In short: A press release headline should state the news in one plain sentence, often 8 to 14 words, with a concrete verb and no hype. The first paragraph, the lead, should answer who, what, when, where and why in two or three sentences, so that an editor can understand the story without reading further.
Why the headline and lead carry most of the weight
Editors, journalists and website editors receive far more material than they can use. Many decide very quickly, and what they see in that time is the headline and the first paragraph. Everything below them in a press release (the quote, the details, the company description) is read only if the opening has done its job.
That makes the press release headline arguably the most valuable line you will write, and the lead the second. This article deals only with those two elements. For the whole structure of a release, from boilerplate to distribution, see the complete press release guide; to decide whether a press release is the right format at all, see when to use a press release and when an advertorial.
If your aim is to have the finished release placed on Romanian news and business sites, a dedicated press release publishing service will take the text from you, but the quality of those first two lines is still your responsibility.
The same two elements matter after publication. On a news site, the headline becomes the page title and often the text shown in search results, and the lead may supply the snippet. A release that is clear in both places works better, whichever way readers find it.
What a good press release headline does
A press release headline has a narrow task: to state the news in a single sentence that a stranger can understand. It is not a slogan, a teaser or a tagline. Before you write one, answer the question “what happened?” in plain words, then shorten.
- It contains a news event. Something launched, opened, signed, awarded, published or changed.
- It has a subject and a verb. “Company X opens a second workshop” beats “A new chapter for Company X”.
- It carries one key detail. A place, a number you can document or the name of a partner, but not all three.
- It avoids hype. Words like “revolutionary”, “unique” or “the leading” rarely survive editing, and absolute claims need proof.
- It reads on its own. Anyone who sees only the headline, for instance in a search result, should still understand the news.
A headline is also a promise. If it says a firm has signed an agreement, the lead must say with whom and for what. A mismatch between a bold headline and a modest story is one of the quickest ways to lose an editor's trust.
How long should the headline be?
There is no fixed limit, but length has practical effects. A headline of roughly 8 to 14 words fits comfortably on most pages and is easy to scan. Shorter headlines often leave out the verb; longer ones start to carry detail that belongs in the lead.
There is also a separate constraint for search. Google decides what to show as the title link in results, and it may shorten or rewrite titles that are very long or do not match the page; its documentation on title links explains the principles. A common approach is to keep the editorial headline natural and let the publication add its own site name to the title tag. If you are able to suggest a shorter variant for the page title, say so in your cover note, but do not expect to control it.
Read the headline aloud in one breath. If you need two breaths, it is probably carrying too much. If it ends before it says anything, it needs a verb or a detail.
Verbs, tense and word choice
News headlines conventionally use the present tense for recent events (“opens”, “launches”) and an infinitive for plans (“to open”). In English-language releases written for international readers, either convention works if you stay consistent. In Romanian releases, the equivalent is simply a clear, short verb in the form used by news sites.
Choose specific verbs over soft ones. “Launches”, “signs”, “completes” and “publishes” tell the editor something; “presents”, “unveils” and “is proud to announce” mostly delay it. You will notice that the last phrase says nothing about what is being announced, which is why editors strike it out.
Capitalisation is a smaller point. Keep it consistent with the publication, normally sentence case, and avoid all capitals, exclamation marks and decorative symbols.
The lead: answering the five Ws in two or three sentences
The lead, or first paragraph, expands the headline by answering who, what, when, where and why. It follows the “inverted pyramid”: the most important facts first, supporting detail afterwards. If a publication cuts the text from the bottom, the story should still make sense.
- Who is the source or the subject?
- What is happening, in a verb and an object?
- When did it happen or will it happen? Give a date, not “soon”.
- Where is it taking place or who is it for?
- Why does it matter to the reader of this publication?
You do not need all five in every case, but if the lead omits more than one, ask whether the news is clear enough. Keep each sentence of the lead to about 25 words or fewer, and the whole lead to two or three sentences. Write it so that an editor could paste it as the standfirst without changing a word.
If you build the release step by step, our press release builder walks through the five Ws, the quote and the company description in order and then checks the length, which can help you keep the lead disciplined.
Before and after examples
The following examples are hypothetical. The companies are invented and the facts are placeholders.
Example 1: a vague corporate headline
Before: “Nordic Timber takes the industry to the next level with exciting new developments.”
After: “Nordic Timber opens a second production hall in Brasov and adds 40 jobs.”
The “after” version has a subject, a verb, a place and a number. The number is placeholder text here, but in a real release you would use only a figure you can document.
