AuthorityPressWire does a thorough review of all News Releases before distribution to ensure these are newsworthy and meet the specified editorial guidelines in terms of style, structure, and format. All News Releases submitted must have content that shares newsworthy information and must not be promotional or misleading, or market any product or service directly or indirectly.
Only News Releases that meet our editorial standards will be published on AuthorityPressWire. In the view of our editorial staff, a good News Release must be a concise description of an upcoming event, a timely report of an event that has just occurred or an announcement regarding your organization, industry, or business community.
Must Meet Overall Policies
News Releases should not promote a business model or practice that is deemed as unacceptable or is not in accordance with AuthorityPressWire’s overall marketing and business policies. The decision whether a News Release meets the accepted industry standards will be taken at the sole discretion of our experts.
The following general topics are not permitted
- Marijuana/cannabis/CBD/hemp
- Crypto Currency or Coins
- Politics
- Explosives
- Guns
- Weapons
- Alcohol
- Illicit Drugs
- Tobacco
- Cosmetic procedures and body modification
- Dating
- Adult and Sex
- Sexual reproductive
• Music video/audio, podcast, etc. with parental advisory/explicit content warning label
• Pseudo-Religious articles, trinkets (amulets, bands, bracelets, charms, magic, etc.)
• Obscenities, vulgarity and abusive language
We WILL NOT accept releases containing content:
- in which one party alleges illegal or unethical behavior on the part of another party
- with the intent to harm or exact personal revenge against a person or group
- in which one party alleges breach of contract on the part of another party, or otherwise threatens any party with litigation
- which makes false or misleading claims regarding the identified sponsor or any third party or the products or services of the identified sponsor of any third party
- Due to increased spam postings on Google News, nutritional supplements and medical alternatives related product reviews are not allowed anymore.
- promotion of political parties or candidates, political issue advocacy
- related to lawsuits
- containing content relating to Get-Rich-Quick Income Schemes, making money online, FOREX trading.
- containing negative or derogatory connotations towards individuals or companies
- containing only opinion
- containing duplicated content or PLR
- promoting mortgage, payday loans, cash, short-term or long-term loan services, credit scores, credit reports
- promoting escort, sexual enhancement products, strip clubs, erotic cinemas, sex toys, adult magazines, dating
- containing adult-oriented or sexually explicit content, nudity, or relevant content
- Adult-oriented or sexually explicit content (including erotica literature, books/novels on erotic related theme) is not permitted
- related to dating and/or matchmaking
- promoting medication, nutritional supplements, or protocols
- containing political opinion/view
- containing religious opinion/view
- with intent to harm or defame
- containing unauthorized stock ticker symbols
- that promote gambling or betting
- with topics regarding tobacco, e-cigs, green coffee, raspberry ketones, HCG, Kratom, Garcinia Cambogia and more
- with topics regarding cosmetic procedures, body modification, or sexual reproductive health
- with topics regarding explosives, guns, or weapons
- containing references or links to sexually explicit material, illegal material or profane language
- Obscenities, vulgarity and abusive language are not allowed
- related to buying likes, followers, or viewers on social media websites
- Music video/audio podcast with parental advisory/explicit warnings
- Erectile dysfunction or breast enhancement/enlargement
- Massage Centers
- Content related to COVID-19 Testing Kits is not allowed
- Music video/audio, podcast, etc. with parental advisory/explicit content warning label
- Pseudo-Religious articles, trinkets (amulets, bands, bracelets, charms, magic, etc.)
- Obscenities, vulgarity and abusive language
The guideline will change from time to time without prior notice and you are advised to visit this page for updates.
*Disclaimer: At any circumstances, we reserve the right at all times and without previous notification to approve, disapprove any or all the published/submitted documents as long as it is inappropriate to be published. Any decision made by the Authority Media Group team shall be final.
What is a Newsworthy News Release?
A News Release is an announcement of timely information about a new product or service, a business expansion or recent event, an organizational milestone like an anniversary or award. Timeliness, relevance, and the importance of an event to your readers make a newsworthy News Release. The reader must get the gist of the News Release through the headline and the summary.
