***Polls & Surveys First there was The Book Of Lists. Then David Letterman made his nightly "Top Ten" polls a cultural icon. People love them, and in this age of email, anyone can put together a quickie poll and publish a list.

***Tip Sheets Great fillers on slow news days. Make sure they’re not dated, then package them in an attention getting news release--one that positions you as a qualified expert to add some insights subject matter.

***Ask to be added to "Expert's Directory." Every newsroom has a book or file they reach for when they need find someone who offer insights on what's happening.

It's usually nothing more than a computer database or even a paper file. and to get in, all you generally have to do is ask-- AND send a media kit that with a bio and contact information. SHORT and RELEVANT are key words here.

Taking a few minutes to do these things can result in repeated opportunities for free publicity. And because of "halo effect" you get from being interviewed by media, it's kind of traffic-generating publicity that's more powerful and profitable than anything money can buy.

In other words, they know a little bit about a lot of things, but they don’t know a lot about anything.

Even beat reporters have a learning curve - most of time they get assigned to a beat just because someone HAS to cover it. It’s not because they have any special background or training in that particular subject.

Helping them shorten that learning curve - becoming their top resource for insight and information on their beat - offers tremendous potential for getting free publicity.

Even if they don’t write about you or attribute quotes to you right away, it’s just a matter of time before you start showing up on air and in print.

So here’s what to do.

Find "new kid on block."

Pitch your idea to someone farther down newsroom hierarchy who’s responsible for coming up with their own stories.

As a rule, reporters don’t make nearly as much money as people think. So there tends to be a high turnover, with reporters moving from place to place fairly often.

When a reporter is first hired, they generally won’t know much about their new job, and (this is extremely important) won’t have built up a list of sources yet.

If you build a relationship and become one of those sources you'll often find yourself getting free publicity that's more believable, powerful productive and profitable than any advertising you can buy at any price.