One of the ways to gain publicity for your company is to be quoted by or contribute content to the media. Getting connected with the appropriate people can be time consuming and pitching content and ideas is an artform all its own, which are both topics we'll be covering at a later time.
Today however, I want to let you know about HARO, a service that was started by Peter Shankman as a means to connect journalists looking for specific stories with experts who could contribute to them.
HARO, which stands for 'Help a Reporter Out', is a free service that you can sign up for and then receive three emails a day with queries from various media outlets. Sometimes they will include queries related to weddings, in which case you can respond to the journalist directly with your insight on the matter. Other times, the queries will have nothing to do with your field of expertise, in which case you can hit the delete button.
I have been a member of HARO since it first started in March earlier this year and I can attest that it works. Not all of my media exposure has been a result of it, but some has. It has grown to over 40,000 members who receive the queries and many big media outlets now use it to find sources, including CNN, the Associated Press, and others.
Here is the catch - if you cannot contribute to the topic, do NOT pitch yourself! Peter will publicly out people who pitch off topic or who harvest the journalists' emails and use them for any other purpose or for future non-HARO related pitches. You are also not allowed to post the queries on a blog or anywhere else on the Internet. Basically, don't be stupid.
On Fridays, Peter also includes gift bag requests, which basically allow you to request items for promo giveaways. Since many of the members are publicists who represent products, this is an easy way for them to get their clients' names in front of people. This is a great way to for those of you who also plan corporate events to get some product placements for swag bags, but again, make sure your requests are legitimate.
You can sign up for HARO here and you can follow Peter Shankman on Twitter here.
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We believe that social media is a return to old-fashioned roots of real conversations rather than a high-tech race to keep up with the next big thing. While the tools will always evolve, the need for businesses to communicate effectively and deepen relationships with their customers will remain.
We believe that the world is a bakery that produces fresh opportunities each day and not a fixed pie where each person has to fight for the last crumb. Our purpose is to encourage you to Think Splendid; both in business and in life.
6 comments:
I've been a wedding coordinator for about two years and I'd love to get involved with HARO. Could you give an example of a question before I sign up and realize I can't contribute! Thanks.
Liene-
As usual you are linking us to another great resource. I have received the inquiry list since the earlier part of the fall and have seen a request for a 'wedding expert' at least once a week. Definitely a great way to gain some credible exposure for your expertise.
Hi Liene,
I love HARO! I joined a few months ago and really enjoy looking through the queries, and have answered quite a few wedding related posts. As always you have provided everyone with another fabulous tip! Can you recommend a basic way to "pitch" a topic? I've sent a lot of just basic answering of the questions, but have not really "pitched" a story in the sense of really having the abswer of the question capture the reporters attention...
Thanks as always for fabulously good advice!
Daniela
Bella Signature Design
Fabulous! Thank You.
Great Resource Liene! Thank You!
I got my first email from HARO after signing up. Although this first one didn't have anything I could respond to, I loved looking at the requests and topics and look forward to contributing when the timing is right.
I just heard about HARO this week. Your post clarified what it is about. Thank you!
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