Most press releases are written for the company that sends them, not the journalist who receives them. They open with the company name, praise the product in adjectives, quote a CEO saying they are "thrilled", and put the actual news in paragraph four. A reporter reading on a phone between deadlines gives each one a few seconds, and then deletes it.
That is a waste, because journalists do rely on PR. Muck Rack's State of Journalism 2026, which surveyed nearly 900 journalists, found that 86% say at least some of their work began with a PR pitch. The same research found that 88% delete pitches that miss their beat. The gap between those two numbers is where most releases die.
This guide shows how to decide whether you have news at all, how to structure a release so the story is impossible to miss, how to write quotes worth printing, how to distribute it, what it can and cannot do for SEO, and how to follow up without becoming the sender reporters filter out.
Testing whether your announcement is news
Before writing anything, apply the test an editor would. A story is newsworthy when it gives a particular audience something new and consequential. Ask these questions about your announcement:
| News value | Question to ask | Strong example | Weak example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Impact | Does it change something for the publication's readers? | A regional employer adding 200 jobs | A company "expanding its offering" |
| Novelty | Is it the first, only, or a genuine change? | The first clinic in the county to offer a procedure | A new version with minor improvements |
| Data | Is there a number nobody had before? | Survey of 1,000 tenants on repair waiting times | Repeating an industry statistic |
| Timeliness | Does it connect to something happening now? | Analysis published the week a regulation takes effect | A "national day" with no link to your business |
| Proximity | Is it local to the outlet's audience? | A local business winning a national contract | A national announcement sent to every local paper |
| Human interest | Is there a person with a story? | A founder who rebuilt after a flood | An executive appointment with no context |
If the honest answer is "none of the above", you do not have a press release; you have a blog post or a social update. Muck Rack's research, as reported by The PR Net, found that 78% of journalists consider a pitch truly relevant when it affects their audience or community, not merely when it fits their coverage area. Write down, in one sentence, why this outlet's readers would care. If you cannot, stop.
Original data is the most reliable way to create news when you have none. The University of Minnesota's summary of the 2026 report lists original data or research as valued by 40% of journalists. Our guides to original research content and public data sources for content show how to produce it.
Release anatomy: headline, lead, body and boilerplate
A press release follows the inverted pyramid: the most important facts first, supporting detail after, background last. Semrush's press release guide recommends stating who, what, where, when and why near the top and notes that most releases run 300 to 600 words.
- Release line. "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" or an embargo time with time zone.
- Headline. A factual sentence with the news, ideally under about 15 words. Include the number or the place if they make the story. No adjectives the reporter would delete.
- Subheading (optional). One line adding the second most important fact.
- Dateline and lead paragraph. City and date, then the whole story in one or two sentences: who did what, where, when and why it matters.
- Second paragraph. Supporting detail, the key numbers and the context that makes it significant.
- Quote. One quote that adds perspective, not a restatement of the lead.
- Further detail. Methodology, availability, pricing, dates, a second quote from a customer or partner if it adds something.
- Boilerplate. Two or three sentences about the organisation, with facts rather than slogans.
- Media contact. A named person, a direct phone number and an email that is monitored.
- Assets. A link to high-resolution images, charts and logos.
Rewriting a weak lead
Before: "Acme Solutions, a leading provider of innovative property management software, is thrilled to announce the launch of its next-generation tenant portal, designed to transform the rental experience."
After: "Tenants in 3,400 Leeds rental homes can now report repairs by photo and track them in real time, after property manager Acme Solutions replaced its phone-only system on 1 October."
The second version (a hypothetical example) tells a reporter the scale, the place, the change and the date in one sentence. It can be printed almost as written.
Images and attachments
Muck Rack's research found 37% of journalists value high-resolution images. Host them on a press page rather than attaching large files. Semrush suggests 150 to 300 ppi for newspapers and higher for some magazines. Give image files descriptive names and add alt text on your newsroom page; Google's image SEO guidance favours descriptive file names such as my-new-black-kitten.jpg over IMG00023.JPG, and the same habit helps editors find the right file.
