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Are you a journalist? Have you been looking for a platform that can help you gather enough information? Well, I have a thing for you.
Well, Haro, which stands for “Help a reporter Out,” is an online platform that helps journalists get feedback from the public.
Haro offers journalists a robust database of sources for prospective stories, as well as daily possibilities for sources to obtain significant media attention. It connects journalists with experts on topics important to their work.
The company is a public relations firm founded in 2008 by Peter Shankman, a public relations expert. Shankman founded HARO on Facebook as a page where journalists, authors, and bloggers posted daily PR opportunities for anyone to view and respond to.
In this article, I will be giving you a full overview of this wonderful online platform.
Who Can Use the Haro?
HARO is being used to track traffic and conversations related to my sector, specifically credit unions. It’s utilized to listen in on potential themes where the company could fit in. It eliminates the problem of not knowing what type of financial news is being covered and what perspective reporters are attempting to take.
The HARO was created for journalists. It is now utilized by reporters, bloggers, influencers, and a variety of other people who want to connect with expert sources.
It is also important for firms seeking to connect with the best media outlets in their field.
Aside from those specialized fields, HARO can be of great use to everybody. You can obtain your information in the news if you have responses to the daily questions from journalists.
Also, anyone can profit from HARO. You can obtain your information in the news if you have responses to the daily questions from journalists.
Today, we have seen how traditional blogging is fading away. If you want to create your brand through public relations, then this online platform is the place to start from.
HARO gives you the possibility to promote your sector experience and helps with backlinks. Backlinks to your own domain increase trust and traffic to your website, enhancing search visibility and ranking over time. It is so important as the online platform gives your business the necessary exposure it needs.
The PROs and CONs of using the HARO platform
The PROS of using the platform
- It’s a fantastic resource for journalists looking for information.
- It’s a terrific resource for sources looking for possibilities to remark on. It’s in the form of a daily/digestible newsletter (morning, afternoon, evening). It’s a fantastic resource for journalists looking for information.
- It’s a terrific resource for sources looking for possibilities to remark on. It’s in the form of a daily/digestible newsletter.
The CONs of using the platform
- Better source/journalist vetting
- The platform lacks feedback and responses from journalists.
- Journalists and others have the ability to remain anonymous.
People that can benefit from using Haro
The following are the people that can benefit from using Haro:
1. Brands in need of visibility or SEO methods,
2. Sites in need of material and asking for guest posts,
3. Also, non-profit organizations seek publicity for their work.
How to Use HARO to Get Media Coverage and Backlinks
In this section of the article, I will give you tips on how to start getting media coverage.
Step 1: Register for HARO
Firstly, you will have to sign up to use the online platform. This is easy and less stressful. All you need to do is fill out the online form.
You will receive an email confirmation to conclude the establishment of your account once you confirm you are not a robot and agree to the privacy conditions.
To activate your HARO account, click the verification link that will be sent to your mail.
After verification, you will be taken to the Haro welcome page, where you will have to do some other things.
You will need to edit your profile after your account has been activated.
Step 2: Create Your Profile
Once you’re on the My Account page, double-check that you’ve picked the correct account type.
After that, double-check your basic information and then enter your location.
The following section is critical to ensuring that you receive the most relevant questions to your expertise.
You will be automatically enrolled in the master list under HARO preferences. But you will also have the ability to pick certain industries to receive inquiries on those topics even faster.
You’ll see that certain subjects in the same area are greyed out and have an information sign next to them.
This indicates you can sign up for those topics, but they aren’t yet ready.
Emails for those parts will be sent out once there are many inquiries that interest you.
Step 3: Start Responding to Queries
Before you begin replying to inquiries, you only need to complete the two procedures listed above. When you open your first HARO email, you’ll see an index with query summaries and the media outlet that requested the material.
By looking at the subject line of the email, you may quickly determine what topic the queries will be about.
When you’ve found a topic about which you’re knowledgeable, make sure you thoroughly study all of the question specifics.
You are now ready to begin replying to queries.
This stage is quite tricky as you get a lot of responses. It takes time for you to carefully analyze these responses. This is because of the thousand replies you will get to your queries.
You must create value and stand out from the crowd if you want to get recognized.
Here are some tips that can help you in creating a pitch that will get attention:
- Make your writing interesting and concise.
- Show that you understand the topic.
- Don’t include “Contact Me for More Information” or suggest you’d like to be interviewed.
- Attachments and complex formatting should be avoided.
The online platform removes attachments from emails, so don’t waste your time trying to send them in this format.
