The small but mighty press release; a way to get your information through the newsroom and into the hearts and minds of your audience. They work, and they work well, but there are multiple systems and filters that you have to get your message through; that’s why I recommend following a specific, proven formula.

Infographic

Press releases are a cycle. This is a simplified model. Click the up arrow on one to see some things move! This doesn't mean much at this stage; it's a pretty abstracted concept.

Benjamin Wilson

Infographic

Press releases are a cycle. This is a simplified model. Click the up arrow on one to see some things move! This doesn't mean much at this stage; it's a pretty abstracted concept.

Benjamin Wilson

We’ll handle the how before we handle the why. Practical in part 1, theory in part 2. This follows Bloom’s Taxonomy, which is a standard pedagogical framework.

  1. How to write a press release
  2. Why follow this method

Should my press release be a creative writing exercise? No, but nothing’s stopping you from writing creatively at the same time. I’ll go over why not in part 2.

Want a template? I gotchu, no problem. Here’s a press release template freebie. Put it on your letterhead but also it’s a good habit to paste the whole text in the body of emails sans letterhead to make it past organizational HTML email filters.

How to write a press release

First, make sure that what you’re writing about is news-worthy. Then gather all of your information:

  • Who?
  • What?
  • When?
  • Where?
  • Why?
  • How?
  • So what? Or, why should the public care?

And locate at least one subject matter expert that you can tag for a good quote. The formula for a press release is pretty simple;

  • AP-style headline
    • An AP-style headline is sentence-case, present tense. It used to be title case; no más. Use single quotes and numerals. Use the infinitive for the future. Avoid unnecessary words and flowery turns of phrase. Be factual and timely. There are other ways to write it, but I follow the formula of “Who does what?” or, “Who does what to whom?”
    • Examples:
      • Judge faces ouster
      • Alpine Cooling creates new type of steel
  • Introductory paragraph with the 5 W’s and one H.
    • Again: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
      • Example (fictional, but the pigment is real):
        • Scientists at Oregon State University created the first new blue pigment in over a century, officials announced Friday, September 25th, 2026. Dr. Mas Subraminian, leader of the research team, stated “This was a serendipitous discovery.”
  • The body, starting with the ‘so what’ and then facts in descending order of importance.
    • Follow the inverted pyramid structure; most important up top. Assume your audience doesn’t have time to read 37 paragraphs of a persuasive essay.
    • The ‘so what’ can definitely be part of your introductory paragraph. It doesn’t have to be a second paragraph.
  • 3-4ish paragraph body; typically one paragraph expanding the intro paragraph, one paragraph with further facts, one paragraph with quotes to substantiate those facts, and a closing paragraph with contact information.
  • All paragraphs should be about 3 sentences to allow for better mobile-first reading; assume the editor or journalist isn’t sitting at their desk waiting for news to arrive, they’re out, hunting for it.

Why follow this method

Process diagram

Give it a whirl. Click up on the communicator to send a press release and see how the feedback cycle gets going.

Benjamin Wilson

Process diagram

Give it a whirl. Click up on the communicator to send a press release and see how the feedback cycle gets going.

Benjamin Wilson

In a nutshell: you have to write a release that makes it through media gatekeepers and to the public, who then need to decode your message and respond appropriately. Write for your audience, not for yourself.

Those media gatekeepers aren’t malicious; they’re trying to maintain journalistic integrity, speak truth to power, navigate a changing world with continual newsroom cuts, break news before everyone else, not get arrested, and stay relevant while bringing important news to the people. That’s a lot to handle. At the same time, their editors have business objectives, a specific niche they talk about, and typically some sort of political bias. And if you don’t believe your favorite media outlet is biased, check out one of my favorite web-based infographics; the Ad Fontes interactive media bias chart.

If you don’t write your release in a way that the editor or journalist can scan quickly, or don’t write it about something they consider newsworthy, your nessage will be rejected. Rejection is still feedback, however. This helps you know how to formulate your press releases in the future - or who to target what type of release toward.

If your release gets repackaged into an article, the public then either rejects the message or integrates the message. You can tell by how their behaviors change or do not change; this is more feedback. This tells you whether your message needs reformulation. Note: sentiment analysis is a great tool here.

The interesting thing to note about all of this is that the public - your audience - isn’t just sitting there passively receiving messages. Instead, they take bits and pieces of the various messages they receive and create their own worldview. This is known as agendamelding; people don’t just blindly accept one media agenda, they choose parts of the agendas of many media.

It’s really fascinating how press releases, a seemingly simple thing, are actually very complex, dynamic processes. A lot of things that appear simple are surprisingly complex.

Anyway; as above, so below. Here’s a press release template freebie.