diff --git a/maintainers/release-process.md b/maintainers/release-process.md
index db8b064a5..da6886ea9 100644
--- a/maintainers/release-process.md
+++ b/maintainers/release-process.md
@@ -27,8 +27,9 @@ release:
 * Compile the release notes by running
 
   ```console
+  $ export VERSION=X.YY
   $ git checkout -b release-notes
-  $ VERSION=X.YY ./maintainers/release-notes
+  $ ./maintainers/release-notes
   ```
 
   where `X.YY` is *without* the patch level, e.g. `2.12` rather than ~~`2.12.0`~~.