Welcome back.  In this issue we share some useful tips about building a target list of journalists, we introduce the PWR Deliverability and Rendering game to show you how various textual and graphical components can impact the effectiveness of your HTML email, and we discuss Social Media News Releases (SMNRs) and how they differ from Electronic Press Kits (EPKs). In our Q&A, we discuss the role of video/audio in today’s EPKs.  And finally, we offer some stats on what drives open and click through rates.

The recent declaration that the traditional press release is dead has been severely exaggerated—a digital rebirth might be a more appropriate metaphor. It is true that old fashioned news distribution methods have become increasingly unsuited to today’s digital world. But several variations of digital press releases have emerged to take their place including the Social Media News Release and the Electronic Press Kit. How does the SMNR differ from an EPK? To learn about a few differences but also many similarities, click here.

Who doesn’t want to distribute beautiful emails with eye popping graphics and attention-grabbing rhetoric?  But before you hit that send button, be sure you know how ISPs, spam filters, preview panes and blocked images will impact your deliverability and rendering. 

Test your email IQ by guessing which of the following emails will get through and look good...click here.

Here at PWR, we get a lot of questions about how to compile a good distribution list. Although creating a list is mostly a matter of personal or methodological preferences, here are a few things to consider when deciding who will receive your release and where it will land...click here.