Have you ever heard someone say 'It must be true!I saw it in print!' In terms of PR, an article published in a national publication can push your exposure further than just advertisements within the same title.

Why is this true? Because America loves magazines. This can be seen by simply looking at the facts. Oxford Communications said that in 2006 alone, there was 22,106 magazines in over 310 categories. That means there were 308 specific topics of interest that Americansactually, people all over the worldloved to read about last year.

Are We Overdosing on Ads?

Marsha Friedman, Managing Director of EMSI, a national public relations firm that specializes in obtaining media attention for their clients says, " In virtually all of those 22,106 magazines, there were both ads and articles." It's true, many readers do respond to these ads, mainly because they relate to the content of the magazine. Butand here's the big problem with advertisingsince we're absolutely bombarded with ads every single day, it's just hard to focus on them. Here's what Fordham University found:

Advertising is the most pervasive element of the public relations mix: the average American family of 4 is exposed to 1,500 advertising messages per day !'

Wow. Marsha Friedman says, "That boils down to something like 300 to 400 ads for each of us each day, whether we like it or not. And because, most of the time, we don't like it, our wonderful brains screen this promotional onslaught to, essentially, safeguard our sanity. As weird as it may sound, we are exposed to hundreds of ads every day that we don't even see!"

Now articles are another matter altogether.

Marsha Friedman says, "The people who actually regularly purchase those 22,106 publications want hot, informative content on their top topics. This is an example of when articles can really work and hit the market. In these cases the audience is more accepting as the magazine is an "old trusted friend." This definitely gives you the upper hand."

"Let me give you a good example of their sheer profit power" , says Friedman. "In the very early days of my career, I worked as the director of sales and marketing for a money manager. I generated leads and brought in big money clients."

"A journalist from The Robb Report contacted me one day about doing a show on money managers, like my boss. While talking with my boss, the reporter discovered that he lived in the 90210 Zip Code (this was during the height of that popular TV show) drove a brand new Mercedes and was married to a famous actress. The result was that there was a big old article in his magazine, with a picture of my boss featured on the cover!"

Friedman continues, "When the story ran, it was like a financial earthquake! I practically became an order takerthe phones literally rang off the hook with investors who wanted their money managed by the firm. It was amazing how we went from 20 to 50 million dollars in such an amazingly short time!"

How many ads would it have taken to get him from $20 million to $50 million? Maybe the better question is, could ads have even done the job?If you would like to learn more about gaining media attention for your company, product or service, without the financial burden of monthly retainers, Friedman is here to help . Feel free to contact her directly at mfriedman@emsincorporated.com or visit her firm online at http://www.emsincorporated.com. As a public relations expert Friedman has the ability to get the media attention that you desire without breaking your budget with costly monthly retainers .

Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on public relations for nearly two decades as CEO of Event Management Services, Inc (EMSI). If you would like to receive her free Ebook "How to Be a Great Talk Radio Guest" visit http://www.emsincorporated.com.