Every reporter’s inbox tells the same story. Subject lines blur together. Paragraphs follow an identical formula. By the time you hit “thrilled to announce,” they’re already hitting delete.
The brutal truth: most press releases fail not because the news is bad, but because the language is dead.
This isn’t about being boring in a literal sense. It’s that certain phrases have become so universal, so stripped of meaning, that they actually signal to journalists: “Nothing to see here. Corporate template language. Move on.”
We’re going to walk through the worst offenders. Not to mock you. But because every one of these phrases is a choice. And every choice to use a cliché is a choice not to be specific.
”We Are Thrilled to Announce”
This is the opening bell for bad press release writing. It appears in thousands of releases daily. Journalists have seen it so many times that their brain now translates it as: “Here comes a statement with no news value.”
The problem is not the emotion. It’s that “thrilled” tells us nothing about why this matters.
Before: We are thrilled to announce that Smith Manufacturing has joined our customer base.
After: Smith Manufacturing will use our software to automate their quality control process, cutting inspection time from 8 hours to 2 hours per shift.
Notice the shift. The second version has a subject doing something. It has numbers. It has a concrete outcome. A reporter reads that and thinks: “That’s a story about operational efficiency. The client saved 6 hours a shift. That could interest CIOs and operations managers.”
The first version invites a shrug.
Skip the emotion. Let the news speak.
”Industry-Leading” and “Best-in-Class”
These are the Swiss Army knives of corporate language. Vague enough to fit anything. Unverifiable. Every competitor claims the same thing.
A reporter reading “industry-leading solution” knows that whoever wrote this couldn’t articulate what actually makes the product different.
Before: We developed an industry-leading platform for supply chain management.
After: Our platform tracks 40,000+ shipments daily and flags delivery delays 72 hours before they occur, allowing customers to reroute shipments before disruption.
The second version has specificity. Forty thousand shipments. Seventy-two hours. These are things you can verify, compare, and report on. They paint a picture of what the platform actually does.
One more:
Before: Our AI solution is best-in-class for customer service automation.
After: The system handles 85% of customer inquiries without human intervention and resolves 76% on the first response, compared to 62% for the previous system.
See the difference. Numbers replace marketing speak. A journalist can now quote these figures. They can fact-check them. They become part of the story instead of just noise.
”We’re Excited to Share” and “Pleased to Present”
These phrases exist in that weird zone between a statement and an apology. They’re not saying anything. They’re just clearing your throat before saying something.
Remove them entirely.
Before: We’re excited to share that our company has launched a new mobile app that brings innovative features to the market.
After: Our mobile app lets restaurant managers adjust pricing, staffing, and menu items in real time across all locations. The feature set was developed after interviews with 200 restaurant owners about their operational bottlenecks.
The before version has three problems: excited, innovative, and brings to market. All filler. The after version has one problem that’s actually a feature: it’s specific. Managers can adjust pricing in real time. It’s based on research. These are sellable details.
”Innovative Solution”
This phrase appears in roughly 60% of all press releases written. It means nothing. Every company has an innovative solution. The word has been used so many times that it now signals: “We couldn’t think of a specific benefit.”
Before: We developed an innovative solution for data security that helps organizations protect their critical assets in the cloud.
After: Our platform encrypts data at the application layer before transmission, then integrates with existing compliance audits. Customers report setup time drops from 6 weeks to 3 days.
The before version is abstract. The after version is concrete. An application layer. Existing compliance audits. Six weeks to three days. These details let a reporter understand what actually changed.
”Transformative,” “Groundbreaking,” and “Revolutionary”
These are the superlatives of last resort. When you can’t articulate what the product does, you reach for a superlative and hope it fills the gap.
It doesn’t.
Before: We’ve created a groundbreaking technology that transforms how companies manage their supply chain.
After: Three factors distinguish our approach. First, the system pulls data directly from IoT sensors on equipment instead of waiting for daily uploads. Second, it uses machine learning to predict failures before they happen, not after. Third, it integrates with existing ERP systems without requiring a migration. The average customer reduces unplanned downtime by 40%.
This is better because it doesn’t make claims about transformation. It shows how the transformation happens. The unplanned downtime number gives the reader something concrete to grab.
