Back to Basics: Press Release “Musts” To Check For Before You Submit

Confirm there is real news

Before you check the details, check the premise. Can you state the development in one plain sentence? Is it new, specific, and relevant to the people you’re trying to reach? A release that only restates your company’s ambitions, or announces something already widely known, is unlikely to earn attention however carefully it’s formatted.

If the news is thin, consider whether it belongs in a blog post, a LinkedIn update, or your newsletter instead. Saving press releases for genuine developments helps your announcements keep their credibility with the journalists and readers who receive them.

It helps to ask who outside your organization will notice the change. If the honest answer is nobody yet, the release may simply need to wait until the product is available or the results are ready to share.

Make the source unmistakable

Readers, journalists, and distribution services all need to know who stands behind an announcement. Name the issuing organization clearly in the opening paragraph and again in the boilerplate. If several organizations are involved, explain how they relate and confirm that each one has approved the wording that describes it.

Attribution matters for claims too. If you cite research, say who carried it out and link to the method or full results. If you name a customer or partner, make sure you have their permission. Unclear sourcing slows review and weakens trust once the release is public.

Check the facts and the quotes

This is where small errors hide, so go through the final version line by line rather than skimming.

Pay special attention to anything that changed late in review. Last-minute edits are often made in a hurry, by someone who didn’t see the rest of the draft, and they’re the most likely place for an outdated figure or a mismatched name to slip back in.

• Names, job titles, and spellings match the people’s own records.
• Dates, prices, and figures agree everywhere they appear.
• Each quoted person has approved their quotation in writing.
• Claims such as “first” or “only” have a defensible basis.
• Product names and trademarks are written correctly.
• Nothing in the release is confidential or under embargo elsewhere.

List a contact who will actually answer

A media contact isn’t a formality. It’s how a journalist confirms a fact or asks for an interview, often with a deadline approaching. Give a named person with an email address and, where it helps, a phone number. Make sure that person knows the release is going out and will be available on the day.

An unmonitored inbox, or a contact who is on leave that week, turns interest into frustration. If questions may arrive from several time zones, arrange cover in advance.

Prepare that person with a short briefing: the key facts, likely questions, and who to call for anything they can’t answer. A contact who responds quickly and accurately often matters more to a journalist than any line in the release.

Test every link and asset

Click every link in the final version, not an earlier draft. Confirm each one goes to the right page, loads without a login, and displays properly on a phone. Remove tracking parameters you don’t need, and avoid link shorteners that hide the destination.

Check images and video just as carefully. Each should be relevant, cleared for use, and supplied with a caption, credit, and alt text. Make sure video makes sense without sound and that downloadable files open correctly. Clean, well-described assets help readers, accessibility software, and AI search tools alike.

If the release points to a landing page or newsroom entry that goes live at publication, review a preview of that page too, and confirm who will publish it at the same moment as the release.

Review timing and distribution settings

Check the release date, time, and time zone, and confirm that any embargo is clearly stated and agreed by everyone involved. Make sure the geographic and industry targeting match the announcement. Coordinate with whoever updates your newsroom, social channels, and newsletter so the story appears consistently when it goes live.

Think about what else is happening that day. A public holiday in a key market, a major industry event, or a competing announcement can all affect how much attention your release receives. You can’t control the news cycle, but you can avoid a moment when your audience is obviously busy elsewhere.

Read it once more with fresh eyes

Step away for a little while, then read the preview exactly as it will appear. Look for leftover comments, placeholder text, odd formatting, and special characters that didn’t survive copying. Reading aloud helps you catch awkward phrasing and missing words.

Finally, ask someone outside the project to read it. If they can explain what happened and why it matters after one pass, you’re ready to submit. If they hesitate, fix that first. A few minutes of checking is far easier than issuing a correction after publication.