They'd hate to admit it, but the media is pretty predictable.

There are some stories that will run in newspapers until the saints go marching in. Some of the obvious ones: diet tips, anything having to do with kids or animals, political scandals, celebrity divorces...you could probably find a story about each one of these topics in every single edition of every daily newspaper in the country.

Long ago, newspaper editors realized that these topics attract readers. And, if you got your story published, the same determination was made about your topic. Once a topic is anointed as "news-worthy" by the media, you can keep coming back to it again and again, as long as you have a reasonably new angle.

Think of every PR success as the seed for the next placement. Re-read your article when it appears, and ask yourself, "What could I have elaborated on?" or "What's going to be happening next in that field?"

For example, say your published story was about municipal bonds. Stay on the lookout for any municipal bond news that arises. Bond failures, new bond issues, appealing rates-all of these could be topics to bring back to a reporter. You may also consider a story about other tax-free return investment vehicles.

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele's MediaImpact, he is the author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice. To learn more visit http://www.MediaImpact.biz or call 212-243-8383.