Short answer
To write a press release, put the news in a plain headline and a first sentence that says who did what, where and when. Add the facts a reporter can check, one quote from a named person who approved it, a short "About" paragraph and a media contact, then end with ###. Keep it to one page. Post it on your website and email it to the reporter who covers your area or trade.
On this page
A press release is a one-page news story your business writes for reporters. Before you write a press release, look at what reporters say they delete. Muck Rack's State of Journalism 2026 report surveyed 1,044 journalists, most of them in the US. Of those, 88% said they immediately ignore or delete a pitch that's irrelevant to their coverage, and 71% one that reads like an ad.
Reporters still use what PR people send. Cision, which owns the PR Newswire wire service, surveyed 1,899 media professionals in 19 markets for its 2026 State of the Media report. Material from PR people, such as press releases, pitches and media kits, was their most common source of story ideas, chosen by 66%.
When is a press release worth writing?
Write one when something has changed that people outside your business would want to know, and you can say where and when. For a small business, that usually means opening, moving or expanding, a notable hire, a contract or award, a new product or price, an event, or numbers from your own records that nobody else has.
Muck Rack also asked what PR people should offer with a pitch. Its survey found 70% wanted clear relevance to their beat, 58% interview access and 40% original data or research. Pre-written quotes came far lower, at 14%. Cision's respondents most wanted more data or research from PR people, at 47%, while 22% wanted more press releases.
Before you write, answer four questions in a line each:
- Whose readers does it affect: which town, trade or kind of customer?
- What changed, and on what date?
- Which fact or number can a reporter check, and where?
- Who can a reporter interview this week?
If the only people it affects are your existing customers, send them an email instead.
What is the format of a press release?
A press release runs from a release line at the top to ### at the bottom, and it should fit on one page. The parts below follow Writing for Strategic Communication Industries, an open textbook by Jasmine Roberts-Crews on Ohio State's Pressbooks site, and a 2019 guide on the SBA's blog.
| Part | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Release line | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, or "under embargo until" and a date if reporters must wait, as the textbook describes |
| Headline | The news in plain words: who did what, where. The SBA post says 100 characters or less |
| Subheadline | Optional. One line on why it matters |
| Dateline | City, state and date, followed by your first sentence. The SBA post's example: "Los Angeles, CA, June 21, 2019" |
| First paragraph | Who, what, when, where and why, in one or two sentences |
| Body | Details in order of importance: prices, dates, addresses, and the number that makes it news with its source |
| Quote | One or two lines from a named person, in their own words, approved by them |
| More information | One link to the page on your website |
| Photos | A link to high-resolution images on your website. 37% of journalists in Muck Rack's survey wanted these offered with a pitch |
| Boilerplate | An "About [business]" paragraph, the same in every release |
| Media contact | Name, phone and email of someone who will answer that week. The textbook prefers the top right corner; the SBA post lists it last, after the boilerplate |
| End mark | ###, which marks the end of the release |
Put the most work into the first paragraph. As the SBA post says, "Most people won't read beyond the first paragraph."
A press release template you can copy
Copy this into a document, replace every bracket, and delete any line you can't fill with a fact.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[Headline: who did what, where. 100 characters or less.]
[Subheadline: why it matters to customers or the area. Optional.]
[CITY], [State], [Month Day, Year] -- [Business name], a [what you do]
in [place], today [did what]. [Why it matters, in one sentence.]
[What changes for customers: prices, dates, hours, addresses.]
[The number that makes it news, and where it comes from.]
"[Quote in the speaker's own words, approved by them in writing],"
said [Full name], [title] at [Business name].
[Where to learn more: one link to the page on your website.]
[Photos: one link to high-resolution images on your website.]
About [Business name]
[Business name] [does what] for [whom] in [where]. [One fact a
reporter can check, such as the year you started.] [Website]
Media contact
[Full name], [title]
[Phone] | [Email]
###Here's the top of a release for a made-up plumbing firm. It has no real numbers, so the example leaves them out instead of inventing some.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Example Plumbing opens a second branch in Dublin, Ohio, with Saturday repairs
DUBLIN, Ohio, November 16, 2026 -- Example Plumbing, a family-run
plumbing firm based in Columbus, today opened a second branch at
[street address] in Dublin. It is the firm's first branch to take
repair calls on Saturdays.Compare that headline with the kind reporters delete: "Example Plumbing Is Thrilled to Announce an Exciting New Chapter." It gives no place, no change and nothing to check. Write your headline last, from your first sentence. Then match the outlet you're pitching: copy how a recent story there writes dates, numbers and job titles.
The textbook asks for at least two quotes, one from the organization and one from someone outside it, such as a customer. Use a customer quote only when the customer said it and approved the exact words in writing.
Can AI write a press release?
Yes, AI can draft one in minutes, as long as it works only from facts and quotes you give it. Left to fill gaps, AI tools write details that sound right and aren't.
That happened in print in May 2025, in a special section of the Chicago Sun-Times. The freelancer who wrote it had used AI, and its summer reading list recommended 15 books. Ten of the titles were fake, the paper's own review found. The section also quoted a well-known chef, and her executive assistant said the chef didn't provide that quote. Our write-up of the reading list case covers what the paper changed afterward.
A made-up customer quote can also fall under a federal rule. The FTC's rule on reviews and testimonials has been in force since October 21, 2024. It makes it unfair or deceptive for a business to write or create a testimonial that materially misrepresents whether the person exists, whether they used the product, or what their experience was. When it announced the rule, the FTC named AI-generated fake reviews among the fakes it covers. Hold product claims to the FTC's standard for ads, too: its guide for small businesses says advertisers must have proof before the ad runs.
