How to Write a Press Release For Your App

Mobile App Growth

November 29, 2018

Writing and distributing your app press release is a step you don’t want to skip. You started your app marketing efforts early, you’ve built a mailing list, you’ve engaged your users and got useful feedback.

Your app is awesome and almost ready to be launched. Now you need to let journalists, bloggers and key influencers you identified in your app domain know about it.

Even the big guys in the industry don’t assume that bloggers will automatically know about their app, so why should you?

How to Write a Press Release From the Right Perspective

But how do you write an effective press release? You have to respect the standard rules and syntax so that it’s easy for reporters and bloggers to scan your story for its key elements.

You also want to make sure that by scanning it, they will get a good sense of what’s unique and newsworthy about your app. What you also want to keep in mind is that you have to stay factual in your press release and exaggerated marketing adjectives like “great” and “amazing.”

Remember to look at your press release through the eyes of the person that you are sending it to. It can be easy to focus on what you want to get out of the app launch press release.

But remember that the person who receives your press release needs to have a reason to write about your app. In other words, they need to look good too.

Carefully consider what their readers want to read about. Skim through past articles by the person you are about to send your press release to.

Which articles were shared the most and got the most comments? This will help you determine the right angle to pitch your app.

Finally, keep it under one page. The people who can get the word out about your app get dozens of pitches a day…just like yours. The longer it is, the more likely it is that they will hit the delete button.

Press Release Example (Structure of a Press Release)

To help you write your press release, here is a sample of one and a breakdown of its elements.

Before we start: the question of when to send your press release to your contacts is an important one. If you want journalists not to publish a story right away you can mention “Under embargo until” on the press release.

That allows you to send it to them a few days prior to launch, along with your app promo video, and it lets them write their story to publish it on your app launch date. Be careful, though, they sometimes just ignore the embargo (so repeat it in your email as well).

Also, you don’t want to send them an actual attachment like the file below (which is more for your press kit): you should insert your text-only press release in the body of your email.

Finally, don’t just mass-email all your identified contacts: try to learn more about what they write and for who. Show them that you know their work (don’t try too hard, though).

Press release example

A: App Icon and app name / Company. Insert your magnificient app icon at the top of the press release along with your app name (not the “long version” you might use on the AppStore or Google Play). It could also be your company name and logo, depending on which one you want to put the focus on (if you company is unknown, I suggest you focus on the app).

B: Subject line. This one is key. Like I said before, you should stay factual and use something like “company releases product for platform.” It’s pretty hard but if you can, make it captivating and try mentioning something unique about your app (an award, its usage, etc.).

C. Summary line. If you haven’t lost journalists by now, this is where you have to convince them that your story is worth reading (and therefore that theirs will be too) so they go through more of your press release. You want to make clear what are the basics of your app and what makes it unique at the same time.

D. Introduction. Start with your location and release date. Re-explain in 2/3 sentences what your app is all about (not the features, the actual goal of the app) and who it is for.

E. Screenshots. Obviously that’s only for the press release pdf you’ll put in your app press kit, not for the text-only version you’ll send in the body of your emails. Since you already have made and selected the best screenshots for your app details page on the store, why not use them?

F. Description. This part is the main body of your press release, and should (and I’ll just quote Dave) “explain in concise detail exactly what your app does, what features and benefits it provides, and why people should care”. A great addition to the app explanation is a nice and short quote from you or from a partner. Besides being pretty fun to write, it lets you bring up a different aspect of the app. Here’s a good post on how to write a killer press release quote.

G. Pricing, availability and coming up. Just a line or 2 full of facts: stating the app’s price, the OS requirements, countries, etc. What I like to add is a really short preview/teaser of what’s coming up: the next app to come in the same app series or something exciting. Make sure you don’t confuse the reader, though.

H. Website URL and info. That’s were you want to mention your app website’s or company website URL and suggest visiting it for more information, screenshots and demo videos.

I. About your company. Throw a line about your company at the end of your press release. You can mention awards or other well-known and appreciated apps you’ve produced.

J. End of the press release. The “###” symbols in the center mark the end of the press release content.

K. Media contact information. That’s where you put some info about how to reach you for further information or interviews. Don’t hesitate to give several ways to reach you.

So here it is, the basic structure for your app press release. Now make good use of it!
You can use press releases for other things than your app launch: an award, a new platform supported, a v2, etc.

Are Press Releases Too Old School?

Maybe, but they still work. Sometimes old school can be better depending on who you’re targeting.

If you’re writing to a newspaper reporter, an official press release is the way to go and old school doesn’t mean it has to be boring. Press releases are not dead.

