Press Release Guide

A traditional press release has 10 parts, which may seem like a lot, but some are small or sometimes not required. By using the proper structure of a press release, the author helps to add credibility to their work. The order they are listed is roughly the order they should appear in a press release: letterhead, contacts, headline, subhead, dateline, lead, body paragraphs, quote, boilerplate and close. The press release should be one to two pages; remember, it's a quick look at the most important information. 

The letterhead is at the top of a press release and contains several components; it usually consists of the company or organization's name and logo, the release date and contact information. You may include more or less contact information depending on the content of the release, but you should always include the company or organization's name. 

Here's an example based on the format from the Moisture Meter press release:

8/1/2025

For Immediate Release

Contact: Herbie Husker, Lead Educator

              402-000-0000, hhusker1@unl.edu

              Nebraska Extension

If you want to include a physical address or more phone numbers:

You can include a physical address, more phone numbers and/or a link to a website underneath the close at the bottom of the press release.

The press release is not for "Immediate Release":

"Immediate Release" tells the news outlet or publisher to send the release out to the public as soon as it is received (OR as soon as they have finished the story). If there is a specific date you would like it released instead, simply replace the current date and "For Immediate Release" with "Hold for release until [Insert Chosen Date]". This tells the receiver to wait. 

The headline is also called the title. It is the first thing your audience will see and should convey the most important information in just a few words. A headline is not structured like a sentence and does not use a period. The headline should not be the same phrasing as the subhead and lead. The headline is never optional. 

Example from Moisture Meter press release: 

Borrow Moisture Meters from Lancaster County Extension Office

The headline is centered on the page and bolded, but should be the same font and size as the regular text. This headline conveys to the audience that they are able to borrow a product, what the product is and where they can find it. It answers the big questions while leaving room for the rest of the details that follow below. 

The subhead follows the headline and provides context for it. You can think of a subhead like a short summary of the article. Try not to use the exact same words as the headline within the subhead. Subheads should be a full sentence that is left aligned and italicized. The subhead could be considered optional if the headline contains enough information that the transition to the lead is smooth. 

Example of subhead from Moisture Meter press release:

Nebraska Extension is lending moisture meters to those affected by flooding.

This subhead uses "lending" instead of "borrowing" to avoid repetition. It adds the 'why'; the moisture meters are available because of the flooding. 

The dateline isn't a full line but is the beginning of the lead. It is simple and only contains the date and location. The lead follows directly after the dash. The dateline is not optional. 

Dateline Example:

[LINCOLN, NE, 8/1/2025]-

The format of the dateline should contain the city name in all caps followed by the state abbreviation. The date follows after a comma and is in numeric form.

The lead, or sometimes written as lede, is a crucial part of successful press releases. It provides the most relevant and valuable details in one to two sentences and around 25 to 30 words. The lead is at the top of the inverted pyramid, which is the structure of the body of a press release. So, the lead provides the broadest details like the who (Extension), what (offering moisture meters), when (now) and where (at local Extension offices). After the lead, the rest of the body focus on more and more specific information that is not critical to understanding the purpose of the press release. 

Example of lead:

Nebraska Extension is lending moisture meters to property owners recovering from recent severe storms and flooding. These handheld tools can help identify water damage and ensure structures are dry enough to make repairs.

By reading this lead, the audience would be able to understand that they can go to their nearest Extension office and borrow a moisture meter to test their home. Ideally, the reader should be able to stop reading after the lead and understand what the main purpose is. It is helpful to think of the who, what, where and when. 

As mentioned in the section on leads, the structure of a press release is an inverted pyramid; not literally of course, it relates to how crucial the information is. The most important details are first given in the lead and then expanded upon in the next paragraph, and in the third paragraph new (less crucial) details may be introduced. The third paragraph might introduce these details through a quote. Overall, the information becomes less vital the further down the page you go. Somewhere in the last three paragraphs is also where a quote may be included, this one is usually longer. Within the last paragraph, you can provide a link to online resources; be sure the link is active and clickable. This is a great way to include more information that doesn't fit in the release. You can also use a short, bulleted list within a press release.

