Press Release Example: Format, Templates and What to Avoid

A press release is a short, factual announcement of real news that a business sends to journalists, publishers and the public. The format is simple: a headline, a dateline, the key facts up front, a quote, a company description and a contact. Below you get a worked example, the parts of a release, the mistakes to avoid and a plain account of what sending it out can and cannot do.

What is a press release, with an example?

Indeed describes press releases as succinct statements that share important news with the press and the public. PRLab describes them as news a business writes and distributes to specific publishers. Common uses it lists are a new product, an upcoming public event, a leadership change and a funding announcement.

Here is a fictional business example. The company, person and details are invented to show the structure. Any real release needs facts and a quote that the named person has approved.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Jordan Lee, press@maplestreetbakery.example
Maple Street Bakery Opens Second Location on October 15
[City, State], October 1, 2026 – Maple Street Bakery will open its second location at [address] on October 15, adding [what is new] for customers in [neighbourhood].
The new location will be open [hours] and will employ [number] people. Details on the opening day schedule are at [page on your own site].
“[Something the named owner can genuinely add],” said Jordan Lee, owner.
About Maple Street Bakery: [One factual sentence about the business.]

The structure follows the outline on our own writing page: our team's guide says to start with a sentence that contains the change and its date, such as “Our company is opening a second location on October 15.”

A real government example: the FDA's model release

The FDA publishes a Salmonella model press release for companies announcing a recall. It is a useful example because every line has a job.

What are the seven main parts of a press release?

Guides count the parts differently, and the sources used here do not give a single official list of seven. Indeed names the required elements as contact information, “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” at the top, the city and state of the business, and a boilerplate at the end. Its tips add a headline, the key facts first, and quotes. Putting those together gives seven parts:

What are the 5 W's in a press release?

eReleases lists them for event releases as Why, What, Where, When and Who: the purpose, the activity, the location, the timing, and the organizers and target audience. In the opening two sentences, our own outline asks you to answer what happened, who is involved, where and when.

How do you write a press release?

1. Name one real announcement. Write one sentence with the change and its date. If it is only a discount or a claim of being “the best,” our writing guide says to use your own marketing channels instead.
2. Pick one reader and one destination. Decide who it is for and which page on your site lets them verify the news or act.
3. Build a fact sheet. Record who, what, when, where, why it matters, a source for each important claim, the approved spokesperson and quote, a company description and a contact. Leave out anything you cannot prove.
4. Write the news first. Put the event in the headline, answer the 5 Ws at the top, then add context. Indeed calls this the inverted pyramid, with quotes and boilerplate after the vital details.
5. Remove sales language. Cross out unsupported superlatives, invented customer reactions and outcome promises.
6. Get approval. Have the owner of the facts and every quoted person approve the exact final version. Our guide on who should approve a quote covers this step.

Indeed also advises writing like a journalist, following AP style, cutting unnecessary language and attaching photos or video.

What are three qualities of a good press release?

No source here gives a fixed list of three. Drawing on the sources, these three come up most:

• It is real, timely news. Our service terms say a standard release headline must state a real, timely news event and identify the company near the top.
• It is direct and easy to understand. Indeed says a release should be obvious and easy to understand, unlike subtle marketing copy.
• It is worth the audience's time. Indeed advises checking that the publication's audience will have an interest in or benefit from the news.

What not to do in a press release

• Do not write an ad. Our service terms report that ACCESS Newswire requires a standard release to be a factual company announcement, not an advertisement or a general-interest sales article.
• Avoid sales tone. The same terms say to avoid first-person or direct-address sales language outside an approved quotation, inflated claims, exclamation marks and all-caps emphasis.
• Do not stuff keywords. The terms say search planning does not permit keyword stuffing or claims written only to attract search traffic.
• Do not invent facts or quotes. Every number, quote and link should be accurate, supportable and authorized. Our guide on reviewing a draft for unsupported claims gives a checking routine.
• Do not send the same story repeatedly. Our distribution page says to choose the next real announcement, not repeat the same story on more wires.
• Do not skip the contact. Indeed lists contact information as a required element, and our terms require a valid media-contact email.