The News Release should not be written as a sales letter. Keep an impartial tone throughout the release.
Avoid Direct Address
The News Release must be written in a strictly professional language. Superlatives, jargon, hype, or exclamatory words must be avoided. The use of direct address does not fit in the format of a good News Release. Do not use casual first person language (I, we, you, etc.) except in quotations from the company or official representative. Only include quotes that someone has actually said.
Do not ask questions in a News Release.
Direct address is a flag that the content is an advertisement rather than a news release.
The Right Length
The suggested length is 300 to 800 words. A News Release less than 450 words will not get picked up by Google News. Your News Release should be free of spelling and grammatical errors. If you use industry acronyms, consider including definitions so the average reader can understand your message. Mistakes can adversely affect the credibility of your organization.
Website Links
You can embed HTML links, such as a video file/ website, in the main body of your News Release. Ensure all links are formatted correctly and check that links are working prior to submitting your release for syndication.
Legal
It is the responsibility of the company to make sure the information used in the News Release is accurate and current to substantiate any professional claims. All News Releases referencing legal action or criminal matters must be backed by appropriate documents duly referenced and attested by appropriate authorities.
Valid Contact Info
All releases submitted for distribution should include a valid phone number and e-mail address in the media contact section.
Format
Headline
The headline should sum up the release purpose and must be short and to the point. Only the first letter of each word should be capitalized.
- Headline must not be too long (maximum 170 characters), has active verb and subject.
- Headline should accurately present News Release’s content.
- Headline must be newsworthy and should not look like an article in disguise (important and recent enough to be announced).
- Do not use personal pronouns in the Headline (unless it is within a quote – for example, a book title).
Summary
A short summary of 250 characters at maximum (1-2 sentences) must follow the headline and must not have any links. It must include your company’s name and keywords to be found on search engines. The Summary should clearly describe News Release’s content.
The first paragraph may be the only part of your release that some people read, so it needs to state your identity and highlight the announcement.
No Spam
Using spam phrases is not allowed in News Releases. Please don’t use common advertisement and promotional words and phrases like ‘Click here’ or ‘Great business opportunity’ and the likes. Avoid using exclamation marks and caps on specific words with an intent to promote your products and/ or services.
No Content that Intends to Harm
News Releases must not contain any content that is intended to harm the reputation of an individual, group, or company. The tone and tenor of the content must not incite, promote, or express hatred and must steer clear of bigotry, racism, or unjustified violence. The releases must not include “hate speech”, be it directed at an individual or a group, depending upon the membership within some classes, which include but are not limited to, language, religious affiliation, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, or sex.
Images
Images may be included but they are not accepted by all media outlets when syndicated. Only attach 1 image per release not more than 200KB in file size (jpg, png, or gif format only)
600 x 600 .jpg is recommended for best results sharing your release on social media.
Videos
One YouTube Video URL can be included but it may not be accepted/embedded by all media outlets when syndicated.
Think of video the same as you would the feature image for your PR.
Don’t Make your PR about Video – Use video to support/augment the story. Don’t make video the focus of the story.
Don’t reference the video in your PR content – Don’t refer to the video or have a call to action to watch the video in the story. Not all outlets may embed the video.
Formatting Your News Release
Do not use ALL CAPS in your news release. If your intention is to create emphasis on certain words or phrases, simply use bold or italics. Excessive or unnecessary formatting will cause your News Release to be classified as advertising or spam and it will be rejected for syndication.
Summary Paragraph: The reason you see this all over again is that it is very important. As you should know, some media sites will only display your headline and summary, so if your News Release is missing its summary paragraph, people won’t know what your News Release is about and won’t click and read your News Release.
Spacing: Separate paragraphs to discuss separate ideas. There’s no need for dashes or asterisks to segregate your News Release into sections.
Language: Grammar is just a standard set of rules that has to be taken into account. No one wants to read News Releases that do not sound legitimate or credible. Most press distribution sites will reject your News Release if it is filled with grammatical errors.
Authority PressWire only supports the English language.
