What a press release actually needs to include
A press release is a factual document, not a marketing pitch — the format exists so a journalist can lift details directly into a story without calling you to verify basics. Every standard release includes six parts: a headline, a dateline, a lead paragraph, a quote, a company boilerplate, and a media contact block.
Skipping any of these doesn't make the release more casual — it makes it look unfinished to anyone who reads press releases regularly.
The four announcement types
Product launch — lead with what the product does and who it's for, not how it was built. "A new tool that does X for Y" beats a paragraph about the team's background in the first sentence.
Funding round — state the amount, the round stage, and the lead investor in the lead paragraph. Save the "what we'll use it for" detail for the second sentence or the quote — it's the part reporters usually ask about anyway.
Partnership — name both companies and the concrete thing customers get from the partnership, not just that a deal was signed. "Company A integrates with Company B so customers can do X" is a lead; "Company A and Company B are excited to announce a partnership" is not.
Milestone / traction — pick a specific, verifiable number (customers, revenue, usage) rather than a vague superlative. "10,000 teams" is quotable. "Explosive growth" is not.
Getting it in front of someone who'll actually read it
A perfectly formatted release sent to a wire service or a generic press@ inbox with no relationship behind it rarely turns into coverage. The format matters for credibility once someone opens it — but getting it opened is a targeting problem, not a formatting one.
Use the author contact finder to identify the actual writer who covers your space at a given publication, and the backlink outreach email generator to draft the pitch email that goes with the release — the release is the attachment, not the pitch itself.
Where this fits in a link building system
A press release earns backlinks only if someone with an audience decides your news is worth writing about. That still requires finding the right sites and the right people first — see the backlink building playbook for how a one-off announcement fits into a recurring outreach process instead of a single spike of attention.