In a post at the PitchEngine blog, Jason Kintzler argues that paperless PR is more than an exercise in environmental responsibility. The use of online and wireless communication not only saves you time, money and effort, it broadens your access to journalists—for instance, those who give you their email address at a trade show.

"Before the writer is out of sight," says Kintzler, "[the] savvy PR pro has already used their smart phone to [send] a link to a powerful social media release full of more meat than the comparable printed press kit the writer passed up anyway."

MarketingProfs contributor Christian Gulliksen, who also writes on a number of topics for consumer publications like Robb Report magazine, agrees with Kintzler. He regularly asks marketers not to give him bulky press kits.

"I appreciate that they're trying to be helpful and responsive when they hand out traditional material at shows or offer to send it by FedEx," says Gulliksen. "But all I really want is the link for an online fact sheet or a USB flash drive. I hate to see them waste their budget on something that's less helpful to me and basically destined for the recycling bin."

The Po!nt: Some journalists will still prefer the "old school" press kit, and you can let them know hard copies are available. But most media professionals will love the paperless approach. Says Kintzler, "You're making their job easier—cut and paste quotes, high-res images or b-roll, all available with a mouse-click, rather than a phone call and three voicemails."

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