Question: How do you distribute press releases?
Answer: Our Send2Press® service is designed around using the Internet to e-mail releases directly to editors and news desks, leveraging our considerable investment in contact data originally developed for our corporate clients. We do offer fax and direct-mail of news for our corporate media relations clients, but not through the Send2Press service. Press releases sent via PR Newswire will include selected fax lists, as appropriate to your news.

Q: Who do you send press releases to?
A: We send our client news releases to all relevant media contacts in our databases (see next Q/A, below). We send releases to daily newspapers, weekly newspapers, college newspapers, trade and consumer magazines and newsletters, online news sites and online-only magazines, network and local TV station shows, AM/FM radio shows, ethnic and urban media, syndicated news services, and our own opt-in journalist lists. Our news article excerpts may also be clipped by CustomScoop, CyberAlert, eWatch, NewsBooster, Inbox Robot, WebClipping.com and many others when applicable (these companies are "e-clipping services" that clip content for subscriber companies and journalists). We also properly format, print, and fax national news releases to The Associated Press (AP) National News Desk, and financial news to Bloomberg, when appropriate. Additionally, our news distribution plans including PR Newswire wire service (#PRN-1, #PRN-2, #PRN-4, and #PRN-3) include placement in as many as 3,800 Websites, databases, and online news sources like Yahoo!, Hoovers, LexisNexis, Reuters (including international wires) via our partnership with PR Newswire. View our distribution channels and categories.

Q: Do your send news to international markets and wires?
A: We do not send releases via e-mail directly to European contacts due to stringent privacy laws in the EU. However, if you use our PR Newswire wire service plans (#PRN-1, #PRN-2, #PRN-4, and #PRN-3), your news will go out to various international wires through PR Newswire including Reuters Australia Briefing, Reuters Eastern Europe, Saritel (Italy), FinanceCanada, WorldTradeZone.com, Telekurs AG, Yahoo! en Espanol, and many more (complete list). International distribution to regions like Japan or China, via PR Newswire will run an average of $600 additional per region, including professional language translation services. Distribution to Canada via Canada Newswire and PR Newswire is $199 additional with any S2P+PRN distribution plan. Inquire for more information.

Q: Where do you get your media contacts from?
A: We maintain our own databases. Our first dbase comes from several advertising industry sources from whom we license the information. Because we are a 21-year old media relations and advertising agency that places national ads for our corporate clients, we obtain some information from SRDS. Neotrope/Send2Press is one of the only online news distribution companies to maintain its own database. We also send releases to an opt-in journalist list. Also, our news is often "clipped" by CustomScoop, CyberAlert, WebClipping.com, and others for their subscribers who select the kind of news excerpts they wish to receive. We do NOT use any "canned" press release applications which contain garbage contact lists. Additionally, our S2P+PRN wire service (#PRN-1, #PRN-2, #PRN-4, and #PRN-3) packages includes placement in as many as 3,800 Websites, databases, and online news sources like Yahoo!, Hoovers, Lexis-Nexis and Dow Jones Interactive via our partnership with PR Newswire.

Q: Can you give me an accurate count of how many contacts my release will be sent to — or, tell me exactly where it will be sent prior to placing my order for your services?
A: Unfortunately, no — not at this time. For our corporate media relations clients, we refer to these services as "research." Our Send2Press service is designed to be cost-effective, and as a consequence we cannot provide many of our high-end services offered by Neotrope^® through this site. Because we send news out by both category and search, it's not as simple as merely looking up how many contacts we have in a category, because the news being announced is highly targeted and this may greatly impact the relevant targeted contacts we would send the news item to. As a remedy, we have prepared distribution examples by category in our media outlets area — this allows you to see some actual distribution categories, to better grasp the depth of distribution your release might receive.

Q: How quickly will my news go out to the media, and can I request the time it will go out?
A: Typically within one hour, to a few hours, depending on time of day submitted. If your release is received between 7am and 4pm Pacific Time (PT), for Send2Press+PRN Distribution, and you wish "ASAP" we can usually get it out within 1-2 hours. If you release is received for Send2Press (not including PRN) distribution between 6am and 11am PT, it will usually go out no later than 2pm PT the same day. If it is received after 11am PT, it will usually go out no later than 7pm the same day. If it is received after 4pm PT, it will go out the following morning, depending on current schedule. You may also specify the distribution date and "requested time" on our news submission forms (such as a future date later than the time you place an order). Specifically, you may request news be sent via Send2Press at any time between 7:30am and 7:30pm Pacific Time (PT), however the actual time may vary by one hour. For Send2Press+PRN Distribution (such as Send2Press National plus PR Newswire plan), you may specify any time from 4am to 9pm PT if submitted the prior day before 4pm. Orders received after 4:30pm for PRN distribution cannot be sent before 8am PT the following day. Certain holidays may impact the date your news is distributed. We will inform you of the scheduling of your news distribution once the news has been received and reviewed. Of course, orders which include writing your release will be dependent on completion of the final draft of your news announcement. Please contact us at support@send2press.com if you have questions related to scheduling.

