How to Write a Press Release, Structure and Template (2026)

By the PR Gun Research desk. Updated November 1, 2026.

How do you write a press release? Put the news in a plain headline, open with a dateline and a lead that says who did what, when, where and why, then add two to four short body paragraphs, at least one named quote, a boilerplate about the company and a media contact with an email and phone number. End with ###. In PR Gun's database, the median PR Newswire release ran 615 words and the median headline ran 97 characters (82,398 releases, January 4 to October 31, 2026).

This guide covers press release structure part by part, a fill-in press release template you can copy, and how the structure shifts for funding, launch, partnership, acquisition and hiring news. Every benchmark on this page comes from PR Gun's database of published press releases, and each one comes with its wire, its count and its dates.

What is the structure of a press release?

A press release has seven parts, in this order. The first four carry the news. The last three help a reporter check it and reach you.

Above the headline, most releases add a release line. "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" means the news can run now. If you're holding the news, write "EMBARGOED UNTIL" followed by the date, time and time zone, and only send it to reporters who've agreed to the embargo.

A quick test from a common quiz question. Is it common practice to open a release with a paragraph summarizing the organization? No. The company summary is the boilerplate, and it goes at the end. The opening paragraph is for the news.

What do real press releases look like? Structure measured by wire

Most guides repeat rules like "keep it under 500 words." We measured what actually gets published instead. The table shows the median length, headline length and how often the contact details and a quote appear, for each wire with at least 300 releases in 2026.

"Email visible" means an email address appears in the published text. "Quote" means the text contains "said", "says" or "stated". PR Newswire pages often hide or obscure contact emails, so its 4.0% measures what readers can see, not what the company sent in.

Four things stand out.

• Length runs well past 400 words. The median release ran from 394 words on PRLog to 834 words on EIN Presswire. Ten of the 11 wires had a median above 500 words. See our study of press release length.
• Headlines are longer than most advice says. The median headline ran from 82 characters on PRLog to 106 characters on GlobeNewswire. Our headline length study has the full spread.
• Quotes are common but not universal. In PR Gun's database, 78.4% of 5,684 PRWeb releases (March 30 to October 31, 2026) contained a quote, against 36.9% of 2,275 PRLog releases (September 20 to October 30, 2026).
• Many releases leave out a phone number. In PR Gun's database, 31.2% of 82,398 PR Newswire releases published January 4 to October 31, 2026 included a phone number in the text. Read the phone number gap and our contact study.

What does that mean for you? A 450 to 800 word release with an 85 to 100 character headline sits right in the middle of what the big wires publish. A quote and a full contact block put you ahead of a large share of them.

How to write each part of a press release

1. Headline

Write the news, not a teaser. Name the company, use an active verb and say what changed. "Acme opens second Denver warehouse, adding 120 jobs" works. "Acme is excited to announce big news" doesn't. Skip superlatives like "revolutionary." Use sentence case, capitalizing only the first word and proper nouns, which is AP style and what PR Gun's editorial guidelines ask for. Don't write it in all capitals. In PR Gun's database, 5.5% of 82,398 PR Newswire headlines (January 4 to October 31, 2026) were in all capital letters, and our headline study explains why that reads as shouting. More tips are in our press release headline guide.

A subhead is optional. Use it for the second most important fact, like a number or a date.

2. Dateline

The dateline opens the first paragraph. It's the city in capital letters, the state if needed and the date. Wires add their own tag, so you'll see "NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ --" on wire copy. In AP style, months like November are shortened when used with a date, and 30 large U.S. cities, New York and Chicago among them, stand alone without a state. Our AP style guide for press releases lists the rules.

3. Lead paragraph

The lead answers who, what, when, where and why in one or two sentences. If a reporter reads only this paragraph, they should have the story. Start with the news, not the company's history. Write in the third person. "We are thrilled to announce" belongs inside a quote, if anywhere. See how to write a press release lead for examples.

