While personal relationships with editors are our best way to deliver national media exposure to clients, we're always on the lookout for useful tools to help us generate even more media coverage. Like most PR agencies, we use traditional paid-subscription media tools like the Cision directory and BusinessWire. We also have a few other freebie favorites, like Meg Weaver's Wooden Horse Publishing newsletter and Peter Shankman's HARO: Help A Reporter Out. While Wooden Horse keeps us updated on new developments at media outlets, we love using HARO to connect reporters, who need expert sources and new products, to our clients. The service has grown tremendously since it was launched back in January and, according to some, is going head-to-head with the PR industry's traditional service--PR Newswire's ProfNet.

The competition is starting to get a bit ugly, but we're sticking by HARO. After all, it has helped us secure coverage in a variety of publications including the New York Times, Charlotte Magazine and Pizza Today. Plus, we've had some great client interviews with outlets like AARP.org, EverydayHealth.com, Baseline Magazine and Executive Roundtable Radio.