How to write a press release?

You have written a good press release when a journalist can see, from the headline and the first paragraph, what has happened, who it concerns and why their readers should care. The rest of the text is evidence: figures with a source, a statement from an expert and a contact for someone who will answer questions the same day.

What is a press release?

A press release is a short text in which a company or institution gives the media a piece of news: a new product, survey results, a change on the board, an investment, an event or a position on an important issue. A journalist may use it in full, quote an extract or treat it as a starting point for their own piece.

For newsrooms, the press release is still a core source. In Cision’s “State of the Media 2025” survey (more than 3,000 journalists across 19 markets, May 2025), 72% of respondents named press releases as the most useful material they can receive from a PR team. The same group is ruthless with pitches that miss the mark, however: 86% of journalists immediately reject proposals that do not fit their beat or audience.

The press release acts as a bridge between the organisation and the media. If well constructed, it becomes a catalyst for wider media discussion, building brand credibility and shaping its image in the eyes of the public. An important aspect of a press release is its timeliness. Journalists are looking for fresh, interesting topics that may interest their audience. The press release should focus on recent events, innovations or changes in the organisation that have the potential to become news.

Press release, press note and press statement: what is the difference?

In practice these terms are often used interchangeably, but it is worth knowing the differences, because they determine the length and tone of the text:

• Press Release – a full piece with the news, background, data and a quote. Usually 400–800 words.
• Notatka prasowa (a short press release) – a few sentences with just the fact: who, what, when, where. It works for announcing an event or a brief personnel change.
• Press release – the company's official position, often in a difficult or crisis situation. What counts is the precision of the words, not the story. We write more about this in the guide How to write an effective press release.

The structure of a press release, step by step

A good press release is built as an inverted pyramid: the most important point first, the details below. A journalist who reads only the headline and the first paragraph should already know everything they need to decide whether to take the story.

1. Headline – the news itself, without adjectives. Instead of “Innovative company X is proud to present…”, write what has changed and for whom.
2. Lead, czyli pierwszy akapit – the answer to the questions: who, what, when, where and why it matters. Two sentences, three at most.
3. Develop – details, figures, market background. Every figure with a source and a date.
4. Expert quote – an opinion or conclusion that is not in the rest of the text. With a first name, surname and job title.
5. Informacje o firmie – a short “about us” paragraph at the end: what the company does, since when and where it operates.
6. Media contact – name, telephone number and email of the person who actually picks up and knows the subject.
7. Additional materials – a link to high-resolution photos, charts and the logo. Do not send heavy attachments in the first message.

How to write a press release headline

The headline decides whether the message gets opened at all. In Barometrze informacji prasowych Commplace we analysed 1796 press releases from 74 companies published in our press office between 2019 and 2026 (as at 22.09.2026). The results show what headlines look like today:

• 39.1% of headlines are questions – a share that has barely changed since 2021,
• 41.0% of headlines have two parts separated by a colon or a dash,
• 19.3% contain a number,
• almost half (49.4%) are longer than 70 characters.

That last figure is a warning. An inbox and a search engine usually show only the beginning of a headline. The most important word – a product name, a number, a place – should therefore come first. A good test: read the first 60 characters. If they do not tell you what the text is about, the headline needs shortening.

The lead: the opening paragraph that sells the story

The first paragraph of a press release is its summary. Many journalists stop reading there, and some newsrooms lift it into their own piece almost unchanged. The lead must therefore be complete and make sense without the rest of the material.

An example of a weak lead: “Company X, a leader in innovative solutions, is pleased to announce the start of a new chapter in its history.” It tells you nothing. An example of a good one: “From 1 October, company X is opening a service centre in Katowice for 400 businesses in Upper Silesia. Machine repair times will fall from five days to two.” It gives the fact, the place, the date, a figure and the benefit.

Data and an expert quote: the evidence that builds credibility

Figures and expert statements have become the norm. In our Barometer, 49.8% of press releases contain a percentage figure, 39.3% refer to a study, report or statistical data, and 86.6% give the floor to an expert. When almost everyone does it, the mere presence of a number and a quote no longer sets anyone apart. Quality does:

• the number has a source and a date, and the journalist can check it,
• the quote adds an opinion, a forecast or a conclusion rather than repeating what has already been said above,
• the expert is available for a conversation – newsrooms increasingly want their own comment rather than a ready-made quote.

Elements of a press release include:

1. Headline - a concise, catchy title to catch the journalist's attention.
2. Lead - the first paragraph containing the essence of all the information.
3. Develop - a detailed description of the event or product.
4. Quote - a statement by a company representative or expert, adding credibility.
5. Boilerplate - brief company description.
6. Contact details - information allowing journalists to obtain additional information.