4. Body and quote

Use two to four short paragraphs. Put facts in order of importance, so an editor can cut from the bottom. Add the numbers that prove the claim, like prices, dates, user counts and where to buy. Then add a quote from a named person with a title. A good quote gives an opinion or a reason, not a restated fact. "This is the first time a Denver shop can get next-day parts without a freight contract" beats "We're excited about this milestone."

5. Boilerplate

The boilerplate is three to five sentences about the organization. Say what it does, who it serves, where it's based and its website. Keep it factual and reuse it across releases. This is also where extra background goes if you're asking how to add information at the bottom of a press release. Add a separate "Notes to editors" line under it for things like image links or availability for interviews.

6. Media contact

Give a real person's name, email and phone number. A reporter on deadline won't fill in a web form. PR Gun requires a valid email and phone number in the contact section of every release.

7. End mark

Center ### or -30- under the last line. It tells an editor nothing is missing.

Press release template you can fill in

Copy this press release template and replace each bracket. Keep the order. Delete any line you can't fill with a real fact.

Want to start from a finished release instead? Our press release examples page has annotated samples for common types of news.

Sample press release, annotated

Here's the template filled in. The company and people are made up for illustration.

Why it works. The headline names the company and the change. The lead fits who, what, where and why into two sentences. The second paragraph has the numbers. The quote gives a reason a reporter can't get from the facts alone. The contact block has both an email and a phone number. At about 200 words it's short, so a real release would add a paragraph of detail to get past 450 words.

How the structure changes by type of release

The seven parts stay the same. What goes into the lead, the proof and the quote changes with the news. Each guide below has a fill-in template and benchmarks from real releases of that type.

Public companies have one more step. Check with your investor relations team on disclosure timing before you pick a wire.

Common press release mistakes

• Burying the news below a paragraph about company history.
• Writing ad copy. "Best in class" and "game-changing" tell a reporter it's marketing.
• No real contact. A generic inbox or a form link makes follow-up hard.
• A quote that only repeats the headline.
• Jargon and acronyms with no definition.
• Too short to stand alone. PR Gun's editorial guidelines recommend 450 to 800 words and say releases under 450 words may not be indexed by Google News.
• Typos in names and numbers. Have a second person check every figure.

Before you send, run through our press release checklist or paste your draft into the PR Gun press release auditor.

When should you send it?

Timing data is only reliable for wires that publish exact timestamps. In PR Gun's database, the most common hour on PR Newswire was 8 a.m. Eastern and the busiest day was Tuesday (82,398 releases, January 4 to October 31, 2026). That's when the pile is deepest, which is not the same as when you'll get read. Our best time to send a press release study weighs both, and how to send a press release covers the steps.

Want a ready-to-copy version for your release type? Use our press release template library. Inviting reporters to an event? Send a media advisory before the release.

Frequently asked questions

How do you write a press release step by step?

Write a plain headline, open with a dateline and a lead that answers who, what, when, where and why, add two to four short paragraphs of detail and one named quote, then close with a boilerplate, a media contact with email and phone, and ###.

What are the parts of a press release?

There are seven. Headline, dateline, lead paragraph, body with a quote, boilerplate, media contact and an end mark such as ###. A release line like FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE usually sits above the headline.

How long should a press release be?

In PR Gun's database, the median release ran from 394 words on PRLog to 834 words on EIN Presswire in 2026, and 615 words on PR Newswire. PR Gun's guidelines recommend 450 to 800 words.

Does the headline go first in a press release?

Yes. The release line, such as FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, sits on top, then the headline, an optional subhead, and then the dateline that opens the first paragraph.

What do you put at the top of a press release if you're waiting to post it?

Write EMBARGOED UNTIL followed by the date, time and time zone in place of FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, and share it only with reporters who've agreed to hold it.

Is there a free press release template?

Yes. The fill-in template on this page follows the seven-part structure. Copy it, replace each bracket and delete any line you can't fill with a real fact.

How much does it cost to write a press release for your business?

Writing it yourself costs nothing. PR Gun's pricing page says press release writing is included at no charge with its plans, which start at $49.