A boilerplate is an essential part of a press release even though it is not the key driver of your story. Boilerplates have been used over the years to cap up press releases, but most importantly to project out the “About” of the company, Author, or Artist. Although this is not a standard requirement by press release distribution services, a boilerplate can help you close your press release by showing a well summarized information about the company issuing the press release.
A press release can not be deemed well-written until when capped with an actionable boilerplate that creatively shows how great your company or business really is. In this article, we will be going through the key points to note when writing a press release boilerplate and how to avoid common mistakes most press release writers make.
No matter the type of press release you want to write, you will still need to master the art of crafting a boilerplate. Many PR Pros do not pay attention to the boilerplate section. If you can do such great work pulling people to read your press release, why not have them blown away by the last part of the release?
What Is A Press Release Boilerplate?
A boilerplate is the last paragraph of a press release mostly written to reflect the subject of the press release. The subject, in this case, could be an Author, an Artist, or the Company issuing the press release. A boilerplate stands as an “About Us” in a press release. A boilerplate is better written in one paragraph so as to make it concise and punchy.
While some PR writers extend it to another paragraph, the best would be wrapping it up within a paragraph. It is best to treat your boilerplate as much as you treat the first paragraph of your press release. It should be informative and catchy at the same time.
People care to know the news, but they care to know about who is making the news. It is important to understand how important the boilerplate can be in the overall success of a press release. The boilerplate helps you to give your readers a little hindsight to what your company is all about, the leadership, and what makes you different.
What Are The Key Components of a Boilerplate?
Now that you know what a boilerplate is and why it is important in creating a spectacular press release, you will need to know what must be present in the boilerplate so as to make it comprehensive and yet, short.
- The History of the company/How the company was founded
- The vision of the company (What your company plans to become)
- Leadership and its impact on the brand/reputation of the company
- Figures or key data in numbers
- Important dates indicating when milestones were achieved
- Your Unique Selling Point (What makes your business different)
- Call to action
How To Write A Boilerplate For Your Company
- Map Out Your Boilerplate: A company/brand should have one boilerplate. Yes, just one boilerplate. This means you need to first understand how important this is because it will be the only boilerplate that goes out with all your press releases. Understanding this helps you position your mind and get all necessary information to make a killer boilerplate.
- Keep It Simple But Powerful: Sometimes less is more and simple can be very effective. You should use simple terms that will be very easy for you audience to relate with and the journalists as well who stands like the gatekeeper between you and your audience. Journalists open hundreds of press releases a day; you will need to catch their attention and steal it for a few moment with a single paragraph about your company.
- Show Important Data: Numbers can be very powerful You can add numbers showing key metrics or milestones for your business. You can mention important business numbers that indicates key data or gives insights into corporate statistics.
- Call-To-Action: You can add a little call-to-action in the boiler, pointing immediately to the website or landing page. Call to actions are really powerful and can be used effective to help take get more clicks and potential customers. Call-to-actions helps you get more sign ups and potential buyers.
- One Boilerplate For All: There is a need for consistency when it comes to using boilerplate in press releases. The moment you are able to craft a winning boilerplate, will need to stick with it at all times. This will help you avoid using inconsistent data in your press releases.
- Try a Landing Page: While most people would want to add their website homepage, it is better to add a page where you can receive inquiries or capture leads.
Where Should You Place The Boilerplate?
Unlike any other form of writing, press releases writing follows a set of standards. Your boilerplate comes at the end of the press release and this is the standard rule. You may want to be creative and try new things, that’s OK, but when it comes to press release writing you simply follow standard rules and this applies to your boilerplate as well. Since no press release distribution service provider will do that for you, you need to be sure your boilerplate is located in the right place.
The boilerplate should be written in one paragraph and you go as far as 100 words to wrap it up.
Press Release Boilerplate Examples
Looking for what a well-written press release boiler should look like? Here are some examples
- About CompTIA The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5.2 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the estimated 75 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world’s economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for advancing the tech industry and its workforce. Visit www.comptia.org to learn more.
- About Comscore Comscore (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms. With a data footprint that combines digital, linear TV, over-the-top and theatrical viewership intelligence with advanced audience insights, Comscore allows media buyers and sellers to quantify their multiscreen behavior and make business decisions with confidence. A proven leader in measuring digital and TV audiences and advertising at scale, Comscore is the industry’s emerging, third-party source for reliable and comprehensive cross-platform measurement. To learn more, visit www.comscore.com
- ABOUT NIELSEN Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global measurement and data analytics company that provides the most complete and trusted view available of consumers and markets worldwide. Nielsen is divided into two business units. Nielsen Global Media, the arbiter of truth for media markets, provides media and advertising industries with unbiased and reliable metrics that create a shared understanding of the industry required for markets to function. Nielsen Global Connect provides consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers with accurate, actionable information and insights and a complete picture of the complex and changing marketplace that companies need to innovate and grow. Our approach marries proprietary Nielsen data with other data sources to help clients around the world understand what’s happening now, what’s happening next, and how to best act on this knowledge. An S&P 500 company, Nielsen has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world’s population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.
- About Black Knight, Inc. Black Knight (NYSE: BKI) is a leading provider of integrated software, data and analytics solutions that facilitate and automate many of the business processes across the homeownership lifecycle. As a leading fintech, Black Knight is committed to being a premier business partner that clients rely on to achieve their strategic goals, realize greater success and better serve their customers by delivering best-in-class software, services and insights with a relentless commitment to excellence, innovation, integrity and leadership. For more information on Black Knight, please visit www.blackknightinc.com.
Conclusion
Your press release boilerplate should be given maximum attention and should be written in a way that it shows all the important information and data about your business/company. Your boiler should be best written in one paragraph, but two or three paragraphs can be explored as well. Some companies have the most information in the first paragraph while the last one or two paragraphs only show the link to the company’s website or social media page.