Getting Publicity Through HARO: The Definitive Guide

One of the best (and free) tools for connecting with journalists who are seeking sources is HARO (Help a Reporter Out). Originally begun as an enewsletter by Peter Shankman (and then bought by PR database leader Cision), more than 1 million subscribers get 3 HARO emails per day listing topics journalists are seeking sources for. And if they have the right sources and content — they can pitch those reporters and try to earn some ink.

Major national media outlets, including Fox News, Time, the New York Times, Mashable and many others have quoted sources found through HARO. I’ve subscribed to HARO for years, gotten stories for clients through responding to HARO queries, and also listed some of my writing projects with HARO when seeking sources (so I’ve been on the receiving end of HARO responses too).

Here’s my thoughts on how to maximize using HARO to get publicity and stand out from the 1 million other subscribers all hoping for just the right query:

Subscribe for free. Sign up for HARO is free and only takes a minute for journalists or hopeful sources. Make sure you are getting all of the emails. I had a problem with my subscription where suddenly I was only getting one of the three HARO messages per day. Even after contacting tech support at HARO (they were very nice), I had to switch to using a…