I named three products -- olive oil, the new U2 album, and a widescreen TV -- each of which is advertised in one of three different publications: Sports Illustrated, Food & Wine, or Rolling Stone. Your job was to place the product to the publication it was advertised in.

Now how'd you ace that so quickly? How did you guess that the olive oil was advertised in Food & Wine, the new U2 album in Rolling Stone, and the widescreen TV in Sports Illustrated?

A gross oversimplification, but I want to drive home an important point: bigtime advertisers aim narrowly for their target audience, and you should follow their lead. You want to land in the publications your clients and potential clients are reading. And unlike U2's record company shelling out tens of thousands of dollars for that full-page color ad, you -- as a small firm or practice -- have a much simpler yet crucial task. You can go for free publicity and get your own article printed, or at least get yourself mentioned, in something your target audience reads -- at no cost to you.

Too often, accounting professionals bask in the glow of exposure they attain in their own profession's publications. Sure that's nice, but who's reading the accounting publications? Your competitors, that's who! Why not target your prospects with your articles by placing them where it matters -- in the media that those prospects, in their industries and professions, read. Retailers read retailing magazines. Banking execs read banking publications. If you want to attract them, you'd better get some publicity there.

To identify the appropriate publications, start with the most obvious approach: just ask your clients! When you have face time with a client or even over the phone or in an email, ask them what they read, where they go to keep a finger on their industry's pulse. Another simple and worthwhile approach is to keep an eye out for what publications they have in their offices and waiting rooms when you visit. (Caution: if we're talking about doctors or dentists, don't get your hopes up too high about landing in one of those ubiquitous People or Us magazines -- unless you have an upcoming vacation planned with Lindsay Lohan or Brad Pitt, that is). Several media directories available in the library, as well as online sources, also reveal this information.

A good place to find your target is industry associations, both national and local. These associations have Web site and print newsletters that can serve as great places for you to get mentioned in, or do an article for. Do a diligent Web search to find the right ones and whom to contact at each one.

You'll also want to query the trade press or profession/industry-specific media that cover the interests of your target audience. No matter how small a given trade publication's circulation its readership represents 100 percent of your target audience.

Once you know which trade press your prospects and referral sources read, have someone on your staff obtain a couple of issues. Study them to find out if they run informational or educational articles by outside experts (like you). Many publications are eager to run articles by experts on financial and accounting issues. You just need to be the first accounting professional to approach that publication with a sensible idea or plan. Offer to do an article, or even a regular series of columns, on timely accounting issues of concerns to that industry. Call or email an editor -- they're human, they'll talk to you -- and suggest it. If you're turned down, invite them to interview you on a timely topic currently in the news. They need experts like you to explain what the IRS, or Congress, or a tax court, just did.

So start that research, and find out what your clients -– current and future –- are reading. Then get yourself in there. Whether it's your own byline or being quoted by someone, you'll be placing yourself right in front of the very audience whose recognition you want and need.

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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.