Key Takeaways
- Press release quotes are one of the few elements journalists can’t alter, making them crucial for conveying your message exactly as intended.
- The best quotes add human emotion, personality, and context rather than repeating information already in the release.
- Keeping quotes under 2–3 sentences maximizes their chances of being used in media coverage.
- Well-crafted quotes can be repurposed across multiple platforms, extending the value of your PR efforts.
- Traditional press releases reach a single channel; AmpiFire transforms your message into 8 content formats and distributes it across 300+ platforms, creating multiple sources of traffic.
Crafting Quotes That Journalists Actually Use
Journalists receive dozens, sometimes hundreds, of press releases daily. When they’re looking for quotes to include in their stories, they’re seeking value, not just corporate fluff. A good press release quote offers genuine insight, emotion, or context that enhances the factual information provided elsewhere in the release.
Think of your quote as the human element in your press release. While the body text delivers the facts, the quote provides the “so what?” factor that helps readers connect with your news on a deeper level. Your quote is where you can express excitement about a product launch, share the vision behind a new partnership, or address the impact of an industry development.
The most effective quotes sound like something someone would actually say in conversation, not like a paragraph from a marketing brochure that’s been forced into quotation marks. They use natural language, maintain a consistent voice for the quoted individual, and offer something that the rest of the press release doesn’t already say.
Why Press Releases Don’t Work Anymore
Smart Businesses Are Moving Beyond Traditional PR
• The Problem: Press releases reach one audience through one channel while your customers are everywhere online. Most get buried within days with poor ROI.
• The Solution: AmpiFire’s AmpCast creates 8 different content formats from one topic and distributes across 300+ high-authority sites including Fox affiliates, Spotify, and YouTube.
What You’ll Learn on PR Zen:
✓ Why multi-channel content delivers 10x better results than press releases
✓ How to amplify your PR efforts across multiple platforms
✓ Real case studies of businesses dominating search, social, video, and podcasts
✓ Cost-effective alternative to expensive PR agencies
Ready to Replace Press Releases? Learn the AmpiFire Method →
5 Essential Elements of Powerful Press Release Quotes
1. Human Voice, Not Corporate Jargon
The most common mistake in press release quotes is stuffing them with industry jargon and marketing-speak that no human would ever actually say out loud. Great quotes sound like they came from a real person having a real conversation. They use first-person pronouns (I, we, our) and everyday language that connects with readers.
- Instead of: “We are pleased to announce the implementation of our innovative technological solution designed to maximize operational efficiencies in the vertical market.”
- Try: “We created this tool because we saw our customers struggling with the same problem day after day. Now they can finish in minutes what used to take hours.”
Notice how the second example sounds like something someone would actually say in conversation. It uses simple language, addresses a real problem, and conveys genuine enthusiasm without relying on buzzwords. This authenticity makes journalists much more likely to use your quote.
2. Emotion & Authenticity
Quotes provide the perfect opportunity to convey emotion that might feel out of place in the more factual body text of your release. Use them to express excitement, pride, gratitude, or even concern about the news you’re announcing. This emotional component helps humanize your brand and creates a stronger connection with readers.
3. Brevity & Clarity
Long, rambling quotes rarely make it into published articles. The ideal press release quote is concise, typically 1–3 sentences that make a single strong point. This brevity makes it easy for journalists to include your quote without editing it, potentially losing your intended meaning.
4. Relevance to the News Angle
Effective quotes directly support the main news angle of your press release while adding a unique perspective or additional insight. They shouldn’t simply restate facts already presented elsewhere in the release. Instead, they should expand on the significance of those facts or provide context that helps readers understand why your announcement matters.
5. Attribution to the Right Person
Who delivers your quote matters almost as much as what they say. Quotes should come from the most relevant and authoritative person for the specific announcement. For major company news, this might be your CEO or another executive. For product launches, consider your head of product development. For community initiatives, your community relations director might be more appropriate.
The attribution should include both the person’s name and their title, positioning them as a credible source on the topic. In some cases, including brief background information about the quoted individual can add weight to their statement, particularly if they have specialized expertise related to the announcement.
Press Release Quote Templates You Can Use Today
1. CEO or Executive Spokesperson Template
“[Company mission-oriented statement connecting news to larger purpose]. This [announcement/launch/milestone] represents [specific benefit or advancement] for our [customers/industry/community], and we’re [emotion] to lead the way in [relevant area of innovation or service]. Our team has worked [timeframe or effort description] to make this possible, and seeing it come to fruition underscores our commitment to [core company value or promise].”
2. Product Launch Quote Template
“We developed [Product Name] after hearing directly from [target users] about their challenges with [problem the product solves]. What makes this solution different is [unique selling proposition or key innovation].”
“Our early testers have reported [specific benefit or result], which confirms our belief that this product will transform how [industry or user group] approaches [relevant task or challenge].”
“This launch isn’t just about introducing new technology—it’s about delivering on our promise to customer-focused commitment. We’re already working on expanding [Product Name]’s capabilities based on the enthusiastic feedback we’ve received.”
3. Partnership Announcement Template
“By joining forces with [Partner Company], we’re combining our expertise in [your company’s strength] with their leadership in [partner’s strength] to create something neither of us could achieve alone.
Our customers have been asking for [benefit this partnership delivers], and this collaboration allows us to respond to that need while opening new possibilities for [industry advancement or customer benefit]. We’re particularly excited about [specific aspect of the partnership], which we believe will set a new standard for [relevant metric or experience].”
