📰🛡️ USA Today - Content Guidelines & Best Practices

A press release is an official, written statement issued to media outlets and the public to announce something newsworthy. It is typically used by organizations, businesses, or individuals to share updates such as product launches, company milestones, partnerships, events, or other significant developments. Press releases are written in a standardized format and are intended to attract media attention, generate publicity, and provide journalists with the key information needed to develop a story.

What makes up a Traditional Press Release?

An advertorial content post is a paid, promotional article designed to resemble editorial content in tone and style, while subtly promoting a product, service, brand, or message. Unlike traditional advertisements, advertorials provide valuable or informative content that aligns with the interests of the target audience, often blending storytelling, insights, or tips with marketing objectives. The goal is to engage readers while building brand awareness or driving specific actions—all while maintaining transparency about its sponsored nature.

What makes an Advertorial Content post?

Any content violating these terms will be rejected or removed without notice.

• Advertorials, MLMs, scams, or celebrity impersonations

• Medical claims (including supplements, COVID cures, etc.)

• Sexual, adult, or dating content

• Illicit drug promotion (incl. Cannabis, ketamine, psychedelics, etc.)

• Weapons, gambling, politics, religion, or legal accusations

• Digital currency promotions (NFTs, play-to-earn, metaverse real estate, etc.)

• Profanity or slang (e.g., "kick ass", "WTF", etc.)

Linking & Technical Requirements

• No broken or misleading links

• No station logos or network names (e.g., ABC, NBC)

• Tracking pixels must comply with PII & GDPR

• All images/videos must be legally cleared

• Document Title: Descriptive and versioned (e.g., Acme_ProductLaunch_PR_FINAL.docx)

• File Formats: .docx, html, or .txt

• Encoding: UTF-8

• Language & Style: U.S. English, AP Style

• Word Count: 400–600 words

• Spacing: Single-spaced, with breaks between paragraphs

• Alignment: Left-aligned

• Ending Marker: ### or – 30 –

Logo

• Format: PNG/JPEG, 72–300 DPI

• Placement: Top-left or center

Headline (Recommended)

• ≤ 70 characters

• Title case

• One main keyword

• Avoid hype or jargon

Example: Acme Corp Unveils AI-Powered Thermostat to Cut Energy Bills

Sub headline/Summary (Optional)

• ≤ 120 characters

• Sentence case (no period)

Example: New platform improves delivery efficiency by up to 30%

Dateline (Required)

• Format: CITY, State – Month Day, Year –

• Start lead paragraph: CITY, STATE, Month Day, Year

Lead Paragraph

• Covers Who, What, When, Where, Why

• 1–2 direct sentences

• Third-person, factual tone

Body Paragraphs

• Follow the inverted pyramid structure

• Max 2–4 sentences per paragraph

• Include: context, quote, proof point, and call to action (optional)

• Attribute all quotes and claims

Example: “We’re excited to bring this to market,” said Jane Doe, CTO of Acme

Corp. Boilerplate

A brief about the company (no marketing fluff)

Example: About Acme Corp - Founded in 2015, Acme Corp develops smart home devices powered by AI, serving clients across North America.

Call to Action (Optional)

Referrals for additional information are allowed, but we will not allow any call to actions involved for click to buy actions. Example: Visit www.acmecorp.com/demo to learn more.

Contact Block (Optional)

Include at the bottom:

Media Contact

Name

Title

Email

Phone

Website

• Keywords in headline, subhead, lead, and body

• Up to 3–5 embedded hyperlinks (no website URLs in body text)

• Include meta title and meta description for hosted content

• No clickbait, misleading, or hidden keywords

Images: JPG/PNG, 1–3 per release, must include alt text

Videos: MP4/YouTube/Vimeo, 30–90 sec, captions required - Embed

Other Media: Infographics, PDFs, etc., with legal licenses

• Final approval from legal/executive

• File name and format compliant

• Media assets included

• Categories/tags selected

• Attribution: author, company, social handles

• Distribution & syndication methods noted

• Explicit consent for any named individuals

• Content passes AI moderation filters

• No advertorial, misleading, or promotional hype

Include the following:

• Author: Name, Title, Company, Email, Social handle

• Distributed By: Agency or platform info

• Syndicated By: Method (RSS/API/manual)