We know what it's like. You're thinking about that list of Christmas presents you need to buy and the million parties you've got coming up. You're dreaming about your summer holiday and the prawns and mangoes you're going to eat. The last thing on your mind is getting publicity for your business early next year. Well guess what? The media are already working on 'Back to School' features, 'Valentine's Day' and even 'Autumn' features. If you want to generate some publicity in the first few months of 2011 you really need to start sending your pitches now. If you leave it till February or March you won't see any results until close to the middle of the year and that's just a big waste of precious editorial.

Have a little think about some angles that could work with these themes. Do you have a product in earthy tones that could be part of an autumn feature? Do have a fabulously romantic story about how you met your partner that oculd be used in a Valentine's Day feature (with a mention of your business of course!). Or maybe those pencil cases you're making out of recycled billboards could be included in some back to school stories. Put your creative hat on for a minute and think about a way you can 'spin' your story to fit. A little effort now means you could up and runnning next year quicker than you can say "I wish these summer holidays would hurry up and end"!