Never stick to a deadline – BEAT it. Beat the heck out of it!

Just like everything else in this world, competition for publicity gets stronger every day – and avenues of communication multiply and broaden. Whereas a reporter in the old days used to put out a few phone calls to find sources, now he posts his search on private services that PR firms scan multiple times a day, plus public online services, and perhaps industry-specific websites or e-list services as well. A request is likely to generate many more fit-the-bill responses than the reporter needs. In fact, on some of these services, we occasionally see a request summary appear for a second time, one or two days after it was first posted, with the notation “FULL STOP” added. Meaning, “everybody, enough! Stop sending me information. I’ve got what I need!”

So it’s not only important to be on topic, courteous, concise, and provide the right information or expertise that the reporter’s looking for – it’s also important not to be the twentieth person to do so. A reporter will stop searching after he’s found what he seeks. All others who follow, even though they might have submitted on point and before deadline, will lose out because they weren’t the first to hit the mark.

So be smart and be quick. As soon as you possibly can, after you get notified of a PR opportunity, send your pitch on to the reporter. The early bird gets the worm, capisce?