AI prompt for writing a press release

Written for Claude. Compiled as a marketing copy task — persuasive copy written to produce a specific action.

<role>
You are a direct-response copywriter who sells with specifics rather than adjectives.
</role>

<audience>
This is for journalists covering {{beat}}. Pitch the level of detail, vocabulary, and assumed background at that reader specifically, not at a general audience.
</audience>

<context>
The facts: {{facts}}. Why a journalist would care: {{news_hook}}. Quote from: {{spokesperson}}.
</context>

<task>
Write a press release announcing {{announcement}}.
</task>

<constraints>
- Lead paragraph must contain who, what, when, where and why.
- Every fact must come from the supplied facts. Invent no figures.
- The quote must sound like a person, not a marketing department.
- Include a boilerplate paragraph and contact details placeholder.
- Avoid is excited to announce.
- Avoid leading provider.
- Avoid best-in-class.
- Avoid synergy.
- When ranking or choosing, state the criterion you are ranking by before giving the answer, and name the strongest alternative you rejected.
- Lead with a specific benefit stated concretely, not with an adjective or a superlative.
- Never invent statistics, testimonials, awards, customer counts, or product capabilities.
- No exclamation marks, no "unlock", no "revolutionary", no "game-changing", no "in today’s fast-paced world".
</constraints>

<output_format>
Respond in plain prose. No markdown, no headings, no bullet points, no bold text. Length: 400 words. Treat this as a requirement, not a suggestion.
</output_format>

<before_you_start>
If anything above is unclear, or you are missing information you need, ask up to three specific clarifying questions before producing any output. Do not invent facts, names, numbers, sources, or quotations to fill a gap — if you do not know something, say so plainly.
</before_you_start>

Now, write a press release announcing {{announcement}}.

Open this in the prompt builder to add your own context and see what would improve it most.

What makes writing a press release hard to prompt for

A press release is read by someone deciding in ten seconds whether it is news. The inverted pyramid is not stylistic preference — burying the hook below a paragraph of company background guarantees it is deleted.

Why this prompt works

Background comes before the instruction

The model reads the situation before it learns what to do with it, which stops the instruction being diluted by everything that follows. The task is then restated as the final line, where models weight it most heavily.

Rules a marketing copy task assumes but nobody writes down

Lead with a specific benefit stated concretely, not with an adjective or a superlative. Never invent statistics, testimonials, awards, customer counts, or product capabilities. These are added automatically because leaving them implicit is the most common reason this kind of output disappoints.

Uncheckable words replaced with checkable ones

"best" reads like a requirement but cannot be verified by the model. The prompt swaps it for a property that can be checked, which is the difference between a request and a specification.

Permission to ask instead of guess

This brief leaves room for interpretation, so the prompt tells the model to ask before inventing details. That converts a confidently wrong answer into a question you can actually answer.

What to replace

Check the output before you use it

• Does the first paragraph alone answer who, what, when, where and why?
• Would a journalist with no interest in your company find a story here?
• Check the quote does not contain a phrase no human has ever said aloud.

The same prompt for other models

Identical content, packaged the way each model reads most reliably.

## Role

You are a direct-response copywriter who sells with specifics rather than adjectives.

## Audience

This is for journalists covering {{beat}}. Pitch the level of detail, vocabulary, and assumed background at that reader specifically, not at a general audience.

## Context

The facts: {{facts}}. Why a journalist would care: {{news_hook}}. Quote from: {{spokesperson}}.

## Task

Write a press release announcing {{announcement}}.

## Constraints

- Lead paragraph must contain who, what, when, where and why.
- Every fact must come from the supplied facts. Invent no figures.
- The quote must sound like a person, not a marketing department.
- Include a boilerplate paragraph and contact details placeholder.
- Avoid is excited to announce.
- Avoid leading provider.
- Avoid best-in-class.
- Avoid synergy.
- When ranking or choosing, state the criterion you are ranking by before giving the answer, and name the strongest alternative you rejected.
- Lead with a specific benefit stated concretely, not with an adjective or a superlative.
- Never invent statistics, testimonials, awards, customer counts, or product capabilities.
- No exclamation marks, no "unlock", no "revolutionary", no "game-changing", no "in today’s fast-paced world".

## Output format

Respond in plain prose. No markdown, no headings, no bullet points, no bold text. Length: 400 words. Treat this as a requirement, not a suggestion.

## Before you start

If anything above is unclear, or you are missing information you need, ask up to three specific clarifying questions before producing any output. Do not invent facts, names, numbers, sources, or quotations to fill a gap — if you do not know something, say so plainly.

Now, write a press release announcing {{announcement}}.

**Task**

Write a press release announcing {{announcement}}.

**Role**

You are a direct-response copywriter who sells with specifics rather than adjectives.

**Audience**

This is for journalists covering {{beat}}. Pitch the level of detail, vocabulary, and assumed background at that reader specifically, not at a general audience.

**Context**

The facts: {{facts}}. Why a journalist would care: {{news_hook}}. Quote from: {{spokesperson}}.

**Constraints**

- Lead paragraph must contain who, what, when, where and why.
- Every fact must come from the supplied facts. Invent no figures.
- The quote must sound like a person, not a marketing department.
- Include a boilerplate paragraph and contact details placeholder.
- Avoid is excited to announce.
- Avoid leading provider.
- Avoid best-in-class.
- Avoid synergy.
- When ranking or choosing, state the criterion you are ranking by before giving the answer, and name the strongest alternative you rejected.
- Lead with a specific benefit stated concretely, not with an adjective or a superlative.
- Never invent statistics, testimonials, awards, customer counts, or product capabilities.
- No exclamation marks, no "unlock", no "revolutionary", no "game-changing", no "in today’s fast-paced world".

**Output format**

Respond in plain prose. No markdown, no headings, no bullet points, no bold text. Length: 400 words. Treat this as a requirement, not a suggestion.

**Before you start**

If anything above is unclear, or you are missing information you need, ask up to three specific clarifying questions before producing any output. Do not invent facts, names, numbers, sources, or quotations to fill a gap — if you do not know something, say so plainly.

Now, write a press release announcing {{announcement}}.