Our F.A.Q.
This is our frequently asked questions page, it contains answers to all our most frequently asked questions. You may browse through this list at any time to find answers to common questions, simply use the list below. If you have searched through this list and cannot find the answer to your question. Please do not hesitate to send us an e-mail. We are more than happy to answer all your questions. Alternatively you may ask your question on our forums.
F.A.Q. Navigation listing (?¿)
- Who can submit press releases?
- I forgot my password. How can I retrieve it?
- What is the mailing address for The Open Press?
- I understand that RSS Feeds are free but are there rules and restrictions when using your feed?
- What is your refund policy?
- Are there any guidelines for press release formatting?
- Does The Open Press edit press releases submitted by PR Firms?
- What if I made a mistake in a press release I just submitted? Can I fix it?
- How should OTC and Pink Sheet stock symbols be entered into the stock symbol entry box?
- How do I create a PR Firm Account?
- WHEN WILL MY PRESS RELEASE BE PUBLISHED?
- WHAT ARE YOUR SERVICES AND FEES?
- THROUGH WHAT SERVICES DO THE PRESS RELEASES GET DISTRIBUTED?
- Why did my press release get rejected?
- How long will my release remain on your site?
- How do I submit a press release?
- WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FREE PRESS RELEASE AND A PRESS RELEASE WITH STARS?
- How do I submit an article/op-ed, newsworthy story or book review?
- What is a Press Release Upgrade (stars)?
- Is there anything I should know when using Paypal?
- I think I got a spoof email from your email address. Is it real?
- What is your policy of stock symbol usage?
- What are your website statistics? How many hits do you receive? Do you have many subscribers to your news alerts?
- Can I use an email verification service?
- I just successfully submitted a press release but when I check on it, the system says I haven't written any releases. What do I do?
- I can't log in! I'm getting an error message. What do I do?
Q. Who can submit press releases?
A. Any registered user.
In order to submit a press release you need to sign up/register as a "Company Representative". To do this, once you are logged in you need to fill out the information under your profile section.
Q. I forgot my password. How can I retrieve it?
A. Click here
Q. What is the mailing address for The Open Press?
A. Our mailing address is:
The Open Press, Inc.
PO Box 6536
Bloomington, IN 47407
Q. I understand that RSS Feeds are free but are there rules and restrictions when using your feed?
A. All we ask is that The Open Press, Inc. is displayed on your site next to each Press Release title. Since we are the source of the press releases distributed through our feeds we need to be given credit.
Q. What is your refund policy?
A. We do not offer any refunds at all unless we fail to provide the service purchased. When you register on our website you are required to read our user agreement and terms of service. We make no exceptions to our policy.
Q. Are there any guidelines for press release formatting?
A. Yes, please read out PR Guidelines: http://www.theopenpress.com/index.php?a=content&code=01&id=4
and
When beginning your press release, always start with:
City or Providence, State or Country (OPENPRESS) Date -- Begin body of release.
Q. Does The Open Press edit press releases submitted by PR Firms?
A. No we do not edit press releases submitted by PR Firms unless they pick the professional editing option. Press releases submitted by non-PR Firms require our approval and if they are press releases submitted via the free press release option we either approve or reject them but we do not edit those.
Q. What if I made a mistake in a press release I just submitted? Can I fix it?
A. If you make a mistake you MUST resubmit a fresh press release and the first word in the headline/title must be "CORRECTION:" followed by the rest of the press release title/headline and then follow it by an explanation of your error. This is because once you submit a press release it gets distributed to all websites pulling our feed instantly, as soon as you submit a press release it is live everywhere on the internet.
Q. How should OTC and Pink Sheet stock symbols be entered into the stock symbol entry box?
A. OTCBB stock symbols should be enterd with the .OB and .PK after them.
Example QBID.PK would be the proper entry for QBID
Q. How do I create a PR Firm Account?
A. Once you have registered and are logged in, click on My Profile. Then look on the center tab menu and click on PR Firms. Fill out the form and submit it and once we approve your account, you'll receive an approval email along with your $500 annual subscription fee link to Paypal.
Q. WHEN WILL MY PRESS RELEASE BE PUBLISHED?
A. All press releases will be approved/rejected after midnight EST. If you submit a press release today, before 10pm EST, it will either be approved or rejected after midnight. If you submit after 10pm it will go into the queue for the following day. If you'd like expedited service or "same day service" a $50 contribution is required.
