Press Release Writing

When to Activate

• Announcing a product launch or major feature release
• Sharing a funding round or financial milestone
• Announcing a partnership or acquisition
• Introducing a new executive hire
• Releasing original research or survey data
• Announcing an event, conference, or community milestone
• Responding to an industry development with a company perspective

First Questions

1. What is the news? (One sentence, plain language)
2. Why does anyone outside your company care? (The "so what?" test)
3. Who is the target audience for this announcement? (Customers, investors, industry, general public)
4. What is the desired outcome? (Media coverage, customer awareness, investor confidence, hiring signal)
5. What is the timing? (Is there a specific date this must go out? Embargoed?)
6. Who is the spokesperson and what quote should they provide?
7. What supporting evidence or data can you include? (Numbers, stats, customer testimonials)

Newsworthy Angle Identification

Not everything deserves a press release. Before writing, pass the newsworthiness test.

The Newsworthiness Checklist

Your announcement should satisfy at least 2 of these:

• Timeliness: Is this happening now? Is it connected to a current trend or event?
• Significance: Does this affect a large number of people or a significant amount of money?
• Proximity: Is this relevant to a specific geographic or industry community?
• Prominence: Does this involve well-known people, companies, or brands?
• Novelty: Is this genuinely new, first-of-its-kind, or surprising?
• Conflict/Tension: Does this challenge conventional wisdom or pit ideas against each other?
• Human Interest: Is there a compelling human story behind the announcement?

If It's Not Newsworthy

• Don't write a press release. Use a blog post, social announcement, or email instead.
• Minor feature updates, small hires, minor partnerships — these are blog post territory.
• Sending non-newsworthy press releases damages your credibility with journalists.

Press Release Structure

1. Headline

• Clear, specific, factual. Front-load the most important information.
• Include the company name and the key news element.
• 60-80 characters ideal. No clickbait.
• Good: "Acme Raises $50M Series B to Expand AI-Powered Supply Chain Platform"
• Bad: "Acme Announces Exciting News About Its Future"

2. Subheadline (Optional)

• Adds context the headline couldn't fit.
• "New funding will accelerate international expansion and triple engineering team by 2027"

3. Dateline

• City, State — Date format.
• "SAN FRANCISCO, March 14, 2026 —"

4. Lead Paragraph (Most Critical)

• The first paragraph must contain the essential news in 2-3 sentences.
• Answer: Who, What, When, Where, Why.
• A journalist should be able to write their story from this paragraph alone.
• Template: "[Company] today announced [what]. The [product/initiative/deal] will [impact/benefit]. [Key number or proof point]."

5. Body Paragraphs (Supporting Detail)

• Paragraph 2: Context and significance. Why this matters to the industry or market.
• Paragraph 3: Details of the announcement (features, terms, timeline).
• Paragraph 4: Customer or partner validation (testimonial, case study reference).
• Paragraph 5: Future outlook or what's next.

6. Executive Quote

• First quote from your CEO, founder, or most senior relevant executive.
• Second quote from a partner, customer, or investor (adds third-party credibility).
• Quotes should express vision, excitement, or strategic rationale — not repeat facts already stated.
• Write quotes that sound human, not corporate. No jargon.
• Good: "Small businesses have been locked out of AI tools built for enterprises. This changes that."
• Bad: "We are thrilled to leverage our synergistic capabilities to deliver best-in-class solutions."

7. Boilerplate (About Section)

• Standard company description used on all press releases.
• 3-5 sentences: What the company does, who it serves, key proof points (funding, customers, traction), website.
• Update quarterly.

8. Contact Information

• PR contact name, email, phone number.
• If using an agency, include both agency and in-house contacts.

Inverted Pyramid Writing

Structure

▼ Most important information (headline + lead)
  ▼ Important details (context, significance)
    ▼ Supporting information (quotes, data)
      ▼ Background (boilerplate, additional context)

Why It Matters

• Journalists read from the top and stop when they have enough.
• Editors cut from the bottom.
• If the release is too long, the most important information survives.
• Your lead paragraph is your one shot to hook a journalist.

Press Release Template with Annotations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[Or: UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL [Date, Time, Timezone]]

[HEADLINE: 60-80 characters, factual, includes company name]
[OPTIONAL SUBHEADLINE: Additional context]

[CITY, STATE] — [Date] — [Company name] today announced [core news].
[What it means/impact]. [Key proof point — number, stat, or customer].

[CONTEXT PARAGRAPH: Why this matters. Market context. Problem being solved.
Industry trend this connects to. Size of opportunity.]

