It is amazing to read story after story about a blog that has broken an embargo or an agreed-to timed post because of “a problem with the clock in Wordpress.” I am not going to name any names because sadly the list would be pretty long. We’ve seen some bloggers make one mistake and use the “Wordpress” excuse while others have used the same excuse for nearly a week of “early” postings.

So bloggers…come really close to your monitor…I am going to teach you the secret, free of charge to make sure that your timed posts never go live ahead of time.

Most of the larger blogs have multiple team members and people working in multiple time zones. There is absolutely no excuse for pre-posting before the agreed to time, period. Some might say that a story is placed into the content management system so that it can be edited by the team. I say hogwash – use Google Docs or Zoho, etc. to edit the story. This is actually preferred as it’s easier to see the edits by each team member or blog editor.

If you are a single blog author or don’t have a teenager working for you, then stay awake to make the post live manually at the specified time. Unlike the financial documents I noted above, most tech news story embargoes are issued at a reasonable time.

Bottom line – never use CMS timed posts when an agreement is in place. See how simple that is? Remember, trust is earned.

And then ya’all can stop blaming Wordpress.

Today Techcrunch editor Michael Arrington has a rant about embargoes and how they are always broken. I agree they are always broken. I see them broken everyday. When I saw the Chegg embargo broken, I emailed the PR firm contact and asked what’s up. She said that when she awoke, she had a variety of calls and had to put out various fires due to the broken embargo. Here was my response to her:

I think of all of this as a relationship – you, me, the company, my readers, my advertisers/sponsors – its all about the relationship between all of us – and most of all its about trust.

The only way it will change is when the PR firms stop sending the news to the sites that don’t value the relationship. The problem is that you (general) won’t do it and the blogs know that. So they do whatever they want because they know that you won’t do anything against them.

Arrington seems to imply that because more blogs are receiving the embargoed news, it’s the smaller blogs that are breaking the embargoes. From the nearly one-hundred emails I have from PR firms and startups talking about their broken embargoes, it’s rarely the smaller blogs that are the culprit.

In his rant, Arrington notes:

“We’ve never broken an embargo at TechCrunch. Not once.”

Yet in the comments, when called out by Ben Metcalfe about the fact that Techcrunch has broken embargoes, Mike responds:

“You’re right, we did break the justin.tv embargo in 2007. It was an accident…”

I believe that today’s rant comes partially from the fact that embargoes are being broken but also partially because more news is spread around and everyone isn’t running to Mike like they did a year (or two) ago.

I have several emails (plus many calls and discussions) about embargoes that were broken by Techcrunch. So it’s not only the one “mistake” that Mike mentions above. I am not going to post them because there is no reason to drag the startups through the mud. If you trust me, you know I have the emails. And let’s not single out Techcrunch, the other “bigs” also have broken their share of embargoes. I have those emails as well.

There are two types of broken embargoes – mistakes and malicious. Frankly I don’t understand why any embargoes are broken under the “mistake” argument but it happens I guess. A year ago I wrote my thoughts on embargoes and we’ve written several times on the embargo topic since then. And my policy isn’t changing after today’s conversation.

Is it that hard to post a story without using a timed-posting? Is it really that hard to double-check the time of the post? Having been responsible for financial releases where the SEC would issue fines if a post went a minute early, I guess this “don’t put it into wordpress until the right time” just comes second nature to me.

At the end of the day, it’s all about trust and relationships. It seems to keep boiling down to that, no matter if it’s about paid reviews, advertisers, how winners are selected at startup conferences or embargoes.

Update: Arrington has posted a comment to this post and in the comment he notes,”What you don’t understand is that very often PR firms give us an hour or two head start on stories.” Let’s assume this is the case for argument’s sake. So then how does Arrington know that ALL of the other broken embargoes also didn’t have this special “privilege”. How does he know that the apparent line I am being fed is not the same one he is?

