Writing press releases is a highly effective way for Digital PR professionals to grab a journalist’s attention and share a story. A good release can spark conversation around a key finding from a data-led study, generate anticipation for an upcoming launch, or position your brand as a voice of expertise on a major news story hitting the headlines.
For most Digital PR professionals, writing press releases is such an everyday task that they might find their approach has become too rigid over time. It’s easy to fall into a ‘one-size-fits-all’ method when, actually, it’s imperative that each release is tailored to a brand and the story they are trying to tell.
In this blog, we’ll delve into how to write an effective press release and the steps to take to ensure you’re giving yourself the best chance of standing out in a crowded inbox and landing top-tier coverage.
What is a press release?
Press releases are official statements released to the media by an individual, organisation, public body or brand – or on their behalf through a PR or communications team.
It’s a technique used to share newsworthy information with media outlets – and in turn the public. The main aim is to notify journalists about an important announcement or to shape the messaging around a subject – such as a negative story – with the ultimate goal of gaining media coverage.
For a Digital PR team, like ours at Embryo, our primary objective is to gain coverage, which includes backlinks to our client’s website to help build up SEO equity and improve visibility across search engines and AI search.
Find out more about how Digital PR works hand in hand with your SEO strategy here
A press release is usually made up of written content but can also include other assets like images, videos, infographics, and data tables.
How should I structure a press release?
A well-structured press release should follow what is known as the inverted pyramid. The most important and newsworthy information, which will allow the journalist to efficiently understand the story, should come first, with wider information, supporting facts, quotes and assets positioned lower down,
Start with a clear, punchy headline and opening statement, then introduce your key news story. Follow this with supporting facts, the 5 Ws (see more below) and relevant expert commentary, before using the final paragraphs to provide additional context, contact information and any relevant calls to action.
Press release template
What should a good press release include?
The most important aspect to remember when writing up a press release is that it should include everything a journalist needs to write up their story. Most journalists simply won’t have the time to make queries about the content they’ve received, so it’s crucial that they don’t have to chase you for missing information, or you could risk losing out on coverage.
Another point to bear in mind is not to bury your news angle, and make sure not to make the reporter wait until the third or fourth paragraph to find out what the story is about. If a journalist only reads the first 100 words, they should still understand the narrative.
Here’s some more top tips for what to include in a press release:
An opening statement that identifies the purpose
An effective press release will always include an opening statement which neatly rounds up who the information is from, what it is that you’re sharing, and what the main story is.
Think of your press release as a pyramid of importance. The tip is your opening statement, and everything else comes after. Journalists immediately need to know why your press release is relevant to them and their readers, listeners or viewers.
The schedules of journalists in the UK are getting increasingly hectic as publications work to adapt to the changing way we ingest news. In fact, there are roughly 1.5 PR professionals for every journalist in the UK in 2026. With journalists receiving way more press releases than they have time to cover, they want to be able to quickly scan a release and decide whether the story is right for them.
Here’s an example:
Embryo announces an ambitious 2026 event strategy to empower brand-side marketers.Embryo has officially unveiled its comprehensive 2026 event roadmap, a strategic initiative designed to provide brand-side marketers with high-level expertise across both niche sectors and core digital services. |
- Who is the information from: Embryo
- What is being shared: the event roadmap for 2026
- What is the story: Embryo has created a timetable of events specifically with brand-side marketers in mind
The 5 W’s
Who? What? Where? Why? When? All of these questions surrounding your story should be covered within the press release, ideally in the first few paragraphs – if they are relevant, of course – as not all of them always will be.
If you’re pitching a data-led Digital PR campaign – let’s say it’s a hypothetical food habits survey commissioned by a health and wellbeing brand to investigate snacking habits – the journalist would need to know:
- Who – who was surveyed?
- What – outline the questions that were asked and what the accompanying data revealed
- Where – What were the main findings for each location?
- Why – A government report revealed obesity levels in the UK are on the rise. The client has an in-house nutritionist who can share helpful tips on how to banish habitual cravings to help address the issue
- When – when was the survey carried out?