Save the instructions in step 2 once. Do the other four steps for every release:
- Write a fact sheet first. Include the news in one sentence, the date and place, and names and titles as each person spells them. Add every number with its source, prices, links, who reporters can interview, the media contact's details and your boilerplate. Add each spokesperson's own words: two or three sentences they wrote, or a transcript of a short call. The AI drafts only from this.
- Save standing instructions. Paste the block below into a saved assistant or project in the AI your business already pays for, so nobody retypes the rules.
- Get every quote approved. The named person approves the final wording in writing, even after small cuts. Our guide to what goes in an AI rulebook shows where an approval rule like this sits.
- Check it against the fact sheet. Compare every name, title, date, price, number and link, and cut any adjective a reporter would delete. Fill every [MISSING] gap, then delete the approval labels and the source list before the release goes out.
- Keep the paper trail. File the fact sheet and the approvals with the release, so you can answer a reporter's question about any figure.
You draft press releases for [Business name].
Facts: use only the fact sheet I send with each request. If something
is missing, write [MISSING: what you need] and keep going. Never guess
a number, date, name, title, price or link.
Quotes: use only the quotes in the fact sheet, from the people who
said them. You may shorten a quote but never add words to it. If
there are none, write [MISSING: quote from NAME]. Label each quote
QUOTE FOR [NAME] TO APPROVE. Never write a quote for anyone.
Numbers: use only numbers from the fact sheet. Under the release,
list each number with its source.
Format: headline of 100 characters or less; dateline as CITY, State,
Month Day, Year --; first sentence says who did what, where and
when; one page; the About paragraph exactly as written in the fact
sheet; media contact; end with ###.
Tone: plain and factual, written for a reporter. No words such as
exciting, thrilled, innovative or proud. No exclamation marks.Our free Rulebook puts both limits in a line each: every number shows where it came from, and no fake logos, customers, quotes or reviews. Optimitor's AI content work sets this up in your own accounts. You get an assistant that drafts releases from your rules, plus a list of journalists and a pitch email for each, and one person on your team approves every piece.
Free template
The Rulebook template has sections for your company facts, tone of voice, sources and approvals. Fill it in once, and the AI drafts from your facts instead of guessing.
How to send a press release
Post the release on a news page on your website, then email it to each reporter who covers your area or trade, one at a time. Pay for a newswire only when you need the release on many sites at once.
Keep your note above the release under 200 words, and write it to one person. Muck Rack's summary of eight years of its journalist surveys found that 69% of journalists prefer pitches under 200 words, 78% want them before noon, and 62% prefer a one-to-one email. Half of those in its 2026 survey said they ignore or delete a pitch that looks like a mass email.
Subject: [Business name] [did what] in [place] on [date]
Hi [first name],
[One line on the story of theirs this connects to.] [The news in
one sentence.] [Why their readers would care, with the number and
its source.]
[Full name, title] can talk to you this week. Photos: [link]. The
release is below and on our website: [link].
[Your name]
[Phone]Newswires charge by the release. These are the published prices for one US release, checked on November 8, 2026:
| Newswire | Published price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| EIN Presswire | $149 for one release | Placement in AP News's press release section, USA TODAY Network sites "based on relevance only", up to 700 words |
| PRWeb, also owned by Cision | $120 to $480 per release | Four packages; the higher ones add syndication to other websites and an email to a journalist list |
| Business Wire | From $475 | 400 words with US local distribution; longer releases and wider circuits cost more |
Check how a wire handles links before you pay. Google's spam policies count "links with optimized anchor text in articles, guest posts, or press releases distributed on other sites" as link spam, unless the links are marked rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". EIN Presswire's FAQ says it only allows no-follow links in releases. If another wire sells keyword links, ask whether they're marked, and link only your business name to your website.
Frequently asked questions
What does ### mean at the end of a press release?
It marks the end of the release, so the reader knows nothing follows. An open textbook from Ohio State tells writers to put three pound signs (###) or "-30-" at the bottom. If a release runs past one page, the book says to write "more" at the bottom of the first page and not to split a paragraph across pages.
What are the 5 W's in a press release?
Who, what, when, where and why. A 2019 guide on the SBA's blog says the first paragraph should answer all five and name your company. To test yours, cover everything below the first paragraph. A reporter should still be able to write a two-line news item from what's left.
What is a boilerplate in a press release?
A boilerplate is the short "About" paragraph at the end that describes your business: what you do, for whom, where and since when. Ohio State's open textbook compares it to the "About Us" section of a company website. Write it once, keep it under 100 words, and use the same text in every release so reporters can copy it.
How long should a press release be?
One page. Ohio State's open textbook says ideally no longer than one page, and a guide on the SBA's blog allows one to two pages. Newswires cap or price by length: EIN Presswire's single release allows up to 700 words, and Business Wire's starting price covers 400 words. Keep the note above the release under 200 words.
When should you send a press release?
Send it the morning the news can be published, marked FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. If reporters need time to prepare, send it a few days early with "under embargo until" and the date, as Ohio State's open textbook describes, plus a time and time zone such as 6 a.m. ET. In Cision's survey, 45% of journalists wanted more embargoed or early-access information. For a weekly paper or a magazine, ask the reporter how much notice they need.
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