What is HARO and How Does It Work?

Top 14 Tips For Using HARO Successfully

HARO sounds brilliant, but having read so many complaints from sources that never receive replies from journalists, here are a few tips to gain the attention of media professionals.

1. Choose the Best Leads and Media Outlets

HARO queries come in dozens. Sometimes one newsletter contains around 200 journalist requests. And you know you don’t have to answer all of the queries, so you need to be efficient and strategic.

Choose only the best leads based on what’s relevant to your niche, your expertise, your relevant experience, and the quality of publications. Reply to the opportunities that are the best match to what you want to be associated with.

You might want to start with publications that have the highest domain authority (DR) and those that provide do-follow links, which are great for SEO purposes. This, however, will require extra research.

Some queries are Anonymous, and it can be tricky. As a public relations professional, you might want to avoid it because you need to know which media outlet your brand will be published on.

Some marketing professionals, though, say that Anonymous queries are likely to be from major media sites. You need to use your best judgment here.

2. Supply Only What’s Requested

Share only exactly what has been requested. If one ‘expert tip’ is needed for a story, send only one. Be brief but to the point, leaving no doubt.

If a professional nutritionist’s opinion is what’s being asked for a story, and you run a fitness blog, even if you have masses of useful nutrition information, you may still waste your time by sending a pitch.

If the journalist has deliberately pointed out the expertise that they want, make sure you meet the criteria before you send a HARO response.

3. Respond Quickly to HARO Emails

This relates to what was said earlier. If a journalist asks for a response by a certain time, then any response after the submission deadline will not get a second glance. HARO won’t even forward your answers to the journalist when you send them past the deadline.

Try to answer relevant queries immediately when you receive the HARO newsletter. Don’t put them on the back burner for later. The closer you pitch to the HARO newsletter release, the higher your chances of getting media coverage for your brand.

That’s because journalists receive hundreds of responses from brands like you, so if you respond at a later time, your email would probably be buried in their inbox.

Also, when journalists have received enough pitches, they start writing their articles. So, you’d want to be among the first to respond so that you have better chances of being included in their sources.

4. Create A Template

This isn’t advocating a one-size-fits-all response to HARO queries. But there will be pertinent information necessary on every response sent.

For example, the email address of your company, a brief introduction about you as a figurehead, what your company does, and what qualifies you as an expert in your field.

The journalist won’t be interested in canned responses, but they must know who they’re dealing with.

Creating a template or two with the important information included can save you time in writing your email. You’ll be able to pitch faster by reducing the need to type the recurring information about you and your brand.

5. Make Your Subject Line Stand Out

As mentioned, journalists receive hundreds of pitches on a single query. That’s why you need to stand out in their inbox.

Here’s where the subject line matters, and it can be as important as the content of the email.

The first five words or 19 characters of your subject line is usually what the journalist reads first, so you must make the most out of that.

For instance, if the journalist is looking for a finance expert, include in your subject the words “Finance expert tips on…”

Also, avoid using a generic subject line, like “HARO response” or the query title that the journalist used. Chances are your email will be grouped with the rest of the messages that have the same subject line.

If the journalists provided their email addresses on the HARO query, that’s when you can take advantage of a longer and more catchy subject line.

6. Send a Unique Response

Another important thing to do to ensure that you stand out against the crowd is by responding to HARO queries with a unique pitch. Avoid generic answers that others are likely to include in their pitches.

Try to find a different angle and add more value to your pitch. If you have real-life results and data, you can use them when pitching journalists. Avoid the obvious answers. Instead, you need to be original and leverage your expertise.

Think from the perspective of the journalist. Is your answer quotable? Does it sound like a catchphrase that stands out among hundreds of responses?

7. Don’t Be Too Promotional or Salesy

Avoid sending a pitch that’s too self-promotional or salesy. Your pitch would most likely be ignored.

Stick to just being an expert source and you’ll be able to secure a media opportunity. The key is on how you can be creative in your pitches and be subtle with promoting your brand using keywords.

Say, for example, you’re a loan company that provides alternative products to payday loans. You find a relevant query asking for tips for consumers when applying for a loan.

In your pitch, you can include a line that says, “Consumers must shop around before signing up for a loan, and consider payday loan alternatives that have lower interest rates.”

Do you get the picture? Your company name will be mentioned anyway when the journalist quoted you.

8. Don’t Be Tempted To Use Jargon

It’s doubtful the journalist asking for an expert is looking for a highly technical or scientific response. They won’t put information on that level into their piece (unless of course, it’s a technical paper that would be released in technical publications).

Whether it’s an article for a newspaper or a social media post on Facebook, if a 12-year-old can’t understand it, it’s too complex.

Journalists seek expert insights to help them expound on their topic in a way that can help readers gain a better understanding of the subject. So, you need to write in layman’s terms and avoid jargon.

9. Structure Your Writing

Skimmable is the buzzword today. No one wants to read walls of text. If a reporter or influencer can’t cut and paste the responses straight into their article, they will more likely move on to the next HARO emails.

Headers, two to three-sentence paragraphs, and bullet points are what’s necessary today. You may also use bold texts to highlight some of your points to draw the journalist’s attention.

10. Proofread Your HARO Pitch

Proofreading is essential. Don’t forget to double-check your spelling and grammar before you hit the send button.

You’re an expert, so there’s some level of expected quality from the way you write. Simplify your sentences and words. You don’t need to be poetic or use grand terms when you can use simple and easily understandable words.

You can use editor tools like Grammarly. Install the browser extension so that you can proofread your pitches while you’re composing your message in your email.

11. Don’t Waste Time With Off-Topic Pitches

Remember, a journalist on assignment will probably be on a deadline himself. Wasting his time will not help your pitch. Worse, you could be flagged for sending HARO pitches that aren’t meeting their criteria.

To help meet their deadline, journalists request a specific quote or piece of information, don’t second-guess them by responding with a pitch that doesn’t address their query.

The same is true if you’re not qualified to answer HARO requests based on the required expertise or relevant experience. Say you’re a finance expert, but the journalist is looking for a licensed financial advisor or certified public accountant, don’t bother responding.

12. Include Your Contact Information

Some journalists may have follow-up questions based on your query response. So, it’s important to include your contact information in your HARO email.

You don’t want to keep them hanging when they don’t know how to reach out to you because you’d miss the opportunity to get quality backlinks.

13. Keep Everything Professional

It can be agonizing to wait for any kind of response from a journalist. Most of the time, they don’t respond at all.

But whatever the case, treat them with professional courtesy. Don’t search online for their personal email address or other contact information to “confirm” the email has been received and if they require any more information or quotes.

Sometimes you won’t hear from them at all even when they publish your quote. What you can do is to keep an eye on the articles that mention your company. You can set up a Google Alert or check regularly on tools like Ahrefs any new backlinks you might have gained.

14. Share the Article on Your Channels

If the journalist uses your pitch, send a thank you email to show that you appreciate being included in their story.

It’s also helpful to share the article on your channels. Use your social media channels to post the story, write a blog post referencing the article, and share the article on your LinkedIn profile.

These can help you get more brand exposure, as well as build a positive relationship with the journalists. Some journalists would be more inclined to reach out to you directly for a quote or expert insights for their upcoming stories.