Press release format & structure

The anatomy of a press release

Every effective press release shares the same building blocks. Keep them in this order:

• Headline — the news in one clear, active line.
• Dateline — city and release date.
• Lead paragraph — who, what, when, where, why, in 1–2 sentences.
• Body — supporting detail, context and key numbers, most important first.
• Quote — one or two human quotes from leadership or a partner.
• Boilerplate — a short, evergreen description of your company.
• Contact — name, email, and a link for more.

Formatting rules that still matter

Keep it tight (a classic release is one page), write in the third person, lead with the most newsworthy fact, and make every claim specific — numbers beat adjectives. End the traditional document with ### to signal the end.

Adapting the format for a scroll page

An interactive release keeps the same skeleton but lets each part breathe: the headline becomes a hero, key numbers animate as the reader scrolls, the quote gets its own moment, and the call-to-action is a real button. You lose nothing journalists expect — you just make it readable. The press release templates already follow this structure, or build one with the press release maker.