Contrarian Take
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Most Press Releases Are a Waste of Money.
After analysing over 5,200 media placements, here’s exactly what separates pitches that work from the ones that get binned.
I’m going to say something that will annoy every PR agency charging you 2,000 quid for a press release: most press releases are a waste of money.
“Press releases aren’t dead. But they’re the last thing journalists want to receive first. Lead with the story, not the corporate announcement.”
— Salva Jovells, Presslei
Not all of them. But the ones startups, SMBs, and growing brands send out? The ones that get blasted to 200 journalists with a subject line like “XYZ Company Announces Exciting New Partnership”? Those go straight to the bin. Every single time.
I know this because I’ve been on both sides. I’ve sent press releases that got zero responses. And I’ve sent 80-word pitches that landed coverage in national publications. After analysing over 5,200 media placements, I can tell you exactly what separates the pitches that work from the ones that don’t.
Why Press Releases Fail
Let me walk you through what happens when you send a traditional press release.
1. You’re sending it to everyone. You wrote one release and blasted it to your entire media list. A tech journalist, a lifestyle editor, and a finance reporter all got the same email. None of them feel like you’re talking to them — because you’re not.
2. There’s no actual news. “Company launches new product” is not news. “Company hires new VP” is not news. “Company expands to new market” is not news. These are things that matter to you. They don’t matter to a journalist’s audience.
3. It’s company-centric, not story-centric. Your press release opens with “We are pleased to announce…” and the journalist closes the tab. They don’t care about what pleases you. They care about what their readers want to read tomorrow morning.
4. The format itself screams “ignore me.” Journalists get 50 to 300 pitches per day. A 600-word press release with a boilerplate “About Us” section at the bottom is asking them to do work. To find the story buried inside your corporate language. Most won’t bother.
5. No hook, no angle, no urgency. Why should they cover this today and not next week? Or never? If your release doesn’t answer that question in the subject line, it’s dead on arrival.
I’ve seen this pattern across thousands of pitches. The press release format was designed for a world where journalists relied on the wire for stories. That world is gone.
Pro Tip
Track everything. The difference between PR professionals who grow and those who stagnate is measurement. Know your pitch-to-placement rate and which angles convert.
What Journalists Actually Respond To
Here’s what I’ve learned from pitching journalists directly and studying what gets results.
They respond to relevance. A pitch that references their last article, their beat, or a trend they’ve been covering will outperform a generic release 10 to 1. This means doing homework. It means building a real journalist database instead of buying a list.
They respond to data. Numbers that surprise. Stats that contradict assumptions. Research that gives them a headline. “UK workers lose 4.2 hours per week to broken internal tools” is a story. “Our company makes internal tools better” is not.
They respond to speed. When news breaks, journalists need expert sources fast. Reactive PR — responding to breaking news with expert commentary — consistently outperforms proactive press releases. Platforms like HARO and Qwoted, SourceBottle, and others exist specifically because journalists are actively looking for sources. Meet them where the demand already is.
They respond to brevity. The best pitches I’ve seen are under 100 words. One paragraph. One clear angle. One ask.
Side by Side: Press Release vs. Reactive Pitch
Let me show you the difference.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
London, UK — March 10, 2026
FinanceApp Ltd Announces Launch of Revolutionary AI-Powered Budgeting Tool
FinanceApp Ltd, a leading fintech startup based in London, is pleased to announce the launch of BudgetAI, an innovative artificial intelligence-powered personal finance tool designed to help millennials and Gen Z consumers take control of their spending.
“We are thrilled to bring this product to market,” said Jane Smith, CEO of FinanceApp Ltd.
About FinanceApp Ltd
Founded in 2024, FinanceApp Ltd is a London-based fintech company…
Media Contact: pr@financeapp.com
Subject: UK adults lost £1,200 to “accidental subscriptions” last year — new data
Hi Sarah,
Loved your piece on subscription fatigue last week. Quick one for you:
We surveyed 2,000 UK adults and found the average person pays for 3.4 subscriptions they’ve forgotten about — costing them £1,200/year. Gen Z loses the most (£1,680) because they sign up via social media ads and forget.
Happy to share the full dataset or connect you with our head of research for a quote. No strings.
Salva
The difference is night and day. One talks about the company. The other gives the journalist a story. One goes to 150 people. The other goes to 12 who actually cover this beat. One is 250 words of nothing. The other is 70 words of everything they need.
This is the heart of what makes certain PR formats work — especially expert commentary (Format 10 in that breakdown).
⚠️ When Press Releases DO Still Work
I’m not saying burn all your press releases. There are situations where the format is still the right tool:
- 🏦 Major funding rounds (Series B and above). Investors and business press expect the wire format.
- 📊 IPOs and M&A. Regulatory requirements often mandate formal announcements.
