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Email Etiquette for PR People
By Ben Silverman
As I noted on the PR Fuel website (http://www.prfuel.com) earlier this week, I recently spent two hours purging my email inbox of old emails. The move was forced by my purchase of a new computer and a wish to cleanse my old computer of useless files. During the purge, which was the first such undertaking in over two years, I came across hundreds of press releases and emails from PR people. I deleted many of these and in the process, came up with some suggested email rules for PR people.
1. Put a subject line on your email: I simply don't understand why people send out emails with no subject line. The purpose of the subject line is to inform the recipient what the message is about. If there's no subject line, you've apparently got nothing to tell me.
2. Again, no attachments: What I find absolutely amazing is that people send out emails with gigantic file attachments to unsuspecting recipients. I have broadband at home, but I sometimes find it difficult to get a broadband connection on the road and I can't tell you how many times a stupid email attachment has caused me delay. There is no reason why something in the form of a Word document can't be cut and pasted into the body of an email. If it's something that is graphically intensive, put it on a website and provide a link.
3. Include my name: My name is not Bill, Bob, Joanie or Chachi. It is also not "name here" or "first last". Why send an email if you don't even know who you're addressing?
4. >>>>>: Thank you for forwarding me the press release. You were obviously too lazy to cut and paste the actual release into the email. Instead, you simply forwarded it to me with the annoying caret symbols included. Oddly, this is becoming somewhat of a sticking point among reporters who feel this is a definitive sign of disrespect and laziness.
5. Oh, that subject line: Please say it's a press release. Here's an example, "Press Release: XYZ Corp. Announces Launch of Corporate Benefits Program." You'll actually find that people are more likely to read the release. I have a "rule" set in my Microsoft Outlook that puts any email that contains the term "press release" in a special folder. I look through this folder at least twice each day.
6. Spell check: It's bad enough that lazy journalists like myself make spelling and grammatical mistakes. Run spell check before sending out your email and take a minute to actually read the email before you send it. I found a number of emails where people misspelled their client's name. In one case, I couldn't figure out what the company's name was because the person spelled it differently a few times and used different branding elements (capital letters and hyphen).
7. You're a professional, act like one: Emails that begin with the greeting "Yo!" are what I expect from my friends, not from people I've never met.
8. It's not the quantity, it's the quality: Long emails are annoying and waste of my time. Get to the point and end it there.
9. Contact, please: I found at least one hundred emails where people did not put their contact information. I also found some strange occurrences where people did not put an area code for their phone number.
10. Please stop emailing me: I've asked time and time again to be removed from various press lists and rarely have my pleas to be removed been heard. Keep your email list updated and as a professional courtesy, please remove people when they ask.
11. Yes, I got your email: Emailing a journalist three times and asking them if they received your email is not a good use of your time. I realize that many PR people keep lists for projects which they update regularly. I know that next to my name there's usually something like, "Sent email, called, no response." Do you get the picture? Flooding someone's inbox with countless emails is a way to get put in the spam folder.
12. Hide your distribution list: The "BCC" function is there for a reason. Seeing a lengthy distribution list is not only annoying, but it's strategically unwise. Now I know what other journalists have seen the news and may write about the subject. As such, I have no interest in writing about the subject.
13. Do you, uh, Yahoo!?: Perhaps this is totally nitpicking, but I have a problem with flaks or companies that use free email services. One reason is that these email services insert ads at the end of the email, which makes the pitch seem a bit unprofessional. Another is that it seems odd to me that a company doesn't have its own email service. I understand independent flaks using free email services, but I also think anyone in PR without a website isn't doing their job properly.
14. Virus-free on wheat bread: A press release with an attachment I received recently infected my computer with a virus (despite the presence of anti-virus software and a firewall). Think I'm mad?
15. Is it really high-priority?: 'Nuff said.
16. Format in plain text: Inserting your company logo or using graphics in the body of an email can make the email cumbersome. These images may also not appear properly in some email programs and the email will appear in a way that makes it completely unreadable.
