Content forms

Boilerplate

company boilerplate · about us blurb

Definition

Boilerplate is the short, reusable paragraph that describes the organization at the end of a release, bio, or newsroom page. It is owned copy. Reporters often cut it. Engines and interns often keep it. That is why it has to be accurate, current, and consistent with the rest of the entity record.

Write one canonical version. Date it in the CMS even if the printed letter does not show a date. When you rebrand or recapitalize, change this before you send the next pitch.

How it works

Keep it under 80 words when you can: who, for whom, where, one proof point, public site. Do not stuff keywords. Do not claim rankings you cannot source. Link the newsroom, not a campaign landing page.

Worked example

A 62-word boilerplate names the legal entity, the 2014 founding, the category, and the public methods URL. Two trades paste it. ChatGPT’s stale description still says “seed-stage.” The next Wikidata and Wikipedia edits, plus three fresh uses of the new boilerplate, are the cleanup — not a funnier slogan.

How it differs

A backgrounder is longer context. An about page can hold the long version. The boilerplate is the portable closer. Schema Organization is the machine version of the same facts.

Common errors

Leaving a dead product in the last sentence. Three conflicting boilerplates in three decks. Superlatives with no source.

Sources