Guide · Press release basics
The complete guide to press releases
In short
A press release is a short, dated statement of news that an organization publishes in its own name: what happened, why it matters, who is saying so and whom to contact. It is written in the third person, like a news story, so that news sites can publish it as it stands and journalists can quote from it. It is not an ad: readers take it as the company’s on-the-record account, so every claim in it has to be one the company can back up. And it is not an article by a reporter: the company arranges for it to appear on news sites, usually through a distribution service, and those sites generally mark it as a press release.
What a press release is, and what it is not
The form is more than a century old. Billy Penn, the local news site of Philadelphia’s public broadcaster WHYY, traces what is widely considered the first press release to Ivy Lee and a 1906 statement about a Pennsylvania Railroad crash near Atlantic City. The idea has not changed since: a release puts a company’s own account of events on the record, with a date and a name attached.
Three other things are often mistaken for it. An advertisement buys space for whatever the advertiser wants to say; a release is expected to be news and is judged as news. Media coverage is an article a journalist decides to write; a release can lead to coverage but cannot guarantee it. A blog post lives on your own website; a release is meant to be published by others, which is why it follows conventions they recognize.
| Press release | Advertisement | Earned coverage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who writes it | The company | The company | A journalist |
| Who decides it appears | The company, subject to each publisher’s review | The company, by paying for space | The newsroom |
| How readers treat it | The company’s on-the-record statement | Promotion | Independent reporting |
| What can be promised in advance | Where it is distributed, not who writes about it | The placement and audience bought | Nothing |
When a release is worth publishing
A release works when there is something new that a stranger could check. Editors tend to send back releases that are really an About page, a sales pitch or a list of superlatives, because there is no news in them for a reader.
- A product or feature that customers can use or buy now
- A partnership with a named company, or a new distributor or stockist
- Funding, an acquisition or a new office
- Entering a new country or market
- A senior appointment
- A certification, award or test result from a named body
- An event, with its date and place
- Results, research or figures you can show the evidence for
A useful test is the first sentence. If it can say who did what, when and where in plain words (“Acme, a Melbourne maker of cycling lights, today began selling in Canada through its own online store”), there is a release. If it can only say that a company is “a leading provider of innovative solutions”, there isn’t one yet.
The parts of a press release
Releases follow a structure that editors and readers expect. Keeping to it is not a matter of taste: a publisher’s review checks for it, and it lets a reader find the facts in seconds.
| Part | What it does | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Headline | States the news in one line | Adjectives instead of facts |
| Subheadline (optional) | Adds the most important detail | Repeating the headline |
| Dateline | The city and date the news is issued from | Leaving it out, or a date that doesn’t match the news |
| Lead paragraph | Who, what, when, where and why, in one or two sentences | Starting with company history |
| Body | Details, figures, availability and prices, most important first | Claims nobody could check |
| Quote | A named person’s view in their own words | A quote that only repeats the facts |
| Boilerplate | A short, standard “About the company” paragraph | A different description in every release |
| Contact | A named person and how to reach them | A generic inbox nobody reads |
| Links | Your website, or the page about the news | Keyword links, or too many of them |
Each part will get its own page in this guide; the list below marks the ones that are not published yet. Until then, our editorial guidelines set out what editors check before a release goes live.
Write it so a stranger can check it
A release is read by people who don’t know you: editors at the publishing sites, reporters, buyers researching suppliers and, more and more, AI assistants summarizing what they find. Write in the third person, put the most important fact first, use names and numbers rather than adjectives, and cut anything you could not prove if someone asked.
In many markets that is also a legal point. The UK advertising code, for example, requires marketers to hold documentary evidence for objective claims before they distribute or submit a marketing communication for publication (CAP Code rule 3.7). A release that calls a product “the fastest” or “the best-selling” needs that evidence, or a more modest and accurate wording.
Links need the same care. Google’s spam policies give links with optimized anchor text in press releases distributed on other sites as an example of link spam. Link with your brand name or your plain web address, not with a keyword phrase; our guide to press releases and SEO explains why.
