Zapier is a tool that helps you automate repetitive tasks between two or more apps, without having to write code. When an event happens in one app, Zapier can tell another app to do a particular action (Zap).
For example, when a press release is published, you can automate any number of actions that will be triggered once your release is live. These are the kind of tasks that work well automated:
Tasks you have to do frequently.
Example: Publishing a tweet every time a press release is published.Moving information from one app to another.
Example: Alerting colleagues to new releases in a messaging app.Tasks that don't require much thinking.
Example: Copying the press release details into a spreadsheet.
Zapier works with thousands of apps and software platforms, so there's an extensive list of actions you can perform, but here's a shortlist of our favourites. Let us know if there's an action you'd like but doesn't appear here and we'll investigate the possibilities.
Here's a shortlist of our favourites:
You can create a basic Zapier account for free, so all these actions come completely free of charge!
Preparation
The setup is twofold: below you'll have the first part where we link Zapier to your pr.co newsroom. Once that's done, you'll need to choose the action you want it to perform from the list above. Follow the instructions on the corresponding page to complete the second half of the setup.
First, you'll need to go to your pr.co dashboard and extract the domain name. We'll need this information later on. You can find it under Newsroom settings, General.
Now, we insert a piece of your domain name into this base pr.co API below, replacing the <newsroom-subdomain> bit with the text from the subdomain field:
https://api.pr.co/v1/pressrooms/<newsroom-subdomain>/press_releases.json
Example if your subdomain is: acme-corporation
https://api.pr.co/v1/pressrooms/acme-corporation/press_releases.json
Multiple newsrooms in different languages?
Ordinarily, the API takes information from your default newsroom, however, if you have multiple newsrooms in different languages, you can add the following to the end of the API to make it country specific:
?country=EN
The final two letters correspond to the country in question, so you may need to change this. For example, Spain is ES, The Netherlands is NL, etc. Not sure? Go to that country's live newsroom and look at the URL in your browser bar or ask our support team.
Example:
https://api.pr.co/v1/pressrooms/news/press_releases.json?country=US
Setting up the Zap
Go to zapier.com and create a free account.
Click + Create Zap.
You'll be asked to choose a trigger. Select Webhooks by Zapier.
4. From the dropdown, select Retrieve Poll and then hit Continue.
5. In the following form, you only need to input two values.
a. The URL is the aforementioned API code.
b. The Key is: data
6. Click Continue.
7. Click Test Trigger.
8. You should see a page like this with your own pr.co ID number and data. Hit Continue.
The first part of your Zap is now ready!
Once you've decided what action you'd like the zap to perform, you're ready to complete the second part of the setup.
If you've chosen one of the specific actions from the list below, click the link for instructions on how to finish. Alternatively, find your app in the Zapier list (shown once you've finished the first part) and follow the instructions directly from the site.
Questions? Send us an 📩 at hello@pr.co
Suggested Reading 📚