Why Press Release Writing Is Stealing Your Time
You need a launch announcement out by Friday. You open a blank document, google "press release template," and immediately face decision paralysis: What's newsworthy enough to lead? Which executive quote sounds authentic but professional? How do you explain technical features without jargon while still sounding credible to industry press? Three hours and seven drafts later, you've written something that reads like every other corporate announcement—generic, forgettable, and unlikely to get picked up.
Time saved: Reduces 2-3 hours of drafting and revision cycles to 10-15 minutes of structured input and review
Consistency gain: Standardizes press release structure across all company announcements, ensuring you hit journalistic conventions (inverted pyramid, newsworthiness criteria, proper boilerplate placement) every single time
Cognitive load: Eliminates the mental burden of balancing multiple audiences (journalists, customers, investors) while simultaneously worrying about AP Style, SEO optimization, and brand voice alignment
Cost comparison: At $75/hour for a communications professional, outsourcing press releases costs $150-225 per announcement. A manager delegating to AI handles the same output in under 20 minutes while maintaining strategic control over messaging—saving both budget and external coordination overhead.
Press releases are perfect for AI delegation because they follow rigid structural conventions (headline, dateline, lead paragraph, body, boilerplate, media contact), require synthesizing factual information into journalistic formats, and demand tone calibration—exactly what AI handles efficiently when properly briefed.
Here's how to delegate this effectively using the 5C Framework.
Why This Task Tests Your Delegation Skills
Writing press releases reveals whether you understand strategic briefing versus creative micromanagement. A competent communications coordinator can't draft newsworthy announcements without understanding your company's positioning strategy, what makes this launch significant to external audiences, and how to frame achievements without hype that damages credibility.
This is delegation engineering, not prompt hacking. Just like onboarding a new PR assistant, you must specify:
- Newsworthiness criteria (what makes this announcement worthy of media attention versus internal newsletter fodder?)
- Audience prioritization (are we targeting trade publications, business press, or customer-facing channels?)
- Messaging boundaries (what claims can we make versus what requires legal/compliance review?)
The 5C Framework forces you to codify these editorial judgment calls into AI instructions. Master this SOP, and you've learned to delegate any external communications task—from product launch narratives to crisis response statements.
Configuring Your AI for Press Release Drafting
| 5C Component | Configuration Strategy | Why it Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Character | Corporate communications specialist with journalism background, trained in AP Style and media relations best practices | Ensures AI applies journalistic standards—inverted pyramid structure, active voice, third-person objectivity—not marketing fluff that journalists immediately discard |
| Context | Announcement type (product launch/funding round/partnership/executive appointment), target media outlets, company stage (startup/established enterprise), competitive landscape | Different announcements serve different strategic goals—a Series A funding needs investor validation signals; a product launch needs customer benefit clarity; executive hires need credibility markers |
| Command | Draft press release following standard wire service format with compelling headline, strong lead paragraph, supporting details, executive quote, and boilerplate; optimize for both journalist scanning and search engine indexing | Prevents generic templates and ensures releases balance newsworthiness (what journalists care about) with strategic messaging (what your business needs to communicate) |
| Constraints | Maximum 400-500 words for body content; headline under 10 words; lead paragraph must answer who/what/when/where/why; avoid superlatives ("revolutionary," "game-changing") unless substantiated; include one executive quote maximum; boilerplate under 75 words | Stops announcement bloat and enforces journalist preferences—most press releases get scanned in under 30 seconds, so brevity and front-loaded value determine pickup rates |
| Content | Provide examples of strong vs. weak press releases from your industry, including your company's previous announcements, preferred executive quote styles, and mandatory boilerplate language | Teaches AI your company's voice conventions—whether you lean technical vs. accessible, formal vs. conversational, and how you balance feature descriptions with benefit statements |
The Copy-Paste Delegation Template
<role>
You are a corporate communications specialist with a journalism background. You write press releases that follow AP Style conventions and understand what makes announcements newsworthy to media outlets. You balance strategic company messaging with the objectivity and clarity that journalists require.
</role>
<context>
I need a press release for: [product launch / funding announcement / partnership / executive hire / company milestone / other]
Target audience: [Trade publications / Business media / Tech press / General news / Customer-facing channels]
Company context:
- Company name: [Full legal name]
- Industry: [Sector/vertical]
- Company stage: [Startup / Growth stage / Established enterprise]
- Key differentiation: [What makes your company unique in market]
Announcement context:
- What's being announced: [1-2 sentence description]
- Why it matters: [Business significance, market impact, customer benefit]
- Key facts/figures: [Specific data points, metrics, timelines]
- Competitive context: [How this positions company vs. alternatives]
Mandatory elements:
- Company boilerplate: [Paste your standard "About [Company]" paragraph]
- Executive name/title for quote: [Who will be quoted]
- Media contact info: [PR contact name, email, phone]
- Distribution date: [When this will go live]
</context>
<instructions>
Follow this sequence:
1. **Analyze newsworthiness** by identifying: What's genuinely new or significant here? Why would a journalist care? What's the broader industry trend or customer pain point this addresses? Avoid announcing features—announce outcomes, capabilities, or market shifts.
