Reading Your Distribution Report: What the Numbers Mean
A distribution report lists where your release appeared. Here is how to turn that list into useful insight.
After a release goes out you receive a report of placements, often with live links. It is more than a receipt.
Placements versus pickups
A placement is the release published on a partner site; a pickup is a journalist writing their own story from it. Both matter, but they are measured differently, so keep them separate when you report internally.
Look at the mix
Which categories of outlet carried the release: newswires, business media, regional news, trade sites? The mix tells you which audiences you reached and which you did not.
Track what happened next
Match the report against website traffic, enquiries and social mentions in the following week. That link between distribution and results is what justifies the next release.
Keep the links
Live links in the report are useful for sales decks, investor updates and your own newsroom page. Save them while they are fresh.
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