How Long Should a Press Release Be? 300–500 Words and Format

Most press releases should be 300 to 500 words, and about 400 is a good target. A simple announcement can work at 200 to 300 words, and a complex one can stretch to 500 to 700 if every extra paragraph earns its place. Below you get the word budget, the format, how to end a release, what to avoid, what it costs and how to send it.

How many words should a press release be?

PR Newswire's writing guide recommends 300 to 500 words. Prezly's length guide gives the same range and says a target of about 400 words works for most announcements. Purdue University's writing lab is older and stricter: get your point across in under a page, because more than two pages is likely to be treated as a news article, not a release.

These are guidelines, not rules. The test is simple: has the reporter got what they need, and can they find it fast?

A word budget you can use

Prezly breaks a roughly 400-word release down like this. Use it to spot which section has swallowed your draft.

Instant Press, a distribution firm, describes how editors handle a release: they read the subject line, then the first two lines, then scan the rest. If the release survives, they spend under a minute on it. The lead has to do most of the work, so everything after it is support.

When shorter is better

Prezly says a release under 300 words can be enough for an executive appointment, an event reminder, a single new location or a concise partnership. Short does not mean incomplete: include every fact a journalist would need to verify the news. If you cannot find 200 useful words, the update may work better as a post on your own site, an email or a direct pitch. Our guide on whether a press release is the right format walks through that choice.

When longer is justified

Financial results, research, policy changes and technical products can run past 500 words. Instant Press says a study with several findings can reasonably run 600 to 800 because the findings are the news. Even then, keep the first paragraph readable on its own and move methodology, specifications and background to a linked page.

Do the quote and boilerplate count?

Yes. Prezly counts the headline, body, quotes, boilerplate and contact block, and notes that wire services usually bill on that total unless a provider defines its allowance differently. Check the provider's definition before you buy.

Where our own service sits

Our search-led release production delivers a 500 to 700 word release. That is above the 300 to 500 range most guides give, and at the upper end of what Prezly allows for complex news. If your announcement is simple, you may not need that much room, and you can supply your own shorter copy for distribution only.

What are the five W's of a press release?

Who, what, where, when and why, plus how. Purdue's guide covers each one from the writer's side and the reader's side:

• Who: who is making the announcement and who it affects.
• What: what is new. If it is not new or useful, Purdue says it will likely not be printed or aired, however well written.
• Where: where the news applies. Purdue suggests two releases when one area is affected and another is not.
• When: exact start and end dates, and when the reader has to act.
• Why: why anyone should care. Purdue says to put the main idea in the beginning of the release.
• How: how it came about, without using the release to place blame.

PR Newswire and Prezly both say to answer these in the first paragraph, so a reader who stops there still understands the news.

What is the press release format?

PR Newswire lists the standard parts in order:

1. Headline
2. Dateline (city and date)
3. Lead paragraph with the five W's
4. Body with supporting details and short paragraphs, one idea each
5. Quote from a relevant person
6. Data that backs up claims
7. Call to action
8. Boilerplate
9. Media contact details
10. Images or video, if useful

Purdue adds three details: state at the top whether it is for immediate release or under embargo, include every contact method, and put any extra information in a “Notes to editors” section after the contact details. For a full example and template, see our press release example page.

Style guide: which rules should you follow?

PR Newswire points to Associated Press style as the widely used standard for journalism and releases. Its rules include capitalizing only the first word and proper nouns in the headline, spelling out numbers one to nine, using numerals for 10 and above, and giving a speaker's full name and title on first reference. A 1995 guide reprinted on the University of Chicago's CPSR site also suggests getting a copy of the AP Stylebook to follow newspaper standards for punctuation, capitalization and abbreviations.

If you use a wire, the publisher's rules sit on top of AP style. Our service terms say ACCESS Newswire expects an objective, news-style tone, with no first-person or direct-address sales language outside a quotation, no inflated claims, no exclamation marks and no all-caps emphasis.

How do you end a press release, and why is 30 at the end?

A closing mark tells the editor the copy is finished. The CPSR guide says that on a one-page release you can add three pound signs (###), the number thirty (-30-) or the word END. If the release runs to a second page, it says to write “continued” at the bottom of each page until the last one. Purdue's guide takes a different route: close with the word “Ends” in bold, then “For further information, please contact” and the contact details.

So ### and -30- mean the same thing: end of copy. Neither is required for a digital release, but they are harmless and familiar to editors. Pick one and use it consistently. The sources describe what the marks signal, not where the “30” came from, so treat it as an old newsroom convention.

What should you not do in a press release?

• Do not bury the news. Prezly's before-and-after example cuts a 91-word opening full of company history to 39 words that state what is opening, where, when and how many jobs it creates.
• Do not write an ad. Purdue's example of a weak title is a sales pitch with “great deals” and “50% off”; it belongs in the notes to editors, not the title or lead.
• Do not pad with filler phrases. Instant Press lists “is pleased to announce,” “leading provider of,” “innovative solution,” “best-in-class” and “revolutionary” as phrases to cut. It says removing them can drop 50 to 100 words with no information lost.
• Do not use it to point fingers. Purdue says outlets will likely skip a release with propaganda or self-serving details.
• Do not repeat yourself. Prezly warns against stating the announcement in the headline, subhead, lead, quote and closing paragraph.
• Do not pile on quotes or links. One useful quote and one relevant call to action beat three executives and six homepage links.
• Do not call to check that it arrived. The CPSR guide says to assume it did.
• Do not send news that is not news. A promotion or claim with no real event behind it is not a release. Use your own marketing channels.

