Press Release Writing Guide: Everything You Need to Know Before You Write One

Headline

The headline is the only part of your press release a journalist may read before deciding whether to open it. Write it to state the news directly, the way a journalist would write a news headline, not the way a marketing team would write an advertisement. Use active verbs. Keep it under 70 characters. Include a number where one is relevant, because numbers signal specificity. The test is simple: does the headline answer what happened, or does it tell the reader how to feel about it?

Dateline

The dateline opens the first paragraph and states the city of origin and the release date, followed by the status: either For Immediate Release, or a specific embargo date and time. If you use an embargo, be precise. An ambiguous embargo creates confusion and can result in early publication, which damages the relationship with the journalist and the story’s impact.

Lead Paragraph

The lead paragraph answers the five Ws: who, what, when, where, and why. A journalist should be able to understand the complete story from this paragraph alone. Lead with the most newsworthy information. Every word of scene-setting or background context that appears before the actual news pushes a journalist closer to moving on. Get to the point in the first sentence.

Body

The body supports the lead with detail, data, and context in descending order of importance. This is the inverted pyramid: most critical information first, supporting detail below. Journalists frequently cut from the bottom when they are short on space. If your essential story is not told before you get to the supporting material, it may not make the final article.

Quote

Every press release needs at least one quote from a relevant spokesperson, typically the founder, CEO, or the most senior person connected to the announcement. If anyone could have written the quote, rewrite it. A quote that says the company is excited or honoured gives a journalist nothing to work with. A quote that says something specific, something only this person could credibly say, gives a journalist a ready-made soundbite they can use without paraphrasing. That is the difference between appearing in the story and being cut from it.

Boilerplate

The boilerplate is a short, standard paragraph at the bottom of every release that describes the company. Journalists use it to write the attribution line in their story, so it needs to be accurate, up to date, and free of marketing language. Write it once, keep it consistent across all releases, and update it as the company grows.

Visuals

Why visuals change your pickup rate Press releases that include visual elements are 45% more likely to be picked up by media outlets. Journalists need compelling visuals to accompany their stories, and providing high-quality assets upfront removes a barrier between your release and their coverage. For product launches, include multiple angles at 300 DPI minimum. For executive appointments, include a professional headshot. Host all assets in an accessible folder and include the download link in the release body. Source: eReleases, What to Include in a Press Release: Complete Guide, 2025-2026

Press Release vs Wire: What Is the Difference and When to Use Each

This is one of the most misunderstood distinctions in PR, and getting it wrong costs both money and coverage quality. Here is how the two approaches actually differ.

What a Wire Actually Is

When people say wire, they usually mean one of two completely different things. The first is a news wire service, such as the Associated Press or Reuters. These are newsrooms with their own journalists who write original, independent stories and distribute them to subscribing outlets. You do not send press releases to these agencies expecting them to be published. They do not publish yours. They write their own.

The second is a press release distribution wire, such as PR Newswire or Business Wire. These services distribute company-written releases to a list of journalists and outlets. You write the release. The wire delivers it. Whether any journalist chooses to cover the story still depends entirely on the news value of what you sent.

How They Are Written Differently

A release written for direct journalist outreach is personal and targeted. You are pitching a specific story to a specific journalist who covers a specific beat. It can be accompanied by a short covering note that shows you have read their work and understood their audience. The angle can be tailored to what that publication covers.

A release written for wire distribution must be entirely self-contained. It will be read by syndication systems and news aggregators as well as journalists. There is no covering note to provide context. The release needs to communicate the full story clearly on its own, in a neutral, factual tone that works across multiple outlet types simultaneously.

A Direct Comparison

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	Direct Release	Wire Distribution
Written for	A specific journalist or publication	A broad distribution list
Tone	Can be tailored to the outlet and journalist	Neutral, factual, self-contained
Best for	Building journalist relationships, pitching a targeted angle	Broad announcements, financial disclosures, regulatory news, SEO visibility
Cost	Time and relationship investment	Paid per release, significant for premium services
Coverage outcome	Higher quality if it lands	Wider reach, lower individual placement quality
India context	Most effective for Indian media relationships	Business Wire India, PR Newswire India for broad distribution

When to Use a Wire

Wire distribution makes most sense for publicly listed companies issuing regulatory or financial disclosures, funding announcements where simultaneous broad reach matters, situations where SEO visibility through syndicated online coverage is the primary goal, and announcements targeting international media alongside Indian outlets.

When Direct Outreach Is Stronger

For most Indian startups and growing businesses, a well-crafted release sent directly to ten relevant journalists will outperform a wire blast to five hundred broadly targeted contacts. Wire services distribute your release to lists. They do not build relationships with you. You are renting distribution, not building trust. There is no direct connection between you and the journalists on the other end, which means there is no relationship to call on when the next announcement comes around.

At Bridgers, the releases that consistently earn coverage are the ones built around a clear news angle and sent to journalists who cover exactly that beat. The wire has its place. For most of the businesses we work with, especially at the early and growth stages, it is not the right first move.

