Editorial
Guidelines
Some of our Services allow you to submit or store content including but not limited to press releases. When submitting or storing content to or through our Services, you must adhere to our editorial guidelines for a maximum media reach. Please read them carefully to ensure your content gets syndicated by traditional media sites.
By using our Services, you are agreeing to the Terms of Service (“Terms”)
Quality Content
Objective Tone
KEY Difference Wire press releases should be free of hype flags and direct addresses (i.e. “you”, “I”, “we”, etc.) unless used within a quotation from a spokesperson from a company or organization. Direct address is a flag that the content is an advertisement rather than a news release. Similarly, hype flags — exclamation points, hyperbolic product/service claims, descriptions of a product or service as AMAZING, or the use of upper case characters to create emphasis — challenge the credibility of your news announcement.
Written Authorization
In certain cases, such as with network marketing companies, with the use of a stock ticker symbol, or with major corporate announcements such as (but not limited to) those related to M&A, KEY Difference Wire may require written authorization from a company executive before a press release is approved for distribution. Independent representatives of network marketing companies, MLM or party plan companies must always obtain the express consent of the company’s executive.
Valid Contact Information
KEY Difference Wire press releases must contain a valid contact name, phone number, and email address in the contact information.
Accepted File Types
KEY Difference Wire only accepts releases containing images with the following extensions: .jpeg, .gif, .png.
Legally Accurate
KEY Difference Wire requires a case number, court of record, complaint number or other sufficient documentation for all press releases referencing legal action or criminal matters.
Formatting
KEY Difference Wire press releases cannot contain HTML tags and other formatting such as non-standard characters, tables, or forced line breaks. Releases also should not be written partially or entirely in all capital letters. Before submitting your release, please ensure all links in your release are fully functional. If your website is not available or fully functional at the time of editorial review, you will need to remove the links from your release or wait until the website is in operation to submit.
A Clear News Source
KEY Difference Wire requires a clear news source to be identified in the headline. The news source is the company or organization that is issuing the release. If your agency, firm or business is distributing on behalf of a client, then the source would be the client’s company or organization’s name. It should also be clear how that company or organization relates to the news announcement.
Standard Grammar and Spelling
KEY Difference Wire press releases should be free of spelling and grammatical errors. Although jargon and acronyms are commonplace in natural language, make sure to include definitions for industry jargon so the average person can understand as well.
Email Addresses
KEY Difference Wire does not recommend the use of email addresses within the body of the press release. If an email address is included, our editorial team will modify the email address to be in this format Name (at) example (dot) com
Standard Length
KEY Difference Wire press releases should be between 300 and 800 words. The length of your release directly affects its distribution; press releases that are overly short or long may have trouble being indexed in search engines.
Excluded Content
KEY Difference Wire does not distribute:
Payday or Short-Term Loans
KEY Difference Wire does not publish releases that promote or link to payday, short-term or other unsecured loan services.
False or Misleading Content
Content that is verifiably untrue or misleading.
Adverse to our Ethos
KEY Difference Wire does not distribute content that is contrary to our beliefs in promoting an open and inclusive society.
Weight Loss Products
KEY Difference Wire does not allow any weight loss products or ingredients.
Advertisements
If your press release is primarily aimed at selling a product or service, then it is an advertisement and not a press release. A good press release informs the media and the general public about a newsworthy topic. If the primary purpose of the document is to sell without any other newsworthy element, then it will be denied publication.
Sexually Explicit Content
To ensure the integrity of our service for all, KEY Difference Wire does not accept content about sexually explicit material or products. Press releases should not contain references or links to explicitly sexual material, illegal material or profane language. Please note that all 18-and-older websites are considered sexually explicit.
Link SPAM
Please limit your link count to 1 per 100 words. This policy is in place to protect the value of the links in a press release and the value of links within the KEY Difference Wire network.
Reprints
News and feature images, articles, opinion columns, editorials or news stories from other websites or publications, especially if they are copyrighted, are not press releases.
