1. Head line

A press release must have a compelling headline. The aim of a headline is to grab the journalist’s attention and provide an overview of why your story is newsworthy. This is your one opportunity to grab a reader’s attention, so it needs to be well written and engaging. Keep it short but be eye-catching. This is where the reader thinks, “Does this sound interesting? Should I continue reading?” Experienced copywriters will always prepare few headlines during their production process so they can pick up the best one – and crucially, the most relevant one to the person they are pitching to.

2. Dateline

Dateline is included in the first line of the first paragraph containing the release date, country, state, and city information. Don’t forget to write the date on the first line to let reporters know that they are receiving the latest information.

3. Contact info

Make the right people in your company available to handle media inquiries and follow-ups for potential coverage. Provide details of a media contact, including the name, email address, phone number, and other contact information of the person issuing the press release.

4. Lead paragraph

The leading paragraph is a statement of intent to the audience. To make your press releases stand out, keep the leading paragraph succinct and straight to the point. Be sure to answer “what, who, when, why, and where” in this paragraph, and be compelling enough to ensure the reader continues. Aim to be 25 words or less in length and include the relevant keywords that will attract readers’ attention.

5. Body section 

The body is the main part of a press release. It contains all the necessary information in details. And in this part, you can establish your presence in the minds of your audience. The tone should be objective and not come across as an advertisement. Technical information, social proofs, and quotations from key commentators should feature here to provide the meat on the bones of your press release.

6. Call to action

One of the most overlooked functions of a press release is to drive traffic to a webpage. To get traffic from your press release, your call to action needs to give the reader a reason to click to learn more. There are different types of CTAs you can include in your release to achieve your desired goals. Such as” learn more”, “limit time offer” or just a simple invitation.

7. Boilerplate

Here you have to provide some independent background information. This content is used for your company’s “About Us” content, but it should also contain information about important people or products/services. 

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