How Long Should a Press Release Be?

The short answer: about one page, usually 300 to 500 words.

The real answer: as long as your news needs, and not one word longer.

Why shorter usually wins

Journalists skim. They decide in seconds whether a release is worth their time. A tight release respects that and makes your news easy to grab.

There's also a money reason. Some premium newswires charge by word count, with extra fees for every additional chunk of words beyond a base length. Long releases can literally cost more to distribute.

A typical length breakdown

For a roughly 400-word release:

Headline: 8–15 words
Subheadline (optional): one sentence
Lede paragraph: 30–50 words, answering the 5 W's
Supporting paragraphs: two or three short paragraphs
Quote: one or two, 30–60 words each
Boilerplate: 50–80 words
Media contact: name, email, phone

If you're unsure what goes in the lede, read What Are the 5 W's and H in a Press Release?

When it's okay to go longer

Some news genuinely needs more room:

Funding announcements with investor details
Research or survey results with key findings
Major acquisitions or partnerships
Public company announcements with required disclosures

Even then, keep the most important information at the top. And consider linking to a full report or FAQ instead of cramming everything in.

When shorter is better

Event advisories — a who/what/when/where list can be under 200 words
New hire announcements — 250–350 words is plenty
Quick updates — new hours, new location, small milestones

How to cut a long draft

Wrote 900 words? Here's how to trim without losing the story:

Delete the warm-up. Most first paragraphs can go. Start where the news starts.
Cut company history. That's what the boilerplate is for.
Lose the adjectives. "Innovative," "exciting," "leading" — gone.
One quote per person. Two spokespeople max.
Merge repeated ideas. If paragraph three says what paragraph one said, delete it.
Link out. Move detail to your website and link to it.

Length isn't the main problem

Long releases are usually a symptom, not the disease. The real issue is a fuzzy angle — when you're not sure what the news is, you include everything. Get clear on the headline first and the length usually sorts itself out. Our headline guide helps: How to Write a Compelling Press Release Headline.

Don't forget formatting

Even a 400-word release feels long if it's one solid block. Use:

Short paragraphs (two to four sentences)
A clear dateline (CALGARY, AB — )
Bullet points for lists of details
"###" or "-30-" at the end to signal the release is finished

Grab a clean layout here: Press Release Template: What You Actually Need.

Common length mistakes

Burying the news under background
Quoting five different executives
Including every product feature
Adding a second boilerplate for every partner

We list more ways releases trip over themselves in Press Release Mistakes That Kill Your Chances of Coverage.

The bottom line

Aim for one page. Lead with the news. Cut ruthlessly. If a reporter can understand your story from the first paragraph alone, your length is right.

Quick FAQ

Does a longer release rank better on Google? Not by itself. A clear, specific release with the words people actually search for will do more for search than padding. If you want more depth for SEO, write a companion blog post and link to it from the release.

Got a 1,000-word draft you can't bear to cut? We'll do it for you — kindly. Start your Blast at blastily.com.