Anchor texts: Even though anchor links are useful, try not to include more than one link per 200 words of your release, with a maximum of 5 links per release. Your release will be rejected with more than 5 links.
RELEASES WILL BE REJECTED IF LINKS:
- display a URL that does not accurately reflect the URL of the landing page, such as “google.com” taking users to “gmail.com”
- go to pages that are under construction, parked domains, or are just not working
- are not viewable in commonly used browsers
- go to sites that have disabled the browser’s back button
Bullet points: These are good but they shouldn’t stretch across the News Release like it was meant for grocery shopping. Search Engines tend to reject such News Releases so keep the bullet points short and few. Bullets within a News Release sometimes to do not syndicate, so you may want to consider using hyphens (-), numbers (1,2,3…) or asterisks (*) when typing a list.
Graphs and charts: All these should be converted to image files such as jpg, png or gif in order for them to display properly. We also only allow 1 image per News Release.
Word count: The standard word count should be between 300 and 800 words. Remember that you always want to express as much as you can using as few words as possible.
Double-check Before Submitting a News Release
It’s time to submit your News Release! Hold on just a second, have you included everything that you need? Did you leave out any details, important keywords or a desired call-to-action? Is your headline newsworthy enough for publication?
Sometimes we think that our News Release is good enough, but it gets rejected. How do we know whether we’ve written a News Release appealing enough for the public?
The answer – double-checking. Yes, it’s an arduous task that no one really does since our younger educational years even though our teachers placed emphasis on it like it would actually change the world.
It’s not that powerful but it does make a difference.
As such, here we have a checklist of things to take into consideration and ascertain that your News Release is good enough for submission.
1) Details, Statistics and Facts
Ensure that all your facts are substantiated with credible sources. Check that all the numbers and stats tally. Get names and brands correctly written and spelt. You don’t want to mislead your viewers and give them false information that could tarnish your reputation and credibility.
2) Clarity, Coherence and Consistency
What you find easy to read and understand might not be true for everyone else. In fact, it could be the complete opposite, so find someone who’s willing to take the time to proofread your News Release and understand its content to its entirety. If they don’t get it, there’s a good chance that your viewers won’t either.
3) Anchor Keyword Links
Linking to a wrong page or a broken link isn’t going to do you or your viewer any good, so before you send your News Release, test out all the links.
4) Beware Of Over-optimization
After all the hard work you’ve put into determining what your keyword(s) is, ascertain that they’re neatly distributed and put into your News Release for maximum on-page SEO. Check that you’re not keyword stuffing (keywords should only be 2-3% of total word count) and that you’re using a variety of synonymous keywords that your customers are searching for in order to find your brand.
5) News Release Format
Most websites follow a standard News Release template but just to be safe, always format your News Release sufficiently so that it’s suitable for any website. This means putting your content into several paragraphs, using spaces and hyphens appropriately. Don’t leave extra spacing for no apparent reason.
6) Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation
It’s not a minute factor so this really isn’t worth overlooking. There’s no excuse for not using spell-check. Go through your News Release, looking for misspellings and grammatical mistakes. Don’t turn away readers because of this.
7) Contact Information
Why aren’t people calling you? Did you make sure that your contact information is correct? At the bottom of every News Release, remember to supply accurate contact details so that reporters can follow up with you and your story.
8) Newsworthy Headline and Summary
This is the first thing you would be typing and it should be the last item that you check before pressing the submit button. Make sure the headline and summary of your News Release have all the necessary newsworthy elements for publication such as the subject, the active verb of the subject, the outstanding news information, and the recency of the story. (e.g. “John Doe Hits Three Amazon Best Seller Lists In July”)
So remember, to make that good impression, make it perfect by being extra careful to check everything once more before you send a News Release.
The guidelines will change from time to time without prior notice and you are advised to visit this page for updates. *Disclaimer: Authority Press Wire reserves the right at all times and without previous notification to approve, disapprove any or all the published/submitted documents as long as it is inappropriate to be published. Any decision made by the Authority Press Wire team shall be final.