What to Include in a Press Release: The 9-Part Checklist (With a One-Page Example)

What should you include in a press release? A complete press release includes 9 parts: a headline, a lead paragraph, a body with supporting detail, a quote, background context, a boilerplate, contact details, a clear next step, and supporting links or assets. Each part has a distinct job, and together they give a reader everything needed to understand the news, check the facts, and act on it, without searching elsewhere for the basics.

This guide explains each of the 9 parts in turn, with what to write, what to leave out, and how to check it. It closes with a one-page example release that shows all 9 parts in place, using a fictional business so you can adapt the structure to your own announcement. Work through the parts in order, and your release will be complete, clear, and ready for a journalist or a reader to use.

Key takeaways

• A press release has 9 parts: headline, lead, body, quote, background, boilerplate, contact details, next step, and supporting links or assets.
• The headline and lead carry the news; everything else supports, proves, or explains it.
• Each part has one job, and no part should repeat another part in different words.
• A quote should sound like a real person, and a boilerplate should describe the company in a few factual sentences.
• The one-page example at the end shows all 9 parts working together in a single short release.

Part 1: What should the headline include?

The headline should include the news itself, stated in plain words in a single short sentence. It should tell a reader what happened, or who the news is for, clearly enough that the reader can decide whether to keep reading. A headline that only names the company, or that uses a slogan, does not do this job, because the reader must open the release to learn what the announcement is about. A headline that names the change, the audience, or the result does the job in one line, and it can be shared or listed without losing its meaning.

Keep the headline focused on one idea, and avoid hype, jargon, and claims the release cannot prove. Words that claim a first, a best, or a record should only appear if the body of the release proves them immediately. Capital letters, exclamation marks, and vague superlatives make a headline look like an advertisement, and a journalist is likely to treat it that way. A calm, specific headline earns more trust, because it can be checked. Before you move on, read the headline alone and ask what a stranger learns from it. If the stranger cannot explain the news back to you, rewrite the headline until they can.

The headline should also be written in the words your readers use. If customers ask for a service by a plain name, use that name. If the announcement is local, a place name can help, but only one clear place detail is needed. The headline does not need to carry every detail of the announcement. Its job is to open the door. The lead paragraph, the next part, is where the essential facts belong, and a headline that tries to carry them all becomes too long to read at a glance.

Part 2: What should the lead paragraph include?

The lead paragraph, also called the opening paragraph, should include the essential facts of the announcement: what happened, who is involved, when it happened or will happen, where it applies, and why it matters. A reader who stops after this paragraph should still understand the news. That is the test of a good lead. It should be short, usually two or three sentences, and it should put the most newsworthy fact first. Background history, company praise, and general claims about a market belong later in the release, not in the lead.

A common mistake is to open with the company instead of the news. A lead that begins with a long description of the company, its founding, and its mission buries the announcement and asks the reader to be patient. A lead that begins with the announcement rewards the reader immediately. You can name the company in the lead, and you should, but the announcement itself should come first. If you find yourself writing several sentences before reaching the news, rewrite the lead so the news is in the first sentence. That single change will improve most press releases more than any other edit.

Use concrete language in the lead. Names, dates, places, and plain descriptions of what changed are more useful than general claims about innovation or growth. If the announcement involves a new product, name what it is and who it is for. If it involves funding, state the purpose of the funding. If it involves an event, state the date and the place. Concrete facts help a journalist check the story quickly, and they help a reader decide whether the announcement is relevant to them. Vague language does the opposite: it forces the reader to guess, and most readers will not bother.

The five facts in a lead

• What happened, stated as the first fact in the paragraph.
• Who is involved, named plainly.
• When it happened or will happen, with a clear date where relevant.
• Where it applies, if place matters to the reader.
• Why it matters, in one plain sentence.

Part 3: What should the body include?

The body of the release should include the supporting detail that proves and explains the lead: a fact, a result, a concrete example, or a clear description of how something works. The first body paragraph should give the reader a reason to believe the announcement matters. Later body paragraphs should add context and practical detail, such as who the announcement is for, how it works, when it is available, and what happens next. Each paragraph should add something new. A body that repeats the headline and the lead in different words wastes the reader's time and makes the release feel longer than it is.

