Why Most Press Releases Fail (And How to Fix Yours Before You Hit Send)

Your press release has a 3% chance of getting a response from a journalist.

Not a 3% chance of getting published—a 3% chance the reporter even replies. That's the average response rate in 2025, and it's getting worse. If you're wondering why your "groundbreaking announcement" never got picked up, here's the uncomfortable truth: it probably wasn't groundbreaking, and it definitely wasn't relevant.

Journalists receive hundreds of pitches per week. They ignore 97% of them. Yours isn't special—unless you understand why the other 97% fail and do the exact opposite.

The #1 Reason Press Releases Get Ignored

86% of press releases are rejected for lack of relevance. Not poor writing. Not bad timing. Irrelevance.

Here's what that actually means: your announcement isn't newsworthy to the journalist's audience. You're solving your problem (getting coverage) instead of the reporter's problem (finding stories their readers care about).

The most common offenders:

"We're excited to announce..." No one cares that you're excited. Journalists cover problems, trends, and outcomes—not your feelings about your product launch.

Product updates disguised as news: Adding a feature isn't news unless it solves a problem people are actively searching for solutions to. "We added SSO" is not a story. "How enterprise security teams are blocking AI data leaks" is.

CEO quotes that say nothing: "This is a game-changer for the industry" appears in 90% of press releases and means nothing. Data, customer outcomes, and market shifts are quotable. Hyperbole is not.

91% of journalists say half the pitches they receive aren't relevant to their beat or audience. That's not a journalist problem—that's a PR problem.

Mistake #2: You're Pitching Everyone (Which Means No One)

If your press release went to 200 journalists, congratulations—you just told 200 people you didn't bother learning what they cover.

On average, PR teams pitch 31 journalists to secure a single response. Most treat that as a numbers game. It's not. It's a signal that 30 of those pitches were irrelevant.

The spray-and-pray approach fails because:

Generic pitches get deleted instantly: Journalists can tell when you've used a template. 67% prefer custom story angles tailored to their beat.

Wrong beat = instant ignore: Sending a B2B SaaS announcement to a consumer tech reporter signals you didn't do basic research. That burns credibility for future pitches.

Volume creates noise, not coverage: Journalists don't reward persistence—they reward relevance. Sending follow-ups to someone who covers the wrong beat doesn't improve your odds. It annoys them.

The fix: pitch fewer journalists with better targeting. Research their recent articles. Reference their work. Explain why your story fits their audience. One relevant pitch beats 30 irrelevant ones.

Mistake #3: Your Press Release Reads Like an Ad

Overly promotional content is a top reason journalists reject pitches. If your release sounds like marketing copy, it gets ignored.

Here's what promotional language looks like:

- "Leading provider of..." - "Revolutionary platform that..." - "Best-in-class solution for..." - "Unparalleled innovation..."

Journalists translate all of that as "This company wants free advertising." They're looking for news, not sales pitches.

What works instead:

Lead with the problem, not your solution: Instead of "We launched a new AI analytics tool," try "73% of marketing teams can't measure AI-generated traffic—here's why."

Use data, not adjectives: Replace "game-changing platform" with "reduces time-to-insight by 40% according to pilot customers." One is fluff. One is a fact journalists can verify and quote.

Quote customers or analysts, not your CEO: Third-party validation is news. Self-promotion is not. Journalists trust data-driven sources most, followed by customers, then executives.

Mistake #4: You're Sending It at the Wrong Time

Timing isn't everything, but it's close. The best days to pitch journalists are Tuesday and Wednesday, with the highest success rates between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Sending your release Friday afternoon or Monday morning dramatically lowers your odds.

Why timing matters:

Journalists plan coverage days in advance: The average time between pitch and published article is two to three days. If you're pitching for immediate coverage, you're already behind.

News cycles have rhythms: Tech news breaks Tuesday through Thursday. Sending a B2B announcement on Friday means it competes with weekend planning and gets buried by Monday's news cycle.

Breaking news kills your pitch: If a major industry event happens the day you send your release, it's getting ignored. Monitor the news cycle before hitting send.

The fix: plan press releases around editorial calendars and news cycles. Give journalists at least 2–3 days' notice. Avoid Mondays, Fridays, and major industry events.

Mistake #5: Your Subject Line Sucks

The ideal subject line length for successful pitches is 6–10 words or under 40 characters. If your subject line is "PRESS RELEASE: [Your Company Name] Announces Major Product Update," you've already lost.

Subject lines that fail:

- Start with "PRESS RELEASE" (journalists know it's a pitch—you're wasting characters) - Lead with your company name (unknown brands don't get opens based on name recognition) - Are vague ("Big announcement coming") or overhyped ("You won't believe this")

Subject lines that work:

- Lead with the news: "AI search now resolves 70% of queries without clicks" - Reference the journalist's recent work: "Follow-up to your Perplexity analysis" - Create curiosity with data: "Why 86% of press releases get ignored"

The average open rate for press pitches is 44%, but relevance drives that number. A great subject line to the wrong journalist still fails.

Mistake #6: You're Not Following Up (or You're Doing It Wrong)

About 25% of press releases get picked up without follow-up, which means 75% need one. But most teams either don't follow up or pester journalists into blocking them.

The wrong way to follow up:

- "Just checking if you saw this" - Sending the same email again - Following up 24 hours later (give them 2–3 days) - Calling journalists who clearly aren't interested

The right way to follow up:

- Add new information: "Since I sent this, [relevant event happened]" - Offer something exclusive: "I can get you early access to the data/product/exec" - Reference their response: If they replied asking for more info, deliver it fast

One thoughtful follow-up with new value beats five "just checking" emails.

What Good Press Releases Actually Do

The press releases that work—the 3% that get responses—do these things:

They solve a journalist's problem: They offer a story angle the reporter's audience actually cares about.

They include real data: Stats, customer outcomes, market research. 68% of journalists prefer pitches that include data or original research.

They're short: The ideal pitch length is around 200 words, and the best press releases run 300–500 words. Cut everything that doesn't add news value.

They're targeted: One relevant journalist beats 50 irrelevant ones. Do the research. Personalize the pitch.

They're formatted for skimming: Journalists don't read—they scan. Use bullet points, clear headers, and strong quotes that can stand alone.

The Bigger Problem: Press Releases Are the Wrong Strategy

Even if you fix everything above, here's the uncomfortable reality: only 8% of PR pitches result in media coverage. That's not because 92% of teams are incompetent—it's because the press release model is broken.

Journalists are overwhelmed. Some receive 150 pitches per week. They don't have time to sift through press releases hoping to find news.

The teams getting consistent coverage aren't relying on press releases. They're building relationships, creating original research journalists want to cite, and using performance PR models that guarantee placements.

Press releases still have a place—product launches, funding announcements, major partnerships. But if your entire PR strategy is "send press release and hope," you're competing with 97% of teams doing the same thing.

Key Takeaways

- 86% of press releases fail due to lack of relevance—solve the journalist's problem, not yours - 3% response rate means most pitches are poorly targeted; pitch fewer journalists with better research - Promotional language gets rejected; lead with problems, data, and customer outcomes instead - Timing matters: Tuesday/Wednesday 10am–12pm have the highest success rates - Subject lines should be 6–10 words, lead with news, and skip "PRESS RELEASE" - Only 8% of pitches result in coverage; press releases alone aren't a PR strategy

If you're still getting ignored, the problem isn't your press release format. It's your entire approach. Guaranteed placement models exist because the traditional pitch-and-pray method wastes time and credibility.

Fix the relevance problem first. Everything else is secondary.