A successful strategy for growing your personal brand includes publicity. Sharing your expertise in a format that builds both credibility and clout. Social media can be a part of that plan but don’t overlook this tool available to simplify your brand growth.
HARO is a great way to pitch yourself for stories and interviews to showcase your expertise.
H.A.R.O stands for Help a Reporter Out. HARO is an online directory that connects journalists in need with sources of information. Many well-known, reputable media outlets, print, and online publications use HARO. Along with many that you have never heard of.
This is a super easy and free way to grow your personal brand. But it does take time to perfect your approach.
Open To Opportunity
The first thing you need to do is to create a free account inside of the online directory. You will register as a source. Before you agree, there is a list of terms and conditions but they are very straightforward. The rules are basic and part of getting noticed as a credible source is following them to the letter.
Once you register, HARO will send you three emails each day Monday thru Friday. These emails come at 5:35 a.m., 12:35 p.m. and 5:35 p.m. EST, with requests from reporters and media outlets worldwide.
Scan the emails, and if you’re knowledgeable about any of the topics, answer the reporter directly through the anonymous @helpareporter.net email address listed at the beginning of the source request.
The emails are fairly long and are divided into categories. You can customize the topics you receive in your inbox to focus on specific topics like healthcare, technology, finance, and lifestyle.
Sometimes the source is identified and sometimes the source is listed as anonymous. Submission opportunities can be open to all or only open to a specific set of criteria such as age, gender, or professional role.
The sources know what they are looking for and use HARO to cast a wider net. If you see something that you have experience with or can add specific value as a source, submit your content and get noticed.
I’ve been using HARO for a few years and have been featured about a dozen times. Sometimes it’s small one-line contributions and a couple have been feature articles I provided to a publication like Working Mother Magazine.
Here are five strategies I use to get my name published using HARO.
1. Act Quickly
No matter what the ask is for, it’s important that when you find one you are interested in, jump on it quickly.
There are over a million sources registered in HARO who are receiving the same exact three emails at the exact same time. If you want to be a source, you need to follow the instructions and get back to the reporter with your response via email fast. Within the first hour.
My friend Kristi owns a PR firm and she shared information that as a reporter who uses HARO, she usually picked her sources within the first 15 minutes. Reporters are on tight deadlines and if they need more sources, chances are good they are already behind.
2. Research
My second tip is to do some quick research on the publication. You are on a tight timeline but if a source is listed, and they aren’t always, do a quick search to see what they are all about.
You don’t want to waste your time putting together a pitch for a publication that doesn’t fit your niche or worse, isn’t as reputable as you think. Just because the ask is out there doesn’t mean you have to jump on every one.
It might seem that way at first but trust me, the emails come 3 times a day and will have over 100 opportunities each time. You can definitely afford to be picky.
3. Grab Their Attention
The third tip is to use a subject line that is sure to grab attention. The emails all go through an anonymous server, sort of like craigslist. But you want to customize the subject line to something specific not just Your HARO inquiry or Your Source for XYZ piece.
Assume that the journalist making the ask is flooded with pitches.
4. Include Samples
Next, include samples of your work when you can. A link to a blog if you have one or a social media post you wrote that is related to the topic or once you do this a few items, you can link to other featured pieces.
It’s not a requirement but a link to previous work adds additional clout as a source.
5. Build A Template
My final tip is to piece together a general template response to a HARO inquiry. I’m a big fan of streamlining whenever possible so I often have a draft email in my inbox that I use as a general guide when I pitch myself to different publications.
I can’t copy and paste every time but I can copy, paste and edit to fit and it goes much quicker than trying to reinvent the wheel every single time I want to send an email.
My pitch email template includes a few lines about me that are unique and attention-grabbing. Then a line or two about why I am an expert or where my specific expertise on a topic comes from. Then a closing on how to connect and a space to link relevant work.
You certainly don’t have to follow my template but it does help to have a base pitch ready that you can customize to fit the ask.
What happens once you respond to an inquiry in HARO?
Sometimes nothing. If you aren’t selected, you likely won’t get a response at all. It doesn’t mean you did anything wrong, you just didn’t get to it in time or the journalist found what they needed elsewhere. Don’t take it personally.
If you are the right fit, you will get a reply back and usually, this reply includes more information about the piece, the journalist or the publication itself. The communication will request more specific information from you as the next steps. It will vary depending on the publication, the topic, and the timeline.
HARO is a really great resource to use when you want to get your name out into the world. It’s a shortcut to having the best opportunities for you screened and funneled straight to your inbox.
Like having your own personal assistant find you the best places to pitch yourself and your expertise. Yes, you do still have to do some of the legwork but you can be as passive or as aggressive as you like with it.
If you think this is something you might be interested in trying, take five minutes to set up your free HARO account. Subscribe to the categories you think make the most sense or check the box that says master to get the full run down each time. Then set a goal for yourself of either how many pitches you want to make per week or how much time you want to spend on it per day or per week.
You can always hit the delete button on the emails but you won’t know what opportunities are out there to grow your brand if you don’t give it a try.
