Contributors

This section of the Help Centre will go through the AsiaNet platform for Contributors. This will include Uploading a press release, Price Inquiry, Approving comitted translations and exporting clippings.

Look out for the video icon 📽️ which indicates a short video is available to watch.

Price Inquiry

Create Press Release

Review and approve translations

Downloading clippings

Cancelling releases

Price Inquiry

To conduct a Price Inquiry on the new AsiaNet platform:

Click 'Create Press Release'. You won't need to have the Press release content to get a quote. You will only need the Word Count.
Ensure that the Circuits the customer would like a quote for have been selected in the Circuits module. Further details on the Circuits module is below.
Ensure that the Word Count has been entered in the Word count module. Further details on the Word Count module is below.
Return to the press release builder page and click View Pricing.
This will generate a pop-up showing the price for a Contributor based on the Word count entered.
You can close the press release at this point and your release will be saved as a Draft.

📽️ Video clip demo: AsiaNet platform - Price Inquiry

Create Press Release

Experience efficiency with AsiaNet's intuitive press release builder. Craft your press release, collaborate and communicate directly with other news agencies.

Set up your content

On the homepage, click 'Create press release'. (red button in the top right or from the leftside menu)
Start by setting up your release. Click on 'Set up release'.

Attachments: To add images or other attachments to your press release, click Attachments then Add Attachment.

Upload attachments such as logos and images here. Each file should be less than 10 MB in size. (Available file formats: jpg, png, PDF, doc and docx).

Headline: Enter the headline of your release. It is recommended to keep the headline as concise as possible.

Your client's organisation name: Enter the source of your press release

Dateline: Enter the location and date of where the news has originated and contributing agency name, in the format of: CITY, Date (month, day, year)/Contributing Agency or Partner - AsiaNet/--

Example: BEIJING, Jan.1, 2024 / Xinhua-AsiaNet/--

Body Content: Enter the content of your press release including sub headlines, boiler plate information (if applicable) and public-facing contact details. Please exclude Headline, Source and Dateline from the Body Content section.
When copying from a Word document, use your keyboard shortcut of CTRL + V to paste the content of your release.

Publically visible contact information (optional): You may enter the public media contact information here to separate the contact information from the press release. This is optional, you can simply include the public contact details in the Body Content if you wish.

Media only contacts should be included in the Special instructions only.

3. Remember to click ‘Save’ on the top right.

📽️ Video clip demo: AsiaNet platform - Creating a press release

For phase 1 of the AsiaNet platform all translations are set to require approval by the Contributor before they are distributed. The English copy also needs to be Accepted by the Distributor

Saving a draft

Once you have entered information into any module of the Create Press Release and save that module, the platform will automatically save the PR as a draft. There is no button that you need to select to Save as draft, as long as at last one module (or drawer) has been saved.
If you are filling out the Press Release Builder section, there will need to be text in the Headline, Dateline, Source and Body text fields in order to save the module.
The text does not need to be the final text until the PR is submitted.

Draft PRs will apppear on the dashboard as DRAFT.

Chat functionality is not enabled on releases in Draft mode. A PR needs to be submitted before a Contributor can chat to a Distributor or AsiaNet.

📽️ Video clip demo: AsiaNet Platform - Saving a draft press release

To delete a draft, click the trash can icon next to the draft. Please use caution as this cannot be undone and AsiaNet Operations cannot retrieve deleted drafts.

Word Count

The Word Count is used to calculate the price of the selected circuits and should be entered before pricing can be viewed.

Click Set Word Count to provide the number of words in the press release. (Please use a third-party tool such as Microsoft Word to determine the word count of the original English. )

The Word count should include headline, dateline, source, media contact details (public or media only) and links.

A Word count must be entered by the Contributor. It can be changed up until the point of press release submission.

📽️ Video clip demo: AsiaNet platform - Calculating word count

Selecting Circuits

Destinations and packages are all listed in the new AsiaNet platform as Circuits.

To add circuits to your press release or your price inquiry, click Set circuts on the circuits module.
Select circuits to distribute your press release. By default, AsiaNet Public Website is selected. (You can remove this if the press release is not to go to the AsiaNet website.)
Expand each country to see the available circuits. To select a circuit, click 'Add'. Selected circuits will be listed in the right hand panel once you scroll up.
If you have images in the press release, please select image circuits for the applicable countries.
Image options will be greyed out initially, you must select a text circuit from that market before you can select an image option from that market.
Once you choose a translated version for a market, the English only options for that market will grey out. A secondary selection from the same market will need to be a translated option. And vice versa if an English only option is chosen in one market.

📽️ Video clip demo: AsiaNet platform - Setting hold time and circuits (Skip to 2 mins 25 seconds)

Note: Pricing will not display in the Circuit section. Once you have selected your circuits and entered a Word Count, you will be able to view pricing.

Schedule / Hold time

To set a hold time for the press release, click on the Schedule module.

