What is HARO? HARO stands for Helping a Reporter Out, and is an excellent resource for creating some buzz for your business. The best part about the service is that it’s FREE. All you need to do is sign up for the daily inquiries sent out by founder Peter Shankman and HARO is sent to you three times a day. HARO reporters are always looking for experts to interview for articles ranging from the latest Halloween trends to best marketing practices. I used HARO recently to find radio interviews for two of my clients. The pitches worked out great. My clients received much needed exposure the pets they are trying to rehome as well as their organizations.
Keep in mind these simple tips to get the most out of HARO:
- Only answer inquiries that match your business objectives.
- Craft your pitch to match what the reporter is looking for.
- Don’t SPAM to any of the reporters with off-topics.
- You can forward inquiries to friends, but don’t post them on the Web or any blog.
- You aren’t allowed to harvest the reporters’ emails in any way.
You don’t need to know a great deal of PR to use the list, just be yourself and professional. If your so inclined to learn a bit more about PR, then I would read Michael Levine’s “Guerilla PR 2.0″. He writes in an easy-to-read format with great tips and lots of examples on how to write a pitch that delivers results. You will also find most of the actionable items in the chapters can be scaled down for a one or two-person shop.
You can sign up for HARO at www.helpareporter.com and join the other 36,000 subscribers on the list. Information on Michael Levine, his book as well as his pr firm is available at www.mlevineonline.com.
About the Author
Dara is a brand identity and marketing design strategist at 7 Lucky Dogs, a leading consultancy in marketing to “pet parents”. Through customized marketing and brand identity packages, 7 Lucky Dogs helps you discover what makes your company, product or service different from your competitors. We then translate this differentiation visually into a logo, product packaging, an E-commerce site and promotional materials to reflect those unique attributes. We make our clients look credible and memorable to their prospects while they increase their bottom line. As the owner of 7 Lucky Dogs, Dara is passionate about helping independent pet businesses stand out in front of their competitors and attract more clients. She blends business smarts with creativity with over ten years of design experience with formal education in both graphic design and marketing.
