Press Release Marketing: The Honest Explanation
What press release marketing actually is, when it works, when it doesn't, and how to use press releases as a marketing tool without wasting money.
Read →Older guides from the Instant Press team. Newest posts live on page one.
What press release marketing actually is, when it works, when it doesn't, and how to use press releases as a marketing tool without wasting money.
Read →Trade publications are different from mainstream media. Here's how to write press releases that trade editors actually pick up.
Read →A scrappy AEO playbook for startups that can't outspend incumbents: what to prioritize, what to skip, and how to build AI visibility without a big budget.
Read →Why you can't buy a Google knowledge panel, how the scam works, and what to do instead if you actually want one.
Read →Every distribution method ranked: wire services, direct pitching, owned channels, and the newer options. What works, what's waste, and how to choose.
Read →The real process for landing TV segments as a subject matter expert: finding producers, crafting the pitch, preparing for the hit, and building on it.
Read →The practical guide to getting ChatGPT to mention your brand when users ask about your category, product type, or competitors.
Read →How Perplexity decides which sources to cite and brands to mention, and what you can do to show up in its AI-generated answers.
Read →The honest answer on whether press releases still help SEO, what they actually do, and when they're worth the effort.
Read →The boilerplate is the 'About' block at the end of a press release. Here's what it should contain, what to leave out, and how to write one reporters actually use.
Read →AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. Here's what it actually means for marketers, how it differs from SEO, and why it matters in 2026.
Read →How healthcare brands should approach AEO in a regulated, trust-sensitive category: content standards, citation building, and measurement.
Read →How real estate agents can build AI product visibility in a hyper-local, trust-sensitive category where most agents don't show up at all.
Read →How SaaS companies should approach AEO: the query inventory, the content system, the press work, and the measurement that actually moves AI visibility.
Read →Citing a press release in a paper? Here's the exact APA format — print, web, and corporate sources — with 7 worked examples you can copy.
Read →Two Google features people confuse constantly. How they differ, which one appears when, and which actually moves the needle for your business in 2026.
Read →The real playbook for writing pitches reporters respond to: research, subject lines, opening lines, the ask, and the follow-up.
Read →The content-level playbook for getting your pages extracted and cited by ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
Read →What the terms actually mean, how the services differ, and which one you actually need for your announcement.
Read →How to think about keywords in press releases in 2026, what still helps for SEO, and what's wasted effort.
Read →The real criteria Google uses to decide who gets a knowledge panel, why most applicants never qualify, and how to know if you actually have a shot.
Read →An honest look at AI press release generators in 2026: what they're good for, what they're terrible at, and how to use them without embarrassing yourself.
Read →Want your brand cited in ChatGPT? Here are 12 real AEO examples with what each brand changed, why it worked, and the citation lift it produced.
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