Keep each body paragraph focused on one idea, and keep sentences short enough to follow easily. A paragraph that tries to explain everything at once becomes hard to quote and hard to skim. If a paragraph contains two ideas, split it. If a sentence contains several clauses, shorten it. The body should leave the reader better informed about this specific announcement, not merely more aware that the company exists. Avoid filling the body with general claims about an industry or a market that the reader cannot check. If a background claim matters to the story, keep it brief, keep it relevant, and be ready to support it.

The body should also be honest about what is known and what is planned. A completed result should be described as a result. A plan should be described as a plan. An estimate should be labelled as an estimate, with its basis described plainly. That honesty protects the release, because a journalist who checks a claim and finds it accurate will trust the rest of the document. A single overstated claim, by contrast, casts doubt on every other fact in the release. Check every figure, name, and date in the body against its source before the release is sent, and remove any detail you cannot verify. A shorter body that is fully accurate is stronger than a longer body that contains a mistake.

Part 4: What should the quote include?

A quote should include one clear idea, spoken in plain language by a named person who is closely involved in the news. The best quotes explain why the announcement matters in human terms: what problem was seen, what choice was made, what a customer experienced, or what will change next. A quote that only praises the company, or that repeats the headline in different words, adds nothing, and a journalist is unlikely to use it. Choose one speaker, usually a founder or the person most closely involved, and give the quote one idea to carry. If a second quote adds a genuinely different point of view, such as a customer or a partner, it can help, but two quotes saying the same thing weaken the release.

Write the quote as the speaker would actually speak, and read it aloud before you keep it. If it sounds stiff, formal, or full of jargon, rewrite it in simpler words. A quote should be short enough to use in full, and it should be attributed fully, with the speaker's name and role, so a reader knows who is speaking and why their view matters. Never invent a quote, and never put words into someone's mouth without their agreement. Get approval for the exact wording from the speaker before the release is sent, because a quote is a statement of record. If the speaker has not approved the wording, the quote is not ready, however well it reads.

Place the quote after the lead and the first supporting detail, where it can add a human voice to facts the reader has already understood. A quote placed too early, before the reader knows the news, will feel disconnected. A quote placed too late, after all the detail, will feel like an afterthought. The natural position is in the middle of the release, where the reader has the facts and is ready to hear why they matter to a real person. That placement also helps a journalist, who can lift the quote alongside the facts without rearranging the whole document.

Part 5: What background and context should you include?

Background and context should include the information a reader needs to understand why the announcement matters now, and no more. That might be a brief explanation of the problem being solved, a change in how people work or shop, or the circumstances that led to the announcement. Keep background short and relevant to this specific announcement. A reader does not need the full history of the company, the industry, or the market to understand a single piece of news, and a long background section pushes the practical details further from the reader. A few sentences of well-chosen context are usually enough, placed after the main facts and before the boilerplate.

Distinguish background from the boilerplate, which is a separate part. Background explains the announcement. The boilerplate describes the company. Background might explain why a new service was created, what customers asked for, or what has changed for the readers served. It should be factual, not promotional, and it should not introduce a new announcement. If background starts to sound like a sales pitch, shorten it and return to facts. If background introduces a claim that needs proof, either add the proof or remove the claim. The reader should finish the background section understanding the announcement better, not feeling that they have read a second, vaguer announcement inside the first.

Use background sparingly when the announcement is simple. A new opening time, a new appointment option, or a new product variant may need only a sentence or two of context. A funding round, a major launch, or a change in service may need a little more. Let the complexity of the news decide the length of the background, not a desire to fill space. A release that respects the reader's time by keeping background brief will be read more carefully than a release that explains at length. The test is simple: if removing a background sentence would leave the reader confused about the news, keep it. If removing it would change nothing, remove it.

Part 6: What should the boilerplate include?

The boilerplate should include a short, factual description of the company: what the company does, who it serves, and where it is based, if that is relevant to the reader. Keep it to a few sentences, and keep the tone neutral. The boilerplate is not the place for new claims, sales language, superlatives, or a second announcement. It is a reference paragraph that helps a reader or a journalist who knows nothing about the company to place the announcement correctly. Think of it as the answer to the question: what is this company, in plain terms? If the boilerplate answers that question, it has done its job.

