Most campaigns do not start with a big announcement.
Instead, they start with a conversation. Someone asks if you are really running. A supporter shares the news before you have said it publicly. A reporter sends a quick email asking for confirmation. Suddenly, your campaign is “out there,” but nothing feels official yet.
That is usually when candidates realize they skipped a step.
A campaign announcement press release is not about hype or ceremony. It is about claiming the moment when your candidacy becomes real to other people—whether you planned for that moment or not.
Before You Announce, People Fill in the Gaps
Once word starts spreading, people make assumptions. They guess at your motivation, your seriousness, and what kind of campaign this will be.
If you do not give them something concrete to point to, those assumptions become the story.
This is why an announcement press release matters even if it never generates coverage. It is your chance to introduce yourself clearly and intentionally—in your own words—before your campaign gets described secondhand.
This document is not just for reporters. It is for donors deciding whether to engage, supporters wondering how to talk about your run, and community leaders trying to understand what kind of race this is.
Whether it gets picked up or not, it does important work simply by existing.
One Clear Document Makes Everything Else Easier
After you announce, the same questions come up again and again.
Are you officially in?
What office are you running for?
Why now?
Without a campaign announcement press release, you end up answering those questions repeatedly—often with slightly different language each time. That happens in emails, on social media, in direct messages, and in conversations that never quite sound the same twice.
A press release gives you one clear, official place to point people.
You can link to it in emails. Reference it on social media. Share it privately with donors or community leaders. Instead of rewriting your story every time, you can say, here is our announcement.
That consistency signals organization and intention, even in the early stages of a campaign.
A Low-Effort Way to Seek Earned Media
This is where candidates often overthink things.
A campaign announcement press release is not a pitch. You are not asking for coverage or demanding attention. You are simply putting a marker down that says: this race exists, and I am in it.
That makes it one of the lowest-effort ways to seek earned media. You send it, and you move on.
Sometimes it leads to immediate coverage. More often, it does not—and that is still fine. You have made yourself visible and findable without burning energy or goodwill. Reporters now have a clear reference point if and when they engage later.
That quiet groundwork matters more than most people realize.
Do Not Overthink It: The 5 W’s Are Enough
If this step feels intimidating, it is usually because people try to make it bigger than it needs to be.
A strong campaign announcement press release answers five simple questions:
- Who is running
- What office they are seeking
- When they are announcing
- Where the race is happening
- Why they decided to run
That is it.
You do not need your full platform. You do not need every credential. You do not need to defend your decision. You just need clarity.
One Small Step to Get Started
If you do one thing today, make it this:
Open a document and write one paragraph answering the five W’s.
Do not polish it. Do not perfect it. Just make it accurate and true.
That paragraph is the backbone of your campaign announcement press release. Everything else is refinement.
If you want help polishing or speeding things up, the Women Campaign Press Release Power Pack includes templates and examples that walk you through this release—and every major campaign press announcement after it. Your time is valuable. This is designed to help you use it well.
The Real Point
Campaigns do not begin when everything feels ready.
They begin when you decide to be clear.
A campaign announcement press release is not about making noise. It is about saying—calmly and confidently—this is happening—and giving other people a clean way to understand that, too.
That is how you stop reacting to the moment
and start owning it.
