The boilerplate is the short "About" paragraph at the bottom of every press release. It is easy to treat as an afterthought, but it is often the paragraph journalists copy word for word when they need to describe your company in a single line. It also travels further than almost anything else you write: into news articles, partner announcements, event programs, directory listings and investor materials.
Because it gets reused so widely, a vague or outdated boilerplate quietly misrepresents your company in dozens of places. This guide shows you how to write one that is clear, accurate and easy to reuse, with a template and examples you can adapt.
What a Boilerplate Is
A boilerplate is a standard, reusable description of your organization. In a press release it sits after the main story, usually under a heading such as "About [Company]", and before the media contact details. Its job is to answer the questions a reporter has after reading your news: who are these people, what do they do, and why should my readers trust them?
| Boilerplate | Brand story | Tagline | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Factual company description | Emotional reason to care | Memorable brand line |
| Tone | Neutral, third person | Narrative, human | Punchy, creative |
| Length | Around 50 to 150 words | One sentence to a page | A few words |
| Main reader | Journalists and partners | Customers and staff | Everyone |
The boilerplate is the most factual of the three. Save the narrative for your brand story and the clever wordplay for your tagline.
What to Include
A strong boilerplate covers these elements, roughly in this order:
- Who you are and what you do, in one plain sentence. This is the line most likely to be quoted.
- Who you serve, named as specifically as possible.
- What makes you different, stated as a fact rather than an adjective.
- Proof points: founding year, headquarters, number of customers, countries, notable clients, funding or awards, where relevant and true.
- Where to learn more: your website address.
You do not need every proof point. Choose the two or three that matter most to the audiences reading your news. A startup announcing funding might mention investors; an established firm might mention years in business and client numbers.
A Fill-In Template
Fill it in, then edit hard. Read the first sentence aloud: if a journalist could paste it into an article without changing a word, it works.
Examples at Three Lengths
These examples are for a fictional company. Keep a set like this ready, because different uses need different lengths.
Notice the pattern: the first sentence stays almost the same in every version. Longer versions add differentiators and proof, they do not change the core description.
We write boilerplates at every length, plus press releases and company profiles that journalists can use as they are.
Writing Tips
- Write in the third person. "Northbeam is", not "We are". Journalists can then quote it directly.
- Lead with the category your readers understand. "A payroll platform for hospitality" beats "a next-generation workforce enablement ecosystem".
- Replace adjectives with facts. "Leading", "innovative" and "world-class" are unverifiable and are often edited out. "Serves 1,200 venues" stays in.
- Keep numbers accurate and dated in your records. If you claim a figure, be ready to support it if a reporter asks.
- Use the company name consistently, including capitalization and any legal suffix your legal team requires.
- Avoid internal jargon, product codenames and acronyms an outsider would not know.
- Make it stand alone. It should make sense even when separated from the press release above it.
Where Your Boilerplate Is Used
Once written, the boilerplate becomes the source text for many descriptions of your company:
- Press releases and your online newsroom.
- Media kits and fact sheets.
- Partner and integration listings, marketplace profiles and app stores.
- Conference programs, speaker bios and sponsor pages.
- LinkedIn company pages and business directories.
- Award entries and grant applications, as a starting point.
Store the approved versions in one shared place, so everyone in the company uses the same words. Our press release guide shows how the boilerplate fits with the rest of a release.
A Before and After Rewrite
Most weak boilerplates share the same problems: abstract language, superlatives and no clear description. Here is a typical draft and the rewrite.
After Vantor is an IT services company that moves mid-sized manufacturers off aging on-premise systems and onto cloud-based planning and inventory software. Its fixed-price migration program typically takes 12 weeks and runs alongside normal production. Founded in 2016 and based in Leeds, Vantor has completed more than 80 migrations for manufacturers in the UK and Ireland. Learn more at vantor.example.
The rewrite says who the company serves, what it actually does, how it differs, and offers two checkable facts. A journalist can lift the first sentence directly. The original could describe thousands of companies.
Boilerplates for Special Situations
- Joint announcements: when two organizations announce a partnership, include a boilerplate for each, one after the other, and agree both texts in advance.
- After an acquisition: state the relationship plainly, for example "Northbeam, an Example Group company, is...", and update every listing on the day the deal is announced.
- Nonprofits and charities: lead with the cause and who benefits, then the scale of impact, and include your registered charity number if your jurisdiction expects it.
- Companies with several brands: write a parent boilerplate that names the brands briefly, plus a separate boilerplate for each brand, and use whichever matches the announcement.
- Early-stage startups: without customer numbers, use other credible facts: the problem's scale, the founders' relevant background, investors, or pilot partners who have agreed to be named.
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Opening with the founding year | Open with what you do and for whom; history comes later. |
| A list of every product | Describe the category and the main outcome; link to the website for detail. |
| Superlatives such as "leading" or "best-in-class" | Replace with a verifiable fact or remove. |
| First person | Rewrite in the third person. |
| Different versions in different places | Approve one master text and store it centrally. |
| Outdated numbers | Review every quarter or after any major change. |
Keeping It Accurate
A boilerplate goes stale faster than most copy, because the facts in it change: customer counts grow, offices move, products launch, the company raises money or is acquired. Build a simple routine:
- Review it quarterly, and immediately after any funding round, acquisition, rebrand or major launch.
- Keep a source note for every number, with the date it was checked.
- Update every location where it appears: newsroom, LinkedIn, partner listings and templates.
- Assign an owner, usually someone in communications or marketing, who approves changes.
If your boilerplate and your brand messaging disagree, fix the messaging first. Our brand messaging framework guide helps you settle the core description everything else should echo.