A press release is not an advertisement with a journalist's name at the top. It is a source document: a short, factual account of something that changed, written so that a busy editor can lift the facts and write their own story. Understand that and the format stops feeling mysterious.

Understand the second part too. Most releases are sent about things that are not news, and the silence that follows is read as failure when it was simply a mismatch.

Apply the news test first

Ask what changed for someone outside your business. A new product is news if it solves a problem people already have. A new hire is news if the role changes what customers can buy. An award is news if the award is known and the category is competitive.

Refurbished offices, a new logo and a tenth anniversary are usually not news. They can still be worth a social post or a note to customers. Sending them to a newsroom spends the one thing you cannot buy back: the editor's attention.

If the only person who benefits from the announcement is you, it is an advert. If a reader's plans might change because of it, it is news.

The shape editors expect

Keep the document to one page where possible. The order is fixed and useful:

  1. A headline that states the change, not the mood.
  2. A subheading with the detail that did not fit above.
  3. The dateline: town and date.
  4. A lead paragraph answering who, what, when, where and why.
  5. Two or three body paragraphs adding context and specifics.
  6. One or two quotes that sound like a person speaking.
  7. A short boilerplate about the business.
  8. Contact details for someone who will actually answer.

Write the lead as if it will be the whole story

Many editors will use only the first paragraph, so it has to stand alone. Name the business, say what happened, give the date and explain why it matters to the reader. Put the most concrete fact in the first sentence and resist warming up.

Weak: a business is proud to announce an exciting new chapter. Strong: a bakery has opened a second site on Mill Street, adding Saturday trading and a wholesale counter for local restaurants. The second version gives an editor three facts to work with.

Quotes should sound spoken

A quote that could have been written by a committee will be cut. Short sentences, one specific detail, no adjectives stacked three deep. Attribute it to a named person with a real title.

If you would not say the sentence out loud to a customer, rewrite it. Journalists are unusually good at spotting the difference between a quote and a slogan.

Facts, numbers and names

Check every date, address, spelling and figure before sending. Include the trading name as it appears on the signage, and the name of the street rather than the postcode alone. If a photograph is available, say so and describe what it shows.

Do not invent a statistic to add weight. An editor who catches one inflated number discards the whole release, and the correction costs more than the sentence was worth.

Send it to a short list, personally

A wire service distributes to everyone and persuades no one. Ten carefully chosen recipients will outperform a thousand untargeted sends. Find the reporter who covers your sector or your town, read something they wrote last month, and send a two-line note explaining why this might suit them.

Paste the release below the note rather than attaching it, and attach a photograph only if it is good. Follow up once, three days later, with one sentence. Then stop.

The pre-send checklist

  • The change is explainable in one sentence a stranger would understand.
  • The headline states the news rather than the feeling.
  • The lead contains who, what, when, where and why.
  • Every name, date and figure has been checked by a second person.
  • The quote sounds like speech and is attributed to a named individual.
  • The boilerplate is under eighty words and free of jargon.
  • The contact number reaches a person during working hours.
  • The recipient list is short, relevant and personally addressed.
  • A follow-up is scheduled once, not repeatedly.

If a journalist replies, answer within the hour and offer more than they asked for: a photograph, a customer willing to talk, a site visit. If nobody replies, the release still has a use. Put the facts on your website, link to it from the relevant service page, and send a short version to your own list. The document was written for editors, but it can serve customers too.