MarketersMEDIA Press Release Optimization Checklist

This checklist is here to help you create a press release that’s clear, professional, and well-structured. Simply review each section and tick off the items as you go.

By the end, you’ll have a press release that’s ready to inform and engage your audience.

Formatting and Structure

• Uses the standard press release format:
  • Headline: Summarizes the key news with clear issuer entity.
  • Summary: Provides an overview of the announcement in a few sentences.
  • Dateline: Includes the city from where the release originates, usually the company’s headquarters.
  • Lead Paragraph: Answers who, what, when, where, why, and how.
  • Body: Provides detailed context and supporting information.
  • Boilerplate: Includes a brief description of your company or organization.
  • Contact Information: Includes relevant details for follow-up (name, title, email, website).
• Total word count is between 300-500 words.
• Paragraphs are short and concise (3-4 sentences each) for easy readability.
• Use of bold, italics, or underlined text is minimal and purposeful.
• Incorporates a narrative flow without subheadings or bullet points unless necessary for clarity.
• Free from grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.

Tone and Style

• Reads like an announcement, not an advertisement.
• Written in a professional, neutral, and objective tone.
• Written in third-person pronouns (e.g., he, she, it, they, the company).
• Uses action verbs and active voice.
• Free from jargon, slang, or overly casual language.

Headline

• Accurately presents the press release’s content.
• It is newsworthy (important and recent enough to be announced).
• Includes targeted keyword(s).
• Includes the issuer’s entity.
• Length is around 6-12 words or approximately 80 characters.
• Written in active voice.
• Written with initial caps (e.g., This Is A Sample Of Your Headline).
• Free from excessive punctuation (e.g., more than one exclamation mark).

Summary

• Clearly describes the press release’s content.
• Highlights key announcement and why it matters.
• Length is 1-3 sentences or 50-70 words.
• Includes primary keywords naturally without overstuffing.
• Free from question(s) or exclamation(s).
• Free from special characters such as ™ or © and symbols.

Dateline and Lead Paragraph

• Dateline formatted as [City, State], [Month Day, Year].
• Lead paragraph answers the “5Ws” (Who, What, When, Where, Why).

Body

• Provides detailed context and supporting information.
• Includes supporting data, statistics, or quotes as needed.
• Quotes are authentic and reflect what someone might have actually said (where applicable).
• Includes hyperlinks to credible sources (where applicable).
• Ends with a strong conclusion or CTA (call-to-action).

Boilerplate

• Includes a brief description of the company or organization.
• Highlights core offerings, mission, or unique value propositions.
• Length is around 2-3 sentences.

Visuals

• Includes relevant high-resolution image, infographic, or video (where applicable).
• Image file size is a maximum of 200KB (jpg, png, or gif only).
• Visuals are properly captioned and credited.
• Alt text provided for accessibility and SEO.