A friend and fellow Rotarian, Jeff Crilley sends me tips once a month.  Great tips from an award wining journalist who gave up his job as a star TV reporter to open his own marketing company- hope you enjoy his latest tips: Remember that movie a few years ago with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey---How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days?

In the film Kate Hudson is writing an article for a magazine on all the things women do to turnoff guys. The premise of the article is that if a woman does all of these things wrong she can push away even the most smitten fella in less than 10 days.

Guess what? Journalists do not need that long. If you follow these steps, you will turn them off in 10 seconds or less:

--Not knowing what the journalist covers. Just take a couple minutes and Google them to avoid making this common mistake. Before you pick up the phone or send that email, find out if the reporter covers your kind of story.

--Bugging them. There is a fine line between being passionate and persistent and becoming a stalker. Nuff said?

--Sounding like a commercial. Reporters know you want publicity, but you will never get it if you come off like a used car salesman.

--Ignoring the current headlines. I was working in the newsroom on Sept. 11th. You would be amazed at how many news releases continued to come into the station that had nothing to do with the attack. When the media is going crazy on one story, it is ridiculous to try and pitch another story. Just wait for the feeding frenzy to finally subside and then make your pitch.

In the movie, Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey fell madly in love despite all the relationship gaffes. But life is not always like the movies. If you want your love affair with the media to have a Hollywood ending, I would strongly suggest you avoid making some basic blunders.