12 Press Release Mistakes That Get Releases Rejected (and How to Fix Them)

Every press release that goes out through a reputable distribution service is read by an editor first. Most submissions are approved after light edits. The ones that are sent back tend to share the same handful of problems – and the same problems also make a release less likely to be picked up by journalists once it is distributed.

Here are the twelve mistakes editors see most often, how to fix each one, and why getting them right matters for search visibility, AI answers and the way your brand is perceived.

Tone and content

1. It reads like an advertisement

Phrases such as "buy now", "limited offer" or "the best solution for your business" belong in adverts, not news. Editors and journalists read hundreds of releases and skip anything that sounds like a sales page.

Fix: write in the third person, remove calls to action, and lead with the news – what happened, to whom and why it matters.

2. There is no actual news

A release that describes what a company does, without anything new, gives an editor nothing to publish.

Fix: find the change – a launch, a number, a partnership, an appointment, a new market or a result. If there is no change yet, wait until there is.

3. Hype words everywhere

"Revolutionary", "world-class", "cutting-edge" and "leading" are claims without evidence. Several in one paragraph make the whole release look unreliable.

Fix: replace adjectives with facts – customer numbers, certifications, measurable results, named partners.

4. Unsupported or risky claims

Guaranteed returns, miracle-cure language and "No. 1" claims you cannot prove are the most serious problems, because they can mislead readers and expose publishers to complaints.

Fix: remove them, or support each claim with a named, dated source. Financial and health brands need extra care; see our BFSI and fintech PR and healthcare and pharma PR pages for sector-specific guidance.

Structure

5. Missing dateline

Without a city, country and date at the start, readers cannot tell where or when the news happened.

Fix: open the first paragraph with a dateline such as "Pune, India, [date] –". Our press release format guide shows the standard layout.

6. The news is buried

Many releases spend two paragraphs on company background before reaching the point. Editors rarely read that far.

Fix: put who, what, when, where and why in the first paragraph. Background belongs lower down or in the boilerplate.

7. Unattributed or anonymous quotes

A quote "from a company spokesperson" carries little weight and cannot be checked.

Fix: give every quote a full name and title, and make sure the person has approved it.

8. No boilerplate or media contact

Journalists who want to follow up need to know who you are and how to reach you.

Fix: add an "About" paragraph and a reachable contact with name, email and phone. See how to write a boilerplate.

Presentation

9. An ALL CAPS or clickbait headline

Capital letters, exclamation marks and teaser headlines ("You won't believe what we just launched") look like spam.

Fix: use a clear, factual headline that includes the company name and the news. Our headline formulas help.

10. Too many links

A release with eight links to product pages and offers looks like a link scheme, and search engines treat it accordingly.

Fix: keep to two or three relevant links – usually the homepage, the specific product or announcement page, and perhaps a report. See do press releases help SEO?

11. Poor or unlicensed images

Blurry images, images with heavy text overlays, and stock photos you do not have rights to cause delays or rejection.

Fix: use a clear horizontal image that you own or have licensed. 1200×675 pixels works well for most news sites.

12. Too short

A two-sentence release does not give an editor enough to publish or a journalist enough to write a story.

Fix: add context, specifics and a quote. Most editorial desks expect at least 100 words, and 400–800 words reads best.

A before-and-after example

Here is a generic opening that combines several of the mistakes above, followed by a corrected version.

Before:

REVOLUTIONARY NEW APP CHANGES EVERYTHING! We are thrilled to announce our world-class, cutting-edge platform, the best solution for every business. Download now and see why customers love us!

What is wrong: capitals and exclamation marks in the headline (mistake 9), first-person sales copy (mistake 1), hype words (mistake 3), an unprovable "best" claim (mistake 4), no dateline (mistake 5) and no actual news – the reader still does not know what the app does or what changed (mistake 2).

After:

Bengaluru SaaS Start-up Launches Scheduling App for Small Clinics

Bengaluru, India, [date] – [Company], a Bengaluru SaaS start-up, today launched an appointment scheduling app for small clinics. The app, tested with [number] clinics during a [length] pilot, sends automatic reminders to patients and lets reception staff manage bookings from a single screen.

The corrected version names the company, the product and the audience, gives a dateline, states verifiable facts about the pilot and leaves the opinion to a quote further down. It is shorter, and it is far more likely to be approved and picked up.

How to work with editorial feedback

• Read the notes in full before editing; one change often resolves several comments.
• Fix the cause, not just the line. If one sentence was flagged as promotional, check the rest of the release for the same tone.
• Keep the approved version on file so future releases start from a clean template.
• Ask if anything is unclear rather than guessing; a quick question saves another round of edits.

Topics that are usually not accepted

Most reputable distribution services and news sites decline adult content, gambling or betting promotions, unregistered investment schemes, weapons, hate speech, defamatory content and misleading health or financial claims. If your topic is close to any of these, ask before submitting. Every release distributed through a newswire is checked against editorial guidelines like these, which is part of why publishers trust the feed.

When an editor sends a release back, the notes usually point to one or two specific fixes. Making those changes quickly is the fastest way to get the news out.

Why editors care: the publishers at the end of the chain

Distribution makes a release available to news agencies, news sites and journalists. Many of the sites at the end of that chain are among the most visited in India and worldwide, and their editors are protective of what appears under their name:

Metrics are third-party estimates at the time of writing and change over time.

Agency and newswire copy may be picked up by subscribers at their editors' discretion, so no release is guaranteed to appear on a specific title such as NDTV or News18. A well-written release improves the odds; a release with the mistakes above reduces them. If you need a story on a named publication, a booked featured article or a pitched placement is a different route – see media placement, or browse individual publications with their DA and turnaround.

How avoiding these mistakes helps SEO, GEO and your brand

SEO: releases that are published, indexed and trusted

A rejected or ignored release creates no mentions at all. A clean release is more likely to be published across news sites and picked up by editors, which creates branded mentions on high-DA domains, referral traffic and faster indexing of the page you link to. Remember that many syndicated and sponsored links are nofollow or marked "sponsored"; the benefit comes from those mentions and authority signals rather than from link volume. Link-stuffed releases (mistake 10) can do more harm than good.

GEO: accurate facts for AI assistants

ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews draw on trusted publications and on consistent facts about each organisation. A release with a clear dateline, attributed quotes and a precise boilerplate gives them reliable material: who you are, where you are based, what you announced and when. Vague, hyped or contradictory releases (mistakes 2, 3 and 4) make it harder for AI systems to describe your brand correctly – and can spread errors that are hard to correct later.

Branding: what a reader sees when they search your name

A press release lives online for years. Customers, investors and future employees who search your name will find it. A factual, well-presented release reflects a professional organisation; an advert-style release with errors and exaggerated claims does the opposite. Over time, a series of clean releases builds a news record you can confidently point to in an "as featured in" section.

Pre-submission checklist

• Real news, stated clearly in the headline
• Dateline, plus who, what, when, where and why in the first paragraph
• At least one quote with a full name and title
• Numbers and named sources instead of adjectives
• No guaranteed returns, unproven "first" or "best" claims, or health promises
• Two or three relevant links at most
• A licensed horizontal image with a caption
• Boilerplate and media contact
• 400–800 words, proofread by someone who did not write it

Once your release passes this checklist, read about press release distribution and plan where it should go; for Indian audiences, see India distribution.

Frequently asked questions