How to Write a Press Release (That Actually Works)
Today we’re putting our PR hats on 🎩
We just love PR. It’s one of the most effective, sustainable and versatile elements of your marketing toolkit, and has the potential for real impact when done well. Contrary to what you may think, PR isn’t all A-list celebs…
It’s actually having a comeback with the rise of AI search engines and LLMs (more to come on this soon 👀). It’s a powerful tool for businesses looking to:
Identify themselves as an industry leader
Drive awareness of their products or services
Attract investors, customers or collaborators
Generate backlinks that boost SEO
Increase their brand equity and digital footprint 👣
If you’re looking to improve your PR and press engagement, one of the key things you’ll need to know is how to write an effective press release. Lucky for you, we’re going to show you right here, right now!
General Tips
First, a few writing tips:
Point of view - Always write in third person as though a journalist is telling the story. Avoid “we” or “I” unless it’s in a direct quote.
Tense - Use present tense when describing what the news is ("Electric Cat announces..."), but past tense for things that have already happened.
Style & tone - Good press releases are brief, factual and neutral. Avoid marketing language, excessive hype, and colloquialisms, even if they would usually be appropriate for your TOV. Stick to the facts!
Quotes - ALWAYS include at least one quote from a key spokesperson — often this is the CEO, founder, or someone central to the story. This gives you a window to add some emotion to your story when the body of the piece must be impartial and avoid bigging your brand up too much (tough, we know 😔).
🔥 Hot tip: Use quotes as an opportunity to add insight. Try to avoid repeating facts, stats, or info we already have. Aim to compliment what’s already written with added opinions, value and humanness.
Length - Aim for 300–600 words. Long enough for context, short enough to hold interest.
Structure
You’re almost ready to write the press release of dreams — here’s how you’re going to put it all together…
Add Your Headline - This should be clear while giving context - aim for under 15 words.
Include Release Instructions - Start any press release with “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” or an embargo if relevant. (e.g. Embargoed until 9AM Monday 5th January)
First paragraph - This is the most important bit of the whole press release. Include the who, what, where, when, why, and how. A journalist or reader should be able to get the full story just from this paragraph — be concise!
Body paragraphs - Now we can expand on the details – background, context, data, supporting facts.
Quotes - Insert your quotes from relevant people.
🔐 Bonus: In theory, everything after your first paragraph could be in quotes. Try playing around with how larger quotes impact the flow of your press release, especially in more story-driven or human-centred releases.
Final paragraph - Wrap up with what's happening next and a clear CTA. If your product is now available, where can readers get it? If you’re announcing an event, ensure readers have information about how to register.
Notes to Editors - This is an extra section at the end of your copy which includes:
A short paragraph about your company (your boilerplate)
Contact details for media enquiries
Links to imagery, logos or press kits
With that, you have a sparkling press release ready to go out to your media contacts! PR is super important and a fantastic tool, but it does require you to take the time to project manage, write content, maintain and develop press contacts and distribute content effectively. Never fear, we’ll be back with another article soon to walk you through how to gather a media list and slay the distribution process... 👀
Buuut if you’re still in need of a lil extra PR support, get in touch with the Electric Cat team today! And let us know in the comments if there are any other areas of PR you would like to learn more about in future newsletters. Your wish is our command 🪄
