We're living in a time of ever shortening attention spans. People are making snap decisions about whether to read this article or watch that video. 

Same holds true for members of the media. They are inundated with emails throughout the day, many of which are press releases or advisories clamoring for their attention. Most of these same reporters rarely pick up the phone, so trying to call them to make sure they saw the release is fruitless.

The key, then, is to offer them something in the first eight seconds that will cause them to continue reading just long enough to consider the news worthiness of your release.

That's why the headline, the secondary headline and the opening sentence of the press release are so important. Here's why.

Want to get inside the mind of a reporter or an assignment editor? Want to learn the secret sauce that drives much of how they do their jobs?

It's really simple. Yet, it's far from easy. The key to getting the media to cover your story is to be both relevant and personal. 

Relevant means to affect as many of their readers, listeners or viewers as possible. It must have wide ranging appeal. Personal means to connect your story to real people. Give it a name and a face. Better yet if you can actually quote a real person.

If you're looking for suggestions for a possible press release, predictions are still an option.

It's early enough in the new year to offer your insights about what you think your industry or organization might encounter in the coming year. You can also add your take on the economy and how that could affect your customers over the next several months.

The great thing about predictions is that they offer you a chance to display your expertise and no one really checks to see how accurate you were. No one expects you to offer 100 percent certainty. It's the ideas that count.

It may be fall, but it's not too early to start thinking about the upcoming holiday season and whether there's an opportunity for you to make news. So much of news is generated by the calendar and is based on nothing more than a little creative thinking.

So, grab a legal pad and a pen and start making a list for ways you can generate a press release or photo op between now and the end of the year. Here are just a few examples:

• Your business or organization has a connection to the holidays or to the time of year (winter). Let people know about your expanded store hours, sales or special events. Let them know how you can make their lives better.
• Create a check list of things people will want to have on hand during the holidays or ways they can make the holidays go more smoothly.

Earned media usually lives up to its name. You have to earn - or work for - media coverage instead of paying for it. 

Paid media is just what it says: you pay for whatever media exposure you receive. This is typically paid advertising -- online or print ads, TV commercials, etc.

With earned media, you don't pay a dime. In a sense, it's free. But you pay for it in sweat equity.

Trying to earn media coverage is no easy task. After all, you have to persuade the media to see your story or event as newsworthy. You then have to trust that reporters will be fair in their treatment of your story or organization. Nothing is guaranteed.

But there are definitely advantages of earned media that are worth considering when you're looking to tell your story.

The popularity of the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money for ALS research provides some helpful guidance when it comes to public relations and earned media.

As you probably know, the Challenge is for someone to be videotaped getting doused with a bucket of ice water to generate awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to raise funds to help find a cure. It's been a dominant theme on conventional and social media in recent weeks, helping to raise more than $40 million.

Why has it worked so well?

Some newsmakers have become popular because they've learned the art of being media friendly. That is, they understand what reporters need and want when it comes to covering their industry or field.

So, are there certain tips or tactics one can use to become more media friendly? Absolutely. We'll outline them over a span of several posts. We suggest you try to put them to use at the next opportunity.

First, we'll look at sound bites.

A media friendly newsmaker has developed the knack of speaking in short, succinct and memorable sound bites. This sounds simple enough, but we can unpack it a bit more.

Tough questions and difficult circumstances can try anyone's patience, especially if you have to face the media in the middle of a crisis.

That's why staying cool under pressure is so important. Easy? Not at all. But essential.

The public, your customers, your employees -- they all want to see you succeed. They want to see you're in control. They want to know that you're handling the crisis.

They want to know that everything will be okay.

When you're dealing with a difficult subject and getting peppered with questions from the media, one very effective strategy in media relations is what we call broadening the issue.

YOU'RE NOT ALONE

After all, what you're experiencing is likely not unique to you or your organization. The problem may affect many others or the issue may have surfaced in other ways at other companies.

TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT OFF OF YOURSELF

So, you want to help reporters understand that this is not simply your problem. In this way, you help to take the spotlight off of yourself and focus it on a much larger playing field.

When it comes to deciding whether to hold a press conference or other kind of media event, there are definitely two mistakes to avoid. The first is overestimating the importance of your event. The second is underestimating the importance of your event.

Overestimating

Let's face it. Everybody thinks their story is newsworthy and that the media will just naturally beat a path to your door. We see it all the time.

The concern, however, is that this very well may not be the case. Your story may hold little interest among the media, no matter how exciting you try to make it.

What kind of events fall into this category?