press-release-writer
Agent: PR and Communications Manager
L2 PR and communications manager (1x) responsible for earned media, press relationships, crisis communications, thought leadership programme, and executive visibility.
Department ethos: ideal-marketing.md
Skill Description
Writes and distributes press releases for product launches, funding rounds, partnerships, and company milestones through wire services and direct journalist outreach.
When to Use
- When a product launch, funding round, or strategic partnership requires a formal press announcement.
- When a company milestone (customer count, revenue threshold, award) warrants media distribution.
- When a crisis response requires a formal public statement distributed through press channels.
Workflow
- Gather announcement details: Collect the key facts, quotes, data points, and embargo timing from stakeholders. Confirm what is and is not public. Deliverable: press release brief with approved facts and quotes.
- Draft the release: Write the press release using the inverted pyramid structure and AP Style rules from
references/framework.md. Use assets/press-release-template.md as the structural scaffold — headline, dateline, lead paragraph with the news, supporting details, executive quote, boilerplate. Keep to 400–600 words. Deliverable: draft press release.
- Route for approval: Send the draft through legal, executive, and communications review. Incorporate feedback while preserving newsworthiness and readability. Deliverable: approved final press release.
- Select wire service and optimise for SEO: Choose the appropriate wire service using the selection criteria in
references/framework.md. Apply SEO optimisation guidelines before submission. Deliverable: wire-ready release with distribution targeting configured.
- Distribute: Send to wire service at the optimal timing per
references/framework.md and directly to warm journalist contacts with personalised pitches. Respect embargo windows and exclusivity protocols. Complete the pre-distribution checklist in assets/press-release-template.md. Deliverable: distribution confirmation with send list.
Anti-Patterns
- Burying the news: Leading with company background or executive quotes instead of the actual news. Why: journalists scan the first paragraph to decide if a release is worth reading; buried ledes get deleted.
- Jargon-heavy copy: Writing in internal product terminology rather than language journalists and readers understand. Why: releases that require translation never get picked up because journalists will not do that translation work.
Output
On success: Produces an approved press release distributed via wire service and direct outreach, with distribution confirmation and journalist send list. Delivered to VP Marketing and PR team.
On failure: Report what blocked distribution (missing approvals, legal holds, embargo conflicts), what partial distribution occurred, and recommend a revised timeline for release.
Related Skills
1---2name: press-release-writer3description: This skill writes and distributes press releases for launches, funding rounds, and milestones. Use when a product launch, funding announcement, partnership, or company milestone requires formal media distribution. Also consider when a competitor announcement requires a rapid counter-narrative. Suggest when a newsworthy event is planned but no press release is drafted.4---56# press-release-writer78## Agent: PR and Communications Manager910L2 PR and communications manager (1x) responsible for earned media, press relationships, crisis communications, thought leadership programme, and executive visibility.1112Department ethos: [ideal-marketing.md](../../../../departments/marketing/ideal-marketing.md)1314## Skill Description1516Writes and distributes press releases for product launches, funding rounds, partnerships, and company milestones through wire services and direct journalist outreach.1718## When to Use1920- When a product launch, funding round, or strategic partnership requires a formal press announcement.21- When a company milestone (customer count, revenue threshold, award) warrants media distribution.22- When a crisis response requires a formal public statement distributed through press channels.2324## Workflow25261. **Gather announcement details**: Collect the key facts, quotes, data points, and embargo timing from stakeholders. Confirm what is and is not public. Deliverable: press release brief with approved facts and quotes.272. **Draft the release**: Write the press release using the inverted pyramid structure and AP Style rules from [`references/framework.md`](references/framework.md). Use [`assets/press-release-template.md`](assets/press-release-template.md) as the structural scaffold — headline, dateline, lead paragraph with the news, supporting details, executive quote, boilerplate. Keep to 400–600 words. Deliverable: draft press release.283. **Route for approval**: Send the draft through legal, executive, and communications review. Incorporate feedback while preserving newsworthiness and readability. Deliverable: approved final press release.294. **Select wire service and optimise for SEO**: Choose the appropriate wire service using the selection criteria in [`references/framework.md`](references/framework.md). Apply SEO optimisation guidelines before submission. Deliverable: wire-ready release with distribution targeting configured.305. **Distribute**: Send to wire service at the optimal timing per [`references/framework.md`](references/framework.md) and directly to warm journalist contacts with personalised pitches. Respect embargo windows and exclusivity protocols. Complete the pre-distribution checklist in [`assets/press-release-template.md`](assets/press-release-template.md). Deliverable: distribution confirmation with send list.3132## Anti-Patterns3334- **Burying the news**: Leading with company background or executive quotes instead of the actual news. *Why*: journalists scan the first paragraph to decide if a release is worth reading; buried ledes get deleted.35- **Jargon-heavy copy**: Writing in internal product terminology rather than language journalists and readers understand. *Why*: releases that require translation never get picked up because journalists will not do that translation work.3637## Output3839**On success**: Produces an approved press release distributed via wire service and direct outreach, with distribution confirmation and journalist send list. Delivered to VP Marketing and PR team.4041**On failure**: Report what blocked distribution (missing approvals, legal holds, embargo conflicts), what partial distribution occurred, and recommend a revised timeline for release.4243## Related Skills4445- [`media-relationship-builder`](../media-relationship-builder/SKILL.md) — Warm journalist relationships increase pickup rates for press releases.46- [`earned-media-monitor`](../earned-media-monitor/SKILL.md) — Tracks post-release coverage to measure press release effectiveness.47- [`gtm-activation-marketing`](../../../marketing/vp-marketing/gtm-activation-marketing/SKILL.md) — Press releases are a key component of coordinated launch activation.
mittuled