🔍 Overview
If your press release campaign has been sitting in Publishing status for longer than expected — or your OTTO Authority and Content scores remain low despite completing optimization tasks — this article walks you through the most common causes and fixes.
⏳ Why Is My Press Release Stuck in 'Publishing'?
A press release can get stuck in Publishing status when one or more distribution channels encounter an error during the syndication process. This can happen due to a temporary issue with a third-party distribution partner, a network timeout, or an internal processing delay. Email notifications may also be delayed or suppressed when a channel fails partway through.
Key things to know:
- Most distributions complete within a few hours. Anything beyond 24 hours is worth investigating.
- A single failed channel can cause the entire campaign to appear stuck.
- You will not always receive an email notification when a channel fails — this is a known limitation currently being improved.
🛠️ How to Resolve a Stuck Press Release
Because a stuck press release campaign involves a backend processing issue with distribution channels, this cannot be self-resolved through the platform interface. To get it resolved, please escalate to the support team. When you do, have the following information ready:
- The exact name of the stuck press release campaign
- The date and time you submitted the campaign
- How long it has been showing Publishing status
- Any error messages or notifications you may have received
The support team will investigate the distribution channel error on the backend and work to complete or retry the campaign on your behalf.
📊 Why Are My Authority and Content Scores Still Low?
Your OTTO scores — including Authority and Content — are calculated based on a combination of factors that update over time. Completing individual optimization tasks does not always produce an immediate score change. Here is why your scores may still appear low:
- Processing delay: OTTO scores refresh periodically, not in real time. After completing tasks, allow 24–48 hours before expecting a visible score update.
- Incomplete task clusters: Some score improvements only register after an entire group of related tasks is completed, not individual items within the group.
- Press release distribution still pending: If your campaign is stuck in Publishing, the authority signals from that campaign will not yet be reflected in your scores. Resolving the stuck campaign first is recommended before reassessing your scores.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.