17. Use email wisely: Read Aesop's "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."
18: Target your emails properly: I have no clue why I get hundreds of press releases about biotech companies (I never cover the subject) or emails giving me the opportunity to interview "American Idol" judges.
19. Personal emails are a no-no: You don't know me, so wouldn't it be strange if you received an email from me in which I ask you to help me find a new apartment or job for a friend?
20. Careful what you forward: I was shocked to see a number of PR people had forwarded me political and religious material. In one case, a flak forwarded me some politically-charged spam about Israel and Palestine. She didn't hide the distribution list and I noticed a lot of other Silver, Gold and Wein types on the list. What you forward to your friends and family is usually not appropriate to forward to professional contacts.
As always, I hope these "rules" are helpful. I realize most people use email wisely in a professional setting, but there are too many who don't and they reflect badly on those of us who rely on the medium for our work.
(c) Copyright 2004 by eReleases.com - http://www.ereleases.com
All rights reserved.
About eReleases.com
eReleases.com is the online leader in affordable press release distribution. The company's website -- http://www.ereleases.com -- features tips and resources for those wanting to learn more about press releases and public relations. eReleases also publishes a free, weekly newsletter titled PR Fuel that showcases advice and articles from experts in the media.
--posted by Marc Gunn at Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Free republishing rights are available to all articles written by Marc Gunn. You can find a complete list of such music marketing articles here.
You must contact individual authors to get their permission to republish their articles.
Moderator's Two Cents - Musicians Cyber Cooler
After reading my recent review of the Musicians Cyber Cooler website, Dave Jackson had two choices: one, ignore me and get pissed; or two, learn from my suggestions. The latest Cyber Cooler suggested that he decided to learn from the experience. Here's what he wrote in his latest newsletter: When Marc Gunn of the bard's crier wrote a review of this newsletter, it was kind of funny. Did I jump for joy with his recommendation? Nope I only focused on the negative (he didn't like the formatting).
If I was still 18 playing in my Metal band (oh you should see those pictures), I would have shouted FU! and made rude hand gestures. But being older and wiser (OK, maybe just older), I instead wrote Marc a note and THANKED him, and then said PLEASE BE SPECIFIC. He was and provided me GREAT input (the numbers next to the stories are part of that).
Keep in mind to focus on the things you can change (numbers, etc) and try not to freak about the things you can't (bad acoustics in a club, or for me the fact that my newsletter host automatically formats my text verson of my newsletter). If things go poorly remember the words of Alexander Graham Bell, "When one door closes, another opens.But we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we don't see the one that has opened for us.
As I always say, you're never as bad as your worst review, and never as good as your best.
-Dave Jackson Author of Get Your Band Out of the Basement (and keep them out of the asylum)
--posted by Marc Gunn at Sunday, May 23, 2004
Free republishing rights are available to all articles written by Marc Gunn. You can find a complete list of such music marketing articles here.
You must contact individual authors to get their permission to republish their articles.
Making money with 'Free Stickers Inside'
A friend once told me how she was at a record store and came across death metal band. On the label it read, "Free stickers inside!" It's left her laughing to this day. She thought it was too odd a sales pitch for an album that said, "ARGGGGGHHHH!"
Might be, but I found it to be a great way to print and distribute Brobdingnagian Bards stickers at a minimal cost to us. We give away free stickers.
Okay, these aren't your everyday stickers. Our aim was to associate ourselves with a niche market and promote to that group. In our case...the Scots. Our stickers read, "Real Men Wear Kilts" and then in small print is our band name and URL.
What Scot doesn't agree with that philosophy? And what woman doesn't want to see a man in a kilt?
The vast interest in this offer helped us give away three thousand stickers in about four months.
How did we do it?- Create a cool slogan people can be passionate about. In our case, "Real Men Wear Kilts".
- Have them mail a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope. Thus the sticker does not cost you beyond the base price.