What details are included and expanded on:

Information that is given in a press release falls under the 5W's and H. 

Who: organization, victim, employee, honoree, entity doing the what

What: notable event, announcement, service/product, action, apology, etc.

When: date and time it did or will occur

Where: location of event (physical or digital) or point of interest

Why: purpose of the what, reasons and benefits for its existence

How: (often the least important) the actions being taken to create the opportunity, the work being put in

Specifics to include:

As mentioned above, always include any relevant locations, times and dates. Also, if you are hosting an event or providing a service that includes a fee, you should list that price for clarity; this also applies to classes and products. 

Length of paragraphs:

The modern audience does not want to read long paragraphs that take up half the page; they prefer smaller, easily scannable paragraphs. It is best to keep your body paragraphs in your press release to a maximum of three to four sentences. 

Quotes are a great way to help your press release gain reliability through a trusted source but make sure the quoted information is relevant. In the quote in the example, Associate Dean Dave Varner talks about Extension's commitment to helping Nebraska's rural communities. You could also include a second quote in the Moisture Meter press release from local Extension faculty. It might look like this: 

 “Moisture meters can help you make decisions on when to start making repairs to water-damaged homes,” said [Faculty/Staff member name]. “It is important for wood and other materials to be dry before making repairs. If renovations start too soon, you could trap moisture which can lead to rot and mold growth.” 

By adding this information as a quote, the audience may heed the dangers more than if it was just a sentence within a paragraph; familiarity leads to trust. Do not include a paragraph that gives the exact same information as a quote; if you were to us the above quote from a staff member, then you would delete the sentences in the second paragraph that say the same thing. Quotes are also helpful because they break up the visual flow of the page. 

How to format quotes:

 “Nebraska Extension is committed to being a responsive local valued partner in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery in all 93 Nebraska counties,” said Dave Varner, associate dean and director of Nebraska Extension. “Regardless of what Mother Nature does, we are dedicated to helping Nebraskan’s co-create a better tomorrow.”

Quotes follow specific rules; the one listed above is there for reference. The quoted words of a speaker always begin and end in quotation marks. Quotes that go before the introduction of the speaker use a comma then quotation mark. After the quotation mark, you introduce the speaker by using "said" and follow up their name with a comma if you are going to include a title. In the above we have: counties," said Dave Varner, associate dean and director of Nebraska Extension. The correct punctuation and phrasing is bolded. 

If you are introducing the name of the speaker before their quote, the comma goes before the quotation mark and the period to mark the end of the sentence goes before the final quotation mark. It looks like: Dave Varner, associate dean and director of Nebraska Extension, said, ".......tomorrow."

If you don't introduce the speaker, then your audience will be confused. 

Also notice that Dave Varner's title is not capitalized; this is because it follows his name. Titles should only be capitalized if they proceed the name of the speaker and hold a place of authority. Often, only short titles are written before the name. For example: President Lincoln. Adding Dave Varner's title before his name would be inconvenient for the reader. Take a look: said associate dean and director of Nebraska Extension, Dave Varner. The reader has to wait until the end of the sentence to figure out who is actually talking. In that example, "associate dean" and "director" are not capitalized because they are not directly next to the name. 

Similar to a subhead, a boilerplate may be deemed unnecessary, but it does hold value. A boilerplate, when included, is always the last paragraph before the close. It is used as a short summary of the company/organization's mission, activities and/or core values. It is most helpful when your audience is unfamiliar with your brand. 

The Moisture Meter press release does not include a boilerplate but if it had it could look like:

Nebraska Extension brings University of Nebraska expertise and research in 8 key areas of impact directly to Nebraskans from all walks of life in each of the state’s 93 counties. Nebraskans turn to Nebraska Extension to strengthen their families, inspire their communities, empower young people, conserve and protect natural resources, and advance their farms, ranches, and businesses.

This is pulled directly from the Nebraska Extension website.

The close is the easiest part of a press release; it is three pound symbols centered in a row under the last paragraph of the release. It is a sign that there is no more information about the story after that point. You can still include more contact information after the close. 

Close Example:

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That's all there is to it.