How to write a press release that cuts through the noise

You’ve spent three hours crafting what you suppose is an excellent press launch. You hit ship to your media record. After which… nothing. No replies. No protection. Simply the sound of crickets and one autoreply saying the journalist is on vacation.

As an award-winning B2B PR agency, we’ve written 1000’s of press releases – and extra importantly, we’ve secured protection in shops from the FT and BBC to specialist commerce publications throughout healthcare, fintech and professional services. We all know what works, as a result of we’ve seen what lands.

Fast information: Easy methods to write a press launch (in 8 steps)

1. Determine a genuinely newsworthy angle – ask: will a journalist care?
2. Write a transparent, punchy headline – give attention to probably the most stunning or impactful ingredient.
3. Open with the important thing info – your first sentence ought to summarise the who/what/the place/when/why.
4. Construction utilizing the inverted pyramid – most essential information first, particulars later.
5. Add significant quotes – they need to add perception and context.
6. Preserve it concise – no multiple web page and keep away from repetition.
7. Embody supporting element – knowledge, background or context in decrease paragraphs.
8. End with contacts and notes to editors – make it straightforward for journalists to observe up.

For our full information to writing an efficient press launch, learn on.

Contents:

What’s a press launch?

A press launch is a formatted announcement you ship to journalists within the hope they’ll flip it right into a story. Easy in concept. In apply? Most get deleted inside seconds as a result of they’re boring, irrelevant, or each.

Organisations hoping to draw information protection can write their very own press releases or work with a PR agency to write down one. Even within the trendy period, press releases nonetheless play a significant position in lots of digital PR campaigns. Study extra about a few of the different key parts in our weblog – what is digital PR?

What makes a very good press launch?

A press launch have to be used for information – basically, attention-grabbing info that individuals could need to learn. Widespread complaints from journalists embody: “That’s not very attention-grabbing”; “That’s not new.” Because the expression goes, individuals aren’t fascinated with ‘canine bites man’ – however ‘man bites canine’ is value studying about. If unsure, take a look at present information protection for a deeper understanding of the kinds of tales which can be of curiosity to the media.

Quantifying ‘newsworthiness’ looks as if an inconceivable problem, however in 2017, Tony Harcup and Deirdre O’Neill revealed a paper in Journalism Research entitled ‘What is News?’. This glorious, easy-to-read tutorial article supplies 15 standards to assist establish tales which can be more likely to succeed. Listed below are 4 that matter most for B2B press releases:

• Exclusivity: you’re breaking the story first, or sharing distinctive knowledge/perception.
• Dangerous information: issues, failures, or challenges (journos love a disaster or controversy).
• Leisure: the sudden, uncommon, or human-interest angle that makes individuals need to share.
• The facility elite: senior appointments, main contracts, or choices affecting a great deal of individuals.

What makes a foul press launch?

Dangerous press releases waste journalists’ time with non-news. We requested a couple of of our contacts about what makes a press launch dangerous:

Award wins and recognition

Ryan Morrison former journalist at Daily Mail Online stated: “I don’t suppose I’ve ever run a narrative on an organization profitable an award, hardly ever write a narrative on an organization profitable a brand new contract or concerning the promotion or appointment of a brand new govt.

“I hardly ever even open emails about an award or new contract except it’s a very high-profile firm, and even then, it could have to be significantly attention-grabbing or uncommon.”

Beginning with embargo particulars

Geoffrey Carr, science and know-how editor at The Economist, additionally chipped in with the next: “The factor I hate most is a content material area that begins with stuff like, “Embargoed till DATE/TIME”. I don’t care about that. I desire a fast abstract of the story. Whether it is embargoed, I’ll most likely be capable of work that out.”

The price of dangerous press releases

As a digital PR company, we’ve pitched a whole lot of press releases, or reasonably, we’ve pitched a whole lot of information tales encapsulated in press launch format. Within the early days, we bought shouted at – correctly shouted at – by our fair proportion of journalists for pitching them boring ‘information’ tales and losing their time. We stopped doing that. As such, at any time when an organization asks us to pitch a non-newsworthy story, we make the next factors:

1. If we try this, it’ll injury the media’s opinion of stated firm.
2. Do it too typically and the corporate runs the danger of the media ignoring something attention-grabbing they need to say in future.
3. If we pitch garbage, then it impacts our different shoppers who need to secure coverage from the identical journalists. We’d be doing them a disservice if we did that.

Easy methods to write a press launch that journalists need to learn

At Definition, we’re all about personalised, high-quality media relations. We’ve written previously about how to pitch journalists and how to handle media interviews, however for this weblog on what makes a very good press launch, we expect it’s greatest that you simply hear from the journalists themselves.

Begin with the story

The journalists all agreed that a very powerful sentence in all the launch is the primary one. Will Smale of the BBC stated: “What’s the story about? Inform me within the first sentence.” Jane Warren of the Daily Express colourfully described the primary line as, “an arresting standfirst that distils the essence of the discharge with aptitude!”

Make it straightforward to make use of

Tara Evans of The Sun stated {that a} good launch ought to embody “all the knowledge, pics (in excessive res), and related contact information.” She says it ought to “by no means be hooked up as a PDF, all the time within the physique of the e-mail.”

Reduce the jargon and filler

Susie Bearne, a contract media consultant who has written for the BBC and The Guardian, amongst others, advocated for a temperate tone. She stated: “Use your quotes so as to add additional perception. So many quotes are simply tagged on, with phrases similar to ’I’m delighted that…’. Cease proper there. After all you’re delighted, we will see your press launch. We’ll solely find yourself reducing that jargon and nonsense out. Additionally, cease utilizing capital letters for job titles.”

Take into consideration the viewers, not your self

Lastly, the journalists additionally referred to as for organisations to contemplate who they’re really sending releases to, in Rachel Hall of The Guardian’s phrases, “take into consideration why the editor’s particular readership would care a few story and articulate that clearly on the high.” Sean Coughlan of the BBC agreed: “Bear in mind who it’s being despatched to reasonably than who it’s being despatched from. An issue with many press releases is that they’re of extra curiosity and relevance to the organisation sending them than to the recipient or the reader.”

The most effective press launch construction

Writing a press launch isn’t a artistic process; it’s a method. Adhering to the usual type of a press launch makes it straightforward to parse for time-pressed journalists – straying from the trail when writing a press launch will nearly definitely get your story tossed out.

All through, the information needs to be written within the current tense and framed by way of its bigger penalties – who it helps, why it issues, what about it’s newsworthy – not its relationship to the corporate. By no means repeat a element and hold jargon to a minimal. Journalists are inclined to desire releases within the physique of an e mail reasonably than as an attachment, and so they shouldn’t be longer than a web page.

Earlier than we break down the inverted pyramid construction, it’s helpful to grasp what a powerful press launch headline seems to be like. header is brief, factual and targeted on probably the most newsworthy ingredient of the story, not marketing language or inside achievements.

The most effective press launch format is a so-called ‘inverted pyramid’, very like a newspaper article, which presents the story in growing ranges of element because the reader progresses by way of it.

Press launch construction: what to incorporate

Don’t overlook…

Press releases are designed for information. For those who don’t have any (and we admire realizing what’s newsworthy and what isn’t, could be a problem if it’s not one thing you do daily) then they’re typically not an applicable format in your PR efforts. Don’t spam journalists with irrelevant materials – you’ll injury your status with them and make it extra doubtless any real information you ship over shall be ignored.

Have a narrative? We can assist you together with your press launch.

Written and up to date by Nafatiti Nimako-Boatey, Comms Assistant at Definition on 05/01/2026

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