I get asked about editor’s notes more than you might expect and I’m going to say something that might ruffle a few feathers in the PR world: I don’t think most press releases need this section.
I very very rarely include them.
Now, let me explain myself before you close the tab.
What Is an Editor’s Note?
If you’re new to press releases, an editor’s note (sometimes written as “Notes to Editors” or “Notes for Editors”) is the block of extra background information that sits at the very bottom, after the main story, after -ENDS-. Traditionally, it’s where you’d pop the history of your business, who founded it and why, your wider mission, and anything else that doesn’t quite fit into the story itself.
For years, it’s been treated as a standard, expected part of press release structure. Something you just include because that’s what you do.
Why I Don’t Think You Need One on Every Release
Here’s my honest view, built from years of working with clients and sending pitches to press: most of the time, an editor’s note is padding.
I don’t feel the need to tell the whole history of a business on every single press release, because most of the time, it simply isn’t useful information for that particular story. If it doesn’t further what you’re actually trying to say, it’s just extra weight.
And if you know the editors you’re dealing with? Why are you repeating yourself every. Single. Time?! They already know!
Extra weight matters when it comes to press releases, because of something I’ve talked about before: the person reading your press release is busy. Genuinely, properly busy. Most morning, their inbox looks like a sea of stuff they don’t have the time or caffeine for. If you desperately try to weave in three paragraphs of company history that has nothing to do with the story at hand, the honest truth is that they will never read it. It will look like a book, and nobody has time for that.
When an Editor’s Note Actually Earns Its Place
I’m not saying scrap them entirely. There are two situations where I think an editor’s note genuinely pulls its weight:
- You’re a new brand. If nobody has heard of you yet, a short line of context about who you are can help a journalist place you.
- The backstory is hyper-relevant to the story itself. If the history of your business is the reason this particular story matters, then it’s not padding anymore, it’s part of the point, and it deserves a mention.
Outside of those two situations, ask yourself honestly: does this actually further the story, or am I just including it because it’s what everyone else does?
Keep Your Main Point Doing the Work
The real job of an editor’s note, when it’s used well, is to protect your main press release from getting clogged up. It gives you somewhere to put genuinely useful background information without burying your actual story underneath it.
But that only works if what you’re putting there is truly useful, not just a habit you’ve picked up from a template. A press release that’s tight, relevant, and easy to act on will always beat one padded out with backstory nobody asked for.
This is exactly the kind of decision I walk you through in Write and Send Your Press Release in Sixty Minutes, what to include, what to leave out, and how to structure the whole thing so it gets read, not skimmed and binned.
Grab your copy of Write and Send Your Press Release in Sixty Minutes here
And if you want ongoing support with this kind of thing, rather than a one-off, this course also lives inside the Vault as part of my Small & Supercharged Mastermind membership, alongside training, group coaching, and a community of equestrian, rural and canine business owners who’ll keep you accountable long after you’ve hit publish. Go and take a look 🙂