2. **Craft headline (under 10 words)** that captures the core news in active voice. Format: [Company Name] [Action Verb] [Specific Achievement/Offering]. Example: "Acme Corp Launches AI-Powered Analytics Platform for Healthcare" NOT "Acme Unveils Game-Changing Revolutionary Solution."
3. **Write lead paragraph (2-3 sentences, under 50 words)** answering: WHO (company name, relevant descriptor), WHAT (specific announcement), WHEN (date/timeline), WHERE (geographic scope if relevant), WHY (primary benefit/significance). This paragraph must stand alone—journalists often use only this.
4. **Develop body paragraphs** following inverted pyramid: Start with most important details, move to supporting context. Include: (a) Specific capabilities, features, or details that substantiate the headline claim, (b) Market context or problem being solved, (c) Customer/user benefit with concrete examples when possible, (d) Relevant metrics, data points, or validation (customer count, funding amount, performance benchmarks).
5. **Write ONE executive quote** (2-3 sentences maximum) that adds strategic perspective, not feature repetition. Good quotes explain vision, market positioning, or customer impact. Format: "Quote text," said [Full Name], [Title] at [Company]. Avoid quotes that just restate press release facts—add insight journalists can't write themselves.
6. **Add supporting elements**: Include boilerplate paragraph starting with "About [Company Name]". Add media contact section. If relevant, note availability of additional resources (product demos, executive interviews, supporting data).
7. **Apply editorial standards**: Use third-person throughout (never "we" or "our"). Write in active voice. Avoid marketing superlatives unless backed by third-party validation (awards, analyst rankings, customer testimonials). Keep sentences under 25 words. Use present tense for current facts, past tense for completed actions.
8. **Format output** as: [HEADLINE], [CITY, STATE - Month Day, Year dateline], [Lead paragraph], [Body paragraphs], [Executive quote], [About Company boilerplate], [Media contact].
Output should be publication-ready with proper formatting, no placeholder text, and optimized for both journalist scanning and search engine indexing.
</instructions>
<input>
Paste relevant inputs below:
**Announcement Details:**
[Describe what you're announcing - be specific about features, capabilities, timeline, scope]
**Key Messages/Talking Points:**
[What are the 3-4 most important things media and customers should understand about this?]
**Supporting Data/Validation:**
[Include any metrics, customer testimonials, third-party validation, market research, or quantifiable achievements]
**Competitive/Market Context:**
[What makes this significant in your industry? How does this compare to alternatives? What trend or need does this address?]
Example input:
"Announcing our Series B funding: $25M led by Accel with participation from existing investors. Will use funds to expand engineering team (hiring 20 engineers over next 12 months) and accelerate product development for enterprise customers. Currently have 150 paying customers across healthcare and financial services verticals, 300% YoY revenue growth. This positions us as leading AI workflow automation platform for regulated industries..."
[PASTE YOUR INPUTS HERE]
</input>The Manager's Review Protocol
Before distributing AI-generated press releases, apply these quality checks:
- Accuracy Check: Verify all facts, figures, dates, names, and titles are correct—did AI accurately capture your funding amount, customer count, product capabilities, or executive titles? Confirm claims are defensible and that technical descriptions match actual product functionality. Check that any competitive positioning statements are supportable.
- Hallucination Scan: Ensure AI didn't invent customer testimonials, market statistics, or third-party validation that don't exist. Verify the announcement framing aligns with your actual business strategy—AI sometimes creates plausible-sounding strategic narratives that don't match your real positioning. Check that the "why this matters" reasoning reflects your actual business goals, not AI speculation about market significance.
- Tone Alignment: Confirm the release matches your company's communication style on the formality spectrum (enterprise-serious vs. startup-casual) and avoids hyperbolic marketing language ("revolutionary," "unprecedented," "game-changing") unless you've explicitly authorized it. Review the executive quote for authenticity—does this sound like something your executive would actually say, or does it read like generic corporate-speak? Adjust language to match how your company actually talks about itself in public communications.
- Strategic Fitness: Evaluate whether the press release serves its core purpose—will journalists find this genuinely newsworthy, or are you announcing something that belongs in a blog post instead? Assess whether the messaging hierarchy emphasizes what matters most to your target audience versus what you find internally exciting. Strong delegation means recognizing when AI correctly prioritized the lead angle versus when you need to reframe based on market positioning strategy or competitive timing.
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When This SOP Isn't Enough
This SOP solves single press release drafting, but communications teams typically face integrated announcement campaigns—coordinating press releases with media pitches, social media amplification, analyst briefings, and customer communications. The full 5C methodology covers multi-channel campaign orchestration (ensuring consistent messaging across earned, owned, and shared media), stakeholder-specific messaging frameworks (tailoring announcements for different audience segments), and crisis communication protocols (handling time-sensitive announcements under reputational pressure).
For standalone launch announcements, this template works perfectly. For managing integrated communications programs, media relations workflows, or executive thought leadership campaigns, you'll need the advanced delegation frameworks taught in Sorai Academy.