HARO and Journalist Outreach

HARO (Help A Reporter Out, now part of Cision) connects journalists seeking expert sources with businesses that can provide commentary. Successful responses earn editorial backlinks from media publications with DR 50-90+.

Why HARO Links Are Valuable

Fully editorial — the journalist places the link, not the business
Topically relevant by definition (you responded to a query in your niche)
Published on media sites with DR 50-90+ (Forbes, Inc, Business Insider, niche trades)
No link exchange or payment involved — Google's guidelines are satisfied
Anchor text is typically natural (brand name or context-based)

Platform Options

Since HARO's pricing changed, alternatives have emerged:

Connectively (formerly HARO) — cision.com/connectively — primary platform
Qwoted — qwoted.com — journalists + podcast hosts
SourceBottle — free, primarily Australian/UK journalists
JournoRequests — UK-based, active on Twitter/X under #journorequest
ProfNet — PR Newswire's platform, subscription required

Query Identification

HARO sends 3 emails per day (morning, afternoon, evening). Each contains 20-40 journalist queries. Process:

Open immediately after delivery — journalists close queries within 24-72 hours
Scan for queries that match: your client's niche, location, or expertise area
Flag queries where the client has genuine expertise and a unique angle
Ignore queries outside the niche — off-topic pitches waste time and damage sender reputation

Niche filters to set up:

Business
General (catch-all for local business stories)
Home and garden (for home services clients)
Lifestyle

Pitch Structure

Journalist pitches must be short, credible, and immediately useful.

Template:

Hi [Name],

[One sentence establishing who the source is and why they're qualified]

[2-3 specific, quotable sentences directly answering the journalist's question — this is the substance they will use]

[Optional: 1 sentence with a unique data point, statistic, or contrarian angle]

Bio: [Name], [Title], [Company], [years of experience], [URL]

Available for follow-up: [phone or email]

Length: 100-250 words. Journalists receive hundreds of pitches per query. Short, specific, immediately usable wins.

Avoid:

Lengthy company histories
"We are a leading provider of..."
Vague claims without specifics
Links to content in the pitch body (most platforms strip them)

Response Cadence

Respond within 2-4 hours of query delivery (early responders get priority)
Submit maximum 3 pitches per day (to avoid spam classification)
Track all pitches in a spreadsheet: date, publication, query topic, pitch sent, outcome

Success Rate

Industry benchmarks:

5-15% of pitches result in coverage
40-60% of coverage includes a backlink (not all journalists link even when they quote)
Average DR of resulting link: 55-80
Timeline: publication typically 1-8 weeks after pitch

Scaling HARO for Multiple Clients

Create a pitch rotation system:

One designated person monitors all HARO emails and flags relevant queries
Queries are triaged by client niche and urgency
Client or agency SME provides core answer points within 1 hour
Pitch writer formats and submits within 2 hours of receiving answer points

For local clients, prioritize queries from local publications and regional business journals over national media — conversion rate is higher and the link is more topically relevant.

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