The Associate Press has been around of nearly 200 years. You could say that they have got the news thing down. As such, they are essentially the grandfather of our modern day news format. The AP style press release is renowned far and wide as the one and only way to professionally produce content. Yet, the AP press release format is not something that they just teach you in school. If you are interested in anything in the news field, or even any professional writing occupation, that AP press release format is what you should rely on unless otherwise noted. But, if you did not go to school for journalism, do not fret, because you can find a simple AP press release template very easily. Or you could keep reading for a brief run down.

Step 1. Determine Release Date.

If the news is to go out immediately, a nice bold and uppercase FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE will do the job in the upper left hand corner. If it is not to go out until a specific date, use HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL and then input the date of release.

Step 2. Give It a Headline.

Your headline should be short and sweet, eye catching and memorable. No more than a single phrase or sentence, and try to avoid those silly exclamation points! Right underneath you can throw in a sub headline if you would like, but do not repeat any information from the initial headline. If you need one in there, make sure it expands upon the info already given.

Step 3. Insert Press Release Text Here.

Remember, you are not writing the actual story, just providing all of the pertinent information. Paragraphs should only be two to four sentences long. Answer the six questions if you can. How, who, what, when, where, why. Incorporate quotes for a human element, and try to keep it to only 500 words, tops. One page is ideal.

Step 4. Let Them Know Who You Are.

After the bulk of the text, provide your name and company information should any reporters want to contact you for further information. It also helps to keep the info accredited.

Step 5. End It.

At the very bottom write END to signify that it is, in fact, the end of the press release. Under that you can include a word count or three hashtags. Either is accepted protocol.

From there you are done. Distribute your news to the masses and see if your story gets reported. As soon as you do it once or twice, you will get the hang of it quickly. Then you can contribute to the news using the AP press release format all of the time.