diff --git a/Scrapy-release-procedure.md b/Scrapy-release-procedure.md
index 150fec1..65d1c12 100644
--- a/Scrapy-release-procedure.md
+++ b/Scrapy-release-procedure.md
@@ -1,110 +1,119 @@
 # Scrapy Release Procedure
 
-This page outlines the procedure used to release a new (major/minor) version of Scrapy. Micro/patch versions are published automatically.
+This page outlines the procedure used to release a new version of Scrapy.
 
 You will need [bumpversion](https://pypi.python.org/pypi/bumpversion) installed.
 
+## Release notes
+
+First the release notes page of the documentation must be udpated to include an
+entry for the new version. Do this in the target branch, which will be `master`
+if you are releasing a major or minor version, or a version-specific branch in
+case of a patch version.
+
+A pull request for this can be created at any point, to allow for discussions,
+and updated as new changes are accepted into the target branch. Once the code
+is frozen and the release date set, the pull request can be updated accordingly
+and merged into the target branch.
+
 ## Version and git branch
 
-Here is an example, assuming we are releasing 1.1.0rc1:
+**Note:** The code below assumes that the Scrapy repository is configured as
+the `upstream` remote in your local clone, which you can do with:
+`git remote add upstream https://github.com/scrapy/scrapy.git`
+
+If you are releasing major version `1.0.0`:
 
 ```bash
-# Be sure your local master branch is uptodate with remote master branch.
-$ git pull origin --rebase
-
-# Update release notes by editing docs/news.rst 
-$ git add docs/news.rst
-$ git commit -m 'Add 1.1.0 release notes'
-
-# Increase version and create featured branch
-# master: 1.1.0dev1 to 1.1.0rc1
-$ bumpversion prerel
-$ git branch 1.1
-# master: 1.1.0rc1 to 1.2.0dev1
-$ bumpversion minor --no-tag
-
-# Review everything and push when sure.
-$ git push origin master 1.1 --tags
+git checkout master
+git pull --ff-only upstream master
+git log -1  # Check that the last commit is the release notes update
+bumpversion major
+git checkout -b 1.0
+git push upstream master 1.0 --tags
 ```
 
-To make an official release from a release candidate:
+If you are releasing minor version `1.2.0`:
+
 ```bash
-# Checkout the featured branch.
-$ git checkout 1.1
-
-# Set release date in docs/news.rst.
-$ git add docs/news.rst
-$ git commit -m 'Update 1.1.0 release date'
-
-# Increase version.
-# 1.1: 1.1.0rc1 to 1.1.0
-$ bumpversion prerel
-
-# Review everything and push when sure.
-$ git push origin master 1.1 --tags
-
-# Checkout master and cherry pick `docs/news.rst` changes.
-$ git checkout master
-$ git cherry-pick 1.1  # resolve any conflicts on docs/news.rst
-$ git push origin master
+git checkout master
+git pull --ff-only upstream master
+git log -1  # Check that the last commit is the release notes update
+bumpversion minor
+git checkout -b 1.2
+git push upstream master 1.2 --tags
 ```
 
-## Buildbot
+If you are releasing patch version `1.2.3`:
 
- * Update buildbot configuration to point to the new stable release
+```bash
+git checkout 1.2
+git pull --ff-only upstream 1.2
+git log -1  # Check that the last commit is the release notes update
+bumpversion patch
+git push upstream 1.2 --tags
+```
+
+## Python Package Index
+
+New Scrapy versions are automatically deployed on the Python Package Index
+through Travis CI.
 