A clear news hook & a tailored approach
You’ve got your purpose sorted, but how do you prove that the information is newsworthy? Your angle or ‘news hook’ determines how you frame the whole release. The best angle to go with is usually the most significant or interesting piece of information you have to tell. A good tip is to trust your instincts and go with the angle that came to your mind initially.
Deciding on a hook can be tricky, especially if you’ve collected a host of interesting statistics as part of a data-led Digital PR campaign. One technique we find useful is to simply share the findings with the wider team, or even your friends and family (as long as they keep it under embargo!) to gather their thoughts on the most compelling storylines. At the end of the day, they will be the ones eventually reading the story! If they find a certain hook intriguing, a journalist probably will too.
The angle you go with may also be determined by other factors, such as current news and affairs dominating the media, and the geographical location of your target publication. For example, if you’ve collected regional data, it doesn’t make sense to send a generic release to a Manchester-focused publication – why would they, or their readers, care about data which focuses on Birmingham? Ensure that the headline, opening statement, main angle, and data all correspond with that particular region and omit everything else.
The same goes for the subject area of a publication. If you’ve collected data about small businesses that includes some findings an HR publication would find genuinely useful to share with their readership, make sure your release focuses on these findings rather than finance or environmental factors, for example.
Although it will take more time to create various versions of your release, tailoring each one to its intended audience can make the difference between a journalist overlooking your story and deciding it’s worth covering.
Discover the 5 things a Digital PR campaign needs to generate coverage & links in our useful guide
Relevant quotes and expert commentary
Google increasingly emphasises the importance of content that provides genuine value and insights beyond what is readily available elsewhere. Expert-led quotes are a valuable way to demonstrate genuine expertise.
See more about how Google rewards experience and expertise in our dedicated E-E-A-T guide
If possible, a press release should always have at least one person quoted within it who is relevant and close to the heart of the story. Signals of trust, experience, and expertise are more important than ever for Google and AI-powered search visibility. A credible expert who is easily traceable across digital touchpoints can give journalists a trusted source to reference, while also helping to strengthen the authority of both the story and the brand behind it in the eyes of Google.
There’s no hard and fast rule for when a quote should appear. It depends on the story and how much context you need to provide first, but a strong quote can add a human element to your release and give journalists an expert perspective they can use in their coverage.
As a general rule, commentary should be no longer than four paragraphs if it isn’t an advice-based story. Feel free to add quotes from a second spokesperson, key figure, or expert, but be sure that you aren’t repeating anything the first person said or simply echoing the body of the press release. Each quote should offer the reader something unique. As a general rule, facts belong in the body copy. Opinions, interpretation, and insight belong in quotes.
Imagery
Using and sending the right images out with your press release is crucial and can make a significant difference to its chances of being covered by a journalist. Readers like to picture what it is you’re talking about, whether it’s a person, company, or product – it makes them relate to your words a lot more.
At the least, you should include one hi-res image in your press release that is relevant to your story. It also helps to break up the text and make the release look more visually appealing.
You can insert images into the body of your release, or attach them to any emails you’re sending out. If you use more than three images, you should use an external space to store the photos, which people can easily access, like a Google Drive. Adding too many attachments or embedded images into an email can result in your pitch ending up in a spam inbox or a journalist deleting it before it has a chance to properly load.
A snappy headline
Coming up with a snappy, eye-catching headline is often the trickiest part of writing a press release. Focus on the most important and engaging part of your story, try to keep it short and sweet, and add any relevant location information.
A good tip is to think about how you would summarise the story to a friend in one sentence, and work off of that. You can also have a look around on the website of your target publications and take inspiration from the style of their headlines so the journalist can easily picture the story slotting in with their work.
An embargoed or immediate release label
Journalists often plan their editorial calendars weeks, if not months, in advance. This means that Digital PR is all about forward planning. If you’re only letting the press know about an event on the day of the launch, chances are you’ve left it too late.
We often send press releases ahead of time, and the journalist needs to know right away if they are able to publish the information immediately or if it is under embargo until a predetermined date.
