Press Release Boilerplate

A press release boilerplate is the paragraph at the bottom of every release. Every company runs one. It gives a short, consistent description of the company: founding year, what it does, where it's headquartered, a scale fact or two, and a link to learn more.

I tell clients the same thing every time. Keep that boilerplate steady. Change it rarely, and only on purpose. That way a reporter, an editor, or an AI system reading the release gets the same baseline facts about who you are, every single time.

What Is a Press Release Boilerplate?

The boilerplate is the "About [Company]" section. It sits below the news itself and exists to answer one question for anyone who reads the release without any prior context: who is this company, and why should I care about anything it says.

Newsrooms have used boilerplates for decades because they save time. A reporter working on deadline doesn't have to look up basic company facts; they're already in the release. Today, the same logic applies to AI systems that summarize or cite press releases: a consistent, factual boilerplate gives a language model a clean, quotable description of the company to pull from, rather than forcing it to guess.

Where the Boilerplate Sits in a Press Release

A boilerplate always goes at the bottom of the release, after the body copy and after any quotes. It comes after the "###" symbol that traditionally marks the end of the release text, or directly before the media contact information. It never appears at the top, and it never interrupts the news.

The standard order for a press release is: headline, dateline, lead paragraph, body paragraphs, quotes, boilerplate, media contact. For a full breakdown of that structure, see Press Release Format in the AI Era: Templates, Examples, and What Changed.

What a Strong Boilerplate Includes

A working boilerplate is short: typically 50 to 100 words, three to five sentences. Within that space, it needs to cover five things.

Founding Year

State when the company started. This gives a reader an immediate sense of how established the company is. "Founded in [YEAR]" is standard opening language.

Core Business Description

Describe what the company actually does in plain terms: the industry, the product or service category, and who it serves. Avoid internal jargon or a tagline that only makes sense to people who already work there.

Headquarters Location

State the city and state (or city and country) where the company is based. This is a basic fact reporters look for, and it's one of the details AI systems most consistently extract when summarizing a company.

Notable Scale Facts

Include one or two facts that show scale or credibility: number of employees, number of customers, revenue range, number of locations, or a notable client roster. Keep these facts current and specific. A vague claim like "a leading provider" carries less weight than a concrete number.

A Link to Learn More

Close with the company's website URL. This gives any reader, human or machine, a clear next step and a canonical source to verify the rest of the boilerplate against.

Press Release Boilerplate Template

Use this structure and fill in the brackets:

That template holds for most companies. Adjust the order of the sentences if the news event calls for it, but keep every element: founding year, business description, headquarters, at least one scale fact, and the link.

Illustrative Example Boilerplates

The examples below are illustrative only. They describe fictional companies and should not be read as real businesses or client work.

Example 1: B2B Software Company (Illustrative)

> About Meridian Analytics

>

> Meridian Analytics is a data analytics company that helps mid-market retailers forecast inventory demand. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, the company serves more than 400 retail brands across North America and processes over 2 billion transactions per month. Meridian Analytics has been named to several industry "companies to watch" lists. For more information, visit www.meridiananalytics-example.com.

Example 2: Consumer Product Company (Illustrative)

> About Harborline Foods

>

> Harborline Foods is a consumer packaged goods company that makes shelf-stable, allergen-free snack foods. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company's products are sold in more than 8,000 grocery stores nationwide. Harborline Foods donates a portion of every sale to childhood nutrition programs. For more information, visit www.harborlinefoods-example.com.

Both examples follow the same skeleton: founding year, business description, headquarters, scale fact, link. That skeleton is what makes a boilerplate reusable release after release.

Common Boilerplate Mistakes

Too Long

A boilerplate that runs a full paragraph of six or more sentences stops being a quick reference and starts competing with the news for attention. Keep it to three to five sentences. If there's more a reader might want to know, that's what the linked website and the press kit are for.

Burying News in the Boilerplate

The boilerplate is not the place to announce anything. If a sentence in the "About" section contains news (a new product, a new hire, a new milestone), that news belongs in the body of the release, not at the bottom where readers and journalists don't expect to find it.

Outdated Facts

A boilerplate with a customer count or employee count from three years ago misrepresents the company today. Scale facts need a scheduled review, ideally every time headcount, funding, or customer numbers change meaningfully, and at minimum once a year.

Inconsistent Versions Across Releases

When a company sends out five releases in a year and each one has a slightly different boilerplate, wording, numbers, even the headquarters city, it creates confusion for anyone tracking the company over time, including AI systems that compare mentions across sources to build a picture of who the company is. One boilerplate, used consistently, with updates made deliberately and applied everywhere at once, is the standard to hold. This consistency matters most on wire distribution, where the release format itself already varies by service; see Business Wire vs. PR Newswire vs. EIN Presswire for how that affects formatting choices.

Want a broader look at this? Check PR Newswire's AP style press release guide. It's a solid reference point for how AI-era distribution treats structured facts like a boilerplate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a press release boilerplate?

A press release boilerplate is the standardized "About [Company]" paragraph placed at the bottom of a press release. It describes the company's founding year, what it does, its headquarters, a scale fact, and a link to its website.

Where does the boilerplate go in a press release?

The boilerplate goes at the very bottom of the release, after the body copy and quotes, and directly before the media contact information.

How long should a press release boilerplate be?

A press release boilerplate should run three to five sentences, typically 50 to 100 words. Longer boilerplates dilute the release and get skipped by readers and editors.

Should the boilerplate be the same in every press release?

Yes. The boilerplate should stay consistent across every release a company sends, with updates made deliberately and applied to all versions at once, not changed release by release.

Can a boilerplate include company news?

No. News belongs in the body of the release. The boilerplate is reference material about the company, not a place to announce anything new.