Muck Rack - basic flaw in their business model. No unsubscribe feature that works.
Rating: 1 out of 10
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We currently have paused using Muck Rack after less than 90 days due to, in my experience, their inability to unsubscribe recipients from distribution lists. Previously we used it to pitch qualified journalists on our very specific international golf travel programs we operate. We took the view that we wanted the emails to generate under my name & email address as opposed to a generic PR mailbox. This decision allowed us to quickly identify the above issue as recipients would email me repeatedly to unsubscribe, which, in my experience, Muck Rack has acknowledged they cannot do.
Pros
- After less than 90 days, we are still trying to understand. Thus far, the jury is out on the quality of their lists, as anecdotal evidence suggests it is barely maintained and updated.
Cons
- Unsubscribe needs to be functional
- Quality of journalists within a specific subset of interests needs to be verified more accurately & timely than we are currently experiencing
Likelihood to Recommend
Based on our experience to date and their management's responsiveness to resolving issues, I have serious doubts about their seriousness of purpose. Due to their internal shortcomings, we asked for an extension of our annual contract (we are told 2 - 3 weeks), which would have been a value of $400. In my experience, they denied that request and offered a new user seat (valued at $2,500). It makes no sense other than, in my opinion, they are trying to manage client numbers as they seek additional external funding, as was announced the week of Sept 12, 2022.