HARO, which stands for Help A Reporter Out, is a tool for journalists and reporters to get relevant information for their article or blog posts. It’s a place where they seek expert quotes that will give their material more substance through the assistance of a HARO pitch. Journalists or reporters come to you instead of you coming to them, but, there’s a catch. You need to be very competitive because these journalists and reporters have plenty of sources to choose from.
In this article, we will be discussing some of the most important tips that you need to know to make a good HARO pitch.
How to Properly Use HARO
1. It starts with the registration of your account.
Needless to say, to be able to enter the world of HARO and connect with journalists and reporters, you need to get into the portal itself. Create an account and register yourself as a source.
2. Look for queries that fit your expertise.
Once you have created your HARO account, it is now the right time to look for available opportunities from the portal. From time to time, you will receive inquiries from journalists that may fall into different categories. So, choose the queries that are suited to your expertise and knowledge so that you can make your pitches substantial and valuable. Carefully select those leads that are really beneficial for you and those that could have a huge bearing on your career.
3. Do your research.
Yes, the goal is to respond to as many queries made on various media outlets as possible but it also pays to check their backgrounds. Not all media outlets may not fit the kind of exposure you’re looking for. For instance, you may want your business to be featured in websites in the home niche, but not the finance niche. So, just pay attention to the media outlet stated in the query.
4. Send high-quality and valuable pitches.
If the outlet is big, journalists and reporters will receive tons of responses. Of course, lots of business owners want to be featured in outlets like Forbes or Reader’s Digest. This only means that you need to have an edge over these competitors. The key is to make the reporters choose your pitch over the others. Some out-of-the-box thinking would do you some good, especially because others might provide the same insights over and over.
5. Send your pitches as fast as possible.
It’s also important that the pitches are made quickly. Most journalists are time conscious. So once they see a valuable pitch the soonest, yours could be disregarded.
6. Do not forget to include the details about you.
Although it’s important that you make a substantial pitch, it’s also vital that you put relevant details about you such as your contact details, for example, e-mail address so that they don’t have to spend so much time tracing and contacting you. Also, make sure to provide them a link that would direct them to your headshot, company logo, and your website.
Final Words
Using HARO for backlinks truly requires effort. As a person who’s trying to grow a business or website, you can maximize HARO by following the tips above. This way, your goal of gathering backlinks is much more achievable and beneficial for you. Though if it isn’t working for you, or your schedule is a bit too busy to send the pitches yourself, HARO Link Building Service professionals can do the job for you.