The Exclusive

I get offered exclusives every week and I turn down every single one of them. I turn them down because my belief is that it’s best that the startup (or big company) gets the most coverage they can. Some blogs like the embargo as it allows them to look like a news-breaking organization. The truth is, any exclusive that goes up on any blog, I can have a better post written about the story in 5 minutes. Exclusives are the real worthless item out of today’s conversation. But clearly for some blogs, they need to force the exclusive because it’s critical for their success.

There’s a belief that if you don’t offer an exclusive, you won’t be covered. Let me clue you in on a secret, that’s not true. If your story is newsworthy, it will be covered without an exclusive. And if your story isn’t newsworthy, an exclusive probably won’t help anyway. Many outlets won’t cover a story if they know an exclusive was issued. My advice to startups is that exclusives aren’t a good vehicle to use – you want as much coverage as you can, not one outlet.

The Arrington

Arrington is just upset because he no longer gets all the news exclusives first anymore. News is shared with more bloggers, more news outlets, via company blogs, via video interviews with people including Scoble and via tools like FriendFeed and Twitter.

Should be interesting to see if startups and PR firms are willing to stand up to Mike and not send him any news going forward or if ALL YOUR NEWS ARE BELONG TO US.

Okay. We’re all prepped and set to get this embargoed news out the door. How do we wrap things up and make sure that everything goes off without a hitch? All those answers and more in..

PART THREE: Go!

GETTING READY FOR POSTING

Pitching: The blogger will likely be coming to you with requests and questions. Some of these questions may seem obtuse. Answer only those that you are comfortable answering. Find other experts on your team to answer the others.

Blogging: Continue to ask questions, as needed, but bear in mind that the person pitching the news is likely being bombarded by a variety of requests. Try to be as clear as possible.

Write up a draft of your post.

PRE-LAUNCH PLANNING

Pitching: A day or so prior to the release, confirm the date and time of the embargo with the blogger. Ensure that all of his or her questions have been answered. Provide the final copy of the press release and any other materials that may have been finalized during the past week. Provide specific tags which you recommend the blogger employ.

Blogging: Get your final questions answered. Confirm the date and time that you will be publishing the post. Finalize your post.

PUSH THE BUTTON

Pitching: Once the news is out the door, circle back around with each blogger. Make sure that the posts dropped. If they didn’t, ping the blogger to make sure that everything is going as expected and that there aren’t any last minute questions. Comment on the posts, clarifying when needed or correcting inaccurate statements. Continue to participate in the comment conversation.

Blogging: Post the piece at the appropriate time. Confirm with the folks pitching that you did in fact post by sharing the link. Keep track of who else went live with the piece at the same time. Read the other stories.

POST LAUNCH WRAP-UP

Pitching: Post a roundup of the coverage, highlighting your embargo participants’ efforts first. Make sure to drop an email to each blogger, thanking them for participating and honoring the embargo. Confirm that it is acceptable to include them on future embargo invitations.

Blogging: Continue to track the story to monitor the uptake. Participate in other conversations around the topic on other blogs.

And there we have the embargo process: Get ready, Get set, and Go.

Granted, it’s not every minute detail of the embargo process. But hopefully, it gives you a picture of your respective—and respectful—role in the process. Is this a process in which you would want to participate? Or is it still too confining for your tastes?

Rick Turoczy is one of the CenterNetworks Experts and he writes for the Silicon Florist, a blog covering under-the-RADAR start-ups, blogs, and events in Portland, Oregon, and the Silicon Forest. He can be reached, most readily, via Twitter.

STEP TWO: Get set

MAKING INTRODUCTIONS

Pitching: Once you’ve confirmed that the blogger is, in fact, a viable candidate for the pitch, write the blogger a short, personal email, as early as possible. The lead time will be appreciated.

Ask if he or she would be interested in receiving information under embargo. Highlight the company releasing the news. Pull in some of the facts or assumptions your research has uncovered about the blogger. Confirm your understanding of the blog and its purpose.

Long story short, you only have one chance to make a first impression.

