Press Release Best Practices for 2026
The Post-Wire Era: Why Most Press Releases Are Just Expensive Spam
The press release is one of those tools that the industry keeps pronouncing dead, and yet here we are in 2026, still using them to anchor major narratives. The truth is, press releases never went anywhere.
But the environment around them has shifted dramatically. With shrinking editorial teams, AI-assisted newsrooms, and journalists juggling five beats at once, your release has to earn its keep in about three seconds. Here is what separates the releases that actually drive coverage from the ones that disappear into inbox oblivion.
Lead With News and Make It Count.
The biggest mistake brands make is burying the lede under layers of corporate positioning and background context. Journalists do not have the time to hunt for the story.
Strong releases use the inverted pyramid: the actual news lands in the very first sentence, and the context builds around it. Before you write a single word, run your announcement through a quick sanity check: Is it timely? Is it novel? Does it actually impact the market? If it doesn’t trigger those drivers, it’s not press-release-ready yet.
Strong Claims Need Strong Proof.
We see this constantly: a launch release that calls a product "game-changing" or "revolutionary" without a single metric to back it up. In 2026, that is just expensive noise.
This is where the "nut graf"—the paragraph explaining why this matters to the broader world—becomes your most critical asset. A powerful nut graf quantifies the announcement and explains why current market conditions make it relevant right now. It gives a journalist the thesis of the story on a silver platter.
Write for Journalists. Structure for AI.
Today, press releases are read by two distinct audiences: journalists and machines. Search engines, AI overviews, and generative discovery tools are constantly parsing your content, and how well they understand it dictates your brand’s visibility.
SEO still matters, but Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the new layer. GEO is about making your data easily extractable and citable by AI systems. The golden rule here? Write like a human, but structure like a machine.
Write Quotes That Sound Human.
If an executive quote could appear on a corporate bingo card, rewrite it. Buzzword-laden statements and vague enthusiasm ("We are thrilled to partner with...") are instantly omitted by editors.
Journalists pull quotes to add texture and voice to a piece. The best quotes express a real perspective, use natural spoken language, and introduce a level of conviction that the headline couldn’t capture.
Timing and Targeting Matter as Much as the Writing.
Distribution is part of the craft. A wire blast is rarely the answer
On Timing: Early morning sends earlier in the week consistently outperform afternoon distributions when newsrooms are already mid-cycle.
On Targeting: Niche beats mass every time. A tailored pitch to a Substack writer covering your exact vertical or a trade editor who has lived in your category for a decade will always yield better results than a blind spray to a generalist list.
The Bottom Line
Press releases are an underestimated piece of brand infrastructure. Done right, they build the official record of your brand and influence how both journalists and AI systems represent you. The fundamentals haven't changed—lead with the news, back up your claims, and lose the jargon. What has changed is the cost of getting it wrong.
—Jenny & Melissa
FAQ
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Keep it to one page—roughly 400 to 500 words. Every sentence needs to earn its place.
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A press release is the formal, objective record of the news. A media pitch is the personalized, conversational note to a specific journalist explaining why their specific audience will care.
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Meaningfully. A journalist is far more likely to greenlight a story if high-res images, clean product shots, and founder headshots are immediately accessible via a link. Don't make