Press release prompt builder
A good press release is not creative writing — it is a disciplined format. Editors expect the inverted pyramid, AP style, attributed quotes, and a clean boilerplate close. This builder takes your raw facts and assembles a prompt that spells out every one of those constraints, so the model produces something a wire service would actually accept rather than marketing fluff.
How it works
You fill in the company, dateline, date, key facts, newsworthiness angle, spokesperson, and boilerplate. The tool stitches these into a structured prompt that instructs the model to lead with the most important news, write two genuine attributed quotes, follow AP numeral and punctuation rules, cap the body around 400 words, and close with your boilerplate and a contact placeholder. It also tells the model not to fabricate facts, quotes, or statistics beyond what you supplied. Copy the prompt into any LLM to generate the draft.
The inverted pyramid and why it matters for distribution
Journalists and wire editors do not read to the end before deciding whether to use a release. They read the headline and first paragraph, and those alone determine whether your news reaches an audience. The inverted pyramid puts your single most important fact in the lead sentence, supporting detail in the next paragraphs, and background at the end — so editors who trim from the bottom cannot cut anything essential.
The prompt enforces this order by instructing the model to:
- Open with a dateline lead that names the most newsworthy fact
- Use the second paragraph for supporting detail and context
- Place the first attributed quote in paragraph two or three
- Move timeline and background to the lower body
- Close with the boilerplate and contact information
AP style: the conventions that matter most
AP style is the common language of wire distribution. The prompt enforces the conventions editors expect, which avoids the subtle errors that mark a release as non-professional:
| AP rule | Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|---|
| Numbers one through nine | ”six companies" | "6 companies” |
| Numbers 10 and above | ”12 vendors" | "twelve vendors” |
| Percentage | ”42 percent" | "42%” (in most AP contexts) |
| No Oxford comma | ”red, white and blue" | "red, white, and blue” |
| Dates | ”June 15” (no ordinal) | “June 15th” |
The model applies these automatically when given the AP style instruction. Still proofread: models sometimes revert to modern style on override.
Writing attributed quotes that add value
A quote that simply restates the press release fact is wasted space. Editors cut them. The prompt instructs the model to write quotes that provide perspective, emotion, or insight not available in the body copy — a forward-looking statement from a CEO, a stakeholder reaction, or a context-setting observation. Give the spokesperson a genuine angle in the builder’s angle field and the model has something substantive to put in their voice.
Tips and notes
- Lead with one fact. If your bullet list has a single clear headline, put it first — the model will build the lead around it.
- Make the angle time-sensitive. “First at parcel scale” or “ahead of new regulation” gives the release a reason to exist today.
- Quotes should add, not repeat. The prompt asks for insight or emotion in quotes; give the spokesperson a real perspective in the angle field.
- Always proofread. Models still slip in superlatives or stray numbers — treat the output as a strong first draft.