What it takes is a well-planned out process. That takes a lot of effort. The first step in the process is what I call the preparation stage - making sure you, your products, and your business image are polished enough to stand the spotlight of publicity that will be thrown at it. In other words, first, make sure you are both extraordinary and have business integrity.
Negative publicity is worse than no publicity at all.
I can't emphasize how important it is to make a good first impression and then be consistent with it. If the media dismisses you as a flake or a braggart, you are a PR corpse. With a detailed plan that defines your intended image, your target market and the communications gatekeepers of that target market, the implementation is easy. It is simply doing the research and writing the right things to the right people at the right time. One of my clients is a financial planner.