 ## Read the Docs
 
  * Enable the new version to be built in readthedocs
  * Set the new version as default
 
+## Github release
+
+Create a Github release entry, with a description including the highlights from
+the release notes and a link to the release notes of the new version in Read
+the Docs.
+
 ## scrapy.org website
 
- * Update [scrapy versions](https://github.com/scrapy/scrapy.github.io/blob/master/_data/scrapy.yml)
+Update [scrapy versions](https://github.com/scrapy/scrapy.github.io/blob/master/_data/scrapy.yml)
 
-## Send announcement
+## Send announcements
 
- * announce in:
-   * [Tweet](https://twitter.com/ScrapyProject)
-   * [scrapy-users group](https://groups.google.com/group/scrapy-users)
- * change `#scrapy` IRC channel topic:
-   * `/msg ChanServ topic #scrapy Welcome to Scrapy - Say "Hi!" and ask. Latest stable release is Scrapy 0.24.4 - Easy tasks http://git.io/VpGt-w`
+*   Leave a message in the `#scrapy` IRC channel with a link to the release
+    notes
 
-## Micro/bugfix releases
+*   [Submit a link entry to the Scrapy subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/scrapy/submit)
+    that links to the release notes.
 
-Assuming we are releasing `1.0.2`:
+*   Tweet from [@ScrapyProject](https://twitter.com/ScrapyProject) with a link
+    to the release notes.
 
-```bash
-$ git checkout 1.0
-# 1.0: 1.0.1 to 1.0.2 (Use --serialize to avoid the 1.0.2dev1 version)
-$ bumpversion patch --serialize "{major}.{minor}.{patch}"
+## Update Conda packages
 
-# Add version, release date and changes to `docs/news.rst`
-$ git log '--format=- %s (:commit:`%h`)' 1.0.1...1.0 # update docs/news.rst
-$ git add docs/news.rst
-$ git commit -m 'Add 1.0.2 release notes'
-$ git push origin 1.0 --tags
+Create a pull request in https://github.com/conda-forge/scrapy-feedstock
+against `master` which updates
+[recipe/meta.yaml](https://github.com/conda-forge/scrapy-feedstock/blob/master/recipe/meta.yaml)
+as follows:
 
-# Checkout master and cherry pick `docs/news.rst` changes.
-$ git checkout master
-$ git cherry-pick 1.0  # resolve any conflicts on docs/news.rst
-$ git push origin master
-```
+1.  Update the `version` string.
 
-## Conda packages
+2.  Update the `sha256sum` from the PyPI's [source release
+    tarball](https://pypi.org/project/Scrapy/#files).
 
-The recipe is located here: https://github.com/conda-forge/scrapy-feedstock/tree/master/recipe
-The procedure is through PRs from a fork against the master branch.
+3.  Reset the `build/number` to `0`. This number is only increased when we
+    re-build a package with no version change.
 
-The PR will trigger builds in Travis CI, Circle CI and Appveyor. This may take a while depending on the conda-forge build queue. Once builds are OK, the PR is ready to merge and packages will be uploaded to the `conda-forge` channel automatically.
+4.  Update the requirements if needed. This can be done by checking the
+    requirements declared in `setup.py`.
 
-Checklist for new releases:
+The pull request will trigger builds in Travis CI, Circle CI and Appveyor. This
+may take a while depending on the conda-forge build queue. Once builds are OK,
+the pull request is ready to merge and packages will be uploaded to the
+`conda-forge` channel automatically.
 
-1. Update the ``version`` string.
-2. Update the ``sha256sum`` from the PyPI's [source release
-   tarball](https://pypi.org/project/Scrapy/#files).
-3. Reset the ``build/number`` to ``0``. This number is only increased when we
-  re-build a package with no version change.
-4. Update requirements if needed. This can be done by checking the requirements declared in ``setup.py``.
-5. Do a test build locally to ensure everything is OK.
-6. Create a branch in your own fork and submit the PR.
\ No newline at end of file
+## Merge into master
+
+If you’ve released a patch version, you should create a pull request to merge
+the branch changes back into `master`.
+
+Because the branch includes version-bumping commits that must not be merged
+into master, you will need to create a pull request forked from `master` and
+use cherry-pick to include only required commits. Using `git rebase` to drop
+undesired commits may also work.