Techies love them. Young and old technology haters love them. Most importantly, editors love them. Tips -- neatly packaged, numbered nuggets of advice -- are always appealing to those whose job it is to fill up publications with entertaining and illuminating information. They can therefore represent a lucrative route to publicity for you or your organization.

The content of tips that earn you media coverage doesn't have to be original, exclusive or startling. You can offer up things most people in your position know. Their charm is mainly in writing and packaging.

Start with an irresistible title, usually including a number, such as "Seven Steps to a Summer Without Bug Bites," "Four Secrets Real Estate Agents Don't Want Homebuyers to Know" or "11 Ways Not to Ingratiate Yourself to The Boss." Then brainstorm ideas and choose best and second best and so on, until you have number you'd chosen.

Rewrite each item so that it begins with a brief phrase summarizing idea, which might appear in boldface in a magazine or on Web. For example, here's a crisp, properly formatted item #1 for first-mentioned set of tips:

1. Inform yourself. Ask about buggy seasons and areas before finalizing your vacation plans. For instance, some beaches are more mosquito-infested than others. Your first-choice time slot for a holiday might be black-fly season up at lakes.

Some time ago, a small-business client approached me about handling public relations for her firm. She had been writing her own press releases and submitting them to press but all of her efforts had generated no press. She asked me to critique her work to discover what she might be doing wrong. Upon reviewing her press releases, I found that her writing skills were outstanding but problem came when I began to investigate methods by which she was submitting her releases. The five rules below illustrate lessons that she learned about distributing press releases to media.

Rule #1: Do your homework on reporters. You can start with Bacons' Media Directory, which serves as public relations practioner's Bible. If you don't know what it is, basically it lists name, address, phone number, fax number, e-mail, beat (issue or specific type of story to cover), deadlines, and story preferences and angles for most every reporter and news producer anywhere in world. There are five volumes of books: Newspapers, Magazines, TV/Cable, Radio and International. You can purchase books or get same information from Bacons' in CD-Rom format or through an online subscription. These books are invaluable but unfortunately are also very expensive. Here's a tip: You can access them for free usually at your local public library or a college library. Use these books to help you narrow down reporters that you think would be helpful for launching your story. If Bacon's is completely out of your budget, just follow your favorite local newspaper to determine which reporters cover which stories.