What makes a press release successful?

A strong release has real news, a lead that says it quickly, evidence for each claim and a contact who answers. PR Newswire says the best releases give readers value they cannot get anywhere else, and that you should connect the story to current trends or issues that matter to your audience. The CPSR guide adds a practical habit: if you get little coverage, study the releases that did and did not get used and ask whether you are sending information the public cares about.

Be careful with what success means. A release can be accepted and published without a single reporter writing about it. Decide before you publish what you want it to do. Our guide on setting a realistic press release goal covers that.

How do you write a strong press release?

1. Name one real announcement in a single sentence with the change and the date.
2. Pick one reader and one page on your site where that reader can verify the news or act.
3. Build a fact sheet: who, what, when, where, why it matters, the source for each claim, the approved spokesperson, the contact and the destination URL.
4. Write the news first. Put the event in the headline and answer what happened, who, where and when in the first two sentences.
5. Add a quote only if the named speaker approves it, then an “About” paragraph and a real media contact.
6. Cut unsupported superlatives and claims you would not show a publisher.
7. Get the owner of the facts and every quoted person to approve the exact final version.
8. Read the publisher's current rules before you submit.

That sequence is the same outline we give on our release production page. Our guide on reviewing a draft for unsupported claims helps with step six.

Can ChatGPT write a press release?

An AI chatbot, like any drafting tool, can give you a first draft. What matters is what you feed it and what you check afterward. You still need the real news event, a verified fact sheet and approval from every named person. You, not the tool, are responsible for the truth of every fact and quote. Our own service terms put that responsibility on the customer: truthful facts, authorization, sources, quote approval and final copy approval. If a draft contains a claim you cannot support, cut it before anyone sees it.

What is a person who writes press releases called?

Usually a publicist, a public relations (PR) professional or a communications professional. The CPSR guide uses “publicist” and “publicity chairman” for the person at a nonprofit who sends releases, and PR Newswire addresses “communications and public relations (PR) professionals.” At a small business, that is often the owner or marketer.

Does it cost money to do a press release?

Writing one costs nothing but time, and you can send it yourself for free to local newsrooms, calendars, trade groups and partners. Paying becomes a question when you want a wire service to publish it.

Our prices as of October 3, 2026 (check the checkout for today's):

Release production on its own adds $395 for a general business announcement. The pages also list a 3-release Authority Stack at $4,950 and a 5-release Market Presence Stack at $7,950, and a separate paid, labeled advertorial from $1,495. These are one-time prices with no subscription or retainer.

For context, our pricing page notes that EIN Presswire's $149 Basic plan can be a sensible self-service choice if you have real news and a publisher-ready release (competitor price checked September 25, 2026; confirm current terms before buying). The difference in our price pays for route-fit planning, preflight, managed submission and publisher communication, and a publication record.

Refund terms matter. Our terms say there is no distribution charge if nothing is published. With customer-supplied copy, you can revise and resubmit or get the distribution charge back if it is declined, but once the release is accepted and published, the distribution charge is not refundable. For an eligible release we produce, if we cannot get acceptance on the purchased route after compliant corrections, we refund the full production-and-distribution amount. Refund protection does not cover false or incomplete information or unsupported facts.

How do you send out a press release?

1. Publish a page on your own site first. Explain the event so the right reader can act. A wire URL does not replace it.
2. Choose the route by audience. For a local event, list the local newsrooms, calendars and associations that cover that kind of news. For a durable public announcement, compare paid wire routes by subject fit, current price, reporting and publisher review.
3. Pitch people individually if the story fits their beat. The CPSR guide suggests calling the newspaper to ask who should get releases and what the deadlines are. A wire submission is not a personal pitch, and the two are different jobs. See distribution versus journalist pitching.
4. Read the publisher's current rules before buying a wire. Acceptance on one route is not approval on another.
5. Save proof. Keep the live URL, publication time, any distribution report and the downstream pages you can actually open.
6. Review after 7 and 30 days. Compare referral visits and qualified inquiries to the goal you set, and keep publisher-reported views separate from visits and sales.

What distribution can and cannot do

A wire can give you a live, public URL on a publisher's site and a record of what published. Our terms say publishers and platforms control acceptance, presentation, downstream pickup, retention, indexing and rankings. No one can promise independent journalist coverage, particular outlet pickup, backlinks, search position, traffic, leads or sales. A syndicated copy is not the same as a reporter-written article.

If you want help with the search plan, a release written to a set length, publisher preparation and managed submission, see our press release writing and distribution service. It is our own service, and the fit check comes before payment.

Before you order or send

• Can you state the news in one sentence with a date?
• Does every number, name and quote have a source and an approval?
• Is your word count inside your provider's allowance, boilerplate and contact block included?
• Have you read the current content rules of the route you chose, including limits on tone and links?
• Do you know what you want the release to do, and how you will measure it?

By the Marketing By Kevin Team