The Right and Wrong Way to Publish a Press Release

Press Releases in 2026: How to Do Them Right

Press releases used to be one of the best ways to get a link and some brand awareness out there, particularly when you were releasing a new product, program, or service. Then things got complicated. Some editors treated them like glorified guest posts and refused to publish them. Others worried about duplicate content. Many marketers abandoned them entirely after the practice devolved into bulk-sending thousands of near-identical releases, creating massive duplicate content problems and burning bridges with publications that mattered.

That era left a bad taste in a lot of mouths, and honestly, it was deserved. But here’s the thing: press releases are still powerful tools in 2026, and they remain virtually essential for many industries. The difference is that the bar has been raised considerably, and that’s actually good news for anyone willing to do them properly.

According to Cision, 68% of journalists still find press releases the most useful source for new content ideas. That’s a significant number. At the same time, 57% of journalists will outright block contacts who send overly promotional releases. The lesson hasn’t changed: quality and relevance are everything. Only 2-3% of press releases result in media pickup across all industries, but sector-targeted releases see 67% higher pickup rates than broadly distributed ones. In other words, spray-and-pray is dead. Precision wins.

You don’t necessarily need to be doing this on your own either. Companies like PR Newswire, Business Wire, and GlobeNewswire have the reputation and reach to get your press release in front of the right people, including syndication through Yahoo Finance, Google News, and major trade publications. These services have evolved significantly and now offer detailed analytics, multimedia integration, and audience targeting that simply didn’t exist when press releases first became a digital marketing staple.

In a world where one false move with content can tank your search rankings or permanently close the door with a key editor, you want to be absolutely sure you’re taking the right steps.

Write a Press Release Properly, or Hire Someone Who Can

Press releases are a very specific form of content. They aren’t slapdash posts thrown together to announce a product. They follow a specific structure that facilitates quick comprehension, and editors notice immediately when that structure is missing or sloppy.

If you’re not comfortable writing them yourself, platforms like Verblio, Scripted, or even well-briefed freelancers on platforms like Contra or LinkedIn ProFinder can connect you with writers who specialize in PR copy. Just make sure whoever you hire understands both the format and your industry.

The number one requirement of a press release is that it covers something genuinely newsworthy. A new product launch, a significant partnership, a funding round, a major hire, a groundbreaking study your company conducted - these are all legitimate. “We updated our website” is not a press release. If it wouldn’t interest a reporter covering your industry, it won’t work.

The number two requirement is that you pay close attention to where you’re sending it. You wouldn’t send a press release about a food delivery service to a tech hardware blogger, and you wouldn’t send a new GPU announcement to a wellness publication. Relevance is everything, and irrelevant pitches are how you get blocked.

The general format for a press release looks something like this:

• Start with the headline. This should be a tight, direct sentence that highlights the main news item clearly.
• Lead with a note about whether it is for immediate release or embargoed until a certain date or event.
• Create a strong intro using a few short sentences that answer as many of the “five Ws” as possible - who, what, when, where, and why.
• Include information about the source of the information you’re providing.
• Write a deeper section explaining why readers should care and what actions they can take.
• Include quotes from important figures, like a CEO, lead developer, or industry expert.
• Include any remaining important details not yet covered.
• End the press release with the word “ends” or “###” - both are widely accepted.
• Include notes to editors that won’t be published, such as where to find a press kit, access to supporting data, and contact information for your PR representative or spokesperson.

Editors love having all the relevant information upfront. If there’s too much to cram into a single release, link to a press kit with additional resources so the editor doesn’t have to go digging. Remember, many publications won’t publish your release verbatim - they’ll use it as source material to write their own story. Make that process as easy as possible for them.

Avoid the generic phrases that trigger immediate deletion from editors. Some timeless examples:

• “We’re really excited…”
• “Inside: Interview Opportunity”
• “Subject: Press Release”
• “Don’t miss this!”
• “Fantastic opportunity inside.”

Also, don’t oversell yourself. The editors and journalists you’re pitching read enormous volumes of press releases. You’re not automatically special, and writing as though you are just signals inexperience or arrogance. Let the news speak for itself. If you’re still building your media presence, it may help to understand how publications like Google News evaluate sources before you start pitching.

Get the Formatting Right

A good press release pays attention to keywords, but it doesn’t obsess over them. Research consistently shows that short press releases generally have room for no more than 2-3 keyword repetitions total. If you’re shoehorning in keywords where they don’t belong, you’re going to look like search spam rather than a credible marketing piece.

When including links in your press release, use specific, descriptive anchor text. Generic anchors like “click here” or “read more” don’t help you from an SEO perspective and they signal laziness to editors. Specific anchors that describe what the reader will find are always preferable.

Whenever possible, include images. Multimedia elements - photographs, infographics, product images - make your press release stand out and give publications something to work with visually. Some distribution services charge extra for including multimedia, so factor that into your budget. Video is increasingly accepted and appreciated, particularly for product launches, but even a single strong image dramatically improves the odds your release gets used.

Press releases are written in third-person objective voice. Not first person. Not second person. Third person. Avoid industry jargon and insider buzzwords too - many of your readers will be journalists or editors who cover multiple beats, not specialists in your specific niche.

