How to write a press release that passes editorial screening (with checklist)

Outlets screen every submitted release, and many now use automated classifiers that score the text before a human sees it. The classifier is looking for one thing: does this read like news or like an advertisement? Everything below is about staying on the news side of that line.

The structure

Headline

Company plus announcement, in plain words. "Acme Labs Announces U.S. Availability of Its Sleep Support Formula" passes. "Revolutionary New Sleep Formula Takes the Market by Storm" does not. If you want the release to rank for a brand search, put the brand first.

Subheadline and lead

One sentence of context, then a dateline and a lead that says who announced what, today. "AURORA, Colo., September 28, 2026 — Acme Labs today announced…" Everything the reader needs is in the first two sentences.

Body

Two to four short sections. Describe the product or announcement factually: what it is, what it contains or does, who it is for, where it is available. Cite outside sources where you make general claims, and attribute product statements to the company ("the company says", "according to the label").

Quote

One substantive quote from a named person with a title. A quote that only praises the product is flagged; a quote that explains a decision or a detail is accepted.

Availability and disclaimers

Where to buy, with a link to the official site. Add the disclaimers your category requires, such as the standard supplement statement, and keep tracking out of the visible URL.

About and media contact

A boilerplate with the founding year and a mission sentence, then a media contact with a real name, a title and an email formatted as a link. Releases without a named contact are rejected on sight.

Phrases that trigger rejections

• Superlatives and title-case promotional descriptors: Revolutionary, Best-Selling, Clinically Proven, #1
• Direct address and calls to action: "you", "order now", "for best results"
• Cure, treatment, prevention and guaranteed-result claims
• Comparisons implying competitors hide something ("unlike other brands that hide their doses")
• Market statistics framed as your claim rather than as a cited report
• The word "review" in wire headlines (national outlets tolerate it in a factual framing)

Regulated categories

Supplements need structure-function language with the standard disclaimer and no disease claims; details in supplement press release distribution. Financial products cannot promise returns; see forex and trading releases. Crypto releases avoid securities-style language. Our compliance review runs before payment, so an unfixable draft never costs you a placement.

The checklist

• Headline: company + news, no adjectives
• Dateline with city and date; lead names the announcer and the announcement
• Third person throughout; no "you", no calls to action
• Every general claim cited; every product claim attributed to the company
• One named spokesperson with a title and a substantive quote
• Category disclaimers present; no cure/treatment/guaranteed-result language
• Links only to the official domain, branded anchors
• About paragraph with founding year and mission
• Media contact: name, title, email as a link
• 600–1,300 words for national outlets

Run the list, fix what fails, and the release is ready for USA Today, AP News or a wire. If you would rather hand it over, the writing service applies these rules for you and you approve the draft before submission.