Here are 20 questions to ask yourself to stay on the Guerilla Publicity Track. They are from my upcoming book, Guerilla Publicity, due out in March 2002, published by Adams Media Corporation.

Savvy Publicity Hounds will be able to answer "yes" to most of these questions.

1. Do you know who you are and what you do?
2. Can you express it positively and clearly in under 30 seconds?
3. Do you always carry your business card and ask for others?
4. Are you impressed by the quality and design of your materials?
5. Are you consistent in creating the image you desire to project?
6. Is your information completely truthful and not over hyped?
7. Do you know what's special about your story?
8. Can you specifically define your potential customer?
9. Have you written an article about you and your business and sent it with a photo to your media list?
10. Do you send your materials or articles out six weeks before the publication's deadline?
11. When something exciting happens with your business, have you sent out a press release?
12. Do you have a media list appropriate to your business that will reach your clients and potential customers?
13. Are you thoroughly familiar with the media you have on your list?
14. Do you follow up on anything that you have sent to the press?
15. Are you prepared to respond with five or six "why I'm news" points to the media's calls to you?
16. Do you update your media list every three months?
17. Do you stay in touch with your media contacts on a regular basis?
18. Do you send acknowledgment notes to those who refer business or support you in other ways?
19. Do you participate in social and community activities?
20. Do you help others get business by networking?

The Publicity Hound says: Jill's checklist has some excellent tasks you can try to accomplish during those holiday weeks at the end of the year, when clients are on vacation and business is slow. Take one task at a time, do it, then go on to the next one, and so on.

Promising Promotion is a full service public relations agency, which can help you create and implement a total public relations package. You will learn to create your "Oooh-Aaah" factor, target your audience, gain the knowledge to develop your media list and learn how to pitch the media.