But you’re also still flirting, so don’t give away the whole release. Provide enough information to make it interesting. But don’t provide so much information that the blogger can connect the dots, reject your embargo request, and go to press anyway.

Blogging: Trusting that the person pitching you has actually taken the time to follow some of the guidance above and that you actually want to participate in embargoes, you should be pretty excited. This is your opportunity to be on the short list of people breaking the news.

A prompt response is key.

Clarify that you are willing to honor the embargo. Provide additional details about your site that may be of use to the people pitching. Answer their questions.

And ask a few questions of your own.

If the topic is especially relevant to your readers, this is a good time to ask about the opportunity for an exclusive and to make an argument for your getting it.

If an exclusive is out of the question, try to determine how many publications will be part of the embargo. Ask if both print and blogs are part of the group.

Get yourself comfortable and prepared to participate.

FORMALIZING THE AGREEMENT

Pitching: Once you have the blogger’s interest and the willingness to participate, confirm that the blogger understands the ramifications of participating in the embargo.

Then, depending on your comfort level, you can begin sharing details. This must include an explicit declaration of the date and time (including timezone!) that the embargo will lift. It may also include things like an early draft of the press release, an offer to interview people associated with the release, a demonstration of the product or service, and other links which may prove useful to the story.

The conversation is underway. Keep the level of respect high, and you’re on your way.

Blogging: You should get a confirmation from the people pitching you that you will be part of the embargoed news recipients. If you don’t get a confirmation, ask for one. If you do get a confirmation, this is a good time to begin setting up appointments for interviews and demos. The closer the release gets, the less likely you’ll be able to get on the calendar. So do it early.

So, now we have you getting ever closer to releasing your embargoed news. What happens as the big day draws near? Come back for part three: Go!

Rick Turoczy is one of the CenterNetworks Experts and he writes for the Silicon Florist, a blog covering under-the-RADAR start-ups, blogs, and events in Portland, Oregon, and the Silicon Forest. He can be reached, most readily, via Twitter.

I still believe the embargo to be about respect. And I think explaining how to manage the embargo process—whether from the pitching side of the desk or the blogging side of the desk—will only help further that argument, illustrating how mutual respect can lead to a much more rewarding embargo program for both parties.

No matter on which side of the desk you fall, always bear in mind that this should be a symbiotic process, not parasitic. The pitcher and the blogger should both have something to gain from the relationship. If one or the other holds the upper hand, then managing that "respect" becomes all the more difficult.

So without further ado, let’s begin the three easy steps to managing the embargo process, whether you’re pitching or blogging. We’ll break this into three parts: Get ready, Get set, and, of course, Go.

STEP ONE: Get ready

Pitching: Before you even finalize the copy in the release, do your due diligence. Create a short list of bloggers—and this is critical—who focus on your intended topic.

At best, spamming every blogger under the sun will get you nowhere in terms of coverage. At worst, it will land your name on a series of vitriolic posts about the inanity of the embargo process.

We’re going for quality not quantity, here.

Spend time with the blogs themselves. Read recent posts and dig into the writer’s comments. Pay particular attention to posts that are similar to your topic. Check Digg, Reddit, del.icio.us, ma.gnolia, Twitter, and any other social media you can think of. Run the feed through AideRSS.

Get your hands dirty. And make sure you understand the blogger. I cannot stress this enough. Performing this filtering upfront will save you a ton of time in the long run.

Blogging: If you want to be part of an embargo, it’s important that you make your position in the market as obvious as possible. I’m asking the people pitching to do their due diligence. You should look to make performing that due diligence as simple as possible.

Make sure your focus is obvious to the audience. If you’re really interested in getting pitches, build a media kit that helps folks understand what you’re hoping to accomplish with your blog.

Numbers are also important. Make sure your metrics—RSS feed subscribers or Web stats—are easily accessible.

Basically, anything that helps you state your case and makes you an attractive target is appropriate. You cannot oversimplify here. Rest assured, your site and its focus are not nearly as obvious to the general public as you assume they are.

