A journalist decides whether to read your press release from the headline alone, usually in about two seconds. Everything else in the document only matters if the headline survives that. This guide covers what a working headline contains, the patterns that fail, and how to test yours before you send it.
What a press release headline has to do
One job: state what happened, clearly enough that a stranger understands it without reading further.
That is different from a blog headline, which is trying to make you curious, and different from an ad headline, which is trying to make you want something. A press release headline is trying to be understood. Curiosity is actively unhelpful — a journalist scanning fifty releases will skip anything that makes them work.
The formula
[Company name] + [active verb] + [what happened] + [optional: the number]
Under about 12 words, or 100 characters. Sentence case or title case, both are fine; what matters is that the company name is in it and the verb is doing work.
Working examples
- Meridian Logistics Opens Second Warehouse in Manchester
- Kettle & Co Raises $2.4M to Expand Its Refill Network
- Halden Group Appoints Rachel Osborne as Chief Operating Officer
- Verano Foods Moves 60% of Freight From Road to Rail
- Northline Coffee Opens First US Roastery in Portland
Each one names the company, uses an active verb, and states a fact. You could publish any of these as a news headline unchanged — which is exactly the point.
The five patterns that fail
1. The adjective pile
“Leading Industry Innovator Unveils Revolutionary New Solution”
Nothing here is checkable and nothing is specific. Every word could describe any company doing anything. Adjectives in a headline signal that there is no fact strong enough to state plainly.
2. The curiosity gap
“You Won’t Believe What This Startup Just Did”
This works on social feeds and fails completely with editors. Withholding the news from a document whose only purpose is to deliver the news is self-defeating.
3. The abstraction
“Company X Announces Strategic Initiative to Drive Growth”
A strategic initiative is not an event. Something concrete happened underneath this — a hire, a site, a product, a contract. Name that instead.
4. The buried subject
“In a Move That Signals Continued Expansion Across the Region, Meridian Opens New Site”
The news is at the end. Cut everything before the company name and it improves immediately.
5. The missing company
“New Warehouse Opens in Trafford Park”
Whose? A release that does not name the company in the headline loses the one branded search term it was going to earn.
Where the number goes
If you have a number, use it — it is the single strongest thing you can put in a headline. But only one, and only if it is the news.
| Without | With |
|---|---|
| Kettle & Co Raises Seed Funding | Kettle & Co Raises $2.4M to Expand Its Refill Network |
| Meridian Opens Second Warehouse | Meridian Logistics Opens 40,000 sq ft Manchester Warehouse |
| Verano Foods Shifts to Rail Freight | Verano Foods Moves 60% of Freight From Road to Rail |
Two numbers in one headline is one too many. Pick the one that is the story and put the other in the first paragraph.
The subheading
Optional, one line, and it should add a fact rather than restate the headline.
Meridian Logistics Opens Second Warehouse in Manchester The 40,000 sq ft site doubles the company’s northern capacity and adds 26 jobs
If your subheading only rephrases the headline, delete it. It is costing attention and giving nothing back.
Three tests before you send
- The stranger test. Show the headline alone to someone outside your company. Can they say what happened? If they ask a clarifying question, the headline failed.
- The newspaper test. Could a publication run this headline unchanged? If it would need rewriting to be readable as news, rewrite it yourself first.
- The deletion test. Remove every adjective. If the headline still says what happened, the adjectives were decoration. If it collapses, you did not have a headline — you had a description.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a press release headline be?
Under about 12 words, or roughly 100 characters. Long enough to name the company and state what happened, short enough to scan in two seconds. Anything past that is usually context that belongs in the subheading or the first paragraph.
Should the company name be in the headline?
Yes, almost always. It tells the reader whose news this is and it is the branded term the published page will be found by later. A headline describing an event without naming the company gives up both.
Title case or sentence case?
Either is accepted. Title case is the older convention and still common in wire releases; sentence case reads more like modern news. Pick one and use it consistently across your releases — the inconsistency is more noticeable than the choice.
Can I use a question as a press release headline?
Almost never. A question withholds the news, which is the opposite of what the format is for. The rare exception is when the question itself is the announcement, such as publishing research that poses one — and even then a statement usually works better.
Does the headline affect SEO?
It becomes the page title of the published release, so it does. But write it for the journalist first. A headline that names the company and states a specific event naturally contains the terms people would search for, without needing keywords forced into it.
Next
The headline is one of seven parts. Our guide to writing a press release covers the rest with a template, and press release examples shows six complete releases by announcement type. When yours is ready, submit it or see the plans.
