A press release remains one of the most powerful tools in public relations and marketing, allowing businesses to communicate newsworthy events, product launches, partnerships, or milestones directly to media outlets and the public. However, creating an effective press release is not as simple as writing a few paragraphs and sending it out. Many organizations fall into common traps that diminish their press release’s impact. Equally important is understanding how to measure its effectiveness — knowing whether it reaches the right audience, generates interest, and drives tangible results.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the mistakes to avoid when issuing a press release and provide a framework for tracking and evaluating its success.

1. Understanding the Purpose of a Press Release

Before diving into mistakes, it’s critical to understand what a press release is designed to do:

• Communicate newsworthy information about a company, product, or event.

• Provide journalists with a clear, concise, and credible story they can publish.

• Generate earned media coverage, which can increase brand awareness, credibility, and SEO benefits.

A well-crafted press release is not an advertisement. Its goal is to inform and engage journalists and readers with newsworthy content, not to sell a product directly.

2. Common Mistakes to Avoid When Issuing a Press Release

Mistakes in press release creation and distribution can reduce the chances of coverage or even damage a brand’s credibility. Here are the most frequent pitfalls:

a. Making It Sound Purely Promotional or Advertorial

Mistake: A press release that reads like an advertisement, filled with marketing fluff, superlatives, and overhyped claims.

Why It’s Harmful: Journalists ignore content that appears self-serving. The credibility of your message is lost when it reads like a sales pitch rather than news.

How to Avoid:

• Focus on facts and newsworthiness, not selling points.

• Include quotes from executives, experts, or stakeholders that provide perspective rather than hype.

• Use clear, objective language and avoid exaggerations.

Example: Instead of saying, “Our product is the best innovation ever!”, frame it as “The new product introduces a feature that addresses a long-standing customer pain point…”

b. Lacking News Value

Mistake: Sending out a press release about something that isn’t newsworthy, like routine company updates or minor internal changes.

Why It’s Harmful: Media outlets receive dozens, if not hundreds, of press releases daily. Without news value, your release gets ignored.

How to Avoid:

• Ensure your release answers the key journalistic questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

• Highlight new developments, research findings, events, partnerships, product launches, or industry trends.

• Ask yourself: “Would this matter to a reporter or the public if I didn’t work at this company?”

Pro Tip: A minor update can be spun into a newsworthy angle if framed correctly. For instance, highlighting how your company’s small innovation impacts the market or consumer behavior.

c. Not Targeting the Right Media

Mistake: Sending your press release to a generic or broad list of journalists without considering their beats or interests.

Why It’s Harmful: Journalists are specialized; sending irrelevant content wastes their time and damages future credibility.

How to Avoid:

• Segment your media list by industry, geography, and interest.

• Research individual journalists’ past articles to understand what they cover.

• Personalize your outreach with a tailored email explaining why the story is relevant to their audience.

Example: A tech product launch should target technology reporters, not lifestyle journalists, unless the product intersects with lifestyle trends.

d. Not Including Clear Contact Information or Quotes

Mistake: Omitting essential contact details or failing to include quotes from executives, experts, or key stakeholders.

Why It’s Harmful: Journalists may want additional information or context. Without contact info, they may ignore the release. Without quotes, the release feels impersonal and lacks credibility.

How to Avoid:

• Always include a dedicated media contact: name, email, phone, and role.

• Add at least one or two quotes that provide insight, context, or opinion. Quotes humanize the release and can also be used verbatim in coverage.

Example: “According to CEO Jane Doe, ‘This launch represents a major step in meeting our customers’ evolving needs…’”

e. Burying the Key Message Too Deep

Mistake: Placing the most important information late in the release or burying it under unnecessary details.

Why It’s Harmful: Journalists often skim content. If the main news isn’t clear in the first paragraph, your story may be overlooked.

How to Avoid:

• Use the inverted pyramid style: start with the most important news in the first paragraph.

• Keep headlines and subheadlines clear and compelling, summarizing the key point.

• Limit the press release to one page or 400–500 words to maintain clarity and readability.

Pro Tip: The first paragraph should answer: “What happened, who is involved, why it matters, and when/where it occurred?”

f. Overloading with Jargon or Technical Terms

Mistake: Using industry-specific language that journalists or general audiences may not understand.

Why It’s Harmful: The release becomes inaccessible and can reduce media coverage.

How to Avoid:

• Write for clarity and simplicity, avoiding internal acronyms or technical terminology.

