As a parent and entrepreneur – who wouldn’t want to be quoted in Parents Magazine?! Even if it’s just a quote with a name mention – wouldn’t you be excited?! I sure was!
The question is – how did I get mentioned in such an established, popular print magazine that is sold in thousands of stores around the US?
Contacts? Nope. Bribery? Nope. Hookups? Nope! It was HARO!
Now, let me tell you about HARO – which stands for Help A Reporter Out.
It’s a HUGE sourcing service that connects journalists with experts. For example – a morning show is looking for someone to talk about virtual reality (which is HOTT right now btw) and put up a “query” into HARO’S system. HARO emails that “query” out to almost 500,000 people and someone who is an expert (or wanna be expert) in virtual reality replies to that email and says – I’m your guy (or gal) – here’s why – I’ll be at your studio as soon as you need me to. Here’s my number. BAM. The guy (or gal) get’s on the morning show, shares his expertise, his website, maybe his book – and he’s off to the races!
That’s exactly what happened to me – well – not with the morning show, and I wasn’t off to the races – but it was fun!
Here’s the link to an article I was mentioned in – if you keep your Parent’s Magazines – I’m in the August 2015 Issue!
Let’s get into the good stuff. I’ll tell you more about how HARO works and how YOU can start taking advantage of this FREE service!
HARO sends out an email three times a day. Yes, you heard me right – here’s proof:
That doesn’t mean you have to check every single email because it does get a little overwhelming:
But if you want to get featured in media – you must be diligent about this. Here’s what I did.
First, I created a label in gmail, to filter out the HARO emails so they don’t clutter my inbox.
Second, I set three different alarms on my phone to notify myself when to check HARO. Now, this might be a little controversial as we really don’t know if the reporter is sitting there waiting for the responses to flood in (and trust me, they FLOOD), or they check later in the day. But I didn’t care. I wanted to be featured in magazines, on websites, and morning shows (still working on that). I was diligent in making sure I read every single query and quickly responded to the ones that fit my brand as soon as I received the email using this handy dandy alarm on my iPhone:
I wanted to make sure I was one of the first to submit and it worked like a charm for Parents Magazine.
I should also mention that the journalist-source doesn’t always say who they are. Some put their name and you can easily find what publication they work for by doing a quick google or even twitter search. However – in all my mentions – I didn’t know who the publication was. This can be good AND bad. Sometimes I want to make sure it’s someone amazing such as a print magazine or a morning show and not a start-up website looking for guest posts. But you can’t really know. You just have to do it and hope it’s Oprah.
I would love for you to try HARO. But you must commit for at least a week (I’m being very easy on you here, it’s usually a lot longer) A week of 3-times-a-day email check, browsing through the queries and submitting your best response. Depending on what industry you are – it’s very likely you’ll get a response and a mention – or more opportunities!
If you have physical products, there are magazines that are ALWAYS looking for products to feature in their “14 Must Have Valentine’s Day Items” (btw – it’s too late for that in January – magazines work on pieces at least 4 months in advance!) They’re very likely working on a “7 Must-Have Products for Gorgeous Summer Hair” article so if you got a product that would fit that criteria – I would keep my eyes open!
There are so many baby items inquiries ALL THE TIME – they’re waiting for you to submit your product, mama! Go get ’em!
Ok, so here are some things you should do when replying to a HARO inquiry.
Be Nice
I know this sounds weird – all my readers are nice – but you might get caught up in the excitement of talking about your book, product, or expertise – that you forget to say hello. ALWAYS say hello. I add in – “I hope your Monday is off to an amazing start!” or something along those lines. People like to talk to nice people and the small kind gesture always helps me out:)
Keep it Short
You’re super passionate about what you do and can talk about it for hours – I get it. But keeping your pitch short is VERY important. Journalists don’t have much time and often on a very tight deadline – reading your article of an email is not on their agenda so they’ll just hit delete and move on to the next, hopefully short, email.
Pay Attention
As soon as you read the headline you’ll know it’s for you. After all, they are journalists and know how to write great headlines 😉 But please calm yourself and read the rest of the inquiry and don’t skip over the requirements! Maybe they’re looking for someone local, or a business that has been established for more than 5 years, or whatever it is – make sure you’re qualified before pitching.
Nothing less, nothing more
Some inquiries ask that you provide specific information – make sure you give them exactly what they ask for in a very short and concise way. Include everything they’re asking for but please don’t go on and on about your amazing “thing”. Journalists are always looking for “What’s in it for my readers?” If you’re not providing that, they’re very likely to move onto the next pitch.
Phone Number
I hardly use my phone for calling anymore, but adding your phone number at the end of the email is KEY. Even if they’ll never call you – ALWAYS include a phone number along with “If you have any questions, please call me at 000-000-0000” The Parent’s magazine editor actually called me. I will never forget that moment – I was a Barnes and Noble after my kid’s story time and was SO EXCITED.
Tweet Them
If you have a name of the person who is submitting the HARO inquiry – find them on twitter (please not on FB) and mention them in a tweet letting them know you just emailed them with EXACTLY what they’re looking for! It works like a charm 😉
Now, go on over to HARO and start pitching yourself to media! Wait – before you do – could you send this to one friend who you think will REALLY benefit from a post like this?! Yes?! THANK YOU! <3
If you have questions or want to share your own HARO win – please post it in the comments below!