Emailing Press Releases: Pros and Cons

Emailing as a tool for distributing press releases has both positive and negative associations:

The Pros of Emailing Press Releases:

- It is inexpensive;
- It is efficient and fast;
- An emailed press release is received by the addressee within seconds;
- An emailed press release may have a better chance of being read than a mailed or faxed press release;
- Email may be the recipient's preferred method of receiving press releases;
- The recipient can instantly and/or easily reply.

The Cons of Emailing Press Releases:

- The press release may be inadvertently sent to the recipient's junk mail inbox;
- The press release may unsuspectingly contain and/or transfer a computer virus;
- The recipient may instantly or accidentally delete it;
- The press release may be mistaken for spam;
- The press release email may not follow appropriate protocol and be deleted;
- The press release email may be distorted in transit or difficult to read.

Emailed Press Release Etiquette

Emailing a press release requires a knowledge of email etiquette and of media relations protocol. Before emailing a press release, publicists and public relations firms should be aware of the following points for greater chances of press release success:

1. Include a subject.

The subject line of an emailed press release is the first thing a recipient will see, and may influence the recipient as to whether or not to view it. Emailed press release subject lines should be succinct, informative, and helpful to gain the attention of the recipient.

2. Address the email to the recipient.

When sending a press release via email, publicists and public relations firms should use the recipient's name and email address only. Excessive pages of recipient addresses to scroll through are a disservice the addressee, and may cause an email program to mistake the press release as spam.

3. Send emailed press releases from the same address.

Press releases being sent should consistently come from the same email address. If a publicist or public relations firm uses multiple addresses, the risk of losing a reply or losing track of what press releases corresponded with what email address is great.

4. Send an email that will bypass filters.

Because of safety filters provided by email servers, press care should be taken to avoid the accidental deletion of an emailed press release. To reduce the chances of an emailed press release being mistaken for spam, publicists and public relations firms should use a single recipient's email address in the "To" field, avoid using all capital letters or exclamation marks in the subject line, and avoid the use of the word "free" in the subject line.

5. Fulfill each recipient's email preferences.

Some journalists or media personnel prefer or demand certain email formats or protocol before they will look at or consider a press release. Publicists and public relations firms should meet specified emailed press release criteria to increase the chances of a press release being read.

6. Send visually attractive emailed press releases.

Visually simple yet attractive emailed press releases promote company professionalism. Public relations specialists and public relations firms should take care when creating email press releases to avoid garbled wording and distorted lines. A test email sent to members of a public relations firm or company publicity department can help catch errors.

7. Follow emailed press release progress.

Publicists or public relations firms should follow-up on the progress of the emailed press release. Inboxes should be checked for failed send attempts, and email programs that allow users to be notified when an email has been opened and/or viewed can assist with telephone follow-up if necessary.

Links:

101publicrelations.com/sr12.html

101publicrelations.com/public-relations-disasters.html

www.publicrelationsideas.com/press_releases/

www.ericward.com/articles/072401.html