How to write a press release: a seven-step method

Step 1: Start with the news, in one sentence

Write the news as one plain sentence before anything else: who did what, when and where. If you can, you have a release. Ours read: “Vokolla today launched an AI press release agent at vokolla.com that lets small businesses and founders publish their own news.” A sentence that only says a company is “a leading provider of innovative solutions” is not news yet; add the launch, the appointment, the new market or the result.

Good topics are the ones customers and buyers care about: a product available now, a partnership, funding, a new market, an appointment, a certification, an event with a date, or results you can back up.

Step 2: Write the headline and the summary line

The headline states the news. Ours: “Vokolla Launches an AI Press Release Agent That Lets Small Businesses and Founders Publish Their Own News”. The summary line under it adds one detail: “Vokolla launched an AI press release agent that lets small businesses and founders write, check and publish their own news”. USA Today’s rules ask for a summary of 150 characters or fewer, without a final period.

Step 3: Add the dateline and the lead

The dateline gives the city and the date, then the lead sentence follows. In ours: “CHEYENNE, WY – October 23, 2026 – Vokolla today launched…”. US editors expect a city and state, as in ours, not only a country; the outlet’s style guide decides how the state is abbreviated. Put the news in the lead and leave the company history for the About paragraph.

Step 4: Put the facts in the body, most important first

Use specific facts: dates, places, prices, availability, figures you can back up. Write in the third person and keep sales language out; “the first”, “the best” and “leading” need evidence, so prefer what you can show. USA Today’s rules for our release also asked for no comparisons with named organisations or products.

Step 5: Add a quote from a named person

A quote gives the story a voice. Name the person and their title, and have them say something the body does not: why the news matters, what happens next. Our release carried a quote from its founder. Two or three sentences are enough.

Step 6: Finish with the About paragraph and a contact

Close with two or three sentences about the company, written once and reused word for word in every release, so each copy describes you the same way. Add a named contact and an address readers can reach. Put your website link in the body or the About paragraph, with your brand name or web address as the link text, and keep it to one or two links.

Step 7: Check it against the outlet’s rules

The outlet’s own rules decide the format, so write to the strictest one in your package. For our Premium Media release on USA Today they were: 400–500 words, AP style, a summary of 150 characters or fewer, descriptive link text instead of bare web addresses, and alt text on every image. Our release had 421 words. Vokolla’s editorial check flags this kind of slip, for example a dateline sentence in the About paragraph, before you submit.

• The first sentence says what happened, when and where.
• The dateline has a city and a date.
• A named person is quoted, with a title.
• Every claim is something you can show.
• Links are in the body or the About paragraph, with your brand name or address as the link text.
• The About paragraph matches your earlier releases.

How long a press release should be

Guides give different ranges, commonly 300–500 words. The outlet’s requirement is what counts: USA Today’s was 400–500 words for our release, which is a good target to write to if you want to publish in USA Today’s press release section.

Publish with Vokolla

Vokolla shows one public price per release, from US$69, with no quote, sales call or subscription. You write the release or draft it with the Vokolla AI assistant, choose the package, pay online and get a report with every live link, and an editor reviews each release before it goes out. You can try it first with one free release every 30 days; every package is on the pricing page.