Write the boilerplate once, and reuse it with small updates as the company changes, but check it before every release. A boilerplate that describes a service the company no longer offers, a location it has left, or a focus it has changed will confuse readers and create extra work for journalists. Keep the wording stable enough that regular readers recognise it, and accurate enough that a new reader can rely on it. Avoid jargon and internal language in the boilerplate, because it is often the first description of the company a new reader will see. Plain words, a clear description of the service, and a named audience are all a boilerplate needs.

Place the boilerplate near the end of the release, after the body and the quote, and before the contact details. That position follows the order journalists expect: news first, support and context in the middle, company description and contact details last. A boilerplate placed at the start of the release, before the news, will bury the announcement. A boilerplate that is too long will delay the contact details, which are the next part and the reader's route to follow-up. Keep the boilerplate short, factual, and in its expected place, and the structure of the whole release will feel natural to the reader.

Part 7: What contact details should you include?

Contact details should include a named person, an email address, and a website link, so a journalist or reader can follow up without searching. A named contact is more useful than a general department name, because it tells the reader who will answer and gives the follow-up a human starting point. The email address should be one that is checked regularly, and the named contact should expect enquiries and be ready to answer them. A release that ends without contact details makes the next step harder than it needs to be, and a good announcement should never end in a dead end.

Check the contact details before every release, even if they have not changed. Confirm the spelling of the contact's name, the accuracy of the email address, and that every link works. A single wrong character in an email address or a link can prevent a follow-up that would otherwise have become coverage. If a phone number is included, confirm that it is the right number, that it will be answered, and that the contact is prepared for calls about this specific announcement. If no phone contact is offered, do not include a number that will go unanswered. It is better to offer one reliable route to contact than several routes that do not work.

Place the contact details at the end of the release, after the boilerplate, where a reader expects to find them. Label them clearly, so a reader scanning the end of the document can find them at once. If the announcement has a specific contact for a specific topic, name that person rather than a general contact, and say what kind of enquiry they handle. Clear, accurate contact details are a small part of a press release, but they are the part that turns a reader into a conversation, and a conversation into coverage.

Contact details checklist

• A named contact person for press enquiries, with their role.
• An email address that is monitored and answered promptly.
• A phone number, if the contact expects calls and can answer them.
• A website link where the reader can find more detail about the announcement.

Part 8: What next step should you include?

A press release should include a clear next step, so the reader knows what to do after reading it. The next step depends on the announcement: it might be to visit a website, book a service, attend an event, download a document, or contact the named person for more detail. State the next step plainly, in the body or near the close of the release, and make it easy to take. A reader who finishes a release without knowing what to do next is less likely to act, however interesting the news was. A reader who knows the next step, and can take it in a moment, is far more likely to follow through.

Keep the next step to one main action. A release that asks the reader to do several different things at once, such as visiting a site, signing up, calling, and sharing the news, will confuse the reader and dilute the response. Choose the action that matters most for this announcement, state it clearly, and leave secondary actions for the website or the follow-up conversation. If the next step involves a date, a deadline, or a limited availability, state it plainly and accurately, and do not create false urgency. A reader who feels pressured without cause will distrust the announcement, while a reader who is given a clear, honest next step will act on it when they are ready.

Make sure the next step works. Click every link, check every booking page, and confirm that any event details, dates, and addresses are correct. A next step that leads to a broken link or an out-of-date page wastes the goodwill the release has built. If the next step is to contact a person, confirm that the person is available and informed. If the next step is to visit a page, confirm that the page describes the announcement accurately. The next step is the bridge between reading and acting, and it should be as carefully checked as any fact in the release.

Part 9: What links and supporting assets should you include?

A press release should include the links and supporting assets a reader or journalist needs to use the story: a link to the relevant page on your website, and, where helpful, a link to a folder of images or documents. Links should be relevant, working, and clearly described, so a reader knows what each link leads to before clicking it. A link to a general homepage, when a specific product or announcement page exists, makes the reader search for the detail they need. A link to the specific page, by contrast, takes them directly to the information that supports the announcement. Use the most specific, relevant link available, and check it before the release is sent.

