No, the boards of Time Warner or NBC did not meet secretly last night and vote to hand over the reins to you. But in today's new world of media, you are a mogul controlling the distribution of all kinds of information, nonetheless.

We all are, actually. And that's good news, because as the head of your own media empire, you're going to create powerful new tools and strategies to help you build your practice.

Let me explain: In this new age, the media have mushroomed, exploded, decentralized, and democratized. There used to be five TV channels; now there are 500. You once had to buy a newspaper to learn the news; today the options are infinite thanks to the Internet and electronic media. Anybody can create and disseminate from their office desk materials that once could only be produced by media companies.

And if, as a professional, you wanted to reach your target market, the choices were equally limited: costly, no-one's-listening advertising; boring letters and mailings to your list; and valuable, but hard-to-get publicity.

But now the times they have a'changed. Between your Web site, newsletters distributed by email, and desktop publishing that lets anybody easily create magazine-quality articles, we are all publishers. We are all media moguls. We can produce and send our markets almost anything. Those 500 TV channels that I mentioned earlier? Before long, there will be 500,000 -- and one of them will be yours.

The trick is to be a media mogul who adds value, rather than more junk mail, to the market. And the way to do that is to treat your new media powers the way all those super-heroes in the comics were implored to use theirs: as a force for good. This means creating articles, mailings and Web site content that give your prospects what they want and need.

What they need, of course, is information that helps them. And what you need, seeking to grow your business, is to convince them that you are the resource that helps them. You do this best by sharing information and guidance with your market on your subject matter expertise, whatever that may be. If you demonstrate in the marketplace that you are a tax code expert -- rather than tell them you are the expert -- you will cut through the clutter and reach your audience.

I suggest you do the following exercise. Make two lists. The first one is the tools and channels at your command to get a message out to the audience. Mine might look like this; yours might be different. It doesn't matter. Just list a few vehicles:

1. The firm's Web site;
2. An e-newsletter;
3. Desktop published articles (done with inexpensive, easy software);
4. Emails to target prospects and referral sources.

Now, make a list of some of the things your audience might need to know and hire you to help them with. For instance, yours might include:

1. New changes in the tax law;
2. Tax consequences of selling a home;
3. How to handle retirement account distributions;
4. What kind of retirement savings plan are best today?

Finally, it's mix-and-match time. Put these two lists in columns, side by side. For each of the topics you just identified, pick one of your media tools from your first list. Now, write a very short article about each, and get it out via that channel.

Do not make this stressful or hard. About 500 words is all you need.  (It can be as few as 300, but never more than 1,000.) And if time or talent limit you, that's no excuse. Call in a local writer, or that bright young assistant in your office who's eager to step up. Dictate some thoughts to him or her in a 10-minute information-dump session, and then all you'll need to do is pencil-edit the draft they create.

In your new role of media mogul, you don't need to be like CNN, cranking out news around the clock. Get out a few pieces a year. One a quarter is a good initial goal, then ultimately maybe once monthly. Show your audience you know your stuff and deliver them information they need. And, I promise, your phone will start ringing with prospects saying, "I saw your article, and I think you can help me."

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NED STEELE, author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice, works with people in professional services who want to create a business development initiative and build their business. A former newspaper journalist and public relations firm head, he is president of Ned Steele’s MediaImpact. To learn more visit www.mediaimpact.biz, call 212-243-8383, or email him at info@mediaimpact.biz.