Real-World Example: Quote That Got Picked Up
When Apple introduced Touch ID on the iPhone, Phil Schiller’s quote was featured in numerous articles:
“Half of phone customers don’t set up a passcode…TouchID is a fingerprint sensor. Touch ID sensor is in home button… sensor knows when your finger is there without you having to press…You can just press the home button to unlock your phone. You can use it to authenticate iTunes purchases.”
This quote succeeded because it identified a common user problem, explained how the new feature solved it, and emphasized the user experience in simple terms.
Make Your Quotes Work Harder: Multi-Platform Strategy
Repurposing Quotes for Social Media
The concise, impactful nature of good press release quotes makes them perfect for social media sharing. Extract your strongest quotes for use on platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, either as text posts or as overlay text on branded images.
For longer quotes, break them into a series of related posts that tell a larger story over time. Consider creating custom graphics for key quotes that align with your visual branding, making them instantly recognizable to your audience across different platforms.
Creating Visual Quote Graphics
Transform your most impactful quotes into eye-catching visual assets for social media, presentations, and your website. Use tools like Canva or Adobe Spark to create branded graphics featuring your spokesperson’s image alongside their quote.
These visuals typically see higher engagement than text-only posts on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. Experiment with different formats, from simple text overlays to more elaborate designs incorporating your brand colors, logo, and relevant imagery that reinforces the message.
Using Quotes in Follow-up Materials
Your press release quotes can find new life in follow-up communications with stakeholders. Incorporate them into investor newsletters, employee communications, and customer emails to maintain message consistency across all touchpoints.
This repetition reinforces your key messages and increases the likelihood they’ll be remembered.
However, even the perfect quote faces a fundamental limitation: press releases only reach journalists on a single channel, and most never get published. That’s why forward-thinking businesses are moving to multi-channel content strategies that guarantee their message reaches audiences everywhere they search.
Amplify Your Quotes with AmpiFire’s Multi-Channel Strategy
Why PR Quotes On Single Channels Don’t Work Anymore
While crafting the perfect press release quote is essential, the real challenge in today’s fragmented media landscape is ensuring your message actually reaches your target audience. Traditional PR strategies that rely on manually creating and sending press releases to journalists, hoping for coverage, leave too much to chance.
Even when journalists do pick up your story, you’re reaching only a fraction of the people researching your industry across search engines, social media, video platforms, and podcasts. This is where AmpiFire’s multi-format content distribution fundamentally changes the game.
What Is AmpiFire
AmpiFire takes a single topic, including your carefully crafted quotes, and transforms it into 8 different content formats: news articles, blog posts, interview podcasts, long-form videos, short-form videos (reels), infographics, slideshows, and social posts. This content is then automatically published to over 300 high-authority sites, including Google News, YouTube, Spotify, Pinterest, FOX affiliate sites, MSN, and major blog networks.
Consider what happens with traditional PR: You spend hours crafting the perfect quote, send your press release to journalists, and hope 2–3 outlets pick it up. Even if they do, you’ve reached audiences on one channel with one format.
With AmpiFire, that same carefully crafted message automatically becomes:
- A news article published on Fox affiliates and Google News
- A blog post optimized for search rankings
- An interview-style podcast on Spotify and Apple Music
- Long and short-form videos on YouTube
- Infographics on Pinterest
- Slideshows on slideshare
- Social posts across your profiles
Your message isn’t just repurposed—it’s optimized for each platform and distributed to where your customers actually are.
Real AmpiFire Results
One AmpiFire client in the medical device space saw their eCommerce traffic increase by 300% using the platform, which generated an initial 51% increase in sales. Instead of hoping for media pickup, they published consistent multi-format content that reached potential customers across search engines, social media, video platforms, and podcasts simultaneously.
This was the result of one specific case study and reflects consistent content creation over time. Results vary by industry, competition, and how consistently you publish content, but it demonstrates why multi-channel distribution outperforms single-channel PR strategies.
Whether you’re announcing a new product, sharing a milestone, or building thought leadership, your message deserves to reach buyers everywhere they’re looking, not just in the handful of publications that might pick up your press release.
Ready to Replace Press Releases? Try the AmpiFire Method →
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How long should a press release quote be?
The ideal press release quote is 1–3 sentences or 25–50 words. This length provides enough substance to convey meaning while remaining concise enough for journalists to use verbatim.
Shorter quotes are more likely to be published unedited, while longer quotes risk being cut down and potentially losing your intended message.
Should I include multiple quotes from different people in one press release?
Yes, if each quote adds unique value. For major announcements, include 2–3 quotes from different stakeholders, such as a CEO discussing strategy, a technical leader explaining innovation, and, if applicable, a customer providing validation.
Each additional quote should offer a distinct perspective rather than echoing points already made.
Can I make up quotes for my press release?
The attributed spokesperson should approve all quotes, though communications professionals typically draft quotes for executive review. When drafting, capture the spokesperson’s authentic voice based on how they communicate.
Never attribute fabricated quotes to third parties like customers or partners without explicit written permission; this damages credibility and relationships.
How do I get my CEO to provide a good quote?
Provide a draft quote that captures key messages in conversational style rather than asking them to write from scratch.
Schedule a brief conversation to capture their authentic language and distinctive phrases. Present the draft for collaborative refinement and explain how the quote supports broader communication objectives.
How does AmpiFire amplify the impact of press releases beyond traditional PR?
AmpiFire transforms your press release into 8 content formats (e.g., news articles, blog posts, long videos, video shorts, podcasts, infographics, slideshows, and social posts) and publishes them across 300+ platforms, including Google News, YouTube, Spotify, and FOX affiliates.
Instead of relying on journalists to share your carefully crafted quotes, AmpiFire ensures your content gains traction wherever your audience is.