• Explain necessary terms briefly and clearly.

• Test readability: if someone unfamiliar with your industry struggles to understand, simplify.

g. Poor Formatting and Structure

Mistake: Press releases that are dense, poorly formatted, or lack headings and bullet points.

Why It’s Harmful: Journalists skim content. A poorly structured release is hard to read, which reduces the likelihood of coverage.

How to Avoid:

• Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and bold subheadings.

• Maintain consistent formatting with dates, location, and company boilerplate.

• Attach images, videos, or press kits where appropriate to make the story visually appealing.

3. Measuring the Effectiveness of a Press Release

Once a press release is issued, it’s critical to evaluate its performance. Measuring effectiveness helps you optimize future campaigns and understand whether your efforts generated tangible impact.

a. Media Pickup

What It Is: Tracking which media outlets actually published or mentioned your press release.

Why It Matters: The primary goal of a press release is coverage. If journalists pick up your story, it has achieved its first milestone.

How to Track:

• Use media monitoring tools like Cision, Meltwater, Google Alerts, or Mention.

• Track both traditional media (newspapers, magazines) and digital media (blogs, online publications).

• Note the prominence of coverage (headline vs. brief mention).

b. Online Mentions

What It Is: Mentions of your brand, product, or story across the internet and social platforms.

Why It Matters: Beyond direct media coverage, online mentions indicate public interest and engagement.

How to Track:

• Social listening tools like Brand24, Hootsuite, or Sprout Social.

• Monitor hashtags or keywords related to the press release.

• Track sentiment: are mentions positive, neutral, or negative?

c. Web Traffic and Conversion

What It Is: Measuring the increase in website visits, leads, or conversions generated by the press release.

Why It Matters: Earned media and press releases often drive audiences to your website, landing pages, or signups.

How to Track:

• Use UTM codes in links included in the press release to attribute traffic accurately.

• Track conversion metrics: downloads, signups, purchases, or inquiries.

• Compare traffic spikes with previous baseline performance.

d. Backlink Acquisition

What It Is: Measuring how many high-quality websites link back to your site as a result of the press release.

Why It Matters: Backlinks improve SEO, increase referral traffic, and enhance credibility.

How to Track:

• Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz can monitor new backlinks.

• Focus on quality over quantity — links from reputable media sites carry more weight.

e. SEO Improvements

What It Is: Evaluating how the press release contributes to search engine visibility for your brand or keywords.

Why It Matters: Press coverage can improve your site’s domain authority and organic search ranking.

How to Track:

• Monitor keyword rankings before and after the release.

• Check referral traffic from coverage that improves search engine indexing.

• Track changes in organic search traffic to relevant landing pages.

f. Social Engagement

What It Is: Shares, likes, comments, and other interactions on social media platforms.

Why It Matters: Social amplification extends the reach of your press release and indicates audience interest.

How to Track:

• Social media analytics dashboards for platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

• Measure engagement rate relative to impressions for a more accurate picture.

g. Lead Generation Metrics

If your press release includes a call-to-action, track:

• Number of form submissions or inquiries.

• Downloads of resources or whitepapers.

• Event registrations (for webinars, launches, or product demos).

This shows whether the press release contributed to actionable business outcomes.

h. Qualitative Assessment

Numbers alone don’t tell the full story. Evaluate:

• Tone of media coverage: Are journalists framing your story positively?

• Journalist feedback: Did they find the press release helpful and easy to use?

• Story pickup alignment: Did coverage focus on the aspects you intended?

Tip: Conduct a post-release media review to capture lessons for future press releases.

4. Best Practices for Measuring and Optimizing Press Releases

1. Set clear goals before issuing the release: awareness, coverage, traffic, or conversions.

2. Use tracking links and UTM parameters to monitor traffic and conversions.

3. Leverage media monitoring software to capture earned media efficiently.

4. Combine quantitative and qualitative metrics to evaluate both reach and sentiment.

5. Document findings and lessons to continuously improve your press release strategy.

Conclusion

Press releases are a cornerstone of strategic communication, but only when executed correctly. Avoid common mistakes such as being overly promotional, lacking newsworthiness, targeting the wrong media, omitting contact info or quotes, or burying the key message. Once issued, measure effectiveness across media pickup, online mentions, web traffic, backlinks, SEO impact, and social engagement to understand the real impact of your efforts.

By combining strategic writing with rigorous measurement, you can maximize both the immediate and long-term benefits of press releases — increasing brand visibility, credibility, and measurable business outcomes.