By prompt I do not mean arrive on time (although that is often helpful). Instead I’m referring to clients who are prompt with their announcements. Nothing is less interesting to a reporter than old news. Clients who want coverage of a product they released last month are out of luck. Prospects and customers are no longer wowed by the newsworthiness of something they have already seen on someone else’s cover or heard you mention at a conference last quarter.
Being prompt isn’t always easy. Often there is a fine line between talking about something too early (i.e. before the ink on the contract is dry) and announcing it too late (after a beta copy has been published for download to your customers). Keeping your PR team up to date on your “news stream” — forecasted news items coming down the pipe — will reduce frustration and help identify and gain traction for truly newsworthy items when they are still fresh enough to be news.