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(FORTUNE Small Business) -- Dear FSB: We are a start-up online pet community with a new concept that helps pet owners nationwide find free pet help and other useful pet information. Due to the not-for-profit nature of our business we are seeking exposure via editorial coverage. We would like to find out if there is a way to get noticed. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you.

- Berta Narohna, AskDexter.org, Hoboken, N.J.

Dear Berta: The best way to get the word out on any business is to use your expertise in the field. According to Peter Shankman, a spokesperson for the PRStore, a small business marketing company, reporters are always looking for tips and tricks to include in articles. "Think about what you know best about dogs and any advice you have," he suggests.

If you attach Google (Charts, Fortune 500) alerts to the advice and pet information on your website, reporters will find you. When you read an article about pets, contact the reporter with comments and offer yourself as an expert for future stories. "The key is not to bother the reporter," Shankman warns. "Just offer them some handy info."

In addition to editorial content, Shankman suggests using your own pets for guerilla marketing. Visit dog parks and chat with other pet people, or have your pet be a billboard for the business, wearing a tee shirt or sweater that reads, "AskDexter.org." Check out websites that host funny pictures of cats and dogs and post your own with a caption: "Whiskers loves AskDexter.org." This kind of inexpensive marketing should generate a buzz about your online pet community.