How to write
PRESS RELEASE
Press release
• a written statement or
announcement to the media
• or your „TICKET TO PUBLICITY“
• is not written by professioanl
journalists
• the ideal length of a press release is
about 300 to 400 words
Parts of a press release
• CONTACT INFORMATION
• HEADLINE
• SUBHEAD
• DATELINE
• BODY COPY
• BOILERPLATE
• END OR CLOSE
!!!
Before you include all the previously
mentioned parts, don´t forget to write
on the top of your press release:
„FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE“
or
„HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL: [date,
time]“
CONTACT INFORMATION:
• Company name:
• Contact person:
• Telephone:
• Email:
HEADLINE
• tells readers what the announcement is about
• 100-150 characters long, no more than one
sentence
• It is also called “grabber” because it should grab
a reader´s attention
• It should follow the „Someone Does Something“
format
• Capitalize the first letter of all nouns, verbs,
adjectives and adverbs and any prepositions that
are four letters or longer
• do not use closing punctuation
SUBHEAD
• explains the headline or provides
additional relevant details
• it is optional, it does not have to
be included.
DATELINE
• informs of the press release´s origin
• consists of the city, state and date of
issue
• ex.: SVIDNIK, SK., September 23rd,
2015 – [First sentence of body
copy].
BODY COPY
• should begin with a strong introductory
paragraph with the information most
relevant to your message
• write it from the third-person point of
view
• include the “Five Ws” which should
summarize the key points of your news
release
• the rest of it can provide more details
• add a quote from a properly attributed
source. For quoting use: „said“.
Five journalistic „Ws“
• WHO did that?
• WHAT happened?
• WHERE did it take place?
• WHEN did it take place?
• WHY did it happen?
•
Great explanation can be found here
BOILERPLATE
• the last paragraph of a press release
• briefly describes the company
featured within the announcement
• includes a summary of the
company´s history, industry,
practices, and unique value
propositions.
• Ex.: “About (Company Name)”
END or CLOSE
• The final quote in your press release
should make an impact. Make it
something positive and memorable.
• A press release should always end
with the traditional close symbol: “###”- centered at the bottom of
the page.
Just as the five W’s play a very important
role in journalism, there’s also five W’s that
can help guide you throughout life. 
References:
• http://www.prsyndication.com/press-releaseformat
• http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Quotes-in-aPress-Release
• http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2012/06/
10-steps-to-a-good-press-release-plus-onebonus-step-for-a-great-one/
• https://ambitiousamateur15.wordpress.com/
2013/11/01/the-five-ws-of-life/