Online Gambling
KEY Difference Wire does not publish releases that promote or link to online gambling, fantasy sports, and related sites that utilize a “pay-to-play” model for participation.
Academic Writing Services
KEY Wire does not publish releases that promote and/or link to academic writing services. This includes essay, dissertation, thesis, application, research, paper, assignment, and/or homework writing services.
Duplicate Content
Each press release can only be distributed once through KEY Wire. In addition, a significant majority of each press release must be original content. Templated content is not permitted. Using copyrighted content from other sources is a violation of KEY Difference Wire's Terms of Service.
Health Supplements
KEY Difference Wire does not publish releases that promote or link to online gambling, fantasy sports, and related sites that utilize a “pay-to-play” model for participation.
Easy Money Schemes
KEY Difference Wire does not accept releases that promote make-money-online, work-from-home programs or get-rich-quick schemes
Sexual Enhancement Products
KEY Difference Wire does not allow press releases that promote sexual enhancement products
Third-Party Legal Releases
KEY Difference Wire only accepts press releases from law firms in which the firm is representing one of the parties in the case. KEY Difference Wire does not accept press releases regarding legal cases from third-party firms.
Unauthorized Ticker Symbols
While we encourage our clients to use any ticker symbols they are authorized to use in their press releases, we will need to receive the proper authorization from the source company for each ticker symbol used.
BlackHat SEO Tactics
KEY Difference Wire does not allow releases to promote or link to Black Hat SEO tactics and services. These types of services include, but are not limited to, keyword stuffing, link buying, and selling, link stuffing, over-hyphenated domains, paid social media followers, and reputation management.
Forex Trading Platforms
KEY Difference Wire does not accept releases that promote the use of Forex trading platforms, Forex trading demo accounts, Leveraged or Funded Forex trading accounts, or AI-based Forex trading tools or bots. Organizations may submit releases that promote news about the Forex industry as a whole.
Viruses, Scripts, and Codes
KEY Difference Wire does not accept releases that contain or link to any viruses, scripts, programs, web pages or any code that destroys, alters, or inhibits the operation of any computer systems.
Tobacco
Press releases promoting the sale of tobacco or any products containing tobacco, its consumption, or simulate tobacco smoking, e.g. vaping, e-cigarettes, herbal cigarettes.
Stock Recommendations
KEY Difference Wire does not accept releases that promote stock picks, trading bots, newsletters, alerts, recommendations, advice, or reviews. Publicly traded companies may still promote their own news.
Legal News Guidelines
Legal press releases should only be accepted if:
1
The client is a law firm, or represented by an agency or agent who is clearly identifiable and the address of the law firm is clearly presented on their website.
2
The purpose of the release is not to influence public opinion about a particular case or announce a pending filing of a lawsuit.
3
It includes the case number(s) related to the content.
Press releases about legal cases and political matters can:
Express the opinion or official stance of an organization on a public issue or current event, however, opinions must be put into the form of a quote and properly attributed to the organization making the statement
Contain fair comment of a political or public figure as long as this content does not cross over into libel territory
Announce the winning of a lawsuit.
Press releases about legal cases are not:
Potentially libelous, which is defined as content that falsely depicts or implies a person: (a) has committed a crime or is guilty of illegal activity; (b) lacks mental capacity; (c) has engaged in immoral behavior; (d) has a loathsome disease.
Announcements of intentions to file a court case against an individual or group.
Express the opinion or official stance of an organization on a public issue or current event, however, opinions must be put into the form of a quote and properly attributed to the organization making the statement
Political press releases should only be accepted if:
1
Local races for smaller offices will be more difficult to evaluate because they might not always have a website or structured campaign operations. However, our client should always be identifiable through social media presence. The client must share their LinkedIn page with us.
2
We should presume that State & National political campaigns will have an email address, a campaign address, and a website. These should be required to use an email address associated with the campaign website
3
Releases should not be accusatory or negative. They should represent the policies, activities, and goals of the candidate(s).
