How to Write a Press Release for US Media: Format, AP Style and Common Mistakes

A well-written Indian press release can still feel foreign to an American editor because of small style differences: the date written the British way, figures in crore, "per cent" instead of "percent", or a first paragraph that opens with company history. None of these is a serious error on its own, but together they make a release harder to use. Fixing them takes little time and makes your announcement look as though it belongs on a US news site.

This guide builds on our general press release format and focuses on what changes for American media. It also explains why consistent formatting matters for search and AI visibility.

Why AP style matters

The Associated Press publishes the AP Stylebook, the reference most US newsrooms use for spelling, numbers, dates and titles. AP's own site, AP News, is among the most visited news domains in the US, and many of the outlets where US press releases appear – finance portals, business sites, regional papers – follow AP conventions. When your release already matches that style, editors and syndication partners need to change less, and the copy reads as professional.

Metrics are third-party estimates at the time of writing and change over time.

Formatting will not by itself place a release on any of these sites. Syndicated copy is used at editors' discretion, and a labelled placement on a named site is booked separately. What good formatting does is remove reasons for an editor to pass.

1. The dateline

US releases open with the city in capital letters, the state where needed, and the date in AP style:

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 10, 2026 – [Company name], a Bengaluru-based data analytics company, today announced…

• Large cities that AP lists as standing alone – such as NEW YORK, CHICAGO, LOS ANGELES or SAN FRANCISCO – need no state.
• Other cities take the state name: "AUSTIN, Texas" or "RALEIGH, N.C." in AP's dateline abbreviations.
• If your company has no US office, use your real location: "BENGALURU, India, Oct. 10, 2026". Never invent a US address.

2. Dates, times and numbers

A few rules cover most cases: abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. when used with a specific date; do not use ordinals such as "10th"; write times as "10 a.m." or "3:30 p.m."; spell out numbers one to nine and use figures from 10 upwards, except for ages, percentages and money. Lakh and crore are unfamiliar to most American readers, so give dollar amounts and add the rupee figure in brackets only if it matters to the story.

3. American spelling inside the release

Switch the release to US spelling throughout: organization, color, program, center, analyze, license. Keep your registered company name, product names and any quoted titles exactly as they are, even if they use British spelling. Also note that AP does not use the serial (Oxford) comma in a simple series – "India, the UK and the US" – and does not use trademark symbols.

4. Headline and first paragraph

AP news headlines use sentence case; many US press releases use title case. Either is acceptable if you are consistent. More important is what the headline says: a factual statement of the news, ideally with the US angle, in under about 15 words.

The first paragraph should answer what happened and why it matters to a US reader. Compare:

• Weak: "Founded in 2015, [Company] is a leading provider of innovative analytics solutions…"
• Stronger: "[Company] today opened its first U.S. office in Austin, Texas, to support its American retail customers…"

Company history belongs in the boilerplate, not the lead.

5. Quotes that sound human

A good quote adds opinion or context rather than repeating facts. Attribute it with full name and title on first reference, then surname only on later references. Formal titles are capitalised before a name and lowercase after it: "said [Full Name], chief executive officer of [Company]" and later "[Surname] said". AP prefers "said" over "stated", "commented" or "added".

6. Claims US editors reject

• "World's first", "No. 1" or "best-in-class" without an independent, named source.
• Promises of returns or outcomes – especially for fintech, lending, insurance or real estate. See our BFSI compliance guide and the overview of BFSI and fintech PR.
• Health claims that have not been cleared by the relevant regulator.
• Exclamation marks, all-caps headlines and emoji.

7. Boilerplate and media contact

End with an "About [Company]" paragraph – what you do, where you are based, who you serve and your website – written the same way every time. Our guide to writing a boilerplate has examples. Add a media contact with name, email and a phone number including the country code (+91 or +1), and mention US-friendly hours if you can. US releases traditionally close with "###" or "-30-" to mark the end.

8. Other US conventions worth knowing

• State names in body text. AP spells out state names in the body of a story ("Austin, Texas"), even though datelines use AP abbreviations for some states.
• Company suffixes. Use "Inc." or "Corp." without a comma before it, and only on first reference if at all. "Pvt. Ltd." can usually stay in the boilerplate only.
• Units. American readers think in square feet, miles and Fahrenheit. Add the imperial figure where a measurement matters, such as an office or factory size.
• Phone numbers. Write them with the country code and simple grouping, for example +1 followed by the number, so US readers can dial directly.
• Acronyms. Spell out Indian acronyms – NBFC, SEBI, RERA – on first use with a short explanation. American readers will not know them.
• Length. Aim for roughly 400 to 600 words. Long releases with several announcements are harder to republish.

A short before-and-after example

Here is how a typical opening might change when it is adapted for American media. The original, written for Indian readers:

Bengaluru, 10th October 2026: [Company], a leading and innovative provider of AI-powered analytics solutions, is pleased to announce that it has raised Rs 20 crore in its Series A round and will use the funds to expand in the USA.

The adapted version:

BENGALURU, India, Oct. 10, 2026 – [Company], a data analytics company serving retailers, today said it raised $2.5 million in Series A funding and will open its first U.S. office in Austin, Texas, early next year.

The changes are small: an AP dateline, the amount in dollars, "today said" instead of "is pleased to announce", no unsourced "leading" or "innovative", and a concrete US detail in the first sentence. Note that AP uses "U.S." with full stops in body text. The figure shown is only an illustration; always use your real, verified amount.

Why format matters for SEO, GEO and branding

SEO

Clean, consistent copy is more likely to be republished intact across US news and finance sites, which means more indexed pages carrying your brand name and the same headline. Many of these links will be nofollow or marked sponsored; the gain is in mentions on high-DA domains, referral traffic from readers and quicker indexing. A precise headline that includes your company name and the core news also helps the release rank for searches about your announcement.

GEO

AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews build their picture of a company from trusted publications and consistent facts. If one version of your release says "Rs 20 crore", another "$2.5 million" and your website a third figure, the model has to guess. Use one set of facts – company name, location, founding year, amount, leadership titles – in the same form everywhere, and state them plainly in the first paragraph and the boilerplate.

Branding

American editors, buyers and investors notice when a release reads like local copy. Correct datelines, figures in dollars and measured claims signal a professional organisation that understands the market. That credibility carries over when you share the links in sales emails or an "as featured in" section described accurately.

Common mistakes in releases written for US media

• Mixing styles. A release that switches between "organisation" and "organization", or between "Oct. 10" and "10 October", looks unedited.
• Leaving Indian context unexplained. References to Tier-2 cities, state schemes or regulators need a short explanation for American readers.
• Too many quotes. One or two strong quotes are better than four from different executives saying similar things.
• Missing the "so what". If an American editor cannot see why the news matters to US readers within two sentences, the release is unlikely to be used.
• Converting amounts inconsistently. Fix one dollar figure and use it everywhere.

Quick checklist before you submit

1. US-style dateline and AP dates and times
2. Dollar amounts, not lakh or crore
3. US spelling inside the release; names left unchanged
4. The news and US angle in the first paragraph
5. No unsourced superlatives or outcome promises
6. Quotes attributed correctly with titles
7. Boilerplate, media contact with country code and an end mark

At NewsWire Network, releases are reviewed by an editor before distribution, including checks on format and claims. When your copy is ready, the US distribution guide covers timing and outlets, the USA market overview explains American media, and the page on press release distribution describes the process. Technology companies may also find the technology and SaaS PR overview useful.

Frequently asked questions