Writing spokesperson quotes that are not corporate filler
A quote earns its place when it says something a reporter could not write themselves: an opinion, a reason, an admission, a prediction or a vivid detail. "We are excited to bring this solution to market" fails all five.
| Filler quote | What it lacks | Usable rewrite (hypothetical) |
|---|---|---|
| "We are thrilled to announce this partnership." | Any reason | "Half our customers already use their software, and they told us they were copying data between the two by hand every Friday." |
| "This product is a game-changer for the industry." | Evidence and specificity | "A repair that took nine days to schedule now takes two, because the photo goes straight to the contractor." |
| "We remain committed to excellence." | Any information | "We got this wrong for years. Tenants should never have had to phone during office hours to report a leak." |
| "Our team is passionate about innovation." | A point of view | "Most landlords still treat repairs as a cost. The data shows they are the main reason good tenants leave." |
Practical rules: interview the spokesperson and quote what they actually say, then tidy it with their approval. Keep each quote under about 50 words. Use a customer, partner or independent expert for the second quote when you can; their voice is more credible than yours.
Distribution: wire services, direct pitches and your own newsroom
A release is a document; a pitch is how it reaches a person. Muck Rack's 2026 findings are clear about what reporters want.
“62% of journalists prefer to be pitched in a 1:1 email”
— University of Minnesota University Marketing, summarising Muck Rack, Pitching journalists with Muck Rack's State of Journalism 2026 (University of Minnesota University Marketing)
The same summary reports that 78% prefer pitches before noon and 69% prefer pitches under 200 words, while 43% said it was rare to receive pitches relevant to their beat. That points to a short, personal email that summarises the story and links to the full release, rather than pasting the release into the email body.
| Channel | What it does well | Limits | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal email pitch | Relevance, relationships, exclusives | Time-consuming; needs research per reporter | Every story worth covering |
| Paid wire service | Broad syndication, compliance for listed companies, database inclusion | Syndicated copies rarely count as coverage; links carry little ranking value | Financial disclosures, large announcements |
| Online newsroom on your site | A permanent, citable record; images and contacts | Only reaches people who look | Every release, as the canonical version |
| Journalist request platforms | Responding to stories already in progress | Competitive; reactive | Expert commentary rather than announcements |
| Social channels | Amplification once coverage exists | Not a pitching channel for most reporters | Sharing coverage and assets |
A short pitch template (adapt; do not mail-merge):
- Subject line: the news in plain words, e.g. "Leeds tenants: repair times down from 9 days to 2 (data)".
- Line one: why this reporter, referencing something they wrote.
- Lines two to four: the story and its single most interesting number.
- Offer: an interview, the data set, images or an exclusive angle.
- Link: the full release on your newsroom page.
Responding to reporters' requests is a related skill, covered in our guide to journalist request link building.
What press releases can and cannot do for SEO
Press releases used to be a link-building tactic: write a release, put keyword-rich links in it, pay a wire service to syndicate it to hundreds of sites. Google closed that door explicitly. Its spam policies list among link spam examples:
“links with optimized anchor text in articles, guest posts, or press releases distributed on other sites”
— Google Search Central, Spam policies for Google web search (Google Search Central)
Google's outbound link guidance also asks publishers to mark paid placements with rel="sponsored". Wire syndication is a paid placement, so expect those links to carry little or no ranking value. Our guide to dofollow vs nofollow links explains the attributes.
Where press releases do help search:
- Earned coverage. When a journalist writes their own story and links to your research or newsroom page, that editorial link is valuable. This is the core of digital PR for SEO.
- Brand mentions. Coverage without a link still builds recognition, and some mentions can be turned into links later; see unlinked brand mentions.
- Brand search results. News coverage and a well-structured newsroom shape what appears when people search your name; see brand SERP management.
- Repeated presence. Appearing across several respected sources on a topic builds the kind of association described in our guide to surround sound SEO.
