Building good relations with financial journalists will establish your reputation as a financial expert and generate free publicity for your services. By following the following three rules, you can gain the confidence of print and broadcast journalists.

1. Acknowledge that the media’s job is to inform the public — not to promote your business.

2. Journalists have space and time constraints, and they work under deadlines. So, make sure you stay on topic, be informative and concise, and deliver your responses on time.

3. Look for opportunities outside the mainstream media. Small community publications, for instance, usually run columns or articles on financial topics. The freelancers who write them may need your input. Or you may be able to write your own articles.