Writing guide
How to write a press release
A journalist decides whether to read your press release in under thirty seconds, because there are dozens more behind it — beat reporters commonly field 50 to a few hundred pitches a day. That reading pattern is why the inverted pyramid exists: the news goes first, support goes next, and background goes last, so the story survives being read only partway. Wire editors have cut stories from the bottom for over a century; your release should assume the same treatment.
Most releases get ignored not because the news is weak but because it is buried. Paragraph one spends its 40 words on “is proud and excited to announce” and a mission statement; the actual news — what launched, what it costs, when it ships — finally surfaces in paragraph three, which nobody reached. A release that makes a reporter dig is a release that gets deleted.
This guide walks through the standard structure — headline, dateline and lede, body, quote, boilerplate — then a writing process that keeps the news on top, with a before-and-after rewrite showing the difference.
What it is
A press release is a one-page news document, written in third person in the style of a wire story, that gives a journalist everything needed to cover an announcement: the news in the first sentence, supporting facts in descending importance, a quotable human, company boilerplate, and a reachable contact.
When to use it
Use a press release when something changed that outsiders would plausibly report: a launch, funding round, acquisition, major partnership, significant hire, or notable data you can share. Do not use it for minor feature updates, content marketing, or SEO link-building — sending non-news trains journalists to ignore your name. And never make it your only channel; the release supports a personal pitch, it does not replace one.
The structure that works
Headline (and optional subheadline)
States the news in one plain sentence an editor could nearly run as-is.
- Keep it under 80 characters, present tense, built on a hard verb: launches, raises, acquires, signs.
- Strip every adjective — “revolutionary,” “leading,” and “innovative” mark a release as ignorable.
- Shape: company + verb + what + the detail that makes it matter.
- Use the subheadline for your single strongest number — the amount raised, the measured result, the customer count.
Dateline and lede
CITY, Date — then one sentence carrying who, what, when, where, and why it matters.
- Hold the first sentence to 25-35 words; every W the lede drops is a question the reporter must email you.
- Apply the only-paragraph test: if nothing else gets read, the story must still be tellable.
- No mission statements, no founding story, no “is proud to announce.”
Body in descending importance
Delivers supporting facts in strict order of newsworthiness so cutting from the bottom never removes anything essential.
- Paragraph two carries price, availability date, and scale; paragraph three carries context; paragraph four carries secondary detail.
- One fact per paragraph, two to three sentences each.
- Run the cut-from-bottom test: delete the last paragraph and confirm the release still works. Repeat.
- Include every number a reporter would otherwise have to request — price, users, headcount, dates.
Quote
Adds the one thing facts cannot: a human voice with an opinion, stakes, or intention.
- A quote must say something only a person could say; if it restates the lede, cut it.
- Ban “We’re thrilled,” “We’re excited,” and “We’re proud” — journalists delete them on sight.
- One or two quotes maximum, each attributed with full name and exact title.
- A second quote earns its place only from a different vantage point: a customer or partner, not another executive.
Boilerplate and contact
Closes with who the company is and who to reach, in the format editors expect.
- Boilerplate is 2-3 factual sentences, identical across every release you send.
- Name a real person with a monitored email and phone number — not press@ into the void.
- Link a press kit with logos and product images so nobody has to ask.
- Mark the end with “###” on its own line, per convention.
Step by step
- 01
Pass the news test before you write
Ask the question an editor will ask: would anyone cover this if a stranger sent it? Launches, funding, acquisitions, notable data, and major partnerships pass. A minor feature update, a refreshed pricing page, or “company continues doing well” does not — those belong in your newsletter.
A useful self-check: write your announcement as a one-line headline about a company you do not work for. If you would not stop scrolling for it, a journalist who sees a hundred pitches a day certainly will not.
- 02
Write the lede first: five Ws, one sentence
Open with the dateline — CITY, State, Month Day, Year — then a first sentence of 25 to 35 words carrying who did what, when, where, and why it matters. Not the mission. Not the journey. The news.
Test it with the only-paragraph rule: reading this sentence alone, could a journalist tell someone what happened? “Acme Software today launched Flowline, a workflow platform that lets manufacturers replace paper work orders with a tablet app” passes. “Acme announced an exciting milestone in its journey” fails.
- 03
Write the headline like a wire editor
Under 80 characters, present tense, active voice, one hard verb: launches, raises, acquires, doubles. Strip every adjective — the reporter will strip them anyway, and their presence signals a release written for the CEO rather than the reader.
Put your single strongest number in the subheadline: the round size, the measured result, the customer count. Numbers do in subheads what adjectives only pretend to do in headlines.
- 04
Stack the body in descending importance
The inverted pyramid means every paragraph matters less than the one above it. Paragraph two carries the essential supporting facts — price, availability, scale. Paragraph three adds context: the problem, the market, what changed. Paragraph four holds whatever is left worth saying.
Apply the cut-from-bottom test as you go: delete the final paragraph and check that the release still stands. Editors trim from the bottom to fit space, so anything you cannot afford to lose must not live there. Keep paragraphs to two or three sentences.
