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Corporate Communications · Published May 6, 2014

Robert Ford
Managing Partner & EVP, Corporate Communications

4 Practical Reasons Why your E-mail PR isn't Getting Through

email marketing with a spam folder icon and a red cross
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Sometimes, when sending out public relations messages, it can be the basic things that trip you up. There you are, creating excellent public relations messages, following press protocols … then waiting and waiting and waiting. For nothing. But, it may not be the actual content of the message that is keeping your PR from being received and published.

Getting Email through Spam Filter

Ronn Torossian reminds you to make sure you have taken care of these simple fixes before worrying that your messaging might be off.

Eliminate attachments

Unless your address has been specifically whitelisted by the recipient, having attachments is a good way to end up in the SPAM box. ZIP files are especially prone to being blocked, but just about any attachment can trigger many SPAM filters.

Too many URLs

SPAM filters will often flag messages that contain more than one web URL. This is a common feature of marketing email messages, so the filters are often set to just toss any emails that contain more than one.

Signature images

Email signatures are one of those ubiquitous things that almost everyone uses, but you need to make sure you don’t have any logos or other inline images in your email signatures. In some email programs these come across as attachments…see the previous point for what happens then.

Buzzwords in your subject line

Some SPAM filters are set up to stop emails based on certain buzzwords in your subject line. Even if your story has nothing to do with a marketing or spammy message, you need to be careful to avoid certain words. Various sites keep lists of spammy terms to avoid, and it pays to check these sites before you click send. Yes, some of these things might seem simple, but sometimes it’s the simplicity that keeps people from checking and finding the right solution. After all, there’s a reason most electrical troubleshooting asks if the device is plugged in…right?
Robert Ford

Written by

Robert Ford

Rob Ford is a Managing Partner and Executive Vice President at 5W where he leads the Corporate Communications division as well as the Crisis Communications practice and helps direct the core operations of the firm day-to-day. Rob leads a team serving clients across real estate, financial services, fintech, enterprise technology, AI, legal services, health care, and defense tech - bringing senior-level strategic thinking and hands-on campaign leadership to every engagement. At 5W, Rob shapes the firm's strategic direction across multiple dimensions: reimagining service offerings, driving AI-enablement, defining company culture and guiding principles, and sharpening the firm's digital communications and marketing. He is the architect of 5W's crisis preparedness framework and a trusted advisor to C-suite leaders on crisis readiness, response strategy, and executive media training. Rob is a crisis strategist and brand protection leader who helps high-growth and established companies navigate their most critical moments - from ransomware attacks and data breaches to government investigations, high-stakes litigation, and activist investor proxy fights. His expertise is built on a foundation that spans corporate communications, public affairs, and advocacy with experience shaping public opinion at both the local and national levels for Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, and nonprofits across industries including telecom, agriculture, biotech, retail, and defense. Rob has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Delaware.

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