Press Release Templates

Copy-paste templates and AI prompts for every kind of announcement, from a wire service whose editorial review reads thousands of releases.

What is a press release?

A press release is a one-page news story about your company, written the way a journalist would write it: headline, dateline, lead, quote, boilerplate, contact. Editors, wire services, and AI assistants all consume the same format, which is why the structure barely changes between a funding announcement and a festival. The full writing guide, including the failures that get releases refused in our editorial review, is in how to write a press release.

Why publish one?

Three returns, in rough order of durability: coverage (your announcement on real outlets, with the "as seen in" badges that follow), search authority (backlinks from high-authority news domains), and AI visibility (assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity cite syndicated announcements when they answer questions about your market; the mechanics are in our generative engine optimization guide). A release with no news earns none of the three, so start with a real announcement.

How do you use a press release?

Write it with the template for your announcement type below, or feed the AI prompt your facts. Then distribute: pitch journalists directly (our email pitch samples cover that), or put it on a wire with guaranteed placements. The market options are compared honestly in the best distribution services guide; our own wholesale distribution publishes to named outlets at flat prices.

Which template should you use?

Match the announcement type. Each template below ships with a full example release, a copy-paste skeleton, and an AI prompt tuned for that announcement. If nothing matches, the general-purpose template further down works for any news.

Press release templates by announcement type

A free general-purpose press release template

For announcements that don't fit a type, this free press release template covers the standard structure, and the AI prompt drafts a compliant release from your facts.

Copy-paste press release template

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[Headline: specific, active, contains the news, under 100 characters]

[Subheadline: one sentence adding the most important supporting detail]

[CITY, State] — [Month Day, Year] — [Company name], [one-line description of the company], today announced [the news in plain terms: what changed, when, and why it matters]. [Second sentence with the most important number, date, or detail a journalist would cite.]

[Body paragraph 1: context. What led to this, who it affects, what it makes possible. Keep to 3-4 sentences.]

"[A quote a person would say out loud: why this matters or what it makes possible, not a repeat of the lead]," said [Full Name], [Title] of [Company]. "[Optional second sentence of the quote.]"

[Body paragraph 2: detail. Specifics, availability, pricing if public, what happens next.]

About [Company name]
[Boilerplate: 1-3 sentences describing the company, identical to the description used everywhere else. End with the website URL.]

Media Contact
[Full Name]
[Title]
[Email]
[Phone]

###

AI prompt for ChatGPT, Claude, or the Press Ranger writer

Write a press release using the facts below. Follow these rules exactly:

- Third person throughout. First person only inside the quote.
- Structure: headline (specific, active, under 100 characters, contains the news), subheadline (one sentence), dateline paragraph opening with "CITY, State — Month Day, Year —" that answers who/what/when/where/why in two sentences, one context paragraph, one quote from the named spokesperson that adds perspective rather than repeating the lead, one detail paragraph, an "About" boilerplate, and a media contact block.
- No author byline. No first-person narration. Attribute any statistic to a named source. Around 400 words. No markdown, plain text.

MY FACTS (replace before running):
- Company: {COMPANY NAME}, {ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION}
- The news: {WHAT IS BEING ANNOUNCED}
- Key details: {DATES, NUMBERS, LOCATIONS, PRICES}
- Why it matters: {THE SO-WHAT IN ONE SENTENCE}
- Spokesperson: {NAME, TITLE}
- Boilerplate: {YOUR STANDARD COMPANY DESCRIPTION}
- Contact: {NAME, EMAIL, PHONE}

Fill the MY FACTS placeholders first. The rules produce a release formatted to pass wire editorial review.

Frequently asked questions

Are these press release templates free?

Yes. Copy the skeleton or the AI prompt with one click and use them anywhere. No account needed. If you want the finished release distributed to named publishers, that is the part we charge for.

How do I use the AI prompt?

Replace the placeholders in the MY FACTS section with your real details, then paste the whole prompt into ChatGPT, Claude, or the Press Ranger AI writer. The rules in the prompt produce a release formatted to pass a wire service editorial review.

What format should a press release follow?

Headline, subheadline, dateline and lead paragraph, one or two body paragraphs, a quote from a named person, an About boilerplate, and a media contact block, at around 400 words. The skeleton on this page encodes that structure; AP style specifics are covered in our AP style template guide.

When the release is written, distribution is the other half of the job. Press Ranger publishes releases to named outlets including Business Insider, Yahoo Finance, and AP News at wholesale prices ($299–$399 flat). Details on the wholesale distribution page, or create a free account to use the AI writer with these templates built in.