PATRON SAINT PRODUCTIONS, INC. ~ CHAT TRANSCRIPT ~ Patron Saint Productions, Inc. Online Publicity Chat Series Topic: Session #8: E-mail News Releases Guest: Steve O'Keefe, author of "Complete Guide to Internet Publicity" Date: March 4, 2004 Welcome, Valda. Hi Valda, we'll be starting in a couple minutes. Hi. Thanks for the transcripts! Sure. Welcome, Guruman. Tatyana cleaned all those transcripts. Almost made me sound intelligent. Good afternoon! We'll start in a few moments. Today's topic is E-Mail News Releases. I'll take any holdover questions from last week. We were talking about online newsletters, I think. I'll be moderating a panel on that subject at Publishers University in June. There are details in the Training section of my web site. Welcome, Michael. Hi, Steve and Tatyana! Michael, Tatyana cleaned all the transcripts from our previous chats. They're located here in the Resources section of the site. And she noticed that I routinely ignore your questions! Nothing personal, but it's hard to see the questions some time. So if I miss a question, just SPEAK UP. Okay everyone, let's get started with today's lesson: e-mail news releases. Let me begin with a few observations, then open it up for questions. The good news is that journalists now PREFER to be pitched via e-mail over every other method. This came through in the last Ross- Middleberg Media in Cyberspace Survey -- which is recommended reading for everyone interested in online PR. The bad news is, if you don't pitch properly, you will be filtered by the press. And this filtering can be irrevocable and unknown to you. Where can I find it? Luna, if you look in the Resources/Links/Media section of this site, you'll find a link to the latest survey. So, this session is about how to pitch them properly. Good reasons to use e-mail news releases are: * Instantaneous -- you can get breaking news to journalists in a matter of seconds. * Easy to respond to (just hit "reply"). * Inexpensive (no printing, postage, or long-distance toll charges). * You can reach individuals, not just companies. On the down side: * It's hard to find the e-mail address for individuals, and you need them to be effective. * Journalists will filter you if you send stupid releases. * You can be blacklisted for repeat offenses. * You can actually be sued or face criminal charges for certain kinds of spam. So, the secret to being effective is: Target meticulously and format carefully. Let's take some questions. Michael, I'm sure I've missed two questions from you already. While Steve is waiting for questions, a brief announcement -- there will be no chat next week. We will resume with a final chat on March 18. Explain format. Okay, Luna, let's get right into formatting. Here are the rules I use: short, short, short. It's more like a query asking if you want to receive a news release, rather than the release itself. I like a four-paragraph pitch: * Stroke: Say something nice, or show you know who the person is and the beat he covers. * Pitch: What's the story idea? Come to the point FAST! * Credentials: Why is your client (or you) the expert on this subject? * Action Alternatives: Offer to send a full release, a press kit, a media kit, via e-mail or snail mail. Questions about length? I received a three-page e-mail news release the other day, and my eyes just rolled. What are the stupid mistakes that get you blacklisted? Jim, let's look at formatting mistakes that will get you blacklisted or filtered: * Too long of a news release. * Rich formatting: bold, italics, html -- trust me, a lot of the press hates this stuff, and it makes your news release look like spam. * FILE ATTACHMENTS -- many journalists consider them a capital offense. Send an unsolicited file attachment, and you are filtered for sure. * Petty stuff includes misspellings, jagged line endings, etc. Those are formatting issues. The main content problem is sending off-target releases: a financial story to a sports reporter, that kind of thing. Which is why you have to be careful with rented lists -- names you didn't find and don't know. Would you be aware of being blacklisted by them? Where would one find a good resource list for distribution to these journalists? I'll take Michael's first question first: Do you know if you're blacklisted? If you're filtered by an individual journalist, no. If you're filtered by a media organization, probably not. If you are filtered by an ISP, usually you are sent a notice. More and more filtering is happening on the individual level, and the only way you know is that nobody responds to your releases anymore. One of the big PR firms in New York was filtered by Associated Press after a junior staffer spammed AP. EVERYONE at the firm was locked out of AP until the CEO went to Washington and pleaded for forgiveness. This is some serious stuff. How often is too often (assuming you have real news)? Valda, too often is when you don't have real news to share, or you've worn out your welcome. No hard rules. Some companies have news to share every day. For most, it's more often a monthly or quarterly process, or new product or service launch. What about RSS? Will this replace press releases via e-mail? Guruman asks a good question which your esteemed instructor is a little soft on. RSS? As I understand it, RSS -- or blogging -- involves pushing headlines out to the press and hoping they click on the story. Correct? No, it won't replace e-mail news releases. You can't trust the media to set their filters properly. For example, I would NEVER ask a journalist if she wants to be on my media list. Why would anyone say "yes" -- it's like giving me a blank check. I'll take them OFF the list if they ask. But if I asked them if they wanted to be on the list, and they said no, then when I have the perfect story for that journalist, I can't send it -- even if I just know she'd love it. Michael, you asked where you could find a good list of media e-mail addresses. Try your Rolodex! First contacts are the ones you already work with. Then, to find the next best source: 1. Go to the library with a notebook computer. 2. Rifle all the publications aimed at your target audience. 