Most weekdays, pick up the Wall Street Journal and right there on the front page, in the fifth column, you're likely to see a short item about results of a poll or survey. It's likely to warrant no more than a few paragraphs. Yet the publicity can be immeasurable, particularly if the topic is so compelling that it drives readers to the web site of the company that took the poll so they can read more.

Polls, surveys and white papers are valuable publicity tools because they tip off reporters to emerging trends. Sometimes they provide valuable research that a reporter doesn't have time to do. Often, they provide nuggets of information that don't take up a lot of space in print publications. They can result in longer news or feature stories, as long as they don't sound like blatant self-promotions.

To learn the many valuable reasons to take polls and surveys, and best use them to brand yourself as an expert, see Special Report 19, "How to Use Polls, Surveys and White Papers That Brand You as an Expert"