After it is published
Distribution ends with a report of where the release appeared, and that is where using it begins. Link to the coverage from a newsroom or press page on your website, send it to the buyers or partners the news concerns, and keep the figures and the quote the same wherever you repeat them. One release is a piece of news; a release every time something real happens becomes a public record people can check over time.
What a release cannot do matters as much. It cannot make a journalist write about you, and nobody can honestly guarantee search rankings or mentions by AI assistants because of one. Be careful with any service that promises those things.
Writing and publishing a release with Vokolla
You can write a release yourself, or draft it with the Vokolla AI assistant, which connects AI tools such as Claude to your account for drafting, editorial checks and saving drafts. Every release is reviewed by an editor before it is published.
To see how it works before paying, you can publish one free release every 30 days on news sites. Packages start at US$69 for Brand Starter, and the pricing page lists every package with its price and reach.
Every page in this guide
Pages marked “Planned” are not published yet. They are listed so you can see everything this guide will cover, and they are linked here when they go live.
Published guides
- Why press releases matter: a public record people can checkWhat a release is from the reader’s side, what it can do for a growing company, and what it can’t.
- How to get your company featured in major mediaFinding a story editors care about, structuring the release, and using it in the 30 days after publishing.
- From a product launch in Claude to a press releaseA worked example of drafting, revising and saving a release with the Vokolla AI assistant.
- Editorial guidelinesWhat editors check before a release is published: content, structure, style, links and restricted topics.
Writing a release (planned)
- How to write a press releasePlannedA step-by-step method, from finding the news to the final check before you submit.
- Press release format and structurePlannedThe standard parts in order, and what editors expect in each one.
- Press release templates and examplesPlannedAnnotated examples for launches, partnerships, funding and appointments.
- Writing press release headlinesPlannedHow to state the news in one line without hype.
- Datelines and release datesPlannedWhat the city-and-date line at the start means and how to set it.
- Quotes in a press releasePlannedWriting a quote a reporter could actually use, from a named person.
- The boilerplate: your “About” paragraphPlannedThe short, consistent description of the company that ends every release.
- EmbargoesPlannedWhen to share news early under an agreed publication time, and when not to bother.
- Why press releases are rejectedPlannedThe common reasons editors send a release back, and how to fix each one.
- Press release glossaryPlannedPlain definitions of the terms used in writing and distribution.
Vokolla pages for this step
- Packages →Six packages from US$69 to US$659 per release, each with a report of the live links.
- Pricing →Every package’s public price, reach and what it includes, side by side.
- Free press release →One free release every 30 days on news sites, after editor review.
- AI assistant →Connect your AI assistant to Vokolla to draft, check and save a release.
Other guides
- How press release distribution worksNewswires, networks and named outlets, what sets the price, and how to check what you bought.
- Where your press release appearsThe news sites in each package. For now this is the media list; a page per major outlet is planned.
- Press releases and SEOWhat a release can and cannot do for search, Google’s rules on release links, and dofollow and nofollow.
- Press releases and AI searchPlannedWhich sources AI assistants cite, keeping brand facts consistent, and testing your brand each month.
- Press releases by moment and industryPlannedLaunches, funding, trade shows, entering a new market, and releases for SaaS, ecommerce and exporters.
Sources
Written and checked by the Vokolla editorial team. Vokolla sells the packages described here; prices, outlets and link types are as published on vokolla.com on the date above. We do not promise coverage by journalists, placement in a particular outlet beyond what a package lists, search rankings or mentions by AI assistants.
- Billy Penn (WHYY): A tragic Jersey Shore train crash spurred the first-ever press release (2023-11-05) — checked 2026-11-04
- ASA: The CAP Code, section 03, Misleading advertising (rule 3.7) — checked 2026-11-04
- Google Search Central: Spam policies for Google web search (updated 2026-08-28) — checked 2026-11-04
- Vokolla: Editorial guidelines for press releases — checked 2026-11-04
- Vokolla: Free press release (one release every 30 days) — checked 2026-11-04
- Vokolla: Press release distribution pricing (packages, prices and reach) — checked 2026-11-04