A press release example and template you can use

Below is a template for a short press release. The names and figures are illustrative – replace them with your own.

Headline: Company X opens a service centre in Katowice. Machine repairs will take two days instead of five

Lead: From 1 October, company X is launching a service centre in Katowice for businesses in Upper Silesia. Thanks to an on-site parts warehouse, the average machine repair time will fall from five to two working days.

Body: The centre will employ 25 technicians and serve customers within a 150 km radius. It is the company's third site in Poland, after Poznań and Gdańsk.

Cytat: “Every day of production-line downtime costs our customers more than the repair itself. That is why service has to be close to them,” says Anna Nowak, Chief Operating Officer at company X.

O firmie: Company X has been manufacturing and servicing packaging machines since 2005. It serves more than 1200 customers in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Media contact: Jan Kowalski, tel. 600 000 000, e-mail: [email protected]

The most common press release mistakes

• No news. A text saying that a company is “growing dynamically” is not news. The news is a specific change with a date.
• Advertising language. “Unique”, “groundbreaking”, “market leader” – a journalist will strike out these words or set the whole text aside.
• The most important point comes last. If the key figure is in the sixth paragraph, nobody will reach it.
• Shipping to everyone. Sending the same message to an automotive newsroom and a culinary one is a straight path to the spam folder.
• Martwy kontakt. A phone number that nobody answers rules out even the best story.
• Unchecked content written with the help of AI. In a Cision survey, 72% of journalists worry about errors in PR materials prepared by artificial intelligence. A human checks every figure and name.

When and how to send a press release

In our press office, 81% of releases appear from Monday to Thursday, and the most – 34.5% – between 12:00 and 15:00. Friday (14.6%) and the weekend (4.5%) are when newsrooms have less space and fewer people. If the story is not urgent, choose the start of the week.

Sending is not everything. According to Cision, 85% of journalists prefer the first contact to be a short email introducing yourself. Good practice looks like this:

1. Prepare a list of newsrooms and journalists who genuinely write about your subject.
2. Write a short, personal email: 2–3 sentences on why the story suits that newsroom, with the press release below them in the body of the message.
3. Publish the release in the biurze prasowym on your own website – with the date, photos and contact details. This is the address you point to in your message.
4. If you use an embargo, state it clearly in the first sentence: “Embargo until 10 October, 9:00 a.m.”.
5. After 2–3 days you may ask once whether the story is of interest. More reminders usually do harm.

Press releases, search engines and AI models

Today a press release reaches more than just journalists. It is also read by search engines and by artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot, which answer questions about companies and markets. An AI model is more willing to cite a text that:

• is published at a permanent address in the press office, not only in an email attachment,
• answers one specific question in the first paragraph,
• gives figures with a source and a date, along with the full name of the company and of the person speaking,
• is consistent with what the company says about itself on its homepage and elsewhere.

Artificial intelligence is also increasingly appearing in the content of releases. In 2026 (to 22 September) it was mentioned in 11.9% of releases in our press office, compared with 3.3% in 2022–2023. This is a picture of one press office, not of the whole market, but the direction is clear.

How to measure the impact of a press release

The number of publications is only the beginning. The AMEC standard (the international association for communication measurement) recommends separating four levels of effect:

• Products – how many materials were sent and to whom,
• publications and reach – how many pieces were produced, in which media, with what sentiment,
• audience response – website visits, enquiries, change in opinion of the brand,
• business impact – sales, job candidates, investor relations.

Do not convert publications into “advertising value equivalent”, that is, what an advertisement of the same size would have cost. This metric says nothing about effectiveness, and the AMEC standard rejects it. It is better to set one goal before sending – for example, the number of customer enquiries within 30 days – and check it after the campaign, comparing it with the period before publication.

At Commplace we collect the results of press activity in the dashboard Commwork®AI. Publications, website visits and customer enquiries are visible in one place, alongside tasks and deadlines. As a result, after every press release you know what worked and what is worth changing next time.

Press releases at Commplace: how we work

Commplace has run a press office since 2019, in which we have published 1796 press releases for 74 companies. We help you through the whole journey: from finding a story that is genuinely news, through writing the text and preparing an expert for a conversation with a journalist, to distribution to the right newsrooms and measuring the results. If you want your company's press releases to be judged by their outcomes rather than by the number of emails sent, see, How we conduct public relations.

It is also worth reading: media relations – how to build relationships with journalists, PR tools that really work and public relations instruments.

Sources: Cision, “2025 State of the Media Report”, 7.05.2025 (more than 3000 journalists from 19 markets); Commplace, Press information barometer 2019–2026, analiza 1796 informacji prasowych, stan na 22.09.2026.

See also: Press releases in the age of AI: what 1,796 releases teach us and how to write so that media and models cite them