Publish the full release on your own site first, with descriptive links in plain language, and treat syndicated copies as distribution rather than link building.
Following up without becoming the sender reporters filter
Muck Rack's 2026 findings describe the preferred approach as a short one-to-one email with one timely follow-up. One, not three.
- Wait two to four working days for a non-urgent story; less for time-sensitive news, more for magazines with long lead times. Semrush notes that magazines can need months of notice for seasonal stories.
- Add something new rather than asking "did you see my email?" A new data point, a customer willing to be interviewed or a local angle gives the reporter a reason to reply.
- Reply in the same thread so the reporter has context.
- Accept silence. No reply after one follow-up means no. Note it and pitch them differently next time.
- Be available. If a reporter does respond, answer within the hour if you can. Deadlines are short and the next source is one email away.
- Thank and share. When a story runs, thank the reporter and share it on your channels without asking for edits or links.
Track every pitch in a simple log: reporter, outlet, date, angle, response and coverage. After a few months, the log shows which angles land and which reporters are worth building a relationship with.
A worked example: one survey, three angles
This is a hypothetical example. A home-services company surveys 1,000 homeowners about heating repair costs. Rather than one release to everyone, it prepares three angles:
- National consumer press: "One in five homeowners delayed a boiler repair last winter because of cost." Pitched to personal finance reporters with the full data set.
- Regional outlets: the same data broken down by region, with a local spokesperson. Each regional reporter gets their area's figures first.
- Trade press: what the findings mean for installers' pricing and scheduling, with commentary from the company's operations lead.
Each angle gets its own short pitch, one follow-up and a link to a single newsroom page that holds the release, charts and methodology. The newsroom page becomes the asset that earns links when reporters cite the data. Clear charts make that far more likely; our guide to data visualisation in content covers how to design them.
Questions people ask about writing and sending press releases
How long should a press release be?
Semrush notes most releases run 300 to 600 words. Shorter is usually better; the pitch email itself should be shorter still, with Muck Rack's 2026 research finding 69% of journalists prefer pitches under 200 words.
Do press release links help SEO?
Links you place in releases distributed through wire services carry little or no ranking value, and Google lists optimised anchor text links in distributed press releases as link spam. The SEO value comes from journalists who write their own stories and link to you.
Should I paste the press release into the email?
Generally no. Send a short personal pitch that summarises the story and offers interviews or data, and link to the full release on your website.
When is the best time to send a pitch?
Muck Rack's 2026 survey found 78% of journalists prefer pitches before noon, and about half do not mind which day of the week they receive them.
Is a wire service worth paying for?
For listed companies with disclosure obligations, or very large announcements, often yes. For most small businesses, personal pitches to relevant reporters produce more real coverage per hour and per dollar.
Getting your next announcement covered
Take your next planned announcement and run it through the news value table. If it passes, write the lead sentence first, then the headline, then one quote with a real opinion. Build a list of 20 reporters who have written about the topic in the last six months, write each a short personal pitch, and publish the full release on your newsroom page before you send anything.
If you want help finding the story or reaching the right reporters, our content writing team drafts releases and pitches, and our SEO service includes digital PR built around data stories. You can also use our content ideation system to find newsworthy angles in your own customer data. Get a quote to discuss a campaign.
Further reading on how to write a press release
- Writing Content for Regulated Industries: Finance, Health and Legal
- Content Marketing for 'Boring' Industries
- Data Visualisation in Content: Make Numbers Easy to Understand
Sources for this press release writing guide
- Pitching journalists with Muck Rack's State of Journalism 2026 (University of Minnesota University Marketing)
- Muck Rack Launches Its State of Journalism 2026 Report (The PR Net)
- Hook the Media with 7 Easy Steps to Writing a Press Release (Semrush)
- Spam policies for Google web search (Google Search Central)
- Qualify your outbound links to Google (Google Search Central)
- Image SEO best practices (Google Search Central)