3. Find those tasty little @ symbols that tell you a journalist is waiting to hear from you. Most of the rentable lists are not very good. Why? Because while Time magazine staff are willing to tell Bacon's and Burrell's their mailing address, phone numbers, staff names and responsibilities, they balk at giving out personal e-mail addresses. Without them, e-mail news releases are tough to do. Quick digression: A GENERIC e-mail address gets opened by staff (if at all) and screened. These are addresses such as letters@, feedback@, info@ -- you don't want those. PERSONAL e-mail addresses get right to the individual journalist you're looking for. They're usually a variation on first name-dot-last name or initial-last name, etc. And the best place to find fresh ones is in the publications they write for. What about radio lists? Luna, radio lists from Bacon's and Burrell's, et. al., are not bad. A lot of money though. You'd be better off finding an online directory, guessing the addressing regimen, and building your list that way. By address regimen, I mean if NBC uses first initial -- middle initial -- last name, and you know the name of the person you want to contact, you can probably guess the address. And there's no penalty for wrong guesses: The e-mail bounces, and you try again. I got into Letterman's mailbox that way. And a lot of other major media contacts, too. What about the sites where you post your release (free or paid), and journalists, etc., flock in to read? Posting online is good, and sites such as PR Newswire and Internet Wire will send your release and/or post it online. But, once again, coverage is not usually made by the media coming to you. You usually have to go to them. What about PR Web? I haven't used PR Web, Luna, but my guess is the operation is similar to PR Newswire, yes? How about book reviewers, where appropriate? Valda, let me dance around that question a little. Have you seen what has happened to the media in the last decade? People who work for media outlets do not generate news; they sell ads. The people creating the content are increasingly freelancers. You have to get the e-mail addresses of people who write or produce content in your subject areas. Many of those folks will be freelancers, and their names and contact info are in almost NO databases you can rent or buy. You have to stick close to the media that cover the topics of interest to find these freelancers and court them. Welcome, Rachel. We're talking about e- mail news releases. How can I BE that person? (I'm a writer.) Valda, how can you be what person? The researcher? The one who finds e-mail addresses? That freelancer who provides content. How can you get work as a freelance writer? How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Pitch, pitch, pitch! You find a little job, it turns into a big one. For example, Valda, people often break into magazines writing a letter to the editor, or a short product review. Next thing you know, you're doing feature work at a dollar a word, and spending half your time chasing receivables. It's a wonderful life! Wow, lots of questions today. Remember, no chat next week. Okay, let's talk a little more about formatting. I like to create news release in Word. That's Word -- as in Microsoft -- spell-check, proofread, get client approval, get it perfect -- then Save As Text With Line Breaks. That forces a nice, short, readable line length without eye-strain for those reading on computers. Then I paste that into the body of an e-mail. The media e-mail addresses go in the Blind Copy or BCC field. This is very important. We've all gotten e-mails with a hundred e-mail addresses at the top. Strictly the mark of an amateur. Bozo-filter bait. Address the e-mail to yourself, and pile the media contacts in the BCC field. For a typical book promotion release, I e- mail about 500 journalists. I get about 50 bounces, 50 requests for more information, and one complaint. My database of journalists e-mail addresses now numbers more than 25,000 -- built up mostly the hard way -- in the library with a laptop, and sleuthing online. Oh, my. Luna, it should be 50,000 -- I've been slacking lately. But Tatyana's going to help me with that, aren't you? Absolutely. Steve, did you already talk about who it is appropriate to send releases to? If so, I can wait for the transcript. Specifically, we are gathering contacts to send out a news release announcing that we now offer continuing ed credits. Can I send that to schools, trade pubs and individuals, or just stick to the journalists? Rachel, good question. Yes, you can send that to *contacts* at schools, trade pubs, etc. -- we never send to institutions, we send to *people*. There's someone at the other end of that e-mail, and it's your job to know who it is, and what they like BEFORE you send them e-mail. Also, your e-mail should always be a bit of a tease. You don't want to tell the whole story. You want to give a headline, tantalize them, then offer more info upon request. That way, you don't piss off journalists with a long e-mail, and you flush out those who are interested in the story. If I am sending it to a person, like, at a school, can I send it, and then follow up with a call to see whether it might get posted at that school, or do I put that in the body of the release? What is the protocol, if any, for following up on a release? I want to see if something can happen with it, if possible, not just for it to be deleted. The piece you refer to would be the REQUEST to send the release, not the release itself, right? Michael, you are my A student today! Yes, we send a query, a pitch paragraph, and we offer a press kit or briefing to flush out those interested in the story. Here's a very interesting stat: If I include a URL in a news release, my response rate goes down 50 percent. Sad, but true. The media will go to the web site instead of responding. Then they take another link, play around on the computer, and, two hours later, decide to get back to work. And they forget about responding to the e-mail. So I don't put URLs in news releases anymore. Ever. I pitch, those who are interested reply, THEN I send them the URL. Now I know who is interested in the story, and I can court them by print, phone, and fax. E-mail is the lead generator. Phone is usually the closer. If it's a good teaser, will they Google around for it? Michael, if it is a good e-mail, they