A press release (also called a news release) is an official written communication issued by a company to media outlets to announce newsworthy information — such as a product launch, funding round, partnership, executive hire, or major milestone.
Press releases serve as the primary bridge between businesses and the media. When a journalist is deciding whether to cover your announcement, your press release is often their first and only touchpoint — it must communicate the story's newsworthiness, provide all essential facts, and make the journalist's job easy. A well-written press release gets read; a poorly formatted one goes straight to the trash folder.
Standard press release format has been codified over decades: headline (attention-grabbing, newsy, under 80 characters), dateline (city and date), lead paragraph (answers who, what, when, where, why in 1-2 sentences — the most important information goes first), body (supporting details in descending order of importance), quotes from key executives or stakeholders, boilerplate ('About the Company' — 2-3 sentences describing your business), and contact information for media inquiries.
The inverted pyramid structure — most important information first, supporting details below — is non-negotiable. Journalists often cut from the bottom when space is limited, so anything critical must appear in the first three paragraphs. This is also how online readers consume content. A press release that buries the actual news in the fourth paragraph will be abandoned before the journalist reaches it.
Newsworthiness is the key test every press release must pass. Genuine news hooks include: product launches solving significant market problems, funding rounds above $1 million, executive hires with notable industry profiles, partnerships with recognizable brands, significant customer milestones (100,000 users, $1M in processed transactions), industry awards or recognitions, and research or data that reveals something surprising. 'We have a new website' is not news. 'We hit 100,000 users in 90 days after launch' is.
MyClaw's Press Release Generator creates properly formatted press releases with the inverted pyramid structure, compelling headline, and standard boilerplate — giving you a professional draft to refine in minutes rather than hours. For distribution, submit to Business Wire, PR Newswire, or PRWeb for paid wire distribution, and send directly to relevant journalists and industry bloggers using personalized pitch emails written with MyClaw's Cold Email Generator.
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FreeWhen should I write a press release?
Write a press release for genuinely newsworthy events: product launches, funding announcements, major partnerships, significant customer milestones, executive appointments, industry awards, research publications, and company expansions. Avoid press releases for minor updates — sending too many non-newsworthy releases trains journalists to ignore your future pitches.
How do I distribute a press release?
Distribution approaches include: paid wire services (Business Wire, PR Newswire, GlobeNewswire) for broad distribution, direct outreach to relevant journalists with a personalized pitch, email to your subscriber list, posting on your website's press/newsroom page, and sharing via your social media channels. Paid wire services are expensive ($400-$2,000 per release) but ensure indexing by major news aggregators.
How long should a press release be?
400-600 words is the standard range — long enough to cover all essential information, short enough to respect the journalist's time. Anything over 800 words signals poor editing judgment. Stick to the inverted pyramid, cut anything that is not essential to the announcement, and let the quotes add depth without bloating the overall length.
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