”Leveraging,” “Synergies,” and “Seamlessly Integrates”
These are the words that make reporters close their laptops.
“Leveraging” is vague. Who’s leveraging what? And why do journalists need to know that you’re using something that already exists?
“Synergies” is code for “we combined two departments and didn’t fire anyone.” It means nothing to the reader.
“Seamlessly integrates” is doing heavy lifting without adding information. What doesn’t integrate seamlessly? If you’re saying it integrates, just say that.
Before: We are leveraging AI and blockchain to create synergies across multiple platforms, seamlessly integrating our solutions to deliver maximum value.
After: Our system connects your point-of-sale data with your accounting software and inventory system in one dashboard. You see which products are selling in real time and can adjust purchase orders without logging into three different systems.
One sentence, three concrete benefits. That’s the speed at which a reporter can work with the information.
”World-Class,” “Cutting-Edge,” and “State-of-the-Art”
These adjectives do no work. They’re hoping that confidence will substitute for specificity.
A reporter has interviewed hundreds of companies, each convinced they’re world-class. To stand out, you need to show, not declare.
Before: We’ve assembled a world-class team of experts to deliver cutting-edge solutions using state-of-the-art technology.
After: Our team includes three former Amazon supply chain directors, two engineers from Tesla’s manufacturing division, and the head of operations from Nestle’s logistics unit. In the past two years, they’ve reduced order fulfillment time for customers from 14 days to 2 days.
The second version actually tells a story. It names credentials that mean something. It shows results with a specific comparison.
”Democratizing” and “Unlocking”
These are the verbs of vagueness. They sound good in a sentence, but they don’t describe what actually happens.
You’re not democratizing anything. You’re either making something cheaper, faster, more accessible, or some combination. Say that.
You’re not unlocking potential. You’re enabling a specific outcome.
Before: We’re democratizing access to enterprise-grade analytics and unlocking new possibilities for small businesses.
After: Small businesses can now access the same forecasting tools that Walmart uses, at $200 per month instead of $50,000 per month. That’s a 99.6% cost reduction.
Now the action is visible. The cost reduction is specific. A reporter can tell that story.
”Game-Changer” and “Disruptive”
These are the most self-aware of clichés. Even people writing them know they’re corporate shorthand. But that doesn’t stop them from using it anyway.
A game-changer in what game? Disruptive to whom?
Before: Our new product is a real game-changer that will disrupt the entire industry.
After: We charge subscription fees instead of licensing costs, which means customers can start with 10 users and scale to 10,000 without renegotiating contracts. Every competitor’s model requires you to pick a tier and buy your way into the next tier when you outgrow it.
The difference is structural. The second version shows how the business model itself creates a different experience than competitors. That’s actually disruptive. And it’s specific.
The Pattern to Break
These clichés all share something: they replace specificity with assertion.
Instead of telling you what happened, they tell you that you should be impressed.
Instead of giving you numbers, they give you adjectives.
Instead of showing the actual outcome, they claim the outcome is big.
When you write a press release, the job is not to convince the reporter that your news is important. The job is to give them the specific details they need to write the story themselves.
That’s why press release headlines that get opened work. They’re specific. That’s why how to write a good press release is about concrete details. And that’s why avoiding clichés isn’t about being unique for its own sake. It’s about making the journalist’s job possible.
The Replacement Framework
Here’s the quick test: If your sentence could fit any company’s release with a find-and-replace of the company name, rewrite it.
If you’re using an adjective when you could use a number, replace it.
If you’re using a verb that describes an abstraction instead of an action, rewrite it.
If you can’t explain what happened without using the word “innovative,” you don’t understand your own news yet.
The goal is not to be clever. It’s to be clear.
Read press release mistakes to avoid for more tactical guidance. Check how to write a press release headline for specific headline patterns that work.
But the foundation is this: Specific beats impressive. Numbers beat adjectives. Showing beats telling.
Write like you’re texting your colleague the news. Like you’re explaining it to a friend over coffee. Like someone who knows what they’re talking about and doesn’t need to dress it up.
That’s the press release that gets opened. That’s the one that becomes a story.