A press release is a strange little document. It looks formal, but its whole job is to make a busy journalist's life easier — to hand them a story that is already framed, sourced, and quotable so they can decide fast whether it's worth their time. Most releases fail at that job. They bury the news under adjectives, open with the company instead of the story, and read like a brochure that wandered into a newsroom.
The takeaway up front: a good press release is not persuasive writing, it's clear writing. Your goal is not to convince a reporter your news is exciting — it's to state what happened, why it matters, and who it matters to, so plainly that they can verify it and move. This guide covers the standard structure, walks through a worked example, and names the mistakes that get releases deleted.
First, Is a Press Release Even the Right Tool?
Before you write a word, decide whether a release is what you actually need. A press release is a broadcast format — one document, many recipients — and it's best suited to genuine news events: a funding round, a launch, a notable hire, an acquisition, a data story, or a milestone with real stakes. It creates a citable, timestamped record of the news that anyone can reference later.
It is the wrong tool for a lot of things people use it for. A press release is not a substitute for a personalized pitch when you're chasing one specific reporter — that's a job for a tailored email, not a broadcast (see the pitching guide). And it is not a magic trick that turns a non-event into coverage. If you're struggling to state your news in one sentence, the problem is usually the news, not the writing. Work on the angle first; our guide on finding a newsworthy angle is a better start than a blank template.
The Anatomy of a Press Release
A conventional press release follows a structure journalists recognize on sight. That familiarity is a feature — it lets them scan for the parts they need without hunting. Here is the standard skeleton, top to bottom.
Release line and headline
At the top sits a release instruction, usually FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — or, if the news is under embargo, a clear embargo line stating the date and time it may be published. Directly below is the headline: the single most important line in the document. It should state the news in plain language, not tease it. An optional subhead can add one supporting detail.
Dateline and lead paragraph
The body opens with a dateline — the city and date the news originates — followed immediately by the lead paragraph. The lead is where the whole story lives in miniature. It answers the classic questions a reporter needs: who, what, when, where, and enough of the why to matter. If a reader stops after the first paragraph, they should still walk away knowing the news.
Body paragraphs
The paragraphs that follow expand outward in decreasing order of importance — the "inverted pyramid" that newsrooms have used for a century. This structure exists for a practical reason: editors cut from the bottom, so the least essential detail should always be last. Use the body to add context, supporting facts, and the significance of the news. Keep it factual. This is not the place for marketing superlatives.
Quotes
One or two quotes from a real, named spokesperson add a human voice and give reporters something they can lift directly. A good quote offers perspective or interpretation — the why it matters — rather than restating the facts already in the lead.
Boilerplate
Near the end comes the boilerplate: a short, standing paragraph that describes the company in a couple of neutral sentences. It's the "about us" that reporters paste when they need to identify you. Write it once, keep it accurate, and reuse it.
Contact information and the close
Finish with a named media contact — a real person, an email, and a phone number — so a reporter with a follow-up question can reach someone fast. Traditionally, releases close with three centered hash marks (###) to signal the end of the document.
A Worked Example
Here is the skeleton filled in with a plausible, fictional announcement so you can see how the parts fit together. Treat the bracketed fields as placeholders to replace with your own details.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Northwind Logistics Cuts Small-Business Shipping Times With New Regional Hub Second distribution center opens in Columbus, promising next-day delivery to five additional states
[COLUMBUS, Ohio] — [Date] — Northwind Logistics, a freight and fulfillment provider for small e-commerce sellers, today opened its second regional distribution hub, extending next-day ground delivery to customers in five additional states across the Midwest.
The 120,000-square-foot facility roughly doubles the company's storage capacity and is expected to shorten average delivery times for merchants shipping to the region. Northwind serves independent online sellers who have historically been priced out of the fast-shipping options available to large retailers.
"Small sellers lose customers every time a big-box competitor delivers in a day and they can't," said Maria Alvarez, chief operating officer at Northwind Logistics. "This hub is about closing that gap — giving independent merchants the delivery speed their customers now expect by default."
The Columbus facility begins processing orders this month and will add an estimated 60 local jobs over the coming year.
About Northwind Logistics Northwind Logistics provides warehousing, fulfillment, and freight services for small and mid-sized e-commerce businesses across the United States. Founded in 2016, the company operates distribution hubs in [City] and Columbus.
Media Contact [Name] · [email protected] · [Phone]
Notice what the example does not do: it never calls itself "revolutionary," and the quote adds a point of view rather than repeating the headline. That restraint is what makes it usable.
