We've all seen the field in our e-mail settings, but there has been some confusion as to how/why one would use the “blind carbon copy" function – BCC.

Unfortunately, there are some out there who can't help but spam their press releases. And, it's true that it is the quickest way of getting your message to reporter (though not the most effective).

Consider the fact that you have personal information on each of these reporters (their e-mail addresses). You realize how important it is to respect privacy, and not list everyone's e-mail address in the “To" field visible to all, but you want to get this e-mail out right now. This is where the “BCC" field becomes useful.

The BCC field acts much like “To," but when the e-mail is received, all addresses will not be visible to the recipients; even if they click on “reply to all," the addresses will still be kept private.

Note: We don't ever recommend spamming, but if you must send a pitch to multiple recipients, this approach is the lesser evil by far.

Don Osmond

Senior Associate