On the other hand, a press release is not meant for all public and if you want to target social media or your potential users you can also write an alternative press release. Check out this great post by CopyBlogger on how to write a social media press release.

Where to Distribute, Submit or Send Your Press Release?

The people you should send your press release to will depend on your niche. So there is no way to give you a blanket list that will work for everyone.

It is up to you to do some research and identify who are the key influencers you should contact. Establish a friendly relationship with them before you need to send out press releases.

If you need some ideas on how to contact these people, read this post on how to find blog and press contacts.

To get some great tips on how to contact someone with a cold email, read this post. It’s also important to remember that when emailing someone, it all starts with the email subject line.

If that doesn’t grab their attention, then you are dead in the water. So make sure that you craft your email subject line carefully.

You can also try a local newspaper, that might be happy to talk about your work. Of course, not everyone you contact will publish a story about your app so don’t lose faith and try to develop relationships with reporters/bloggers.

Final Press Release Tips

On launch date, you can also consider submitting your press release to sites like PRWeb or PRMac. There’s no shortage of Press Release submission websites but definitely go for quality, not quantity.

The best way to find the best PR sites is to talk developers who are making apps like yours and learn what is working for them. Getting press coverage can be tough, but one good mention can be the difference between becoming well-known quickly and grinding it out for several months.

Got any good tips to add on how to write a press release for an app? Leave us a comment!

More about Mobile App Growth

  1. Hi Sylvain,
    Appreciate if you could indicate the pricing for the creation and development of a press kit and promo video for the launch of an app between 30sec to 59sec.

    Thank you and kind regards,

  2. An app launch is a big occasion for any business or company and at the same time it is a great chance of creating real news and advertising your business. Thank you for sharing the writing tips, very helful for new users.

  3. Press release writing is not simple as writing as any content. It needs different skills and presence of mind. Thank you for sharing the details and tips. Post is very helpful for new users.

  4. What you also want to keep in mind is that you have to stay factual in your press release and exaggerated marketing adjectives like “great” and “amazing.”

    is a weird sentence that is missing a word or two but the rest is quite useful!

  5. I must say it is a complete post on how to write an effective press release. From PR structure to proper distribution, everything is mentioned and it is very helpful for new users. Thank you for the wonderful post.

  6. I was curious if you ever thought of changing the layout
    of your blog? Its very well written; I love what
    youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content
    so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful
    lot of text for ony havinmg one or two images. Maybe you could
    space it out better?

  7. Sylvain,

    When sending a press release as text-only in the body of the email, do you send items A, B, and C from your article? Assuming the app icon does not get included, right?

    Thanks!

    1. Hi Brian (and sorry for the late reply) – if you send in the body of the email, do not include images directly in the body this is terrible to receive/read

  8. As far as CPM for the Ad reward videos are there any major differences as far as price for a 15 second video vs a 30 second video or are they all under the “Reward video category” regardless of video length.

    BTW your answers have been awesome so far it have been looking for answers like the ones you have given me for weeks. No one really wants to share info about this stuff. Thank you!

  9. Hey, I am in the process of making a mobile game. It is multi-player and like 8 ball Pool(My app is nothing like that just an example) it needs people online to really enjoy the experience. However, when I send my app to people to review and talk about it before it is released on the markets. Those people reviewing my app wont have people online to play with(I could tell them thy can share it with friends but that might be asking to much I felt). It does have a single player mode. But the real joy is the multi-player. How will that affect people talking about my app pre-release? What should I do?

    1. You might want to get people you know on it and/or beta testers. So that when they try it there are already some players. Another way would be to do a soft launch to have enough people on board already before you try to get it reviews. Whether you do beta testing or the soft launch, you’ll probably learn a ton in the process and be able to improve your app. Pushing it too soon is usually not a good idea. If you do want to do it, creating a video could help understand how fun the game gets when it’s multiplayer.

      1. I was wrecking my brain all weekend about this and come up with a similar conclusion. I’ll do a soft launch and then send my pitch to people. Thank you for your insite. Also I have been looking into ad networks.

        What are some of the better ad networks for Ad reward videos and interstellar ads(looking for CPM payout)

        And I would like to keep the videos 20 seconds or shorter. Can I realistically keep a high fill rate with those restrictions?

          1. As far as CPM for the Ad reward videos are there any major differences as far as price for a 15 second video vs a 30 second video or are they all under the “Reward video category” regardless of video length.

            BTW your answers have been awesome so far it have been looking for answers like the ones you have given me for weeks. No one really wants to share info about this stuff. Thank you!


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