Regardless of where your firm is on the growth curve, new ideas are always of value. And one of the greatest resources available to you is the Internet.

(1) Ideas from Competitors
Pick a firm or two that you admire and would like to see your company resemble in two to five years and then spend time on the firm's web sites. Request marketing newsletters, download brochures and investor communications. Look for ideas that you can adapt to your firm. While you always need to be wary of copyright infringement and plagiarizing, understanding what emotional appeals and tools the firm uses to attract customers can help you develop an effective marketing approach.

(2) Mentoring Resources
The web has tremendous mentoring resources typically linked to product offerings. For example, Larry Kline offers marketing systems designed to attract affluent seniors. On his web site, he also has a number of practical articles on marketing based on his experience.

Wondering when the best time is or on what days you should hold a seminar, or whether it should be a single or multi-part presentation? You will find articles on these and other topics at http://www.nfcom.com/show/cgi/articles-real.

(3) Coaching
The first step in developing a marketing plan for your firm is deciding who you are, what you offer and who your ideal client is. Encore Partners, a coaching resource for investment advisors, has developed a complimentary web seminar that walks advisors through developing their story. A link to the seminar can be found at http://www.encorepartners.com/library/Tools/archives /232.aspx It's well worth your time to view.

(4) Regulatory guidelines
A number of law firms provide complementary newsletters and white papers on compliance issues. You can also subscribe to receive alerts from the North American Securities Administrators Association (www.nasaa.org), NASD (http://apps.nasd.com/investor_Information/Tools/Em ail.asp) and other regulatory organizations.

(5) Innovation
Go beyond industry and peer group web sites to find sites that push the limits of internet technology or look for fun ways to use the internet to present their message. Regardless of whether you are a Harry Potter fan or not, the J.K. Rowling site at http://www.jkrowling.com is fascinating and proof that one of the richest women in the world can afford good web talent. Pushing the envelope in a different direction is small cap Jones Soda Company at www.jonesoda.com.

(6) New perspectives
Free online newsletters ("e-letters") are another great source of new ideas and perspectives on the financial markets. Among my favorites is Unexpected Returns, John Mauldin's Weekly E-Letter, which is complemented by John's "Outside the Box" email articles from innovators in the industry. To receive John's newsletter, register at www.frontlinethoughts.com.

(7) News updates
If you have targeted a particular firm or individual as a prospect, set your various news sources to email you notice of news coverage related to your prospect. GOOGLE provides free email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.

Contrary to the comments offered in a recent media training session I sat in on, reporters are not stupid. To even suggest that in a training session is extraordinarily bad advice. Reporters may not understand the money management business, but underestimate them at your peril.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, "The rich are different from you and me." Much the same applies to the media.

Reporters by and large are idealists and cynics. They tend to have a strong belief in their role to shape and change attitudes and create actions, and they want to make a difference...to somehow impact their world. Unless they end up with sufficient experiences to write a book, they are also well aware that their work will never make them very wealthy. In a way, this gives them sense of moral superiority over those to whom the pursuit of money appears to be everything.

The cynical side of the reporter comes in play from being courted and deferred to by powerful people who want media coverage, whether to promote their businesses or their egos. Reporters are well aware of the fact that people are continually seeking to use the news media to promote their personal agendas.

At the same time, they need and welcome story ideas. Which is where thoughtful public relations efforts can result in positive coverage for the firm and a good story for the reporter.

To get an article in the news, you need to approach a reporter with a valid story idea and a reason why it matters to his or her audience. How will it benefit the reader? What part of a larger trend does your topic fit? The reporter isn't going to provide you with free publicity unless you also bring value to the table.

Take care to never, ever, get in an argument with the media or on the media's bad side by consciously or unconsciously conveying that they are stupid. I will never forget the words of a business editor on one of the major dailies I worked with, "The reporter always has the last word."

If you are interested in working with reporters to generate publicity on your firm, download and read our Media Training Guide first and call if you would like support in your efforts.