March 13, 2003

Press Release Distribution Tips

Email has revolutionized the way public relations professionals communicate with journalists. In a detailed survey conducted in 2002, Vocus, an Internet-based public relations automation software provider, discovered that 83% of all journalists preferred receiving press releases via email rather than any other method including fax, postal mail, or phone (click on "Using Technology to Meet the Demands of Today's Journalists" at http://www.vocus.com/frame2.html).

Seemingly, email is the "silver bullet" communications tool that public relations professionals have long sought. Unfortunately, widespread use and abuse of email results in so much spam that many great PR pitches never reach the intended journalists. According to the Vocus survey, 33% of all journalists receive more than 100 story ideas via email per week.

"Once I recognize a person who continuously spams me, I am more likely to delete their messages without looking at them," said Gordon Ung, news editor of Maximum PC to Vocus. "When they finally send me something that fits the publication, I may overlook it. To be a good PR professional, you want people to notice you, but not in a negative way."

The best way to break through the email clutter is to target journalists individually. In the Vocus survey, 52% of all journalists said their biggest complaint was receiving pitches for story topics that they would never cover.

Carefully reviewing the publications in which you seek coverage is well worth the effort. Instead of sending your press release to an editor at a newspaper or a producer at a television station, your chances of landing press coverage dramatically increase when you target reporters who have covered stories like yours in the past.

To make your press release stand out from the hundreds of spam releases that inundate most journalists' email accounts, you should make sure to include an enticing and descriptive subject header.

I have had good luck preceding the descriptive email subject line with the journalist's first name such as "Bill, Bison Brewing stampedes ahead with exciting alternative to beer." When this is targeted at a magazine for the brewing industry, it is likely that you will get the journalist to read your message.

Once your email is opened, you want to be sure to grab the journalist's attention and give him quick insight into the most interesting aspect(s) of the press release. I've had success with an overview sentence such as "Bill, here's a story idea about a brewer who is closing his brewpub so he can focus on the rapidly growing sales of his innovative product, hard iced tea, to bars, restaurants, and grocery stores."

You should remember that journalists hate email attachments since they fill up valuable mailbox space and sometimes have bugs. An email sent to a journalist with an attachment will oftentimes be discarded without ever being opened regardless of the enticing nature of the subject line.

Make sure that your press release appears right below your overview sentence and contains the date, your name, and a phone number where you can always be contacted (preferably a cell phone number with voice mail).

Emailing press releases as plain text messages without graphics works best. If you need to supply graphics or supporting information, you should include active links that take the journalist to a web site where the extra information is posted. This can work to your advantage since you can use tracking software to see which journalists actually click on your press release.

We live in a brave new world when it comes to communicating with journalists. Following some simple rules will create a win-win situation - you will get good news coverage and journalists will gain access to great stories.

Best wishes,
Patrick Galvin