I might also note that, if you’re not interested in participating in embargoes, it is in your best interest and the interest of those pitching that you make that known, as well.

So now you’re ready to enter the wonderful world of embargoes. What’s next? Stay tuned for part two: Get set.

Rick Turoczy is one of the CenterNetworks Experts and he writes for the Silicon Florist, a blog covering under-the-RADAR start-ups, blogs, and events in Portland, Oregon, and the Silicon Forest. He can be reached, most readily, via Twitter.

By not posting news when another blog or media outlet breaks an embargo, all it does is hurt the company. Beginning today, I’ve changed the CN broken embargo policy. Going forward when a blog or media outlet breaks an embargo, we will still release our post. We may not appear to be first and will most likely lose the potential Digg, Mixx, Reddit, SU and Yahoo Buzz. I believe this is a positive change for the companies who bust their ass daily to create great products and services.

Over the past month, I’ve seen many embargoes broken across both mainstream media and by blogs. Broken embargoes are something that we should all be self-regulating and to that end when appropriate, we will be listing the blog or media outlet that has broken the embargo. We encourage all other blogs to do the same. If you are new to embargoes or would like to understand how they work, check out Rick’s embargo overview.

Long story short, questions abound. So, I thought it might be helpful—for startups and bloggers alike—to take an objective view of the embargo and how it is used in media relations.

Let’s get really simple.

What is an "embargoed release"?

An embargoed release is a press release or announcement that is shared with the media well in advance of its publishing date. Unlike "off the record" (the source of a-whole-nother post) which is never supposed to see the light of day, embargoed information is meant to be published. But, it is meant to be published sometime in the future. It is akin to "sharing a secret." And, it is shared with the understanding that it is to remain a secret until the publishing date.

Why did this practice even come into being?

Using an embargo on a press release became a popular practice for a number of reasons:

1. Embargoes give journalists fair warning of upcoming news. Allowing them to prepare their stories in advance of news "dropping." They are shared with the hope that, with sufficient lead time, the journalist will provide additional insight that might not be part of a breaking news story.
2. Embargoes help manage the relationship between the journalist and the PR person. Sharing secrets has a tendency to build a relationship. And with time, that relationship becomes a symbiotic one, built on trust.
3. Embargoes enable companies to synchronize the release of news items in a world of asynchronous publishing schedules. Newspapers are generally dailies with tight timelines. Magazines have longer publishing timelines and may actually "go to bed" weeks in advance of actual release. If you want your news to appear in the papers and the magazines at the same time, embargoes are one way of managing that.
4. Embargoes help keep your executives out of orange jumpsuits. When you’re working for a publicly traded company, you live in fear of a journalist publishing something before "full disclosure." For public companies, everyone needs to hear news at the same time or else the SEC comes knocking at your door. Sharing the information early, under embargo, can help prevent these "leaks" from happening.

It’s those "controlling the timing of the information" points that cause the most headaches in the today’s brave new world of online publishing and blogging. If publishing schedules have been reduced to a matter of seconds and publishing scoops that land your site at the top of Techmeme could mean the difference between ridiculous amounts traffic and no traffic, does the embargo still have a place in public relations?

I would argue it does. Perhaps now more than ever.

Embargoes, plain and simple, are about respect. Respect for journalists, be they bloggers or traditional media. Respect for their time and their insight. And, ultimately, the media’s respect for your company and the way you mange public relations.

So, that’s a brief overview of the embargo. Do you think the embargo still serves as a viable means of distributing information? Do you think it’s an archaic practice whose time has ended? I’d love to hear about, because in the next installment, I’ll be addressing how to manage the embargo process.

Rick Turoczy is one of the CenterNetworks Experts and he writes for the Silicon Florist, a blog covering under-the-RADAR start-ups, blogs, and events in Portland, Oregon, and the Silicon Forest. He can be reached, most readily, via Twitter.