Q: What is the best day or time to send a release?
A: For most trade and consumer periodicals (magazines) which are monthly or bi-monthly (every other month), there is no particular benefit to your news going out at 9am versus 5pm. In fact, one of the most popular "feature wires" each day is sent at 5pm. If your company is publicly traded, there is some benefit to being on the wires via PRN as early as 5am Eastern Time (ET). Since most newspapers are written and edited at all times of the day or night, we've seen no specific time during the day which performs better (although we prefer between 9am and 3pm PT).

Q: How do I know you'll actually send my release to the media?
A: Unlike many of the "online press release services" now on the Internet, Send2Press is a division of a legitimate advertising and media relations company founded in 1983. Our company is highly regarded by public relations professionals, ad agencies, and publicly traded companies for our honesty and integrity. Neotrope is also a member of the Better Business Bureau of the Southland (Southern California). We have twenty years of proven experience in media relations and are the "real deal" in affordable press release services. We're also the only online press release service where all of our team members are professional published authors, working journalists, and experienced public relations experts. Learn about our company.

Q: What's the value of your turning my press release into a news story on your sites?
A: Because Send2Press is a division of a 20-year old media relations, advertising, and business marketing company, we leverage the services of our DotComMojo™ keyword ranking service (powered by Neotrope's proprietary ContextXpert™ technology) to place our client news stories into the top-10 in Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Netscape, AOL, iWon, Alexa, and dozens more. For instance, Google spiders our site every few days (typically) to include our news stories. This means if your release contains a phrase like "best taco sauce in the West" your news item will likely be found in Google within the top-10 (often the #1 spot!) under that term. For examples of this exclusive free benefit of using our news distribution services, click here.

Q: What kind of press releases will you not send?
A: We will not send press release content which is merely "advertorial" — which is nothing more than an embellished advertisement. We will not send releases for adult businesses involved in the pornography industry, nor releases involved in promoting hate, racism, or intended to incite civil unrest or other unlawful acts. We will not send out releases which promote reports on how to make money selling reports, multi-level marketing, gambling, mortgage refinancing, or anything that is not actual "news." Additionally, we will not distribute news for companies with competing services to ours (specifically, public relations, news distribution, writing, or keyword optimization, and search engine submission). We reserve the right to reject any submitted release which does not meet our acceptable criteria. All Send2Press services are offered subject to our Terms and Conditions.

Q: Is there an annual "membership fee" to use Send2Press services?
A: No. Unlike Business Wire, PR Newswire, and many others, we do not have an annual fee. These annual membership fees at other major news services average $500 per year, in addition to the cost of sending releases. They charge a membership fee so that they can refuse certain kinds of news stories, per FCC regulations. Since Send2Press is not currently classified as a "wire service" we have no such requirement. However, all Send2Press services are subject to our Terms and Conditions, found on our order forms.

Q: Is your pricing based on "per release" or "per year"?
A: Like all legitimate news distribution companies, our pricing is based on each release sent. No company that really sends out a large number of press releases each year can afford to offer a year of release distributions for a low "flat rate" and stay in business. Be wary of any "flat rate" annual news distribution plans, or "software" for sending releases yourself. Our pricing is reasonable, realistic, and offers tremendous value. View our price list.

Q: Can I order your services by telephone, fax, or postal mail?
A: Unfortunately, no. Our pricing is based on your placing an order using our automated online order system, and submitting your release information using an online form. This helps us keep costs under control, and not raise our service prices. If you represent an ad agency, are a public relations professional, or you send three or more releases per month, we do offer an Agency Disacount Program. Neotrope/Send2Press accepts all major credit cards, including American Express/OPEN, Discover/Novus, MasterCard, and VISA.

Q: Can I send a photo, logo or audio file with my release?
A: With all of our news distribution plans that include wire services through PR Newswire, you may order the Total Photo Archive (TPA) service, which puts your image into your release, and also into the Assoc. Press (AP) archive for one year (see order system for additional information and pricing on the TPA option). With all of our news distribution plans (except the $69 regional plan) you may include a logo or photo (up to 20k JPG or GIF), although we recommend you simply post any image(s) on your website and include a link to the image(s) in your release.