- 05
Get a quote only a human could say
A quote earns its place by adding opinion, stakes, or intention. “This launch is an important milestone” restates; “Plant managers don’t want another dashboard — they want fewer phone calls chasing paperwork” argues. Interview your spokesperson for five minutes and transcribe how they actually talk instead of drafting boardroom prose for them to approve.
Hold the line at one or two quotes, attributed with full name and exact title. If a quote opens with “We’re thrilled,” cut the opener; if nothing remains after the cut, cut the quote.
- 06
Add every number a reporter would have to ask for
Reread the draft as a fact-checker: price, launch date, user or customer count, funding amount, headcount, and a source for any market claim. Every question the release forces a reporter to email you is a reason to cover a story that needs no email.
Claims you cannot verify get deleted, not softened. One “leading provider” without evidence taxes the credibility of every real number in the document.
- 07
Format it to convention and send it right
One page, 300 to 500 words, third person throughout. Dateline before the lede; boilerplate at the bottom — 2-3 factual sentences, identical across releases; then a named contact with a monitored email, and “###” to mark the end. These conventions are not decoration — they signal you will be easy to work with.
Send Tuesday through Thursday, morning in the recipient’s time zone. Paste the release into the email body beneath a two-sentence personal note on why it fits this reporter’s beat — never as an attachment. If timing matters, offer the story under embargo 3 to 5 days early to the two or three journalists you most want.
Before and after: what good looks like
Before
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Acme Software, a leading provider of innovative cloud-based workflow solutions, is proud and excited to announce the launch of its revolutionary new platform. Founded in 2019, Acme has always believed in empowering businesses to reach their full potential. The new platform represents a major milestone in the company’s journey and reflects its ongoing commitment to excellence and innovation. “We are thrilled about this launch,” said John Smith, CEO. More information will be available soon.
After
AUSTIN, Texas, March 4, 2026 — Acme Software today launched Flowline, a workflow platform that lets mid-size manufacturers replace paper work orders with a tablet app, cutting order processing from days to hours. Flowline is available today at $49 per user per month; 32 plants used it during a six-month beta, including two Fortune 1000 suppliers. “Plant managers don’t want another dashboard — they want fewer phone calls chasing paperwork,” said John Smith, Acme’s CEO. “Beta plants cut order-status calls roughly in half.” Acme Software makes workflow tools for manufacturers and employs 45 people in Austin. Press kit: acme.com/press. Contact: Jane Lee, jane@acme.com.
The before spends 77 words without stating what launched, what it does, what it costs, or when it is available — a journalist could not write a story from it. The after answers all five Ws in the first sentence, prices and dates the news, quotes a human with an actual opinion and a number, and closes with boilerplate and a reachable contact. Every sentence would survive an editor’s cut except the last two — which is exactly where they sit.
Mistakes that sink a press release
| Mistake | The fix |
|---|---|
| Burying the news under “is proud to announce” and company history | Put the news in the first ten words of the lede. History and mission live in the boilerplate, if anywhere. |
| Quotes that restate facts or open with “We’re thrilled” | Make the quote carry opinion, stakes, or intention — something no fact paragraph could say. Transcribe real speech. |
| A release with no numbers | Add price, date, counts, and amounts. A reporter who has to email you for the basics usually does not. |
| Adjective inflation — “leading,” “revolutionary,” “cutting-edge” | Delete them all and let facts carry the weight. Journalists translate adjectives as “no evidence available.” |
| Sending as an attachment to a mass BCC list | Paste the release into the email body under a two-sentence personal note per reporter, matched to their beat. |
| Issuing releases when nothing newsworthy happened | Hold until something changed that outsiders would report. Non-news trains every recipient to skip your name. |
Pre-publish checklist
- The first sentence answers who, what, when, where, and why it matters.
- The headline is under 80 characters and built on an active verb.
- The whole release fits one page at 300-500 words.
- The release survives the cut-from-bottom test on every paragraph.
- Price, date, and availability are stated explicitly.
- Each quote expresses an opinion or intention, not a restated fact.
- “Thrilled,” “excited,” and “proud” appear nowhere in the text.
- The boilerplate is 2-3 sentences and matches your previous releases.
- A named human with a monitored email is listed as contact.
- The dateline carries city and date before the lede.
- The entire release is written in third person.
- “###” marks the end.
Free tools for this work
Check your press release before it ships.
Frequently asked questions
- How long should a press release be?
- 300 to 500 words on a single page. Wire services accept more, but editors read less; if the story needs 900 words, the extra 400 belong in a linked press kit, not the release.
- When is the best time to send a press release?
- Tuesday through Thursday, between 8 and 10 a.m. in the journalist’s time zone. Mondays are inbox triage and Fridays are where news goes to be missed. For embargoed stories, give your priority reporters 3 to 5 days of lead time.
- How many quotes should a press release include?
- One or two. A second quote earns its place only if it comes from a different vantage point — a customer or partner — rather than a second executive agreeing with the first.
- How long should the headline be?
- Under 80 characters, roughly 12 words or fewer. Email clients and newsroom dashboards truncate longer headlines, and the truncation usually lands on the part that mattered.
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