Make this clear by writing either ‘for immediate release’ or ‘embargoed until Wednesday, September 29th, 2026’ in bold red font above the title of your press release. You could also include the embargo date in your pitch email subject line so the journalist knows instantly that it isn’t for immediate release.
AOB: ‘about’ sections, links, sources and data methodology
Once you’ve covered your main points and quotes, include any relevant background information. For businesses, this might include when you launched, what you offer or key moments in your history.
Towards the end of the main body, include any other information journalists and readers might need, such as website links, calls to action, event details or instructions on how to get involved. Then, read the release back from the perspective of someone with no prior knowledge of the story. Does it flow logically? Are there any questions left unanswered?
Once you’ve marked the end of the main body with ‘END’, you can add your ‘About’, ‘Notes to Editors’ and ‘Sources’ sections. The ‘About’ section provides further background on the brand or organisation, while ‘Notes to Editors’ can include contact details, asset information or whether a spokesperson is available for interview.
For sources, if you drew on any third-party data to support the story, make sure to clearly attribute your reference. If you collected the data yourself, include a detailed methodology section so the journalist explicitly sees that your method was robust and trustworthy.
Always include:
- A clear explanation of how the data was collected
- Any calculations, formulas, or scoring systems used
- The sample size
- The tools or platforms used
- The time period covered
- Who conducted the research
- Who commissioned the research
- The demographic and/or geographic scope
- Any relevant caveats, limitations or assumptions
- Links to third-party data sources, where applicable
Press release checklist
☐ a clear, newsworthy angle
☐ a concise, attention-grabbing headline
☐ an ‘embargoed’ or ‘for immediate release’ label
☐ an effective opening statement
☐ a structure which covers the 5 W’s
☐ a brief boilerplate explaining who the brand, organisation or public body is
☐ a link to the brand, organisation or body’s website & campaign landing page
☐ a short bio & headshot for each cited expert
☐ all relevant data needed to support the story
☐ a detailed data methodology if applicable
☐ a strong quote from a relevant expert
☐ any relevant images, videos, infographics or other supporting assets
☐ accurate names, statistics, dates and links, with the release fully proofread
Final check: If you were a journalist receiving this in your inbox, could you understand what the story is, why it matters, and why your readers would click to read within a few seconds?
Press releases are an essential part of digital PR
While the world of PR has evolved significantly – especially since the launch of AI powered search and the emergence of platforms like TikTok as search engines – the essential components of writing pieces of content to send to journalists and publications remain the same. In fact, in a world where journalists are being sent more and more content every single day, writing a great press release is more important than ever.
Our Digital PR experts write press releases every day as part of campaigns designed to earn meaningful and impactful coverage for our clients. From national newspapers to relevant industry publications, we create newsworthy stories that give journalists a reason to take notice.
If you want to grow your brand’s visibility and authority across traditional and AI search through Digital PR, get in touch with our team today. Call us on 0161 250 9521 or email info@embryodigital.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you.
FAQs
Can you use AI to write a press release?
The key is to use AI as a tool for brainstorming, structure advice, and general checks rather than as a means of generating statistics, quotes, or research findings. A generic AI-written press release is unlikely to give you the originality or insight needed to stand out with journalists.
Do you need a press release for every story?
No. Not every story will need a press release. If you’re simply jumping on a reactive newsjacking opportunity with a short expert quote, it’s best to include this in the body of a pitch email. Including a press release adds unnecessary bulk and unneeded context. A press release works particularly well for original research, data- led campaigns, product or business launches, and significant announcements.
Find out more about how to pitch Digital PR campaigns to journalists in our dedicated blog
How long should a press release be?
There’s no hard and fast answer for this one. The length of your press release depends entirely on what you’re writing about. You may need more room if you have more quotes, are talking about a complex subject, or have a lot of data to include. It is essential that the release isn’t so long that a journalist will tail off when reading it.
That’s why proofreading is so important. Once you have written the release, it’s then easier to go back and chop bits out and make sentences shorter. Your aim should be to give journalists all the information they need to understand and cover the story, without making them wade through information that isn’t relevant.