[DETAILS PARAGRAPH: Specific features, terms, timeline, availability.
What the reader needs to know to understand the announcement fully.]

"[EXECUTIVE QUOTE: Vision, why this matters, expressed with genuine enthusiasm.
Should feel like something a human would actually say.]"
— [Name], [Title], [Company]

[PARTNER/CUSTOMER/INVESTOR QUOTE — optional but powerful]
"[Third-party validation. Why they believe in this.]"
— [Name], [Title], [Organization]

[ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Supporting information, availability, pricing,
how to get started, relevant links.]

About [Company]
[Company] is [what it does] for [who it serves]. [Founded/headquartered].
[Key metrics: customers, funding, team size]. [For more information,
visit website.com.]

Media Contact:
[Name]
[Email]
[Phone]

Distribution Strategy

Wire Services

• When to use: Major announcements (funding, acquisition, public company news). Provides broad distribution and SEO benefits.
• Top services: PR Newswire, BusinessWire, GlobeNewsWire.
• Cost: $500-2,000+ per release depending on distribution scope.
• Limitation: Wire distribution alone rarely generates quality coverage. Journalists receive hundreds of wire releases daily.

Direct Pitch to Journalists

• When to use: Always, in addition to (or instead of) wire distribution.
• How: Send a personalized email to 10-30 journalists who cover your beat.
• Include: Brief pitch (not the full press release), link to the release, offer for interview/demo.
• See: media-pitching skill for detailed guidance.

Exclusive Offers

• What: Offer one journalist the story before anyone else, in exchange for coverage commitment.
• When to use: Major announcements where you want in-depth, high-quality coverage from a top-tier outlet.
• How: Approach one journalist 3-7 days before announcement with an exclusive offer. If they decline, move to the next outlet.
• Risk: Other journalists may be upset they didn't get the exclusive. Reserve for truly big news.

Embargo

• What: Share the news with multiple journalists before the announcement date, with agreement they won't publish until a specific date/time.
• When to use: When you want multiple outlets to cover the news simultaneously on launch day.
• How: Clearly state embargo terms. Share 3-7 days in advance. Monitor for breaks.
• Risk: Embargoes can be broken. Only embargo information you're comfortable potentially leaking early.

Common Press Release Mistakes

1. Burying the lead. The news must be in the first sentence, not the third paragraph.
2. Corporate jargon. "Synergy," "best-in-class," "leveraging" — nobody writes stories about jargon.
3. No news. Not everything is a press release. If a journalist couldn't write a headline from it, it's not news.
4. Too long. Target 400-600 words. Maximum 800. One page is ideal.
5. Quotes that repeat facts. Quotes should add perspective, emotion, or vision — not restate what's already in the body.
6. No proof points. Claims without data. "Growing rapidly" vs. "grew 200% year-over-year."
7. Missing the "so what." Why should anyone care? Connect to a problem or trend.
8. No media contact. Always include a real person journalists can reach immediately.

Press Release Types

Product Launch

• Lead with the problem being solved, then the solution.
• Include availability date, pricing (or "contact for pricing"), and how to get started.
• Customer testimonial or early access results.

Funding Round

• Lead with the amount, round, and lead investor.
• Include what the funding will be used for (hiring, expansion, R&D).
• Investor quote on why they invested.
• Include total funding to date and key metrics (revenue, customer count, growth rate).

Partnership

• Lead with what the partnership delivers to customers.
• Include quotes from both companies.
• Be specific about integration details or joint offerings.

Executive Hire

• Lead with the hire's most impressive credential and why they're joining.
• Include their specific mandate or focus area.
• Quote from the CEO about why this hire matters.
• Quote from the new hire about why they joined.

Research / Data Release

• Lead with the most surprising or significant finding.
• Include methodology (sample size, methodology type, date range).
• Offer the full report for download.
• Expert quote interpreting the findings.

Event Announcement

• Lead with what attendees will experience or learn.
• Include date, location (or virtual), registration link, and any notable speakers.
• Early bird pricing or exclusive access hooks.

Quality Gate

Before distributing a press release:

• Does the headline clearly communicate the news in under 80 characters?
• Can a journalist write their story from the first paragraph alone?
• Is there a clear "so what?" — why does this matter beyond your company?
• Are there specific numbers or proof points (not vague claims)?
• Do the quotes sound like something a human would say (no jargon)?
• Is it under 600 words? (800 absolute maximum)
• Is the boilerplate current and accurate?
• Is there a media contact with responsive email and phone?
• Have you planned the distribution strategy (wire, direct pitch, exclusive, embargo)?
• Has a second person reviewed for accuracy, typos, and newsworthiness?