Rules #3: Know where to call for information. Most people are afraid to just call up a reporter (they can be scary people) to find out this information, however if you want to avoid that aspect of job, then simply call News Assignment Desk - nerve center of news operation. It is here that you can verify reporter information and also get a sense for types of stories that an editor might find interesting enough to assign to an individual reporter.

Rules #4: Know how a reporter likes to receive information. When it comes to distributing press releases or letters, all reporters are different. It's your job to find out how a reporter wants to receive his or her information on a potential story. For example, some reporters only read faxes while others only look at releases sent by mail. Still others will only read e-mail, and yet others will only accept a story idea over phone. This is important because if you violate reporter's rule for receiving information, then your release likely will never be read. It will get a one-way trip to trashcan.

Rules #5: Adhere to a reporter's deadline. Just as you can find out name and e-mail address of a specific reporter, you can also find out their writing deadline. This is very important because last thing anyone wants to experience is being on line with a reporter when he or she is on deadline. Here's another tip: Most daily newspapers are put to bed at 5pm. Call reporter between 8am and 9am because you might catch them before they go their morning editorial meeting. When calling up a reporter directly, always asks reporter if he or she is currently on deadline as a courtesy. They will respect you for it and this will give you an indication as to how long you have to speak with that particular reporter on phone. If you're nervous about speaking with reporter, then create a short script that you can state comfortably in 60 seconds.

While it's always great to know a reporter personally, few small-business owners will ever have that luxury. However, if you know what to do and whom to contact when time comes to tell your story, your chances of coverage are just as good as anyone else's. After all when it comes to media relations, it's not just who you know but what you know - plus a little luck never hurts either.

If you don't already know where to find best sources of targeted traffic for your website, you will need to experiment with lots of different sources to find ones that bring visitors who give you most "bang for your buck."

The fastest way to determine which avenues provide most targeted traffic is by using an "ad tracker". An "ad tracker" is a simple program, residing on your web server, that tracks how many visitors your site gets from a particular source and how many of them purchased. Though it sounds simple, most businesses don't do this! Most businesses can't tell you their visitor to buyer conversion percentage and, therefore, don't know exactly how much they can invest in traffic generation and remain profitable.

Whether you pay for your website traffic with cash (pay- per-click search engines, ezine ads), or you pay for it with sweat of your brow (article distribution, free search engines), you must identify your best and most profitable sources of targeted traffic that convert into buyers, subscribers, or leads. Failure to identify and track where your buyers come from and then calculate how much they really cost you ultimately translates into failure for your online business.