Submitting a press release online takes about ten minutes once the release is written. This guide walks through the actual steps, what each field expects, and the details that cause submissions to be held or rejected.
The steps below describe submitting through Concierge Press Wire. Most self-serve distribution services follow a similar flow, so the checks apply broadly.
Before you open the form
Have these ready. Assembling them mid-form is where most people lose time:
- The release itself — headline, dateline, body, one quote, boilerplate. 400 to 600 words.
- A featured image — JPG or PNG, around 1200×630 px, under 2 MB. A photograph, not a logo on white.
- Your company website URL
- A contact email you actually monitor — publication updates go there
- A short company boilerplate — what the company does, since when, where, and its scale
Step 1: Write the headline for the field limit
The title field caps at 100 characters. That is deliberate — it forces a headline that states the news rather than describing it.
Use the company name and an active verb. “Meridian Logistics Opens Second Warehouse in Manchester” works. “Exciting New Developments From A Leading Industry Innovator” does not, and will be sent back.
Step 2: Paste the body
The content field takes up to 6,000 characters, but you should be using far fewer. Include who, what, when, where and why in the opening paragraph, then detail with numbers, then one quote, then the boilerplate.
Two things reviewers check immediately: whether the first paragraph works as a complete story on its own, and whether there is at least one number a reader could verify.
Step 3: Pick the right category
Business and finance, technology, health and medical, entertainment, sports, education, real estate, automotive, politics, lifestyle, travel and tourism, food and beverage, or marketing.
This matters more than it looks. The category decides which archive your release sits in and which search queries surface it. A fintech funding announcement filed under lifestyle will simply be seen by fewer of the right people.
Step 4: Upload the image
JPG or PNG, up to 2 MB, ideally 1200×630 px. That ratio is what social platforms crop to, so an image at other proportions will be cut awkwardly when the release is shared.
A photograph of the thing you are announcing beats a stock image, and a stock image beats a logo on a white background.
Step 5: Choose a plan
The free Starter tier publishes one article a month after a 24 to 48 hour review, with a nofollow link, one image and thirty days live. Paid plans from Rs 999 add instant publishing, a dofollow backlink, more images and a permanent listing.
If you are testing the service, start free. Our guide to free press release distribution covers exactly where free stops being enough, and the pricing page has the full comparison.
Step 6: Submit and wait for review
Every submission is read by an editor, free tier included. Paid submissions publish instantly on approval; free ones go live within 24 to 48 hours.
If a paid submission is rejected on guideline grounds you receive a full refund. The reasons submissions get held or rejected are listed in why press releases get rejected — worth reading before you submit rather than after.
After it publishes
- Save the URL. It is the citable record you link to from pitches, decks and your own site.
- Do not republish the identical text on your own blog. Link to the published version instead.
- Send it to journalists if you want actual coverage — distribution creates the record, outreach creates the article.
- Give it time to index. A new page usually takes days to weeks to appear in search.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to submit a press release online?
About ten minutes if the release and image are ready. The form itself is short; the time goes into writing the release beforehand. Publication is instant on paid plans and within 24 to 48 hours on the free tier.
Do I need an account to submit a press release?
You submit through the online form and provide a contact email, which is where publication updates and any editor questions are sent. Use an address someone monitors, because a rejected submission with an unread inbox simply sits unresolved.
What image size should I upload?
Around 1200×630 px, JPG or PNG, under 2 MB. That ratio matches what social platforms crop to when the release is shared. A relevant photograph performs better than a logo on a white background.
Can I edit a press release after submitting it?
Before publication, contact us with the correction and it can be applied during review. After publication, factual corrections can usually be made, but the release should not be rewritten into a different announcement — publish a new one for genuinely new news.
How many press releases can I submit?
The free tier allows one article per month. Paid plans are per release, so there is no cap beyond what you buy. In practice most businesses have between two and six genuine announcements a year, and publishing more than you have news for weakens the ones that matter.
Ready when you are
Open the submission form when your release and image are ready. If you are not sure the announcement is worth publishing yet, our list of rejection reasons is the fastest way to check.
