Help A Reporter Out (HARO) is a site where bloggers can respond to inquiries and (fingers crossed) gain free promotion and/or link backs for their site. I respond to HARO several times a week and was pleasantly surprised to find my way into Redbook Magazine after trading emails with a reporter.
Help A Reporter Out is also fantastic if you need several sources for a blog post or article you’re writing. I also write for The Examiner (online) about rescue dogs, I turn to HARO to reach out to professionals in the pet industry to provide me with quality information for my articles. In exchange, I link back to their website, hopefully driving some traffic their way.
What Is The Upside and Downside of HARO?
The upside to HARO is the free link back and promotion when you respond to queries and loads of responses when you submit a query. I’ve also gotten enough information to start new articles – I have three interviews on my schedule thanks to HARO.
The downside to HARO is that if you don’t set it up right, you can end up with way too many emails each day. And when you submit a query, prepare for the deluge of responses – many are fantastic and useful, which can be tough, because you may only need a few. There are a few that are just too much work, because they want you to email or call them first.
All in all, Help a Reporter Out has been a fantastic resource for me and I’ve learned to look past the many emails and to scan emails quickly, because this isn’t a resource I’m prepared to give up on.