- Sell ten stickers for $3.95. This is how we turn it into a low cost promotion. It's cheap enough that most people will spend a few extra dollars for 10 stickers. And the income is enough that it pays for our next run of stickers.
Now since this slogan also happens to be the name of our next album. It serves another purpose. These stickers will promote our next CD. I added another link that reads, "Be the First to be notified when the Real Men Wear Kilts CD is officially released." This goes to a signup form which gives me permission to contact them our Scottish CD is complete.
Now all you have to do is use the sticker money earned to pay for your next run of stickers and do it all over again, and wait to follow-up with Scottish enthusiasts who have an interest in Scottish music.
Want a free Scottish sticker?
--posted by Marc Gunn at Saturday, May 22, 2004
Free republishing rights are available to all articles written by Marc Gunn. You can find a complete list of such music marketing articles here.
You must contact individual authors to get their permission to republish their articles.
Learn the Other Side of the Story... The Publicist
You dial you local paper... No one answers?
"I don't understand it," you think. "It's only the tenth time to call this week. Maybe I should leave a message this time?"
Hopefully, something like that never happens to you, but if it does, mayhaps you need to get into the mind of the publicist. Learn the other side of the story.
Check out eReleases.com PR Fuel. It's a FREE ezine published by Ben Silverman, business news columnist for The New York
Post.
I'm too guerrilla to use the press release service at present, but the ezine rocks. Ben Silverman will teach you how to become a publicist, or in our case, teach you how to deal with publicists in simple, easy-to-read, weekly stories. And of course, you can't beat the price!
--posted by Marc Gunn at Thursday, May 20, 2004
Free republishing rights are available to all articles written by Marc Gunn. You can find a complete list of such music marketing articles here.
You must contact individual authors to get their permission to republish their articles.
The Secret Art of Recording Great Music
I'm no expert at recording music. Sure I have my home studio and have been recording must for over a decade now, but there's one secret that most people don't know when it comes to recording music and making it sound absolutely spectacular.
I'm trying to remember how I first learned it. I can't remember if it was from my voice lessons while playing in my band, Breastfed, or if it was trick that Stuart taught me while recording our first five albums. But it's magical...
It adds brightness and energy to a recording. It's amazing... but it actually shines through. Even your dark ballads sound more passionate and beautiful...
The secret is...
smile.
Yup that's it. Smile when you sing. Smile when you play. Something about that little trick will make the music sound more emotional or brighten it up. It'll give it power.
And best of all... it's pretty easy to do. :-)
--posted by Marc Gunn at Thursday, May 13, 2004
Free republishing rights are available to all articles written by Marc Gunn. You can find a complete list of such music marketing articles here.
You must contact individual authors to get their permission to republish their articles.
Breaking the Rules of Awesome Music Promotion Newsletters
Have you seen David Jackson's Cybercooler Marketing Musician newsletter? I've been subscribed for a few months now. So I figured it's time I reviewed it.
I'm extremely finicky about my music promotion newsletters. I don't have a lot of time, so I prefer easy-reads.
Sadly, the Cybercooler is NOT an easy-read. It's taken me a few months to finally get used to its formatting. But I'll tell ye now, the Cybercooler WILL BE on my Top 10 List of music promotion newsletters for 2004.
You see, the formatting may be pretty poor, but you get used to it. Once you have, it's easy to zip down to a host of great music promotion tips.
Admittedly, the quick music promo tips are only a small part of the overall newsletter. The best thing about website is that it's built around a community of musicians. David Jackson is the moderator that guides you through the latest music promo ideas and services online. He reviews them and tells ye what's good and what isn't. And it's a community effort. Musicians helping musicians.
Consequently, the Cybercooler does not regurgitate ideas from the latest, greatest music marketers. Instead, he shares the success and failures of bands who are out on the streets. For me, that's one of the best ways for unsigned bands to truly learn what works and what doesn't.
That's why I want to commend David Jackson on an outstanding newsletter and website for the working musician.
You can subscribe to the Cybercooler for free at Marketing Musician.com
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