Operation: Close To Home Ready For Your Paper. Find out how you can have it published in your local newspaper.

As part of NAEA’s overall campaign to publicize enrolled agents and their tax expertise, NAEA has partnered with the members of The National Newspaper Association, the association that represents America’s community newspapers. The idea is to spread the word locally, through a newspaper insert called Tax Times, about the complexity of changes to the tax law in 2008 and the benefits of using an enrolled agent. It offers members a place to advertise locally, and it offers the newspaper quality content that their readers can use. In short, it’s a targeted approach to fill the needs of our members, the newspaper and the American taxpayer.

There are two versions of the insert:

§          The full version is ready for download, and contains no advertising space.

§          The advertising space version offers nearly a half-page of advertising space in this four-page supplement.

The response to this newspaper supplement has been good, and we’re looking to do even better. Newspaper publishers are welcome to welcome to incorporate Tax Times into their schedule, with a couple of common-sense requirements. Contact Martha Lockwood, CAE, APR, NAEA’s Director of Communications for details.

NAEA members are also encouraged to reach out to their local editors, to further build that local connection. To assist you in getting this published close to your home, we’ve put together some talking points when reaching out to your local paper:

• Call your local editor and ask who is in charge of special supplements.
• When you reach this person, introduce yourself and let them know that you have a special supplement available for them pertaining to this year’s tax laws and with helpful hints for taxpayers. It is professionally prepared, and the material is not copyrighted, and it can be presented in either their print or electronic editions.
• Also, tell them that we have advertisers ready to work with them, if they want advertisers in the supplement.
• If they are interested in seeing the supplement, ask if I may contact them to explain the size, how we will make advertisers available to them, and how to access the supplement for direct download. Get their contact information and email it to NAEA Director of Communications Martha Lockwood at mlockwood@naea.org.
• Not enough advertisers to make this viable? How about printing it in the web edition? And don’t forget to ask about advertising adjacent to the story. If they don’t offer that option, remember that you will get a “trickle down” benefit just from being the EA in the area.

That’s it! If you have questions, contact Martha Lockwood, CAE, APR, at 202-822-6232 x104 or mlockwood@naea.org.