Most press releases are never read past the headline. Journalists get hundreds a week, and the ones that make it into print tend to share a few habits: there's a real piece of news in them, it's obvious within two sentences, and the person who sent it has thought about who reads the publication. None of that needs a big budget. It needs discipline, and a willingness to bin a release that isn't news.
This guide covers how we write releases at Foundry, the structure journalists expect, and the mistakes we see most often when businesses write their own.
Decide whether it's news before you write anything
The hardest part of a press release happens before the first word. Prowly's guide to writing a press release puts it as a simple test: is it new, is it interesting, and will anyone outside your company care? A new website, a rebrand or a staff anniversary usually fails the third question. A product that solves a problem people complain about, a partnership that changes what customers can get, or original figures about your industry can pass it.
We'd go further and say that a release you send because "we haven't done one for a while" does more harm than good. Journalists remember who wastes their time. If you're struggling to find a story, that's a sign to look for a different kind of PR, such as expert comment on something already in the news, rather than to force one.
Pick the publication, then the angle
A release written for everyone is written for nobody. The angle that interests a trade title is rarely the one a local paper wants. Trade readers care about what a launch means for their industry, while a local editor wants to know why it matters to people in the area. If you have both audiences, write two versions. It takes an extra hour, and each one will read as though it was written for that editor, because it was.
It also helps to think about where your customers read, which isn't always the most obvious specialist site. Ahrefs makes this point well in its beginner's guide to digital PR: relevance means relevant to your audience, and sometimes that's a business title or a regional site rather than a niche blog.
Use the format journalists expect
There's a standard layout for a reason. Journalists rely on it to find the facts quickly, and following it tells them you're easy to work with. Save the creativity for the story itself. A release should run in this order: a headline that states the news plainly, a short subheading or lead that adds the most important detail, a dateline, the body, a quote, a short "notes to editors" section about the business, and contact details for someone who will actually answer the phone.
Keep it to one page. If it runs onto a second, there's something to cut. Prowly also warns against capital letters, exclamation marks and teasing headlines, and we agree. "Melton firm launches X for Y" is far more useful to an editor than a clever pun they'll have to rewrite.
Put the whole story in the first two sentences
Journalists decide quickly, so the first paragraph has to answer who, what, where, when and why. Someone who reads only that paragraph should be able to write a news-in-brief item from it. Everything after it adds detail in descending order of importance, so the release can be cut from the bottom without losing anything essential.
This is where most self-written releases go wrong. They open with background about the company, its values and its history, and the actual news turns up in paragraph four. Turn it around. The background belongs in the notes to editors at the end.
Write news, not advertising
A press release isn't a brochure. Words like "leading", "innovative" and "world-class" are a quick way to get a release deleted, because they tell the journalist you're selling rather than informing. Write it the way a reporter would, with facts, figures and plain language, and explain why the story matters to the publication's readers. Why coverage would be good for you is not their concern.
Every figure needs to stand up. If you say a product has a certain number of users or that a problem costs people a certain amount, have the source ready. The IPSO Editors' Code requires the publications it regulates to avoid inaccurate or misleading information, and an editor who gets burned by your numbers won't run your next release.
Get the quote right
The quote is the one place a release can sound human, and it's usually where it sounds least human. "We're delighted to announce" is so common that Prowly singles it out. A good quote comes from the most credible person available, adds something the body doesn't already say, and sounds like that person actually talks. An opinion, a reason or a bit of context works far better than enthusiasm.
We draft quotes with the person they're attributed to, never for them. If the founder wouldn't say it out loud, it shouldn't be in their name. That also matters when a journalist calls to follow up, because the quote has to match the person on the end of the line.
Send it properly
A good release sent badly still fails. Find the specific journalist who covers your subject rather than a general news inbox, and write a short email that explains the story in a couple of lines with the release pasted underneath. Attachments are easy to ignore, so make sure the text is in the body of the email and images are available by link.
Time it sensibly too. If there's a news hook, send it while the hook is live. If a journalist asks for more, reply fast, because they're often working to a same-day deadline. Ahrefs notes that reactive requests frequently arrive in the afternoon with an end-of-day turnaround.
Follow up once, politely, after a day or two. After that, take silence as a no and move on to the next publication. Nobody can guarantee coverage, and anyone who promises it is probably selling paid placements, which is a different thing entirely.
A press release template you can adapt
If you want a starting point, this is the skeleton we use:
HEADLINE: what happened, in plain words, under about 12 words.
Subheading: the single most important supporting detail.
Town, date: the first paragraph with who, what, where, when and why.
Paragraphs two and three: the detail, the figures and their sources, and why it matters to this publication's readers.
Quote: one or two sentences from the most credible person, saying something the body doesn't.
Final paragraph: what happens next, such as availability, dates or where to find out more.
Ends.
Notes to editors: two or three lines about the business, plus links to images.
Media contact: name, phone and email for someone available that week.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a press release be?
Aim for a single page. If it runs over, cut the company background first, because that belongs in the notes to editors anyway.
Should I pay to distribute a press release?
Wire services will put your release on lots of sites, but that's not the same as a journalist choosing to write about you. For most small businesses, a well-targeted email to the right ten journalists does more than a mass distribution.
Is a press release the same as digital PR?
A release is one tool within PR. Our guide to what digital PR is explains how coverage and links fit into SEO, and our digital PR page covers how we run it for clients. If you've got a story and want an honest view on whether it has legs, get in touch.