- 👔 Executive appointments at large companies. The FT isn’t going to cover your seed-stage CTO hire, but a Fortune 500 CEO change? Wire it.
- 🚨 Crisis communications. When you need a single, controlled, official statement on record.
- ⚖️ Regulatory or legal announcements. Compliance sometimes requires the formal format.
The pattern: press releases work when the news is genuinely significant and the audience expects a formal announcement. For everything else, there’s a better way.
Key Takeaway
PR is a long game. Individual campaigns matter less than building a reputation as a reliable, valuable source that journalists trust.
📋 The “Pitch vs. Press Release” Decision Checklist
Run through this before you write anything:
If you checked “yes” on items 2, 3, or 6 — write a pitch, not a press release.
If you checked “yes” on item 4 — write a press release.
If you checked “no” on items 1 or 5 — go back to the drawing board.
Template: The Reactive Pitch (Under 100 Words)
Use this. Adapt it. But keep it short.
Subject: [Surprising stat or newsjack hook] — [relevance to their beat]
Hi [First name],
[One sentence referencing their recent work or beat.]
[Two to three sentences with the data hook, stat, or expert angle. Be specific. Use numbers.]
[One sentence offering the full data, an expert quote, or an exclusive angle.]
[Your name]
That’s it. No boilerplate. No “About Us.” No “for immediate release.” No attachments. Just the story, delivered to someone who actually covers it.
If you’re not sure what angles work best, our breakdown of PR campaign formats that actually get coverage goes deep on the ten formats we’ve seen succeed.
“But Our CEO Wants a Press Release”
I hear this constantly. Here’s how to handle it.
The real issue: Your CEO wants media coverage. They think a press release is how you get it because that’s what they’ve seen before. They don’t actually care about the format — they care about the result.
What to say: “I can write a press release and send it out, and we’ll probably get zero coverage. Or I can write five targeted pitches with a data angle, send them to journalists who actually cover our space, and we’ll likely get two or three pieces. Which would you prefer?”
Frame it as results vs. ritual. Most execs will choose results.
If they insist on the press release anyway, write it. Put it on your newsroom page for SEO. But also write the short pitches and send those to journalists. The press release lives on your website. The pitch lives in their inbox. Both can coexist.
DO
- Pitch story angles with data and context instead of sending press releases
- Write pitch emails that read like a conversation, not a corporate announcement
- Include a clear “why now” hook that connects your story to the current news cycle
- Offer exclusive data or interview access to incentivize coverage
- Follow up once with additional context, not just “checking in”
DON’T
- Send formatted press releases to journalists who haven’t requested them
- Use corporate jargon or marketing language in your pitch
- Blast the same press release to 500+ contacts
- Assume a press release will generate coverage on its own without follow-up
- Include attachments larger than 1MB in your initial outreach
Frequently Asked Questions
Are press releases completely dead?
Not completely. They still work for regulatory filings, IPOs, major executive appointments, and corporate announcements where the format is expected. But for earning media coverage and links, a targeted pitch outperforms a press release every time.
How short should a pitch really be?
Under 100 words for the pitch body. Journalists scan hundreds of emails daily. Your pitch needs to communicate the story, the data, and why it matters to their readers in the time it takes to read a text message.
🎯 What To Do Next
If you’ve been relying on press releases and getting nothing back, here’s your action plan:
- Stop blasting. Pick 10 to 15 journalists who actually cover your space. Read their last five articles. Build a database that’s actually useful.
- Find your data hook. What do you know that’s surprising? What can you survey, analyse, or quantify? Data is the single best way to earn coverage. Our analysis of 5,272 placements proves it.
- Start reactive. Sign up for journalist request platforms. Monitor breaking news in your industry. When something happens, respond within hours with expert commentary. Here’s the full reactive PR playbook.
- Budget differently. Instead of spending thousands on a single press release, spend that money on original research or a survey. The data becomes a reusable asset you can pitch for months.
- Get comfortable with short. Your pitch should be shorter than this paragraph. If it’s not, cut it in half.
The press release isn’t dead everywhere. But for the vast majority of companies trying to earn media coverage in 2026, it’s the wrong tool. The right tool is a great story, sent to the right person, at the right time, in as few words as possible.
That’s what reactive PR is built for. And it works.
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Salva Jovells is the founder of Presslei, a reactive PR agency based in Zurich that helps brands earn media coverage through data-driven pitching — not press release blasts. If your current PR approach isn’t getting results, get in touch.
About the Author
Salva Jovells
Founder of Presslei. 12+ years in ecommerce SEO across international markets. After a decade of link buying for Hockerty and Sumissura, I reverse-engineered 5,272 earned media placements and founded a reactive PR agency that builds authority through data-driven stories journalists actually want to publish. Based in Zurich.
Related Reading
- How to Pitch Journalists in 2026
- Newsjacking Playbook
- The 10 PR Campaign Formats That Get 90% of Coverage
