Every reporter, from the cub at the small town paper to the high-paid anchor on 60 Minutes, dreams of finding a lead to that news story that everyone will want to read.

Any marketing-minded financial planner will start to do the same if they are serious about getting free publicity through the media.

See, the media has a pretty good idea of what appeals to the public. That's a big part of their job--determining what stories are likely to attract their customers: readers, viewers or listeners.

You must develop this skill as well.

Luckily, you talk to the media's customers every day--they are your clients. They can help you determine what tips, tricks and trends are likely to appeal to the masses.

Chances are if one or two clients are asking you about something new, dozens more prospects and the media are primed to get interested too.

For example, let's say that the state university raised tuition 25%. You might have several clients asking how to reallocate or add to their college savings funds to pay for the increased cost. And if a couple of your clients are asking about it, you can bet that hundreds, even thousands of people are facing the same problem.

Whatever tactic you come up with to meet this challenge is your story for the media.

Get ahead of the curve: master the new topic, and introduce it to the media with you as the expert on it.