When responding to ProfNet queries, it is important to craft your message in a way that makes it easy for the journalist to quickly determine if the expertise offered will meet his/her needs. We suggest a concise 1-3 paragraph response, including: name, title, phone number, and email address (both for the suggested source and for yourself); a summary of the source’s relevant credentials; and a summary of the source’s perspective. The tips below will give you a good starting point:

• Respond to the query well before the deadline to increase your Expert’s chances of inclusion in a story. Timing is everything.
• Copy and paste the query title into your email subject line, or respond via your online ProfNet Inbox. This is especially helpful for journalists who have issued more than one query.
• Start with either your or your Expert’s credentials. What makes you or the Expert you represent qualified to contribute to this article or segment?
• Include one or two sentences to offer your Expert’s perspective. Maybe it’s an opinion, something counter-intuitive, or information that validates the article premise.
• Offer your pitch in three or four bullet points. This will help them see your perspective and determine if you’ll be telling them something they haven’t gotten from anyone else yet. Note that while some journalists don’t quote from these bullet points, others do, so be aware that what you write might appear later in print.
• If the journalist is looking for an anecdote to illustrate a point rather than an Expert, offer it in just a few sentences.
• Ask questions if for any reason the query isn’t clear to you.
• Link an appropriate Expert Profile in your response.
• Include contact information the journalist can use to schedule an interview. Whenever possible, offer to have the Expert call the journalist.
• Try to be concise and avoid attachments. Think in terms of what you’d want to know about an Expert source for that article, and respond appropriately.
• Follow up with the Expert and journalist to ensure the connection occurred and the interview went well.
• Build relationships with the media. Journalists will remember your professionalism and add you to their contact list.
  
   

From time to time, you may see a query that is “cloaked.” This means the reporter has requested his/her name, email address and news outlet not be divulged, out of concern that the query will be shared with competitors.

The process to respond to a cloaked query is slightly different depending on if you are replying in-system (via the ProfNet Inbox) or out-of-system (via your own personal email inbox). Reference the Inbox section for in-system directions, and the Email Queries section for out-of-system directions.

Note: When replying to cloaked queries, you will always receive a copy of your response sent to your personal email inbox, verifying that it was sent to the journalist. All cloaked query conversations are also tracked in ProfNet under the My Inbox/My Outbox tabs for your reference.

 

Most accounts (excluding sole practitioner subscriptions) come with five user seats. If you have open seats, you may add users at no extra cost until you reach your capacity. To do this, go to My Organization > Add Subscriber and fill in all required information. If you are unsure if you have open seats, or would like to purchase additional seats, please contact support.

Note: Anyone who receives the journalist queries is considered a "user" and counts toward your ProfNet user seat capacity.

Category feeds can be swapped out at no extra cost; however, adding new query category feeds will incur a fee. Contact support for assistance and details.

Within each main query category, there are dozens of subcategories. To further refine your queries, log into ProfNet and navigate to Inbox > Adjust Filters > Select Categories > Click the plus sign (+) to the left of a main category to see its subcategories > Select/Deselect > Save. Your preferences should update within 24 hours.

Query emails are sent to new users every 30 minutes by default. To change your email frequency, log into ProfNet and navigate to Inbox > Adjust Filters > Expand "Frequency of Email" > Select delivery preference > Save. This is also where you can disable your personal email inbox feed; uncheck "Receive Queries by Email" to interact with the queries exclusively from your ProfNet Inbox.

Your ProfNet queries are always sent to your ProfNet Inbox. However, if you notice they stop sending to your personal email inbox, first check to ensure that your personal email feed is enabled by logging into ProfNet and navigating to Inbox > Adjust Filters > Expanding "Frequency of Email" > Selecting "Receive Queries by Email" > Save.

If your feed is enabled, it's likely an email or firewall issue pertaining to your organization's security settings. Security updates can affect query emails even if you've received them in the past. Check with your IT department to make sure the following server and IP addresses are whitelisted:

          prnhs-mx01pn.profnet.com - 206.155.72.37
          prnhs-mx02pn.profnet.com - 206.155.72.38
          prnhs-mx03pn.profnet.com - 206.155.72.46
          prnph-mx01pn.profnet.com - 65.118.243.43
          prnph-mx02pn.profnet.com - 65.118.243.44

In addition, have your IT department add noreply_profnet@prnewswire.com to your safelist. Contact support if the issue persists.

Time zones are set during the initial provisioning of your ProfNet account. To have your time zone adjusted for your account, please contact support.

Log into ProfNet and navigate to My Profile > Change Password > Save. Please note that ProfNet, PR Newswire's Online Member Center, and iReach share the same login credentials. Changing your ProfNet password will change it for those services, too.

 

Yes. Please contact our ProfNet Specialists to set up a training session: training.us@cision.com