If you notice that you have to add a word document to your response, it means you have done too much writing.
HARO reporters are looking for relevant, publication-ready quotes. Unless the inquiry specifically demands more information, it’s good to confine your reply to 2-3 paragraphs.
Once you’ve gathered all of your information, return to HARO and select My Pitches.
Then, click Submit A New Pitch on the right-hand side of the page.
Now, fill in all of the boxes and click the submit button.
You need to know that you might not get a notification if your response was used. But if you want to get notified about this, you can try using the Google Alert. As it can be time-consuming checking feeds or post being made.
You can also subscribe to the publication’s newsfeed to stay up to date on the types of articles that are published and whether or not you made the cut.
Setting up a Google Alert for your name, just as you entered it in your HARO response, is the easiest method to ensure you’ll be notified if you appear in an article.
The reason it’s advisable to use the Google alert is that reporters don’t know when their works are published. So you will have to take charge and monitor it yourself.
Making your own alert notifies you ahead of time and allows you to promote the post through your own social media platforms on time.
Because reporters don’t always know when their work will be published, it’s critical to take charge and monitor it yourself.
To get alerted, make sure you have quick access to your Gmail email account. If you don’t already have a Gmail account, you should create one in order to receive such notifications.
Things to Pay Attention to When using the HARO platform
It is important that you keep these two things in mind when using the HARO platform:
- HARO requests do not guarantee that an article will be included.
- Not all HARO queries are valid.
The online platform has close to 800,000 subscribers as a source of information or where you can get information too.
This implies that when seeking a source, reporters are likely to receive hundreds of responses, so there is no assurance you will be chosen, no matter how in-depth your expertise in the topic area.
Another thing to keep in mind is that, while there is a filtering process in place for reporters looking for sources, experience has shown that reporters do not always reveal where the content will be published.
For example, a writer may include Forbes, as well as their medium blog, in HARO, but in reality, they only write for Forbes/NYT a few times a year while keeping their own blog weekly.
This may give you the impression that they are a top-tier writer when, in fact, they primarily post on lesser-known blogs.
Also, with time and experience, you will be able to tell which requests are valid and which will result in effective media relations.
Apart from that, there are several dos and don’ts you should be aware of when using the platform to guarantee you get the best out of the online platform.
The DOs and Don’ts on the Haro Platform
In this section, we are going to look at the DOs and Don’ts on the Haro Platform:
We will take the Dos first.
THE DO’s
Respond immediately to ensure that you have the opportunity to offer information before the answer to the query is discovered
If you don’t supply information when a journalist requests it, you’ll miss out on being featured. As a result, responding on the platform should be part of your procedure.
Provide the journalist with what he or she is searching for straight, without any extraneous information
Being able to supply exactly what the journalist is seeking is a smart method to have your HARO responses recognized.
Also, supplying unnecessary information is a certain method to have your email erased. As a result, it is important that you supply journalists with exactly what they need.
Before drafting your HARO pitch, double-check that you meet the original request’s conditions
Journalists are always on the lookout for pitches from credible sources. If a journalist regards you as a reliable source, the chances are that they will be more inclined to accept your pitch.
As a result, it’s always a good idea to double-check that you fulfill the criteria of a HARO position before submitting your presentation.
Provide one-of-a-kind responses that will make your responses stand out
1. Are you able to bring data to the table?
2. Can you approach the subject in a good way?
3. Can you make your response stand out?
4. If you answered yes, you have a good probability of receiving a response.
5. If not, you must improve yourself before pitching on the HARO platform.
Stay on the Topic
Journalists are on the lookout for real-world expertise and stories, and a shady pitch is easy to spot. Keep it on topic! Unless the inquiry specifically requests it.
Track your Progress
Monitor your work using HARO in the same way you track traditional pitches and other PR activities. Perfection comes with practice! Subject lines, pitch material, and media relations strategies should all be tested. Continue to test and refine until you find the sweet spot and begin to gain more attention.
The platform is a straightforward yet incredibly effective tool. Respond immediately to source requests and create relationships on social media to succeed. You will not only gain more media attention, but you will also strengthen your brand’s reputation and build its position as a market leader.
Include a backup contact number
It is important to add your contact to your pitch to make it easier for the reporter to reach you. This could be your website or social media page. Phone number. Etc.
Build a strong relationship with the Reporter
Repeatedly emailing or contacting a journalist will get you nowhere fast. You can, however, identify shared interests and share their content on social media. For an unsolicited pitch, do not collect a journalist’s contact information.