Example 2: a lead that buries the news
Before: “Founded in 2012, Nordic Timber has always been committed to quality and innovation in the wood-processing sector. Over the years, the company has grown steadily and is proud to continue serving its customers.”
After: “Nordic Timber, a wood-processing company based near Brasov, opened a second production hall on 14 May. The new building adds capacity for kitchen and stair components and creates 40 jobs, the company said.”
The history can sit in the company description at the bottom. The lead gives the date, the place, the substance and a figure.
Example 3: a headline stuffed with keywords
Before: “Best bakery Cluj-Napoca bread cakes pastry delivery online order now.”
After: “A Cluj-Napoca bakery launches same-day delivery for bread and pastries.”
A real sentence names the subject once and still contains the words a reader might search for. The “before” line also contains a superlative and a call to action, both unwelcome in a headline.
Adjusting the opening for different publications
The same news can need slightly different openings depending on where it will appear. A national news site wants the broad significance first; a local portal wants the place and the people; a trade publication wants the technical or commercial detail.
Take the fictional opening of a second production hall. For a regional outlet, the lead might emphasise the town and the jobs. For a business site, it could emphasise capacity and investment, if the company is willing to state figures it can document. For an industry magazine, it might name the product lines the new hall will serve. The facts do not change; the order does.
It is therefore useful to write the plain version first, then prepare one or two variants of the headline and lead for the audiences that matter most. Keep the body identical across versions where possible, so that quotes and figures cannot drift apart. Publications generally prefer to receive one clean text rather than a bundle of options, so decide which version to send to which outlet and keep the rest for your own records.
One more practical point: write the release in the language of the audience. A Romanian publication will usually want Romanian text; an English headline pasted above a Romanian lead looks unfinished. If you write in English for an international reader, label it as such and keep the proper names, such as company and place names, exactly as they appear officially.
Mistakes to avoid
These errors appear again and again in rejected or ignored releases.
- Starting with the company's history or values instead of the news.
- Writing a headline that needs the lead to be understood. “Big news for our customers” tells nobody anything.
- Using superlatives and claims of leadership without evidence. They invite edits or refusal.
- Leaving out the date. “Recently” and “soon” are useless to an editor.
- Making the lead a promotion. A call to buy has no place in the first paragraph of a release.
- Naming people or showing images without consent. Make sure quoted individuals have agreed.
When the news is a product launch, the same principles apply but the content differs; we describe a complete worked model in the article on a product launch press release.
A short checklist for the opening
- Is there a verb in the headline, and does it describe a real event?
- Can a stranger understand the headline without seeing the rest?
- Is the headline about 8 to 14 words?
- Does the lead give who, what, when and where in two or three sentences?
- Is the news in the first sentence rather than the third?
- Are all figures and dates verifiable?
- Have you removed hype, slogans and calls to action?
After that, read the headline and lead on a phone-sized screen. If the story is understandable there, it will probably work wherever it is published.
Next step: publishing the release
A well-formed opening makes the rest of the release easier to write, and easier for an editor to accept. If you want the finished text published in Romanian media, we offer press release publishing on the sites in our portfolio, with the live URLs listed in a report once it is online.
If the announcement concerns an EU-funded project, there are extra considerations about visibility; our service for EU funding press releases covers that case. For everything else, a clear headline, a disciplined lead and a short, honest explanation of why the news matters is a sound starting point.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a press release headline be?
As a working guide, aim for roughly 8 to 14 words, which is long enough to carry a subject, a verb and one key detail, and short enough to read at a glance. If you need more, move the extra detail into a subheading or the lead instead of stretching the headline.
What is the lead of a press release?
The lead is the opening paragraph. It summarises the news by answering who did what, when and where, and why it matters, usually in two or three sentences. An editor should be able to understand the story from the headline and lead alone, even if they stop reading there.
Should a press release headline include the company name?
Usually yes, if the company is the source of the news, because it tells the editor and the reader who is announcing. Put it near the start with a verb, as in a news headline. If the news is about a wider topic, the name can move into the lead.
Can I use keywords in a press release headline?
Yes, as long as they sit naturally in a plain sentence. A headline written for people but containing the subject words an audience would search for is ideal. Forcing several keywords into the headline makes it unreadable and tends to be edited out by publishers.
What is the most common mistake in a press release lead?
Burying the news. Many leads begin with company history or general statements about the industry, so the actual announcement appears in the third paragraph. Start with the news itself and leave background for later in the text.