Press release examples by use

Business and event examples

For business announcements, PRLab walks through general news, event, crisis, charity, new hire, product launch, award, merger and acquisition, and embargoed releases. For events, Indeed's template lists the name, location, date and time (with time zone), pricing and other details, sponsors and a boilerplate. eReleases provides 14 event examples and three templates for corporate, charity and cultural or arts events.

Student, sports and music examples

The sources used here do not include a full sample release for students, sports teams or musicians. The eReleases page lists music-related and school or university announcement categories, but its text for them is not included here. The honest way to build one is to start from the event layout above and the 5 Ws, then replace the details with your own. Include the team, school or artist name, the date, the place, who can attend and a named contact.

PDF and newspaper formats

For a PDF, Indeed offers a free PDF and Word download of its templates. A federal education site, ies.ed.gov, also hosts a Media Release Template as a PDF. Its text did not come through readably, so we cannot describe its contents. For newspapers, Indeed says journalists take the information provided and include it in their publication or broadcast. A release is a source for them to use, and inclusion is their decision.

Can ChatGPT write a press release?

The sources used here do not address AI writing tools, so we cannot say how well they perform. What the sources do establish is that you remain responsible for the facts: our service terms say the customer is responsible for the truthfulness, substantiation, quotations, identities and permissions in the copy. If you use any tool for a first draft, check every claim against your fact sheet and get quotes approved by the people named before sending anything.

What are the four C's in journalism, and what does 30 mean?

The sources used here do not explain either. The FDA's sample release ends with “####” as its end mark, but nothing in the sources explains the “30” convention. To confirm both, check the AP Stylebook, which Channel V Media names as the reference for AP style, or ask the editor at the outlet you are sending to.

What can press release distribution do, and what can't it do?

Sending a release to a wire is not the same as being covered by a reporter. Our distribution page says a newswire and a journalist pitch are different jobs, and that a syndicated copy is not the same as a reporter-written article. Our guide on distribution versus journalist pitching explains the difference.

We do not guarantee rankings, indexing, downstream pickup, backlinks, traffic, leads, sales or independent journalist coverage. Publishers control acceptance, and search engines control ranking. Channel V Media says wire services mark their links as nofollow, so a release rarely passes link equity directly. Google's spam policies also say paid or advertorial links that pass ranking credit can violate its rules, as you can see in the Google spam policies.

Set your goal before you publish. Our guide to setting a realistic press release goal and the one on what a distribution report proves help you judge the result honestly.

What does a press release cost?

Writing your own and publishing it on your own site costs nothing but time. Paid distribution varies by route. As of September 23, 2026, these are our one-time prices, and they can change:

General-business release writing adds $395. It includes a 500–700 word release, headline, subhead, boilerplate, one authorized quote and reasonable same-scope revisions during a 30-day window. A separate paid advertorial starts at $1,495. It is labeled commercial content, not a press release or independent coverage. Our terms say there is no retainer, and a publisher can decline a release. With customer-supplied copy, a declined release can be revised and resubmitted, or you can request a full refund of the distribution charge. Read the service terms for the full conditions.

What should you check before you send a release?

• Is there a real event a stranger could verify? Our guide on whether a press release is the right format helps you test it.
• Have you gathered the facts, quotes and contacts a distributor will ask for? See what to gather before ordering distribution.
• Is the date right? Our guide to press release timing lists what to check.
• Have you read the chosen publisher's current content rules? They can change and they apply to you, not to us.

Next step

If you have a real announcement and want help with eligibility, release writing or managed submission, our team's press release distribution services page explains the routes, prices and the free eligibility check that happens before you pay.

By the Marketing By Kevin Team