Make HARO a Content Marketing Machine
Not all of your pitches will be accepted, but don’t throw away the substance. Wait one month after the source request has been closed. Then, dust off your responses and repurpose them as content for your brand’s website or blog. Now that’s a smart move, don’t you think?
Don’t forget to celebrate your win after getting a placement. Send a thank-you note to the reporter and promote the post on your blog, email newsletter, and social media. Display the masthead on your website.
Are you prepared to be quoted in your dream, can’t-say-it-out-loud publications? Begin today by putting our HARO guide to use!
Now let’s talk about the Don’ts of using the HARO platform.
THE DON’Ts
In your response, don’t be too self-promotional or salesy
A number of times, people don’t get the job because they are too promotional about themselves. So, if you want to get noticed or get a reply on HARO, you have to be less self-promotional.
Send basic or trite comments that will blend in with the crowd
If you really want to get the attention of a journalist, you will have to sell yourself properly. You have to stand out from the ground so the journalist will know what they should be expecting from you. Avoid pitches that are not properly researched and lack proper grounds. After all, one of the most common reasons for dismissing a pitch is receiving an email pitch that is unrelated or poorly researched, according to some journalists.
Don’t add Attachments In your Reply
When pitching journalists on the platform, keep in mind that attachments should not be included in your responses. They will be removed from the response by HARO.
If you wish to send a journalist a piece of information, send it to them as a link or upload it to the internet and let them download it.
Don’t waste your Time on Leads that will not work out
Do not bother the reporters. Respect their time and the reality that they are bombarded with email pitches every day.
Survey has shown that 57 percent of top-tier publishers receive between 50 and 500 pitches every week. This is to show you that you are not the only one pitching to these journalists.
These dos and don’ts will help you to write great pitches that offer reporters the content they need when they need it.
Now, let’s go to the subscription and pricing aspect of the HARO platform. It is very important that you consider the membership features and pricing to ensure that you are getting the best part of the platform. This will save costs and help you plan better.
Subscriptions and Pricing for HARO
Help a Reporter Out (HARO) platform is a free tool that provides access to a database of requests as well as basic support.
Premium subscriptions start at $19 per month and include priority access to journalist requests as well as premium assistance.
The application comes in four different plans, which are;
The Basic Plan
Everything is relatively basic with the free plan.
You’ll receive the standard three emails each day and email support if you have any questions.
You’ll have to filter through many irrelevant emails to locate the ones related to your company’s brand. But with practice, you’ll be able to swiftly scan and identify which ones are appropriate.
The Standard Plan
The standard plan includes everything the basic plan does for $19 per month. You can also create a profile that includes keyword alerts.
These notifications will help you quickly and efficiently locate requests that are relevant to your business and avoid wasting time on ones that aren’t.
You may also create mobile notifications for your phone with the standard plan to make it more convenient for your busy life.
The Advance Plan
The advanced plan is $49 per month and includes everything in the standard plan plus additional benefits.
Among the most noticeable features are more keywords, profiles (up to three), and the ability to see requests before other users.
You’ll be one of the first people to hear about proposals, giving you plenty of time to improve your pitch before others on the platform
This additional time could be quite beneficial to your company.
The Premium Plan
The monthly premium package is $149. This plan, like the others, covers everything from the other above-listed packages.
However, the main differences are the unrestricted keywords and profiles.
This might be advantageous for larger businesses that require separate profiles for different personnel.
The premium subscriptions additionally provide phone help, whereas lower plans only offer email support.
The Most Important Characteristics
- Free press releases
- Can contribute our knowledge to an ongoing discussion
- Mostly done via email.
- Investment Returns
- Because it is a monthly subscription, it can be costly.
- For some firms, the free edition provides a positive return on investment.
Key Takeaways
Do you believe that Help a Reporter Out (HARO) provides excellent value for money?
Yes
Are you satisfied with the features of Help a Reporter Out (HARO)?
Yes
Did the sales and marketing promises made by Help a Reporter Out (HARO) come true?
Yes
Help a Reporter Out (HARO) installation went smoothly?
Yes
Would you repurchase Help a Reporter Out (HARO)?
Yes
Conclusion
I hope this article has answered your doubt about the HARO platform. HARO allows you to communicate directly with journalists and media outlets instead of going through the stress of sending emails that might never get replies. The platform has given you as a user an edge to be able to reach out to journalists and new firms.
Don’t forget, as a company, you can utilize it to identify media appearance chances for your company so that you can send out pitches and receive any coverage for your business. This allows you to gain general brand awareness as well as exposure to new clients, and you don’t have to spend money hiring Public relations firms.