Media Relations for a Connected World
Help a Reporter Out – Resource Links for PR Professionals
03.09.2012 17:18
How to Prepare and Deliver a Pitch to a Reporter using the HARO Network.
Help a Reporter Out – Resource Links for PR Professionals
HARO stands for Help A Reporter Out – and we don’t mean help them out the door. This is a FREE online service that provides a comprehensive list of current and timely editor pitches (two or three times a day) to PR professionals and corporate communication departments. You read the pitches and if your organization's news and messages fits their needs, you follow the instructions and submit a pitch email. Often, the HARO reporters get so many responses that they don’t answer. It can be a bit disconcerting. Interestingly, I have received follow up months after I made a pitch.
Other times, your pitch fits their need – either spelled out or not, and they follow up with you and the contact is made. Home Run! Or at least first base….
The point is that you go to do it right. Check out this article from my associate Gayl Murphy. Her article has some good tips to follow.
If you are not familiar with HARO’s services and want to sign up, just follow this link. Both PR and editors can sign up to either receive pitches or to make pitches. There are a few other services that offer to connect reporters with sources, but HARO is the best. They carefully monitor the queries and responses to eliminate possible bad actors. http://www.helpareporter.com/
One negative is that often reporters don’t post the request until they are just hours before their deadline. This may be OK for east coast vendors but can be really tough for those based on the west coast, 3 hours behind. Even worse, if you respond to a query after the deadline, the HARO system intercepts and will not delivery it. Bummer.
