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Is Your Press Release Headline Strong Enough to Earn Coverage?

Paste your headline below and get an instant Pitch Grade — the same scoring system built into the Pitch'd press release builder.

Your Press Release Headline
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What Your Score Means
A
Pro-Ready
Strong enough for wire distribution and trade press pitching.
B
Good
Solid structure. One or two refinements away from wire-ready.
C
Needs Work
The core story is there but the headline isn't carrying it. Revise before distributing.
D–F
Rewrite
A weak headline signals weak news to editors. Start over with a clearer angle.
How the Pitch Grade Works

Seven criteria. 100 points. Built on AP Style.

The Pitch Grade evaluates your headline against the same standards professional editors and journalists apply — automatically, in real time. Here's exactly what's being measured and why it matters for earning media coverage.
20
Word Count
The ideal press release headline is 6–12 words. Too short and it's vague. Too long and editors truncate it or skip it. Full points for hitting the sweet spot.
20
No PR Clichés
"Excited to announce," "innovative," "groundbreaking," "cutting-edge" — these words tell editors nothing and signal that the writer doesn't have real news to share. They kill credibility instantly.
15
Character Count
Under 80 characters is ideal for email subject lines and news feeds. Over 100 characters and your headline gets cut off or deprioritized by wire services.
15
Title Case
AP Style requires Title Case for press release headlines — all major words capitalized. It signals that the writer knows the standard. Lowercase headlines look unprofessional in newsrooms.
10
Strong Lead Word
The first word sets the tone. Leading with "A," "An," "The," "New," or "Today" wastes that position. Lead with your company name or the subject of the announcement instead.
10
Impact Language
Words like "surpasses," "delivers," "reaches," "secures," or "generates" give the headline weight and signal that something concrete happened — not just that a company wants attention.
10
PR Action Verb
"Launches," "names," "appoints," "raises," "expands" — these are the verbs journalists expect in press releases. They anchor the announcement and make it scannable.
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News Substance Check
A well-crafted headline about a non-news event is still a non-news event. Website launches, rebrands, new logos, and social media pages are important to the company — but they are rarely newsworthy to journalists or their readers. When these patterns are detected, the score is capped regardless of structural quality. A headline grades your writing. News value grades your story. They are different questions — and both matter before you spend $400–$800 on wire distribution.
Headline Examples

What a strong headline looks like — and what doesn't.

Click any example pill above to load these into the Pitch Grade and see the scores live.
✗ Weak Headline — Likely D or F
We Are Very Excited and Proud to Announce Our Innovative New Solution
Clichés ("excited," "proud," "innovative"), no company name, no action verb, no specifics. This is not news — it's noise.
✓ Strong Headline — Likely A
Apex Technologies Names Rachel Kim Chief Technology Officer
Company name leads. Clear PR verb ("names"). Specific person and title. No clichés. Title Case. Under 65 characters. Exactly what editors expect.
✗ Too Vague — Likely C or D
Company Announces New Partnership
Who is the company? Who is the partner? What does the partnership do? Editors need specifics to decide if a story is worth reading.
✓ Specific and Scannable — Likely B+ or A
Meridian Systems Partners With ServiceNow to Automate Enterprise Compliance Workflows
Both company names. Clear verb. Specific outcome. Readers know immediately what happened and who it affects.
🧢
Also Free — The Ump
The Pitch Grade evaluates your headline. The Ump evaluates your news.
Before you write a word, The Ump scores your announcement's newsworthiness — and tells you plainly whether it's wire-worthy, trade-press only, owned-channels only, or not a press release at all. No more spending $600 on wire distribution for a story no journalist will touch.
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A great headline is just the first step.

Pitch'd guides you through every section of a professional, AP Style-ready press release — headline, lead paragraph, executive quotes, boilerplate, and distribution. Built for PR professionals and communications teams pursuing earned media.

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