Timing Matters More Than Most People Realize

This is something a lot of people get wrong and it costs them real pickup opportunities. Research across tens of thousands of press releases consistently shows that releases sent on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 8:00-9:00 AM receive approximately 30% more media attention on average. A broader study of over 55,000 press releases found that Tuesday through Thursday consistently outperforms the rest of the week.

Avoid Mondays (journalists are catching up from the weekend), Fridays (everyone is mentally checked out), and especially weekends. Timing your release to land in an editor’s inbox at the start of their most productive window is a small thing that makes a meaningful difference. If you’re also trying to drive more visitors to your blog, pairing well-timed press releases with a broader traffic strategy can significantly amplify your results.

Target the Right People for Distribution

Whether you’re using a distribution service or doing outreach yourself, targeting is everything. A sector-targeted press release sees dramatically better pickup rates than a broadly distributed one. Blanket distribution to every outlet imaginable is the old way, and it’s the reason press releases developed a spam reputation in the first place.

Think carefully about your audience. Who are the people most likely to care about your announcement? What publications do they read? What journalists cover your beat? Build a targeted media list rather than relying solely on a distribution service’s default network. For your outreach efforts, free tools for blogger outreach and contacting site owners can help you identify and reach the right people. A distribution service is a tool, not a complete strategy.

When you’re identifying targets, don’t just chase the biggest names. Industry trade publications, niche newsletters, and respected vertical-specific blogs often deliver more qualified readership than a generic mention on a high-traffic general news site. Niche outlets often deliver more qualified readership than general news sites, making them a smarter choice for targeted announcements.

Be Prepared to Edit

When you send out your press release, some publications will return it with edits requested. These editors won’t fix your mistakes for you - that’s not their job. They’ll identify what needs to change and expect you to resubmit a corrected version. Others will simply reject or ignore releases they don’t consider ready to publish without any explanation.

Don’t get discouraged if you’re getting published in some places while others are pushing back. The pickier publications are often the ones with the most valuable readerships. Take the edits seriously, improve the release, and resubmit. The effort is worth it.

Use a Good Distribution Service

The landscape of PR distribution services has shifted since the early days of digital press release marketing. Here’s where things stand in 2026:

• Business Wire, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, remains one of the most prestigious and widely respected services. It can get you placed in the Wall Street Journal, major financial outlets, and top-tier industry publications. It’s expensive - pricing has continued to climb and varies significantly based on word count, geography, and multimedia - but for major announcements, it remains a gold standard.
• PR Newswire (now part of Cision) offers broad reach, strong analytics, and robust targeting tools. Their platform has improved considerably and is worth evaluating for mid-to-large scale campaigns.
• GlobeNewswire has grown into a strong alternative, particularly for financial, tech, and publicly traded companies, with competitive pricing and solid distribution reach.
• EIN Presswire and AccessWire are solid options at lower price points, particularly for smaller businesses or regional announcements.

Avoid any service that promises mass distribution at suspiciously low prices. If they’re blasting your release to a bulk list with no targeting, you’re not getting distribution - you’re getting noise. Worse, you’re training editors to ignore your brand. If you’re working with a tight budget overall, it’s worth reviewing some of the best completely free marketing tools to stretch your spend further.

Second-Stage Syndication

Once your press release has been picked up by major publications, your work isn’t done - it’s entering its second phase. This is where a lot of brands leave value on the table.

Once you’ve secured coverage from a handful of meaningful outlets, start syndicating strategically through your social channels. The key word is strategically. Don’t just post the same link everywhere simultaneously. Assign different publications to different platforms. Link to your Wall Street Journal coverage on LinkedIn, share the trade publication piece on X (formerly Twitter), and drop the industry blog coverage into your email newsletter. Each platform reaches a different segment of your audience, and this approach lets you extract maximum value from each placement without feeling repetitive.

If fewer major outlets picked you up than you’d hoped, diagnose why before moving on. Was the topic genuinely newsworthy? Was the timing off? Was the targeting too broad? Fix the underlying issue before your next release, not just the symptoms. It’s also worth considering why article syndication can backfire for SEO before deciding how broadly to distribute your content going forward.

Don’t Syndicate on Your Website

Don’t post the same press release verbatim on your own website. It’s already been published elsewhere, and duplicate content is still a real SEO concern. What you should do instead is create original content that builds on the announcement.

Write a blog post that goes deeper on the topic than the press release could. Build a landing page that speaks directly to your customers, designed around whatever action you want them to take - a preorder, a sign-up, a purchase, a download. Your website audience wants depth and context, not the same 400-word release they already read on Yahoo Finance. Give them something worth their time.

Building Relationships

Publishing your press release is not the end of the story. If an editor read your release, edited it, and published it, you now have the foundation of a real professional relationship. That’s genuinely valuable, and most brands completely fail to nurture it.

Follow up. Thank the editor. Pay attention to what they cover and send them relevant tips that don’t necessarily require a formal press release - journalists love a good tip from a trusted source. Over time, these relationships make the entire process faster, smoother, and more effective.

Learn each editor’s preferences. Some want email only. Some prefer a quick heads-up call before you pitch. Some have specific embargo policies. The more you understand and respect how individual journalists prefer to work, the more reliably they’ll show up for you when it counts. If you’re also trying to get backlinks from relevant websites, these same relationships can open doors that cold outreach simply can’t.