Supporting assets might include a company logo, a photograph of the product, the premises, or the people involved, and a short background document. Keep assets simple, well named, and easy to open. A journalist who can open one link and find everything needed is far more likely to move forward than one who must ask for basics. Do not attach large files to a pitch email. Link to a folder instead, and keep file sizes sensible. Also check that any image or document you share contains no errors, no out-of-date information, and no branding or content that does not belong in the release. Assets should support the announcement, not distract from it or contradict it.

Do not overload a release with links and assets. A handful of relevant links and a small set of useful assets is enough. Every link should earn its place by helping the reader understand, check, or act on the announcement. A link that leads to unrelated content, a sales page with no connection to the news, or a document the reader does not need will weaken the release. The test for each link is the same as for each paragraph: if removing it would leave the reader less able to understand or act on the news, keep it. If removing it would change nothing, remove it. A lean set of accurate links and assets serves the reader better than a long list that must be sorted through.

What does a one-page example press release look like?

The example below is a complete, one-page press release for a fictional business, Willow Creek Bakery. It is invented for illustration, and it shows all 9 parts in order: headline, lead, body, quote, background, boilerplate, contact details, next step, and supporting links. Read it as a whole first, then check each part against the guidance above. Notice how short it is, how plain the language is, and how every sentence adds a fact, a detail, or a next step, rather than repeating an earlier point.

Headline: Willow Creek Bakery Opens a Second Shop in the Riverside Neighbourhood on Saturday. Lead: Willow Creek Bakery will open a second shop in the Riverside neighbourhood on Saturday, offering fresh bread, morning pastries, and coffee for local residents and workers. The new shop will open at eight in the morning, and the bakery expects the opening weekend to be busy. Body: The Riverside shop will bake bread on site each morning, using the same recipes as the original Willow Creek shop, and will offer a small seating area for customers who wish to stay. The shop will employ a small team recruited locally, and opening hours will be published on the bakery website. The bakery chose Riverside because residents asked for a local bakery within walking distance, and the new shop answers that request directly.

Quote: We opened the first shop to bake good bread for our neighbours, and Riverside residents asked us to come to them, said the bakery founder, who will manage the new shop. We have kept the menu simple, the bread fresh, and the opening straightforward, so that anyone who visits on Saturday knows exactly what to expect. Background: The original Willow Creek shop opened three years ago and has served the local area with fresh bread and pastries. The Riverside shop is the bakery's second location, and no further locations are planned at present. Boilerplate: Willow Creek Bakery is a small, independent bakery baking fresh bread and pastries for local residents and workers. Contact: For press enquiries, contact the bakery founder by email, and visit the bakery website for opening hours and the full menu. Next step: Visit the Riverside shop from Saturday morning, or check the bakery website for opening hours before you travel. Supporting links: The bakery website carries the opening hours, the menu, and a small set of photographs of the new shop.

That example is deliberately simple, and its simplicity is its strength. A reader who knows nothing about Willow Creek Bakery can finish it understanding what is opening, where, when, who it is for, and what to do next. A journalist can lift the headline, the lead, and the quote without rewriting them. Nothing in the example overclaims, nothing repeats itself, and nothing is left vague. Adapt the structure, not the words, to your own announcement: replace the fictional facts with your own confirmed facts, keep the order, keep the language plain, and keep the length to what the announcement genuinely needs. A one-page release that is complete and accurate will serve most small business announcements well.

Ready to write a press release that includes everything it needs?

You now have the 9-part checklist: headline, lead, body, quote, background, boilerplate, contact details, next step, and supporting links or assets. Work through the parts in order, check each one against the guidance in this guide, and use the one-page example as a model for length and tone. A release that includes all 9 parts, in the right order, gives a reader everything needed to understand, check, and act on your news.

If you would like help turning your facts into a finished release, PressFudge offers press release writing as a separate service, and you can start an order on the writing page at pressfudge.com/order/pr-writing. You can also explore the free tools on the tools page at pressfudge.com/tools, and compare distribution options on the pricing page at pressfudge.com/pricing. A complete, clear, and honest release is the foundation of every announcement that earns attention, and the 9 parts in this guide give you a reliable way to build one.