will ask you for more. Why should they Google if you have everything they need in your back pocket? And that brings up another good point: If you offer the goods in your teaser, you'd better be able to deliver when you get a reply. I like to be prepared in advance with documents in a variety of formats: Word, text, html, and PDF -- and with artwork in hi- res and low-res -- and a list of experts who can comment on the story, and their phone numbers, etc. You take a little bit of interest and try to milk it for whatever you can. For example, in a news release for a prison reform book, I offered journalists an opportunity to interview a reformed inmate in their area, and I was ready with a list of inmates who'd been through the reform program, and their phone numbers, and the states they lived in, and criminal justice experts who would also comment on the effectiveness of the program. When I pitched Sally Jesse Raphael -- am I dating myself now? -- a story about inequities in organ donor programs, I had people who had lost loved ones due to bad policies. You see what I mean? The media is not interested in books. They are interested in stories. We give them stories, and we flesh them out with real people, and artwork, and polls, whatever. So we are giving them info but adding a human element, so the journalists have something to connect with an audience? Rachel, you get a "B-plus." Michael, she's gaining on you. I'm putting in for a re-grade. Yes, we'll sell a story idea, and we do all their work for them. When I pitch to TV shows, I envision the entire program: people who hate my guest, people who love my guest, experts to comment on the larger social issues involved. I do all the producers' work for them, then serve it up on a silver platter, with whipped cream on top. Then they take my story idea, run with it, and leave my guest out. Sad but true. You take your lumps in this business. What search engines would you recommend for gathering contact info (e-mail addresses, etc.)? Luna, forget the search engines. Look for directories of media contacts. OK, where? There are a couple of good ones in the Links section of this site. Also, join a freelance writers union -- you get access to the membership list usually -- hint, hint. Also, if you can find ProfNet listings, journalists will frequently reveal their e-mail addresses there. I think Columbia School of Journalism might have a directory -- not sure anymore. Thanks for joining today's session, everyone. Our next (and last) chat will be held two weeks from now, on March 18. Thanks for all the info. Just bought your book! Thank you, Luna. You now get an "A-plus." The News Releases chapter is my favorite in the book. Maybe that helped with the vacation funds? There are at least six sneaky ways to get media e-mail addresses in that chapter! Thanks, Steve. Another good session. Thanks, Steve and Tatyana! Please come back in two weeks, Steve will discuss chat tours. I'll see you in two weeks, same time, same place.:) Good day! __________________________________________________ ABOUT THE GUEST STEVE O'KEEFE is the author of the outdated classic, "Publicity on the Internet" (Wiley, 1997), and the updated new book, "Complete Guide to Internet Publicity" (Wiley, 2002) -- based on over 1000 online campaigns. Steve pioneered many online marketing techniques which are now considered standard practice. Steve's writing has appeared in over 100 publications including The Wall Street Journal, Harper's, Internet World, PR News, Outside, Small Press, Salon, Curio, NetWorth, and HotWired. Steve is a member of the adjunct faculty at Tulane University where he teaches online public relations. He is Executive Director of Patron Saint Productions, Inc., a publishing consultancy specializing in online marketing strategy, campaigns, and training. __________________________________________________ ABOUT THE BOOK Complete Guide to Internet Publicity: Creating and Launching Successful Online Campaigns by Steve O'Keefe Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2002, ISBN 0-471-10580-5, 436 pages, softcover, $34.95) Available in most bookstores online and off. "Nobody knows more about making a splash on the Internet than Steve O'Keefe. And no book reveals better how to do it than this one." -- Fraser P. Seitel, Author of "The Principles of Public Relations" "Steve O'Keefe's book is, by far, the most comprehensive Internet publicity book available. It's a tool that any business owner or publicist needs to read to conduct an effective online PR campaign." -- Lorilyn Bailey, CEO, NewsBuzz.com "Complete Guide to Internet Publicity" is the bedrock reference book for designing and implementing online publicity campaigns. The book takes a "how-to" approach, with detailed instructions for planning the campaigns, creating the materials needed, launching the campaigns, dealing with any problems, and measuring the results. The instructions are highlighted with anecdotes culled from hundreds of campaigns conducted by the author and other Internet publicity professionals. Chapters include: 1. The Power of Internet Publicity 2. E-Mail News Releases 3. Online News Rooms 4. Discussion Group Postings 5. Newsletters and Direct Marketing 6. Chat Tours 7. Online Seminars and Workshops 8. Web Site Registration and Linkage 9. Contests and Other Fancy Promotions 10. Syndicating Your Promotions 11. Building an Online Publicity Operation "Complete Guide to Internet Publicity" is a goldmine for those people responsible for online publicity operations, whether as managers, professionals, instructors or students, including such professions as marketing, advertising, web site design & construction, e-commerce, direct marketing, and customer service. The book and companion web site both include templates for all the campaign materials described, and time-saving resources to help locate target audiences online. This book is essential to anyone charged with promoting a product, service, company, person, or web site. Order your copy today. __________________________________________________ Copyright ©2004 by Patron Saint Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please request permission before duplicating or distributing this document. 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