What Makes a Press Release Actually Get Picked Up

Format and structure are table stakes. Every competent press release has a headline, a lead, a quote, and a boilerplate. What separates the ones that earn coverage is judgment, and that is harder to codify. Here is what we consistently observe at Bridgers.

The first thing that determines whether a release gets read is whether it has a news angle rather than a company angle. These sound similar, but they produce very different releases. A company angle asks: what do we want people to know? A news angle asks: why would a journalist’s readers care about this? A release built around the second question gets opened. A release built around the first gets deleted.

Assuming the angle is right, timing determines whether it gets acted on. A product release sent during a major news cycle will be buried regardless of how strong the story is. A data release timed to a live regulatory debate can earn significant coverage with no other changes. Timing is a strategic decision, not an afterthought, and it is one of the most underused levers in press release distribution.

Once a journalist opens the release, personalisation determines whether they respond. A release sent with a two-line covering note that references the journalist’s recent work will always outperform the same release sent to a generic list. Personalisation is not flattery. It is evidence that you understand your audience and have chosen them deliberately rather than carpet-bombing their inbox.

If a journalist decides to write the story, the quality of the quote determines whether your spokesperson appears in it. A generic quote forces the journalist to paraphrase or cut your voice from the piece entirely. A quote with a specific, original point of view gives them something they can use verbatim. That is the difference between your brand appearing in the story and being a background data point in someone else’s.

Finally, brevity determines whether you will be pitching that journalist successfully again. The best press releases are between 300 and 500 words. Every word beyond what is necessary to tell the story tests a journalist’s patience. Respect their time, and they will remember it next time your name appears in their inbox.

What a Press Release Cannot Do

A press release cannot make non-news into news. The first question to ask before writing any release is not how to write it. It is whether there is a story worth writing at all. No amount of polished language will turn a minor internal update into something a journalist’s readers will care about.

It also cannot guarantee coverage even when the story is genuinely strong. Editorial decisions depend on timing, competing stories, publication priorities, and factors entirely outside your control. A good press release improves your odds significantly. It does not determine the outcome.

For a step-by-step guide to writing a press release, including structure, language guidance, and a template you can adapt, see our complete guide on how to write a press release.

A Press Release Is Only as Strong as the Story Behind It

The businesses that earn consistent media coverage are not the ones that send the most press releases. They are the ones who know when they have a story worth telling, how to tell it clearly, and who to tell it to. Format is learnable in an afternoon. Judgment takes longer, and it is built from understanding your media landscape, knowing your journalists, and making every release count.

A press release opens a door. The story, the relationship, and the relevance are what get you through it.

Want to make sure your press releases are reaching the right journalists with the right story?

At Bridgers, we build press releases around genuine news angles, target them to the right publications, and write them in a way that makes a journalist’s job easier rather than harder. If you want to understand what that looks like for your specific announcement or ongoing PR programme, we would be glad to talk.

Frequently Asked Questions About Press Releases

What is a press release?

A press release is a written announcement sent to journalists and media outlets to inform them about something newsworthy from your organisation. Its purpose is to give a journalist the information they need to decide whether to cover your story, and the raw material to write about it if they decide to. It is a PR tool, not a marketing document.

How long should a press release be?

Between 300 and 500 words for most announcements. The purpose of a press release is to communicate a news angle clearly and efficiently, not to tell your full brand story. Data releases and funding announcements sometimes run slightly longer when the supporting detail genuinely adds to the story, but 600 words is a practical ceiling for any type.

When should you use a wire service to distribute a press release?

Wire services make most sense for publicly listed companies issuing financial or regulatory announcements, funding releases where simultaneous broad reach matters, and situations where SEO visibility through widespread online syndication is the goal. For most startups and growing businesses, direct outreach to targeted journalists produces better quality coverage than wire distribution to a broad, untargeted list.

How do you write a press release headline?

Write the headline the way a journalist would write a news headline, not the way a marketing team would write an advertisement. Use active verbs: launches, appoints, raises, partners. Keep it under 70 characters. Include a number where one is relevant. The test is whether the headline answers the question of what happened, not what the company wants people to feel about it.

Does a press release help with SEO?

Press releases that earn genuine editorial coverage in credible online publications generate high-quality backlinks that have a measurable impact on search rankings. A release distributed through a wire service will appear on syndication sites and may generate some backlinks. Still, the more significant SEO value comes from the earned coverage the release generates in independent publications, not from the release itself.

What is the most common reason press releases do not get picked up?

The absence of a genuine news angle. Businesses regularly send press releases about things that matter internally but have no relevance to a journalist’s readers. A new product, a new hire, or a partnership is not automatically news. The news is what those things mean for the market, the industry, or the people affected. If the press release cannot answer why a reader who does not know your company should care, it will not be covered.

What is the difference between a press release and a wire service?

A press release is a document you write to announce something newsworthy. A wire service is a distribution platform that sends your release to a list of journalists and media outlets. The two are not the same thing. You can send a press release directly to journalists without using a wire service, which is often the better approach for most businesses at the early and growth stages.