Indian businesses are sold three things that look similar and are not: a press release, a paid article, and an editorial feature. They cost different amounts, do different jobs, and the confusion between them is why a lot of marketing budget gets spent badly. This is the difference in plain terms.
Disclosure: Concierge Press Wire sells press release distribution, which is one of the three. We have tried to be clear about what it does not do.
The three things
| Press release | Paid article | Editorial feature | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who writes it | You | You or the publication | A journalist |
| Who decides it runs | An editor, against guidelines | You, by paying | The journalist |
| Typical cost | Free to Rs 15,000 | Rs 5,000 to Rs 5 lakh+ | Nothing |
| Labelled as paid? | No — it is an announcement | Should be, often is not | No |
| What you get | Indexed permanent record | Reach on a known masthead | Credibility |
| Can you control it? | Yes, within guidelines | Mostly | No |
What a press release actually buys you
A permanent, indexed page stating that something happened on a date. That is the honest description.
Its value shows up later, not on publication day: when a customer searches your company before a deal, when an investor is checking whether you have momentum, when a partner wants to confirm you are real. A company whose search results contain only its own website looks thinner than one with a trail of announcements.
What it is not: a traffic channel, a customer acquisition method, or a guarantee that a journalist will write about you.
What a paid article buys you
Placement on a masthead your audience recognises. That has real value — a page on a well-known publication reaches people you cannot otherwise reach, and it looks impressive in a deck.
Two things to be honest with yourself about:
- Readers can usually tell. Paid pieces read differently from reported ones, and the “Sponsored” or “Partner Content” label, where it exists, is doing exactly what it says.
- The link is usually nofollow, and should be. A followed link on a paid placement is a paid link, which is against search engine guidelines regardless of who sold it to you.
Buy it for reach and recognition. Do not buy it believing you have bought editorial credibility.
Where the mis-selling happens
The Indian market has a lot of packages sold as “guaranteed coverage in [national publication]” for a few thousand rupees. Almost always this is a paid placement being described as editorial coverage.
Three questions that settle it:
- Is this paid placement or editorial? A straight answer is a good sign in itself.
- Will it carry a sponsored or partner-content label?
- Is the link followed or nofollowed? If they promise a followed link on a paid article, they are selling something that can hurt you.
Nobody can guarantee genuine editorial coverage, because the decision belongs to a journalist. Any guarantee means it is paid.
Which one you need
| Your situation | What to use |
|---|---|
| Routine announcement, want a record | Press release, free or entry tier |
| Funding, partnership, certification | Press release + direct journalist outreach |
| You need reach on a recognisable masthead for a campaign | Paid article, knowingly |
| You want credibility with investors or partners | Press release trail + earned coverage |
| You want customers this month | None of the three — that is a performance marketing problem |
That last row matters. PR is a slow, compounding asset. If the requirement is sales this quarter, spending the budget on ads and direct sales will do more.
The combination that works
For most Indian SMEs with two to four real announcements a year:
- Publish every genuine announcement as a release, so the record accumulates.
- Pitch the two biggest ones directly to trade and regional journalists.
- Buy paid placement rarely, and only when a specific masthead reaches an audience you genuinely need.
Our guide to getting media coverage in India covers the outreach half of that.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a press release and a paid article?
A press release is an announcement you write and a publisher accepts against editorial guidelines. A paid article is placement you buy on a publication, which runs because you paid rather than because an editor judged it newsworthy. The first creates a record; the second buys reach.
Is paid media coverage legal in India?
Yes, buying advertising or sponsored content is entirely legitimate. What is a problem is paid content presented as independent editorial without disclosure, which misleads readers, and paid followed links, which breach search engine guidelines and can damage the site being linked to.
Can anyone guarantee coverage in a national publication?
Not for genuine editorial coverage, because the decision belongs to a journalist. If coverage is guaranteed, it is paid placement. That may still be worth buying, but you should know which one you are purchasing before you agree a price.
Do press releases give dofollow backlinks?
Paid distribution tiers commonly do; free tiers generally use nofollow links. Either way, treat the published page as a citable record rather than as a link-building tactic, because releases written to carry links are the ones editors reject.
Should a small business spend on PR or on ads?
They solve different problems. Ads buy attention now and stop when you stop paying; PR builds a public record and credibility that compounds slowly. If you need customers this quarter, ads. If you are building something you want investors, partners and customers to trust over years, PR alongside.
If a release is what you need
Concierge Press Wire publishes after editorial review, with a free tier for routine announcements and paid plans from Rs 999. See the plans, check our Indian press release samples, or submit a release.