By: Danyail Lawton
8 October 2026
(3 min read)
Most press hits do their best work in the first two days. After that, the article slides down a homepage, the segment gets replaced by tomorrow’s news, and the people who saw it move on. Whether any of them stay with you depends almost entirely on what you do in those 48 hours.
A placement is not the finish line. It is the opening, and most brands walk away from it the moment it goes live.
Before it runs
Someone who reads about you and goes looking will land on your website or your profile within minutes. Make sure there is something there for them to do. That might be a sign-up for your newsletter, a way to book a call, or a page that picks up the story where the article left off. If the only option is your homepage, most of them will look around once and leave.
Check the basics too. Your bio should match what the outlet says about you, and your headshot should be current. A reporter’s description and your own page should never disagree.
The day it goes live
Share it, but give people a reason to care. “As seen in” with a link tells your followers you were featured. One sentence about why the story matters to them, or what you hoped readers would take from it, gives them a reason to click and a reason to remember you.
Thank the reporter or producer by name, publicly if it fits and privately either way. It costs nothing, and it is how a single story turns into a working relationship.
The next 48 hours
This is where most of the value sits, and where most brands stop. Send the piece directly to the people who already matter to your business: clients, partners, prospects you have been talking to, and anyone who has asked what you do. A short personal note with the link will reach them in a way a social post never will.
Pull the strongest line from the story and use it again. A quote can become a post, a line in your email signature, or the opening of your next pitch. The story already did the hard work of saying something credible about you, so let it keep saying it.
And answer anyone who reaches out within a day. Interest after a press hit cools fast. A reply on day two lands very differently than a reply next week.
After the dust settles
Write down what came from it. How many people signed up, who replied, which conversations started. That record tells you which outlets reach the people you actually want, and it should shape where the next pitch goes.
Visibility is worth pursuing. It just works best when it has somewhere to send people. Before your next story runs, ask what a new reader can do once they find you, and who you will personally send it to. If those answers are not clear yet, that is a good place to start, and you can book a 15-minute consultation to talk it through.