Stop paying for press releases nobody reads.
Turn one credible announcement into an editable release, a focused journalist shortlist, and personal pitches you review and send from your own inbox.
Watch PitchBud in action
From release draft to real-journalist outreach — see how PitchBud writes your release, finds the right reporters, and hands you ready-to-send pitches from your own inbox.
Hi Sarah — your Substack column last Tuesday on Kindle Vella retiring lined up almost exactly with what we're seeing at our pen-name tracker…
Pre-drafted by PitchBud. Sent from your own inbox. No third-party "ID number" footer.
A modern alternative to traditional newswire services.
Newswire services distribute press releases broadly, but that broad distribution often turns into automated pickup pages rather than real reporting. PitchBud keeps the useful parts of press release distribution: a public newsroom URL, structured data, RSS, discovery signals, and a release that journalists can cite.
Then it adds the part most wires do not do well: finding relevant journalists and drafting personal outreach tied to their recent work. That makes PitchBud a better fit for launches where coverage matters more than a syndication receipt.
Assess. Draft. Publish. Pitch. Track.
A clear path for launches that need useful PR without a big-agency process or a wire receipt masquerading as coverage.
Assess
Score the angle, proof, audience, and outreach plan before you commit budget.
Draft
Turn the announcement into a release you can edit and stand behind.
Publish
Create a public newsroom page with schema, RSS, and discovery signals.
Pitch
Review byline-aware emails and send from your own inbox.
Track
Look for replies and real coverage, not inflated potential reach.
How PitchBud actually works
Three things every PR wire claims to do, and one of them they actually deliver.
1. Draft
Give us a one-line angle. Claude Sonnet writes a 1,200-word newsroom-ready release in 20 seconds. Edit if you want; ship if you don't.
2. Pitch real humans
PitchBud surfaces the strongest relevant matches, reads their recent work, and drafts a personal pitch. A Campaign Pack unlocks up to 25; you make every final send.
3. Distribute it automatically
PitchBud publishes a clean newsroom URL with NewsArticle markup, RSS, and a news sitemap. It sends IndexNow and WebSub notifications and requests an Internet Archive snapshot. These are discovery signals—not promised syndication or coverage.
Bonus: source-request matching built in.
If you already receive source-request digests, PitchBud can score them against your expertise and draft responses for strong matches. You still review and send every response yourself.
Why wires don't work anymore
The dirty secret of the PR-wire industry: EIN, AccessWire, even PR Newswire all syndicate to roughly the same automated endpoints — Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, AP's mirror feed, ~50 regional TV-station websites that republish algorithmically. Almost none of those "pickups" are read by humans, let alone journalists.
The journalists who actually write about your beat use HARO/Featured, Qwoted, source-request lists, their own beat lists, and direct pitches — not the wire firehose.
So we built the tool that does what the wires were supposed to do.
Why we stopped paying for press releases explains the thinking behind PitchBud, the MAILTO-first outreach model, and why personalized journalist pitches beat automated syndication reports.
What PitchBud measures
No invented reach estimates, guaranteed pickups, or automated mirror pages counted as earned media.
Pricing
Start free. Buy a campaign only when the shortlist is worth pursuing — press, podcasts, or paid creator sponsorships.
Build the campaign
- One AI-drafted release per month
- Hosted newsroom page and discovery signals
- Preview your 3 strongest journalist matches
Campaign Pack
- One AI-drafted press release
- PitchBud newsroom page with schema, RSS, and honest discovery signals
- Up to 25 relevant journalist matches
- Up to 25 personalized pitch drafts for you to review and send
- Response and coverage tracking for the campaign
- No subscription required
No subscription. No coverage guarantee.
Guest Campaign Pack
- A hosted Guest One-Sheet page hosts actually read
- Matches from a pool of verified currently-bookable shows — alive within 60 days, proven guest format, evidence shown
- Personalized pitch drafts you review and send from your own inbox
- Reply, booking, and follow-up tracking
No subscription. No booking guarantee.
Influencer Pack
- Up to 25 matched YouTube creators for one product, graded A, B or C — weak matches are never counted against your 25
- Real audience data for each — measured reach, engagement and upload rhythm, not follower counts
- A deal scorecard that prices what a creator asks against what they actually deliver, on an absolute scale
- Break-even maths: how many sales a placement must produce to pay for itself
- Paste a creator's reply and we price every package they quote
- Drafted sponsorship emails you review and send from your own inbox
- No subscription required
This one buys placement, not coverage. You pay the creator separately.
Practical questions before you publish or pitch.
How much does PitchBud cost?
The release and three-match preview are free. A Campaign Pack is a $59 one-time purchase that unlocks up to 25 journalist matches and personalized pitches. The Guest Campaign Pack is $59 and the Influencer Pack is $79, each covering one campaign with no subscription.
What do I get with a release?
PitchBud helps draft the release, publishes a newsroom page, adds structured data and feed signals, and gives you a URL to use in outreach.
What does the Campaign Pack add?
It unlocks the full journalist shortlist, contact paths, byline-aware pitch drafts, and campaign response tracking.
What is the Influencer Pack for?
Pricing paid creator sponsorships. It finds YouTube creators whose audience matches your product, measures each channel’s real reach and engagement from its recent uploads rather than trusting follower counts, and grades what a creator is asking against what the placement actually delivers — including how many sales it must produce to pay for itself.
Does the Influencer Pack pay the creator?
No. It tells you whether a price is fair and drafts the approach email. Any fee or affiliate arrangement is agreed and paid between you and the creator directly.
How many creators do I get, and are they all good fits?
Up to 25 for one campaign. Every one is graded on fit before you see it, and only A, B and C grades are included — weak matches are never counted against your 25. Expect a few of the 25 not to suit you anyway: the point of the number is that several will, so you can compare real offers, keep backups, and negotiate from a position of choice rather than taking the first price you are quoted.
What if I remove a creator from my shortlist?
You can remove anyone you do not want to approach, and it tidies your list — but it does not free a slot. Finding, verifying and measuring that creator is the work the pack pays for, and a disappointing price from one of them is not a fault in the shortlist. A search may also stop short of 25 if your niche genuinely has fewer good matches; that is the honest answer rather than padding the list.
Who owns the release and pitches?
You own the announcement, edits, final release copy, and final outreach. PitchBud drafts the materials and hosts the newsroom page.
How fast can I use it?
A straightforward announcement can move quickly, but the strongest launches still need a clear angle, proof, assets, and your final review before sending.
What kinds of announcements fit?
Books, products, funding notes, partnerships, awards, events, local business news, research updates, and credible expert stories all can fit.
Does PitchBud send emails automatically?
No. PitchBud prepares personalized outreach, but you review and send from your own inbox. The user is always the last click.
Should I still buy a wire?
Use a formal wire directly for regulatory, investor-relations, or disclosure needs. Use PitchBud when the job is launch PR and targeted outreach.
Send one release. Reach the right humans.
Built by the team running 30+ portfolio sites that needed real coverage and got tired of paying for vanity stats.
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