A product or service launch release must say what the product is, who it is for, what problem it solves, where it is available, when it goes on sale, the specifications that matter and the evidence behind any big claim. If a reader finishes the first paragraph without knowing what they could buy, from whom, where and from when, the release has not done its job. Everything else, including the quote, is there to support those facts.
What must a launch release include?
The checklist below comes from the release types in our press release guide. Treat each line as a question the release has to answer in plain words.
| Must include | What it looks like in practice |
|---|---|
| What it is | The product's full name and its category: "a range of home-compostable espresso pods", not "a new way to enjoy coffee" |
| Who it is for | The customer, as specifically as you can: home espresso drinkers with standard capsule espresso machines |
| What problem it solves | The practical reason to care, stated as a fact rather than a promise |
| Where it is available | Countries, cities, shops, online, or all of these |
| Release date | The day it goes on sale or becomes available, with the year |
| Meaningful specifications | Price, sizes, compatibility, capacity, materials: whatever a buyer would compare |
| Evidence for major claims | The certificate, test, trial or data behind any claim a sceptical reader would question |
Two lines on that list are skipped more than the others: availability and evidence. A launch without a date and a place reads as a teaser, and a claim without a basis reads as an advert.
What does a worked example look like?
Here is a launch release opening for Harbour Coffee Roasters, a fictional Bristol coffee roaster. Every figure is invented for the example.
Headline
Harbour Coffee Roasters Launches Home-Compostable Espresso Pods for Capsule Espresso Machines in the UK
That is 14 words: the company, the specific action, the product category and the market. The headline post covers the formula in more detail.
Summary
The Bristol roaster's first pod range goes on sale on 20 October 2026 at £4.20 for ten pods. The pods are certified home compostable to the Australian AS 5810 standard, according to the company's certification documents.
The summary adds price, date and the basis of the compostability claim. It does not repeat the headline, and it stays under 45 words, the limit for a newswire summary.
Opening paragraph
BRISTOL, UK, 8 October 2026 — Harbour Coffee Roasters, a Bristol-based speciality coffee roaster founded in 2015, will launch its first range of home-compostable espresso pods on 20 October 2026. The range, called Harbour Pods, is compatible with standard capsule espresso machines and will be sold in packs of ten at £4.20 through the company's website and its two Bristol cafés. Each pod holds 5.5 grams of coffee roasted at the company's Bristol roastery. The pods are certified home compostable to the AS 5810 standard, and Harbour says the range was developed after customers asked for a pod they could put in a garden compost bin rather than return by post.
In about 110 words that paragraph names the company and says what kind of business it is, then gives the product, the date, the place of sale, the price, the key specification, the evidence and the reason. A reader, a search engine or an AI assistant could answer every basic question about the launch from it alone. That is the standard the first 100 words post sets out.
What goes in the rest of the release?
After the opening, a launch release usually needs three or four more short paragraphs:
- Detail on the product. The full range, variants, sizes or tiers, and anything that changes the buying decision.
- The evidence. What the certificate, test or trial actually showed, who ran it and when.
- A quote that adds information. Why the company made it, what it saw in customer requests or sales data, what it will do next. Not how anyone feels about the launch.
- Availability and next steps. Where to buy, when stock arrives in other channels, and the link to the product page.
Then the boilerplate, the media contact and the end mark.
What are the most common mistakes?
- No date. "Coming soon" or "this autumn" gives nobody anything to act on. If the date is not fixed, the release is probably premature.
- Describing the benefit instead of the product. "Transforming the way you work" tells a reader nothing. Say what the product does, in the words a customer would use to search for it.
- Unsupported claims. "The most sustainable pod on the market" invites the obvious question: according to whom? Either give the basis or remove the claim.
- Specifications buried or missing. Price, compatibility and availability belong in the first two paragraphs, not the last.
- A quote that says nothing. Enthusiasm is not news. A quote should explain a decision or interpret a fact.
- Announcing a feature as a launch. A change to an existing product is an update. Updates need the previous state, what changed and the effective date, which is a different release.
What should a launch release link to?
Link the company name to the homepage the first time it appears, and link the product name once to the product page, on words that describe what is there. The product page should hold the full specifications, price, images and any certificates, because it is the fullest source for the story and it is the page that will still be accurate next year. Newswires generally accept three links at most, so choose them carefully; the links post explains what to prioritise and why syndicated links are nofollow.
If the evidence for a major claim lives on a separate page, such as a certification document or test report, that is a good use of the third link.
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance should a launch release go out?
Publish on the day the product becomes available, or shortly before if customers can pre-order. A release about a product nobody can buy or see yet gives readers nothing to do, and it goes stale if the date slips.
Can one launch justify more than one release?
Yes, if each release contains genuinely different information: a pre-launch research finding, the launch itself, and later a customer case study or post-launch data. Syndicating lightly rewritten copies of the same announcement adds nothing.
Should the release include the price?
If the price is public, include it. It is one of the first facts a buyer and a journalist look for, and leaving it out makes the release read as a teaser.
The next post in the series covers expansion releases, where the same principles apply to a new location instead of a new product.
media:on Editorial. Written and reviewed by the media:on editorial team, who edit every release before it files.