release-announcement

name	release-announcement
description	Write a release announcement — changelog, blog post, in-app note, or social post — that leads with user impact, names the audience, and includes upgrade/migration steps without filler.
key	paperclipai/optional/content/release-announcement
recommendedForRoles	["devrel","product","writer"]
tags	["release","changelog","announcement","communication"]

Release Announcement

Write the channel-appropriate announcement for a release without churn. Different surfaces need different shapes: a changelog entry is not a blog post is not a social card. The bar is: a reader of the chosen surface can decide in under 30 seconds whether this release affects them, and if so what to do.

When to use

• A version, feature, or fix is shipping and needs writeup for at least one surface.
• A previously private feature is going GA.
• A breaking change needs broadcast before users hit it.

When not to use

• An internal-only change with no user impact. Update internal docs; do not announce.
• The release is incomplete (still in active development). Wait until it ships, even if marketing wants the post.

Determine the audience and channel first

Audience	Best channel	Tone
Existing power users	Changelog, in-app note	Terse, factual, links
Engineering teams adopting your API	Release notes, dev blog	Examples, migration steps, version pins
Prospective customers	Landing page, marketing blog	Story arc, problem → solution, social proof
Broad audience	Social post, email newsletter	One-sentence pitch, link to depth
Internal team	Slack/Discord post	What changed, who to ping if it breaks

Pick the audience for this writeup. One release often needs several writeups; do not blend them.

Universal structure

Whatever the channel, lead with:

1. What changed. One sentence in the user's vocabulary.
2. Who it affects. Which user role / use case.
3. What to do. Migrate now / opt-in / no action needed.

Everything else is depth that supports those three.

Channel templates

Changelog entry (terse)

## v1.42.0 — 2026-05-26

### Added
- <feature> — <one-line user benefit>. ([#1234](link))

### Changed
- <change> — <one-line impact>. ([#1235](link))

### Fixed
- <bug> — <one-line user-visible symptom>. ([#1236](link))

### Deprecated
- <thing>. Replaced by <thing>. Removal planned for v<x>.

### Breaking
- <change>. **Migration:** <one-line> or <link to guide>.

Release notes (for adopters)

Same as changelog, plus:

• Migration guide section with before/after code.
• Compatibility table (versions, runtimes, OS).
• Known issues and workarounds.
• Acknowledgements (contributors, reporters of fixed bugs).

Dev blog post (300–800 words)

• Hook (1 paragraph): the problem the release solves, in a real-world scenario.
• What's new (3–5 bullets with sub-paragraphs): features, with one code or screenshot example each.
• Upgrade (1 paragraph): how to upgrade, what to check.
• What's next: one sentence about the next direction. Avoid promises.

In-app note

• 1 sentence.
• 1 link.
• Dismiss after seen.

Social post

• 1 sentence pitch.
• 1 link.
• 1 image or short clip.
• No threadbait. If it needs a thread, write a blog post instead.

Writing rules

• Lead with the user, not the team. You can now export to CSV beats We've added CSV export.
• Numbers beat adjectives. 60% faster cold start beats much faster. Cite the methodology.
• Show, don't just tell. One code snippet, one screenshot — more is noise.
• Date the post. Undated release content rots fastest.
• Link the migration path explicitly. Do not bury it.
• Mark breaking changes with **Breaking:** prefix. Repeat in the email/social channel.

Avoid

• "We are excited to announce" filler.
• Lists of changes that mix user-visible and internal items.
• Marketing claims without a way to verify.
• Promised dates for unshipped work.
• Pre-announcing something the team has not yet committed to ship.

Post-publish checklist

• Changelog is in source control alongside the release.
• Blog post date matches actual ship date.
• All links work (release tag, PRs, docs sections).
• Breaking changes are also in the upgrade guide, not only the post.
• Internal team is notified before the public post goes live, not after.