Writing the Headline and the Lead
If you only get two things right, make them the headline and the lead — they decide whether anyone reads the rest.
For the headline, state the news, don't advertise it. "Northwind Opens Columbus Hub, Extends Next-Day Delivery" tells a reporter exactly what happened. "Northwind Redefines the Future of Logistics" tells them nothing and signals hype. Front-load the concrete outcome — the change, the number, the launch — and cut words that don't carry information.
For the lead, resist the urge to warm up. Do not open with your company's history or mission — open with the news. A reliable test: if you deleted every sentence except your first, would a stranger understand what you're announcing and why it's worth noting? If not, rewrite until they would.
Quotes That Aren't Filler
Most press release quotes are dead on arrival because they say nothing a reporter can use. "We're thrilled to announce this exciting milestone" is not a quote — it's throat-clearing with a name attached. A quote earns its place when it adds interpretation, stakes, or a point of view the facts alone don't provide.
Attribute quotes to a real, named person with a title, and keep them in a voice a human might actually speak. If your spokesperson would never say the sentence out loud, don't put it in their mouth.
The Boilerplate That Actually Helps
The boilerplate is the most reused paragraph you'll ever write, so make it earn its keep. Two or three sentences: what the company does, who it serves, and a concrete anchoring fact or two (where you operate, when you were founded, the category you compete in). Avoid unverifiable claims like "leading" or "world-class" — reporters mentally delete them, and some editors strike them outright. Accurate and specific beats grand and vague.
Common Mistakes That Get a Release Deleted
Most failed releases share a short list of avoidable errors:
- Burying the news. If the actual announcement shows up in paragraph three, most readers never reach it. Lead with it.
- Hype and superlatives. "Groundbreaking," "revolutionary," "game-changing" — these words signal that the writer is selling, not reporting, and journalists tune them out instantly.
- No real news. A new logo or a routine partnership rarely warrants a release. Pressure-test the event before you write.
- Fabricated or unsourced numbers. Never invent a statistic to sound impressive. If you cite a figure, be ready to show where it came from; a number a reporter can't verify is a number they'll drop, along with your credibility.
- Missing or vague contact info. A release without a reachable human is a dead end. Name a person, and make sure they'll actually answer.
- Treating distribution as the finish line. Getting a release onto a wire is not the same as earning coverage. Distribution and pitching do different jobs — our breakdown of distribution versus pitching covers when each one is worth the spend.
Before You Hit Send: A Quick Checklist
Run every release through this before it leaves your hands:
- Does the headline state the news in plain language?
- Does the lead answer who, what, when, where, and why in a single paragraph?
- Is every fact and number accurate and verifiable?
- Does at least one quote add perspective rather than repeat the facts?
- Is the boilerplate current, and does it avoid unverifiable superlatives?
- Is there a named contact with a working email and phone number?
If all six are yes, you have a document a journalist can actually use.
FAQ
How long should a press release be? Aim for roughly 300 to 500 words — one page. The release exists to convey a single news event clearly, not to tell your company's life story. If it runs long, you're probably padding with marketing language a reporter will skip anyway.
Should I write the release in first or third person? Third person. Press releases are written as if a neutral party is reporting the news, which is why they read as "the company announced" rather than "we're excited to announce." The only first-person voice belongs inside quotation marks, attributed to a named spokesperson.
Do I need to pay a newswire to distribute it? Not always. A wire creates broad syndication and a citable record, but it does not guarantee a journalist reads or writes about your news. For a single targeted reporter, a personalized pitch usually works better than a broadcast. We compare the tradeoffs in press release distribution for SEO.
What if I'm not sure my news is newsworthy? That doubt is worth listening to. If you can't state the news in one clear sentence, or answer "why would a reader care?", the release will struggle no matter how well it's written. Work on the angle first — our guide on finding a newsworthy angle is built for exactly that problem.
Can I send the same release to every journalist? You can distribute the same release broadly, but you should not pitch it identically to everyone. The release is your on-the-record document; the pitch that carries it should be personalized to each reporter's beat. Broadcasting the release and personalizing the pitch are two separate steps.
Get Your Release Editor-Ready
A strong press release is a structure problem as much as a writing problem — the news up top, the facts in order, a real quote, a clean boilerplate, and a reachable contact. Once you've got that skeleton right, the rest is discipline. If you'd rather not start from a blank page, draft an editor-ready press release with PR Rush and find the right journalists and press opportunities to send it to.