Q: You offer a "distribution report" with some of your service packages, what is that?
A: You may order a basic distribution report with selected news distribution plans. We also offer extensive media monitoring, and electronic news clipping services of electronic publications for a monthly fee starting at $199.

Q: Can I get a report with your local/regional or national plans, or can you tell me where it was sent?
A: Unfortunately, no. In order for us to tell you every place your release has been sent for these plans, we would need to manually generate a report from our two databases. Because of the low cost of these plans, we cannot provide a report for either the local or regional distribution service plans.

Q: Will my contact information be seen by the public or only the media?
A: A press release can be used by a news source in many ways, and there is no guarantee they will or will not include your phone, fax, or e-mail in their publicly distributed article, review, or mention. Most responsible members of the media will only use the information to contact you and confirm your news. Our services that include PRN will not publish your contact info on the public websites like Yahoo! news, and Send2Press no longer includes this information in our online news articles as of Sept. 2002, however this is no guarantee your contact information won't be seen by the public in addition to the media.

Q: Can I cancel a release once it's been sent?
A: No. Once a press release has gone out it is considered in the "public domain," and may thereafter be public information in perpetuity. Because articles may be written and published in print or online, copied, retransmitted — or otherwise used without your knowledge — it cannot be "taken back" once it has been distributed. If you are concerned about how your news will be used publicly, you should consider instead contacting editors by telephone and pitching your idea(s) directly.

Q: Can you remove an article or release from the Send2Press Website?
A: No. (See answer, above.) Once a news article has been added to our site as a "news story" it is our policy not to remove the item. Once it has been published on the Internet, it is a public document which has been "cached" by numerous search engines (like Google), clipping services, and Website archival projects. (If the item is determined after publication to be slanderous, wildly inaccurate, or involved in some type of litigation we will be more likely to remove the article.)

Q: Is there a word count limit on my press release sent through Send2Press?
A: Each news distribution plan has a set word limit. A matrix chart can be found on the press release services page, as well as on the information submission form (you are automatically sent to the news submission form after you order services through our secure order system). Send2Press + PR Newswire plans have no word count limit, but the price only include a base length of 400 words, with an additional cost for each additional 100 words or fraction. We've sent releases for public companies via PRN up to 3,000 words in length, so there is no practical limit (although, in our opinion, the optimum length for a release is 400-600 words).

Q: Is your company Send2Press.com and PRnetwire.com related to PR Newswire (aka PRN) in any way?
A: No. The similarity in two of our names is entirely coincidental and was not intended to cause confusion. "PRnetwire.com" is our journalist services division, and was formerly known as Mindset Netwire (mindsetnetwire.com). PRnetwire.com is temporarily being redirected to Send2Press during the 2002 renovation of our media relations companies. We HAVE partnered with PR Newswire to distribute our client news to as many as 3,800 Websites, databases, and online news sources, with our S2P-NATIONAL-PRN distribution package. Neotrope's PRnetwire.com is a service that allows Websites to add our news headlines to their site(s) as a free branded content box. PRnetwire.com appears as the news bureau identification in all releases we distribute to our own databases. Send2Press and PRnetwire.com are units of Neotrope, the company formerly known as Mindset, established in 1983. PR Newswire is a division of CMP. Our company is in no way related to any other news distribution or press release writing company or service, either online or off. Learn about our company. You can also learn more about our partnership with PRN, here.

Q: You claim your company has been in business since 1983, for more than twenty years, but how do I know this is true?
A: If desired, you can verify the authenticity of our business by entering our California State Resale Certificate number (12682225) in the California BOE Online Verification System which will show we have maintained a valid California seller's permit since January of 1983. Click here to verify our seller ID number. You can also verify this with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and with Dun&Bradstreet.

Q: Didn't you also used to offer search engine submission and Website promotion services?
A: Yes. In Summer of 2000 we merged several of our Websites into Send2Press.com, including our DotComMojo™ and dot.Sorcerer™ services. As of September of 2002, we segregated those services back onto their own Website, located at DotComMojo.com, because it was too confusing for some clients to have both service offerings mixed together.

Don't see the answer to your question above?
Please e-mail us at: support@send2press.com and we'll do our best to answer your question(s).

Note: All Neotrope/Send2Press services are subject to our terms and conditions. Mention of the companies CustomScoop, CyberAlert, eWatch, Newsbooster, Inbox Robot, and WebClipping.com do not imply a partnership or endorsement by said companies. These companies provide clipping services to their customers and subscribers, and they clip content when applicable or appropriate to their audience. There is no guarantee they will use or clip our news story content.