Q. WHAT ARE YOUR SERVICES AND FEES?
A. This is a list of our services and fees.
Q. THROUGH WHAT SERVICES DO THE PRESS RELEASES GET DISTRIBUTED?
A. Our site is crawled nightly by Google News and now we're on Google Blog Search. We are listed with several other search engines and directories, including, Yahoo, Google, Open Directory, ItzaList, Zen Search, Go Guides, Joe Ant, The Search Site, WhatUSeek, Qango, Sphericom, Turnpike Emporium, Skaffe, just to name a few. Your news will be read.
Q. Why did my press release get rejected?
A. Please check our PR Guidelines for dos and don'ts of press release acceptance.
The most common reasons are:
Articles and book reviews being submitted as press releases. Please submit articles and book reviews through those services.
For FREE press releases, do NOT use HTML tags or your release will be rejected.
Do NOT use ALL UPPERCASE in any part of your release, including the headline or your release will be rejected.
Q. How long will my release remain on your site?
A. Free releases will remain for 6 months and releases in our Pro PR section will stay 1 year. We like to keep the news fresh and new on the site.
Q. How do I submit a press release?
A. First you have to register, after that you must click on My Profile and fill out your business information. Once that is finished you may submit a free press release (Plain text) or a Press Release with Stars (live html web and email links, it's put in our Pro PRs section with its own RSS feed, and it will appear on the top of the page if it has the most stars that day). All releases submitted will be posted at midnight EST every night.
Q. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FREE PRESS RELEASE AND A PRESS RELEASE WITH STARS?
A. A free press release will be written in plain text and will NOT appear in our PRO PR section with RSS feed. It will appear at the lower portion of the page after the paid press releases with stars and PR Firm releases.
A press release with stars will have live html links, will appear in our PRO PR section which has its own RSS feed and goes to our email alert subscribers. It will appear towards the top of the page (the release with the most stars will be on top) and it will bring credibility to your release. Many journalists will not even read free press releases. The minimum contribution is only $10 with each additional star being also $10, making it a very cost effective way to market and spread your news.
Q. How do I submit an article/op-ed, newsworthy story or book review?
A. A few steps will get you on your way. Login to the site, click on My Profile, then click the corresponding tab. Enter your information, submit contribution and it will be published once it is received.
Q. What is a Press Release Upgrade (stars)?
A. A press release upgrade means you are adding stars to a previously published press release. You would do this to give your release more stars for it to appear higher on the page. If you upgrade or add a star(s) to a previously published FREE press release, stars will appear on your release, but it WILL NOT appear in our PRO PR section. If you'd like your release in our Pro PR section with RSS feed, please choose the Press Release with Stars option when you initially submit your release.
Q. Is there anything I should know when using Paypal?
A. Yes, please use the same email address for Paypal that you used to set up your account with us. We will not receive your submission if they don't match.
Q. I think I got a spoof email from your email address. Is it real?
A. We will ONLY contact you regarding your account. If you receive an email from us that is asking you questions regarding things other than your account with The Open Press, then it is not from us and is a spoof email that can be deleted immediately. We do apologize for any spoofs you receive.
Q. What is your policy of stock symbol usage?
A. If it is your own company's symbol or you have the permission of another company, you may use them.
Q. What are your website statistics? How many hits do you receive? Do you have many subscribers to your news alerts?
A. As of November 2008, we have a monthly average of over 2 million hits to our site and growing. We also have over 2000 subscribers to our news email alerts.
Q. Can I use an email verification service?
A. Put The Open Press in your address book OR on your whitelist if you want a reply from an email you have sent to us. Email blockers come up as spam so we may not receive your request.
Q. I just successfully submitted a press release but when I check on it, the system says I haven't written any releases. What do I do?
A. All releases submitted go into our approval queue before it is posted at midnight EST. Once a release is approved and posted on our site, it will appear in the Release Overview section of My Profile.
Q. I can't log in! I'm getting an error message. What do I do?
A. The main reason is you are entering the wrong login details. Make SURE you are using proper case when entering your password. It is case sensitive. If you have a mixture of capital and lowercase letters, it MUST be typed exactly that way.