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Distribution agent skill

Digital PR

earn genuine editorial coverage on sites that the audience and AI engines already trust. Coverage is earned with a story a journalist wants to publish, not by buying links. Every tactic in this skill must survive Google's spam policies and the publication's own editorial standards.

View raw SKILL.mdView package on GitHub

Shared rules:

When to use this skill

Use when the user wants press coverage, expert commentary placements, a data study or report to pitch, a press release, or more third-party mentions on sources that AI answers cite.

Do not use when:

  • The goal is internal links. Use internal-linking.
  • The user wants paid ads or sponsored content at scale. That is advertising; label it as such and do not treat it as earned coverage.
  • The user wants to measure AI visibility. Use ai-visibility-report first, then return with its cited-source list.

Required inputs

brand: ""
goal: ""                     # e.g. authority in a topic, coverage in trade press, citations for target prompts
target_topics: []
assets: []                   # original data, surveys, product usage data, experts available, customer stories
cited_sources: []            # optional: domains AI engines cite for target prompts (from ai-visibility-report)
target_regions: []
spokespeople: []             # name, role, verifiable expertise
legal_constraints: ""        # what data and customer names may be published
budget_and_capacity: ""

Link and disclosure rules (verified October 2026)

  • Google's link spam policy covers buying or selling links that pass ranking credit, excessive link exchanges, and "keyword-rich, hidden, or low-quality links" in guest posts, press releases, advertorials, widgets and footers.
  • Any placement that involves payment, free product or another exchange must have its links qualified with rel="sponsored" (preferred) or rel="nofollow", and be labeled as sponsored for readers.
  • Press releases distributed on wire services: no optimized anchor text; use branded or URL anchors, and expect links to be nofollowed.
  • Do not place content on third-party sites mainly to exploit their ranking signals (site reputation abuse).
  • Wikipedia: its conflict-of-interest guideline strongly discourages editing articles about your own organization, and the Wikimedia Terms of Use require paid editors to disclose. Suggest edits on the talk page instead; never commission undisclosed edits.
  • Endorsements and influencer posts must disclose material connections (FTC Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR Part 255, and local equivalents).

Workflow

- [ ] 1. Goal, audience and success metric agreed
- [ ] 2. Target outlets chosen from audience fit and cited-source data
- [ ] 3. Story angle built on a newsworthy, verifiable asset
- [ ] 4. Data method documented and caveated
- [ ] 5. Pitch, press release and assets drafted
- [ ] 6. Journalist list built with relevance notes
- [ ] 7. Outreach plan, follow-up and tracking set
  1. Agree the goal. Coverage in specific outlets, expert quotes, citations on sources AI engines use, or referral traffic. Links are a by-product, never the only KPI.
  2. Choose outlets.
    • Start with outlets the audience reads and, if available, domains from cited_sources.
    • Tier them: national or top trade, niche trade, newsletters and podcasts, community or association sites.
    • Drop outlets that sell "guaranteed" do-follow placements.
  3. Build the angle. A story is newsworthy when it is new, specific, relevant to the outlet's readers and backed by evidence. Typical angles: original data or survey results, a counter-intuitive finding, a timely reaction to news with expert input, a useful free tool or index, a credible prediction with a named expert.
  4. Document the data.
    • State the sample size, who was sampled, how, when, and margin of error where relevant. Name the survey provider.
    • Do not overstate: a convenience sample is not "Americans think".
    • Publish a methodology page on the brand site that journalists can cite.
  5. Draft the materials.
    • Pitch: subject line under 10 words naming the finding; 3–5 short sentences; why it matters to that outlet's readers; one key stat; offer of data, charts or an expert. No attachments in a first email.
    • Press release: headline with the finding; who, what, when, where, why in the first paragraph; a quote that adds opinion, not repetition; methodology; boilerplate; contact. Branded or URL anchors only.
    • Assets: a landing page with the full findings, charts with sources, and downloadable data where possible.
  6. Build the journalist list. Only people who have covered the topic recently. Record a recent article for each and why this story fits. Respect opt-outs and the applicable email and privacy law (for example GDPR in the EU and UK, CAN-SPAM in the US).
  7. Outreach and tracking. Personalize each pitch. Send at most one follow-up after a few business days. Track replies, coverage, link type (followed, sponsored, nofollow, no link) and whether AI engines later cite the coverage. Ask for a link only where it helps readers (for example, to the methodology).

Output template

# Digital PR plan: <campaign> — <date>

## Goal and success metrics

## Target outlets
| Tier | Outlet | Audience fit | AI-cited? (date checked) | Notes |

## Story angle
- Headline finding
- Why it is newsworthy now
- Evidence and limits

## Methodology summary

## Pitch draft

## Press release draft

## Journalist list
| Name | Outlet | Recent relevant article | Fit | Status |

## Outreach and follow-up schedule

## Compliance notes
- Paid or exchanged placements and their rel/labels
- Endorsement disclosures
- Data permissions

Approval gates

  • Approval before publishing any data, customer name or spokesperson quote.
  • Approval before any paid or exchanged placement.
  • Approval before sending outreach.

Stop conditions

  • There is no newsworthy asset or expert. Recommend creating one (survey, data analysis, expert commentary) before pitching.
  • The user asks to buy followed links, use link networks, hide sponsorship or publish undisclosed paid Wikipedia edits.
  • The data cannot support the headline claim.

Anti-patterns

  • Mass, untargeted pitch blasts.
  • Buying "guest posts" with keyword-rich followed links.
  • Keyword-optimized anchors in press releases.
  • Overstated survey headlines from small or biased samples.
  • Measuring success only by link count.
  • Fake "expert" personas or quotes.
  • Editing your own Wikipedia article.

Completion checklist

  • Goal and metrics go beyond links
  • Outlets chosen for audience fit and, where available, AI citation data
  • Angle is newsworthy and backed by documented evidence
  • Methodology published or ready to publish
  • Pitch, press release and assets drafted with branded or URL anchors
  • Journalist list has recent relevant articles per contact
  • Paid placements qualified with rel="sponsored" and labeled
  • Endorsement and privacy obligations noted