Key Dates and Events: Can you come up with a story angle to tie your business into an event that typically generates lots of coverage? Put on your thinking cap -- I bet you can! Here are some key events during First Quarter: Super Bowl, NCAA Tournament, Easter, The Academy Awards.

Second Quarter: April - June

What Media’s Covering: An "anything goes" time of year. With no major holidays or huge events, April is a good time to try some of your general stories (business features, new product stuff, etc.) Light, fun stories work here, as a sense of "spring fever" takes hold of newsrooms (journalists are human, you know. They’re just as happy winter is over as you are and it’s often reflected in kind of stories they choose to run.). As May rolls around, thoughts turn to summer. Now they’re looking for summer vacation pieces, outdoor toys and gadgets, stories about safety (whether automotive or recreational), leisure activities, things to do for kids and so on.

Key Dates and Events: Baseball opening day, tax day (April 15), spring gardening season, Memorial Day, end of school, summer vacation.

Third Quarter: July - September

What Media’s Covering: The dog days of summer are when smart publicity seekers really make hay. Folks at PR firms are on vacation, marketing budgets are being conserved for holidays and reporters are suddenly accessible and open to all sorts of things. Get to work here, with creative, fun angles. Entertainment-themed pieces do well in summer, anything with celebrities works, lighter business stories, new products, trend pieces, technology news, back to school education-themed articles, you name it. Reporters are about to get deluged once again come September, so use this window of opportunity wisely.

Key Dates and Events: July 4th, summer movies, summer travel, back to school.

Fourth Quarter: October - December

What Media’s Covering: The busiest time of media calendar, Fourth Quarter is when business media turns serious and lifestyle media thinks Holidays, Holidays, Holidays. Business angles need to be hard news. Fluffy trend pieces won’t cut it, as business editors begin to take stock of state of economy and market. It’s a tough time to put out a new product release. For non-business media, think Christmas. Christmas travel, Christmas gifts, Christmas cooking, whatever. If you have a product or service that can be given as a holiday gift, get on stick early.

Nail down lead times for publications you’re targeting, call to find out who’s handling holiday gift review article and get your product in right person’s hands in plenty of time -- along with a pitch letter or release that makes a strong case about how what a novel, unusual or essential gift your product makes. After Christmas, you have a brief window for "Best of Year", "Worst of Year" and "Year in Review" pieces. Be creative -- media loves these things.

Key Dates and Events: Labor Day, World Series, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s Eve.

Let's say you supply a product or service to a specific market. Your might create a number of weblogs segmented by interest. For example, if your business provides products touting a certain technology such as wireless, you may have a weblog geared to inform and exchange knowledge about wireless technology - obviously slanted with your product or service in mind. Or if you were a business that has multiple uses of your products you may want an ‘applications' weblog. Whether it's technology or technique, millions of times a day, people search web for new, fresh information on various subject matter. Blogs help them find their way to your website.

A well-run weblog also contains a wealth of links. Encouraging your blogging activity to post links instead of long statements (no need to recreate information when they can point to a link on another web site). Density of linking leads to high search engine rankings.

After you create your blog, your e-marketing activity to ‘reach' targeted customers is enhanced by submitting your blog to traditional search engines such as Google or AltaVista. These are free submittals. However, there are a number of search engines dedicated and focused on blogs -- Global Marketing suggests starting here: BlogSearchEngine. Numerous others emerge weekly. Find as many as possible that appear to connect with your targeted customers. And sign on there too.

Blogs benefit your media efforts Blogs bring a new dimension to your media relations should you choose to use it. News and industry-specific blogs have become current forum to exchange ideas for online community thirsty for timely knowledge. Bloggers and blog readers are now seen as opinion leaders and early adopters. The blog is an indispensable component of today's online public relations campaign. Make sure you get aboard.

If you are not utilizing power of web as an integral part of your marketing program and business strategy, you are simply asleep! And your competition loves you for it.

In today's Internet-loving environment, you and your business should clearly understand huge benefits of an effectively designed and properly utilized e-presence. Using Internet is virtually free, and provides a worldwide customer reach for your message and product. Imagination is only limitation. Blogs will enhance your marketing efforts. Blogs quickly and easily offer current information to your target market in a non-intrusive and timely manner while driving more traffic to your site.

Challenge your marketing group to invent other ways to utilize this emerging web-marketing advantage.

Global Marketing Inc., is a leading business, marketing and sales consulting firm located in San Diego, CA. With more than 25 years of experience we have programs, ideas and assistance to help move your company to its next level of performance.

Take action and call today for additional information on these ideas or other ways in which Global Marketing can help enhance your Sales and Marketing efforts.