Lesson number two for all you Twittering Moms centers on the art of pitching. If you're the author of a one-of-a-kind book, the creator of a must-have product or if you launched a business that offers a fabulous service that no one has ever seen or heard about before, then you are one step ahead of the game. But if you are like me, and are the author of a humorous book for busy moms, well consider yourself a needle in an enormous haystack full of plenty of other mothers who think they're funny.

So how do you break through? How will you rise above the rest and convince media outlets that they should be covering you and not your competitor who can afford a high priced PR agency to hawk their wares? Simple. You need to be creative, passionate and aggressive. And let me give you my first word of advice when it comes to PR agencies - if you are not an A-list celebrity or if you do not have venture capitalists investing in your business, you may not need to hire a PR agency to address your media needs. If your dream is to land a spot on a major talk show or magazine, you'd be surprised - you might be the most passionate publicist around who can move your brand to the next level.

The first question you might be asking is, what should I do first? Write a press release or pitch letter about my company or product? No - the first thing you need to do is target the people you want to review your website, product or service. Read their blogs, their articles, get to know what they're looking for in a story and then, craft a pitch that will resonate with them. The best publicists around do not cast a net to thousands to accomplish their goals. They set their sites on the specific writers, producers, bloggers and on air personalities who will be responsive to their pitch. And as for pitch letters - journalists and producers have the attention span of a gnat. Get to the point or they will move on. In fact, your best bet in some cases is to follow them on Twitter or connect with them on Facebook. You might find that a pitch that's 140 characters or less could land you a major story. If you don't know which journalists are on Twitter, then you should take part in Journchat each Monday night to get to know some of the major players on the PR and marketing side who are actively involved in social media. And if you aren't following PRsarahevans on Twitter, then what are you waiting for?

A vital PR resource is HARO (www.helpareporterout.com) - if you haven't subscribed to that site, it's simple. Peter Shankman, a master pitchman in the PR industry has an unbelievable database and resource that blasts out queries to over 42,000 subscribers three times per day. If you scan all the requests and see a story that fits your platform or brand, then be prepared to provide the exact information that reporter will need so that they will be more inclined to feature you in their story. If you respond back to the query with "Hey Joe Schmo I'm the perfect person for your feature" be prepared to never hear back from Joe again. Journalists are not only suffering from A.D.D., some are also incredibly busy (and others are just lazy). The bottom line is, they're on a tight deadline and would prefer that we make their job easier by doing their work for them - so rise to the occasion and craft the ultimate pitch that will get them to respond. And don't pitch off topic or you'll be banned from HARO.

Another great tactic that resonates with the media are surveys. If you have a parenting blog or website with thousands of subscribers, then poll your readers on a timely topic and then pitch your results to the local news, papers in your area, appropriate blogs and websites. In this case, you can actually craft a press release with your responses and pitch yourself to traditional media. If you are a spa owner or have a company that specializes in pampering services for women, and if your survey has uncovered that 95% of women would rather have a spa day with their best girlfriend than a romantic Valentine's Day with their significant other, then you have a story to tell.

If you think you have what it takes to land a spot on television but you haven't yet done a single interview then my advice to you is to start vlogging. In the coming weeks, I will actually do a vlog about vlogging but the bottom line is - wear make-up, be a storyteller, offer great advice and don't look like you haven't showered in weeks - unless you're aiming for a slot on a talk show looking for moms who have let themselves go to pot and don't care if the whole world is watching.

Finally, the key to garnering media attention is networking and paying it forward. Whether you can network in person or online, the more you meet people who might be able to spread the word about your brand, the better. But remember - if you are not paying for someone to do your PR, you need to pay it forward - barter your services, give that person a shout out on your blog, the bottom line is good karma leads to good fortune.

So that's it for our lesson of the evening. Next week we'll focus on The Field of Dreams approach to publicity...build it so they will come!

For more of my musings about work, life and everything in between, visit me at Role Mommy.