Select a Category that best matches your release content. (for AsiaNet website posting)
Enter a Customer reference if applicable. This is optional and for Contributor reference only.
Select the send time. Options are:
- Send English and / or translations immediately upon approval
  This will send the release immediately once the distributor/s have approved the English copy. Translations will go as soon as they are approved.
- Indefinite hold all language versions
  This will hold the release until further notice but allow distributors to commence translations. If changes to the English are likely, it is recommended that the release be saved as a draft instead of indefinite hold.
- Hold all language versions until
  This option will allow you to choose a specific hold time and date for the distribution of all cirucits.
  Select a date from the calendar, enter the hold time, choose AM or PM and select the timezone of the hold time.

📽️ Video clip demo: AsiaNet platform - Setting hold time and circuits

View circuit pricing

To view the price of a Press release before submission:

Ensure that Circuits have been selected and a Word Count has been entered.
Return to the press release builder page and click View Pricing.
This will generate a pop-up showing the price for a Contributor based on the Word count entered.

📽️ Video clip demo: AsiaNet platform - View circuit pricing

Special instructions

To add instructions to a PR:

Open the Special Instructions module and enter your instructions.
This is optional. A PR can be submitted without Special instructions
Details for the distribution that are not covered in the hold time should be included here.
Media only contact details should be added to the Special instructions and not to the Body Content of the PR.

Special Instructions can be visible to all distributing agencies on a PR.
Special Instructions can be edited in Draft mode but cannot be changed once a PR is submitted.

Submit release

Once the progress bar has reached at least 90% and turns green, you can Submit the press release.

Special instructions are not compulsory.

If the progress bar is blue and less than 90% there is still a section that needs to be completed.

IMPORTANT: Once you submit a PR the circuits, content or hold time cannot be changed.
Any changes to a PR after submission will require a new PR to be submitted.
It is recommended to keep the PR in draft mode if it is likely that there will be changes.

Chat

Use the chat functionality 🗨️ on each PR to:

Collaborate directly with another agency associated with the PR in discussion
Send a message to All agencies associated with a PR
(Note: "All" on the chat indicates all agencies, not all chat messages)
Ask questions to AsiaNet Operations
Attach a file to assist your communications

Note: Chat replaces the Write Note functionality. All chat messages will send an email to the generic email address for that agency.

Note: Chat messages will last 6 months in the AsiaNet platform.

Notifications

You will receive in-platform and email notifications for:

Successfully submitting a new PR
When an English version has been Accepted by a Distributor
When a Distributor marks an English portion as sent
When a translation is uploaded and ready for review and approval
When you accept or reject a translation
When a revised translation is uploaded for approval
When a translated portion of a release is marked as sent
When a chat note is sent to you regarding a PR
When clippings are uploaded by a distributor

Review and approve translations

By default all translations will need to be approved by the Contributor. Once the a distributor has uploaded a translation, you will receive an in-platform alert that a translation is ready for approval as well as an email to your agency's main email.

To review a translation:

Navigate to the PR in question. The alert and email will show the PR number.
If easier you can change your dasboard view to "Contributions only" to filter out releases that your agency is the distributor for.
Click into the PR and navigate to the translation that is ready for review. Indicated by a unfilled circle (this means awaiting approval).
Review the translation.
If any changes are required, use the chat function to send a message to that agency requesting the change (this replaces the Change Request functionality).

To Approve a translation:

Click the Approve button. This will send an alert to the distributor that the translation can be sent out at the hold time.

To Reject a translation:

Click the Reject button. This will send an alert to the distributor that the translation has been rejected.
Use the chat functionality to communicate the reason for the translation rejection and any necessary changes to the translation to make it suitable.

📽️ Video clip demo: AsiaNet platform - Approving a translation

Downloading clippings

You will receive an in-platform and email alert from AsiaNet when each distributor has uploaded clippings.
Please note this alert will only be sent when the distributor uploads the first clipping. Check back again later as the distributor may upload further clippings.

To view and download clippings:

Navigate to the PR in question. (You will see the total number of clippings uploaded from the dashboard menu)
Click into the PR.
Click on the scissors icon ✂️ in the top right hand corner
The clippings will display in platform from each distributing agency. Both English and translated clippings where applicable.
To download click the "Export as CSV" button to download into Excel.
Please note the Export as CSV will only export what is current uploaded to the platform, any new clippings to the PR will need to be exported again.

📽️ Video clip demo: AsiaNet platform - Downloading clippings

Cancelling releases

PRs that have been submitted can be cancelled after submission.

There is no longer an option to cancel a portion of a PR, the whole PR must be cancelled, so please use with caution.

To cancel a release:

Click the X icon next to a release in progress.
Confirm the pop-up that appears.
The PR will be cancelled and AsiaNet informed. Charges may apply and will be managed off platform.

Note: Only a Contributor can cancel a release. Sent releases cannot be cancelled.

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