Writing Email Press Releases

Tips for writing your email press releases using email best practices formatting.

By Steve Delgado, Marketing and communications manager, Arial Software

Guides to writing press releases run aplenty (there are currently almost 10 related guides on this website alone) but rarely do articles touch on how to issue a press release using what has very quickly become the "go to" communications tool for both agency pros and home office heroes alike: email messaging. Editors like email press releases. The reason they like email press releases is that they can quickly review the news that a particular source has to offer without appearing impatient, rude, pithy or short to that source. And a well composed email press release offers information that the editor's readers will find of immense value, much more quickly than a phone call. Thanks to vastly improved email messaging technologies -- including terrific, easy to use professional email software that allows for group-sent email to read like a personalized message -- editors are receiving more and more press releases via email, and, it is said, you now have exactly six seconds or less to catch an editor's attention. So here are some action tips on making the best use of your press release's six seconds.

Match your news with the right media

No matter the format you're submitting in, make sure the news you have and the media you are sending to is a match. Press releases presenting details that are not even close to what the editor's readers want to see crowds inboxes and -- more importantly -- brands the source as irrelevant to the publication. Even if the editor cannot use the information right away, they may still take a second to whitelist an email sender that continually submits relevant news. On the same note, they can blacklist senders of emails that are spammy looking, or too frequently loaded with irrelevant rubbish.
Try: MyEdCals (http://www.myedcals.com/) is an online editorial calendar service that helps match news with editorial events and relevant editors. This service is still small business-priced at about $500 per year. Other sources like Bacon's Media Directories http://us.cision.com/products_services/bacons_media_directories_2008.asp or Vocus Software for PR professionals http://www.vocus.com/content/index.asp represent significant upgrades, but also feature enterprise-level pricing.

Subject line is precious space

A subject line that communicates your news on its own is great use of your six seconds. Make it clear and succinct, using the fewest characters as possible. Try not to fill this precious space with anything that's redundant to the rest of the message, i.e. don't fill it with the company name if the company name is used in the From space; don't write the headline in the subject line if it's the first line of the body of the email, etc. And spell check it the old fashioned way, for cryin out loud.
Try: Lifehack.org has an excellent article by Pamela Skillings on how to write emails that get results at http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/do-your-emails-suck-how-to-write-emails-that-get-results.html. Many of the characteristics of emails cited by Skillings can also be applied to your email press release.

Attach or paste the release?

I've seen advice regarding attaching or pasting releases in email go both ways, but you should go ahead and include the entire body of the press release in your email. Here's why: Evil phishing spammers have now evolved away from Ethiopian bank scams and convincing Paypal account messages to other email frauds, like health messages and news alerts with links. For security reasons, editors rarely click unsolicited links or attachments, unless they are from a source they readily recognize. Another reason to paste the release right in the email message is because of the risk that your attachment doesn't open, or your link has a typo in it and doesn't work. In either case, the editor does not have your news in hand, and your six seconds is up. Next release, please.
Try: Press-Release-Writing.com http://www.press-release-writing.com/ is the one stop shop for release templates, how to advice and effective tools for writing press releases for all occasions.

Take care above the fold

Take care of the message above the fold, defined here as the portion of the email message that is visible in a typical 3-to-4-inch preview pane. If you haven't started your news pitch in the Subject line, this is another excellent area to start your six second news pitch. Your headline should be in this area, as well as the contacts for the news source. Other elements that should be found in this area if at all possible include the subhead or intro, date of release, embargo information and lead-in paragraph. As a PR professional, you are doing excellent work and you are well known in your community, but your credentials, logo, catchphrase, link to your website, quote from your favorite pioneer or picture of your dog should not be in the area above the fold.
Try: Almost every entry on the Copyblogger http://www.copyblogger.com/ website is concise and "above the fold." Once you are writing as succinctly as the copyblogger contributors, you won't even have to ask where exactly "the fold" is.

Identify and avoid spam traits

Lastly, spam characteristics lambasted by anti-spam organizations everywhere should also be avoided by the email press release. These traits include messages using extra large, colored text sizes; clients' extra large logos embedded at the top; unnecessary attachments; an extra large agency logo or picture of you embedded inappropriately in the message (again: you rock, agreed, but you are not the news... the client's message is).
Try: An excellent, easy to print spam character checklist can be found here http://www.spamhelp.org/articles/Spam-filter-article.pdf on the SpamHelp.org website. And any email marketing software or delivery assurance service worth its weight in ROI should either have a spam warning mechanism built in, or should be set to automatically warn you when your important email news release is exhibiting too many spammy behaviors. Campaign Enterprise software from Arial Software (http://www.arialsoftware.com) has a spam trait check built right in, so you can check before you send.