Email is an excellent tool for communicating with media. It is a cost-effective way to quickly distribute press releases and newsletters, and is also useful for submitting letters to the editor or opinion articles. Electronic press releases and newsletters can also be posted to your Web site. NetAction offers the following suggestions for communicating online.
Distribute email press releases in plain ascii text.
Draft your press release as you would any other email message, using
an email software program such as Eudora or Microsoft Outlook. Never
send press releases as attachments to email, or attach other
documents to email press releases. If you need to prepare a paper
copy of the press release, copy and paste the ascii text into a word
processing document (such as Microsoft Word) after the release is
written in the email browser.
Keep the text brief and focused.
An electronic press release should follow the same "pyramid" format
as any other press release. Start with the most important information
(and remember the five "W's" - who, what, where, when and why). Use
short paragraphs and keep it brief.
Write a subject line that's compelling or provocative.
Keep in mind that the subject line is the first thing reporters will
see when they download your release. Never email a press release (or
any other message) with a blank subject line.
Include your electronic contact information.
Remember to include your email address and Web site URL in addition
to your phone and fax number, and address. Put all your contact
information at the top of the press release.
Use hyper-links where appropriate.
If there is additional information available on your Web site - such
as a white paper or an event announcement - include a hyper-link so
reporters can click right to it. Online publications will often
include these links in their stories, making this an effective way to
direct visitors to your Web site.
Send a test message before distributing your press release.
Always send a copy of the press release to yourself or to a colleague
before distributing it. Check the format to make sure there are no
broken lines of text, and check for any mistyped Web URLs by testing
them to make sure they work.
Avoid disclosing the recipients' email addresses.
Always type the recipients' addresses in the "Bcc" field of your
email message header, rather than in the "To" or "Cc" field. (See
NetAction's "How to Create An Email Media List.")
Post your organization's media contact information on the home page
of your Web site.
Be sure to keep the contact information up-to-date, and include
information on how reporters can be added to your mailing list.
Treat email media inquiries the same as phone inquiries.
Always respond just as promptly to email media inquiries as you would
to phone calls. Reporters who work for online publications are much
more likely to contact you by email than by phone. If you're
responsible for answering media inquiries, check your email
frequently throughout the day.
Set up an online archive for your media communications.
Set aside an area of your Web site where reporters can locate past
press. (If you publish a newsletter in electronic form, maintain an
online archive of past issues, as well.)
Post press releases only to appropriate lists, news groups, and publications.
If you plan to post your press release to any email discussion lists,
news groups or online publications, make sure the topic of your
release is appropriate content for the list or Web site. If your
press release announces a new report on air pollution, it would not
be appropriate content for a forum for race car enthusiasts, for
example.
Collect email addresses from your media contacts.
If you've been distributing your press releases by fax or postal
mail, ask your media contacts if you can switch to email
distribution. Commercial media directors (such as Bacon's Metro
California Media) routinely include email contact information. Major
newspapers frequently have separate staffs for their online versions,
so you'll need to include those contacts on your list, too. There are
also media directories and news services specifically for online
publications that may be appropriate to add to your media list.
Limit the size of your email message window.
In many email browsers, text that is longer than the width of
the message window will "wrap" to the next line. (When text is set to
"wrap," you don't need to hit the "return" key at the end of every
line.) If the size of your message window is set for more than about
75, the automatic "wrap" may result in broken lines of text.
This page located at: http://www.netaction.org/training/onlinePR.html. This guide is also available as a: Word 5.1 doc and as a pdf file.
NetAction
P.O. Box 6739 Santa Barbara, CA 93160
Telephone: (415) 215-9392 * Fax: (805) 681-0941
Web: http://www.netaction.org