorial calendars--on magazines. You must pay to access their database. But their weekly e-newsletter is free.

How to pitch the Wall Street Journal's op-ed page

"Robert Pollock - Editorial Features Editor for The Wall Street Journal" gives you tips on how to pitch op-ed essays to that newspaper.

Pollock is open to a wide variety of topics, but says he takes a special interest in the war and the crisis in healthcare in entitlements.

Essays typically run 900-1,200 words, but occasionally run much longer.

I learned about the article from Erica Dreifus' Practicing Writing blog of April 16.