diff --git a/docs/release-guide.md b/docs/release-guide.md
index dba8dbdd..7a9fe637 100644
--- a/docs/release-guide.md
+++ b/docs/release-guide.md
@@ -1,71 +1,8 @@
 # Release process
 
-This project uses [cargo-release][cargo-release] in order to prepare new releases, to tag and sign relevant git commit and to publish the resulting artifacts to [crates.io][crates-io].
-
+This project uses [cargo-release][cargo-release] in order to prepare new releases, tag and sign the relevant git commit, and publish the resulting artifacts to [crates.io][crates-io].
 The release process follows the usual PR-and-review flow, allowing an external reviewer to have a final check before publishing.
 
-This document gives an high-level overview as well as a step-by-step guide on how to perform a release.
-
-## Overview
-
-Most of the process is automated with the help of cargo-release and its metadata entries in Cargo manifest.
-This helper is in charge of bumping the `version` field in the manifest in a dedicated commit, attaching the correspoding signed tag to it, and then producing another commit to prepare the project for the next development cycle.
-
-The two resulting commits can be then submitted in a dedicated PR and reviewed.
-Once merged, the last steps of the process consist in pushing the git tag and publishing the crate.
-
-## Steps
-
-If this is the first time, make sure all the requirements from the section below are met.
-
-This guide assumes that you have push access to the upstream repository of the project.
-Since this is required to push the new tag we have decided to also place the PR branch on the upstream repository.
-
-These steps show how to release version `x.y.z` on the `upstream` remote (this can be checked via `git remote -av`).
-
-For each release to be published, proceed as follows:
-
-#### 1. Make sure the project is clean and prepare the environment
-
-* `cargo test`
-* `cargo clean`
-* `git clean -fd`
-* `export RELEASE_VER=x.y.z`
-* `export UPSTREAM_REMOTE=upstream`
-
-#### 2. Create release commits on a dedicated branch and tag it
-
-* `git checkout -b release-${RELEASE_VER}`
-* This will create the tag after asking for version confirmation:
-
-  `cargo release`
-
-#### 3. Open a PR for this release
-
-* `git push ${UPSTREAM_REMOTE} release-${RELEASE_VER}`
-* Open a web browser and create a Pull Request for the branch above
-* Make sure the resulting PR contains exactly two commits
-
-#### 4. Get the PR reviewed, approved and merged
-
-#### 5. Publish the artifacts (tag and crate)
-
-* `git push ${UPSTREAM_REMOTE} ${RELEASE_VER}`
-* Make sure the upstream tag matches the local tag:
-
-    `git fetch --tags --verbose ${UPSTREAM_REMOTE} 2>&1 | grep ${RELEASE_VER}`
-* `git checkout ${RELEASE_VER}`
-* Make sure the tag is what you intend to release; if so this will show an empty output:
-
-    `git diff release-${RELEASE_VER}~1 ${RELEASE_VER}`
-* `cargo publish`
-
-#### 6. Clean up the environment
-
-* `unset RELEASE_VER`
-* `unset UPSTREAM_REMOTE`
-* `cargo clean`
-
 ## Requirements
 
 This guide requires:
@@ -75,6 +12,51 @@ This guide requires:
  * GPG setup and personal key for signing
  * `cargo` (suggested: latest stable toolchain from [rustup][rustup])
  * `cargo-release` (suggested: `cargo install -f cargo-release`)
+ * A verified account on crates.io
+ * Write access to this GitHub project
+
+## Release checklist
+
+These steps show how to release version `x.y.z` on the `origin` remote (this can be determined via `git remote -av`).
+Push access to the upstream repository is required in order to publish the new tag and the PR branch.
+
+1. make sure the project is clean and prepare the environment:
+  - [ ] `cargo test`
+  - [ ] `cargo clean`
+  - [ ] `git clean -fd`
+  - [ ] `RELEASE_VER=x.y.z`
+  - [ ] `UPSTREAM_REMOTE=origin`
+
+:warning:: `UPSTREAM_REMOTE` should reference the locally configured remote that points to the upstream git repository.
+
+2. create release commits on a dedicated branch and tag it:
+  - [ ] `git checkout -b release-${RELEASE_VER}`
+  - [ ] `cargo release` (and confirm the version when prompted)
+
+3. open a PR for this release:
+  - [ ] `git push ${UPSTREAM_REMOTE} release-${RELEASE_VER}`
+  - [ ] open a web browser and create a PR for the branch above
+  - [ ] make sure the resulting PR contains exactly two commits
+  - [ ] in the PR body, write a short changelog with relevant changes since last release
+
+4. [ ] get the PR reviewed, approved and merged
+
+5. publish the artifacts (tag and crate):
+  - [ ] `git checkout v${RELEASE_VER}`
+  - [ ] verify that `grep "^version = \"${RELEASE_VER}\"$" Cargo.toml` produces output
+  - [ ] `git push ${UPSTREAM_REMOTE} v${RELEASE_VER}`
+  - [ ] `cargo publish`
+
+6. publish the release:
+  - [ ] open a web browser and create a GitHub Release for the tag above
+  - [ ] write a short changelog (i.e. re-use the PR content) and publish the release
+
+7. clean up the environment:
+  - [ ] `cargo clean`
+  - [ ] `git checkout master`
+  - [ ] `git pull ${UPSTREAM_REMOTE} master`
+  - [ ] `git push ${UPSTREAM_REMOTE} :release-${RELEASE_VER}`
+  - [ ] `git branch -d release-${RELEASE_VER}`
 
 [cargo-release]: https://github.com/sunng87/cargo-release
 [rustup]: https://rustup.rs/