- Would you like to grow your brand with PR?
Maybe you'd like to get more press coverage for your website
so that you can grow your brand,
drive more customers to your site
and get more traffic.
Well whatever that is, it's surprisingly easy
to get more press coverage to your website
for absolutely free,
so you don't need to spend a small fortune doing this.
And you can basically get more press coverage
using something called HARO,
also known as Help A Reporter Out.
This is one of the best platforms out there right now
to get more PR for your website, to grow your brand,
and to get your brand out there to the market.
So if you wanna know exactly how
to get featured successfully using HARO,
to learn some of my best tips and tricks,
and to get your responses to the top of the pile
when it comes to HARO replies, then keep watching.
And make sure you subscribe
because my mission is to help you grow your website.
So keep watching if you wanna learn more.
So HARO is kinda like a marketplace
for journalists and reporters.
So they post when they're looking for stories
and then you can reply to these stories
and pitch reporters to get your story featured.
For example, they post on there saying,
"Hey, we're looking for someone to reply
"to this certain story."
And then you'd reply with your opinion
and if you're featured successfully
you'll have your name mentioned in the publication
along with maybe your website, your brand, and who you are.
And the awesome thing about HARO is that it's free too.
So normally with PR you can easily pay
a few hundred dollars to get featured,
with HARO it's completely free of charge.
And that's mainly because it's win-win to use HARO.
So you get featured but also
the publication gets free content.
They don't have to pay expensive writers,
they don't have to spend time researching,
and they get expert opinions from people like you
pitched to them by HARO.
And big websites like Fox News, New York Times,
and Mashable are all using HARO,
so it is the place to be right now.
It only takes about 30 seconds to sign up to HARO
and once you're in, you'll receive email updates
a couple of times a day.
And this email will break down all the latest opportunities
for you to pitch and reply to.
Sometimes they're anonymous
so you have no idea who they are,
and sometimes they're listed who the publication is.
Also some of the deadlines are quite short
so try and nip it in the bud quickly
so that you make sure you get featured on time.
To respond to HARO queries
it's as simple as writing an email
so even your grandma could do it.
And all you have to do is write a few sentences.
In fact, I wouldn't recommend writing any longer than that
simply because you don't need to write a whole book here.
You can keep it short, simple, straight to the point.
This is simply about quality over quantity
so don't write a huge wall of text,
split it up into paragraphs,
make it easy to read, format it nicely,
so that the journalists can easily
copy and paste that information
straight into their article.
And when you reply just imagine it
like posting a comment on a blog.
So you wanna make it actionable, valuable,
and very useful to the person that's reading it
because the more useful it is
the more likely that you are to get featured.
So that's what I recommend.
Now keep watching because there's a bit of a knack
to optimizing your HARO response
to make sure that you get to the top of the pile
because journalists receive so many responses
that you wanna make sure yours really stands out.
That it's unique, that it's different from everyone else's,
and therefore there's certain hacks
and ways you can optimize your HARO response
to make sure that you get featured.
And as you can see,
I've been featured a few times using HARO
and it's very easy if you have the tips to know how.
So keep watching to learn more.
So the first thing I'd say is show a bit of personality
because you should write the way you talk
when you respond to HARO pitches.
You know, you're pitching a journalist not the queen,
and therefore you don't need to be
overly formal when you reply.
You don't need to use like, "Dear Sir" or "Dear Madame",
you can just be very informal and conversational
when you reply to people.
And also what I'd recommend
is keeping it short, consistent, and straight to the point.
Next up, realize that pitching is selling,
so sell yourself in your HARO response.
It's time to become Charlie Big Potatoes here
and explain why you're the best person
to be featured for this pitch.
Now obviously don't go overboard and don't be too arrogant
but explain why you are authoritative and credible
and the best person to be featured in this article.
And that will go a long way in making sure
that the journalist takes you seriously
and understands that you're the best person
to feature in the article.
So for example, you're responding to this pitch about cats
because you own a Burmese cats website
that gets 10,000 visitors a day.
Just use anything you can
or any sort of social proof you can
to make sure that you're seen as the expert on the topic.
Next up make sure you include the requirements
when you respond to HARO pitches.
So in every email breakdown from HARO
you'll see a requirement section
and this will show what the journalist is looking for
when you respond to them.
So maybe that's a headshot, a link to your website,
a bit about you and why
you're the best person to be featured,
but whatever it is make sure you include that
in your pitch so that the journalist can see
okay you've read the post,
you understand it, you've included the requirements,
and you've made it as easy as possible
for the journalist to feature your comment.
Next up, keep your response
very short, simple, and straight to the point.
Because journalists receive a crazy number of pitches
every single day.
If they run a big publication
then they're getting cold email pitches,
they're getting responses to their stories,
they're getting people pitching them,
plus they're getting all the HARO responses too.
And there's 800,000 people registered on HARO
and they're all looking for featured opportunities
just like you are.
So if you want to get featured
make sure you don't send them a big wall of text.
Instead send them a few sentences, that'll do.
Just straight to the point
and very easy for the journalist to reply to.
And also, if they can just copy and paste that comment
straight into their article, that's even better.
Because you've streamlined the process
and made it easier for them to feature you.
And finally, come up with unique opinions.
If you write the obvious thing
then so have the other 20 or 30 Joe Blogs
who responded to that pitch.
So instead come up with something completely unique
that you know no one else is going to reply to
and that will make you look a lot more credible,
authentic, and it'll make your pitch stand out.
And a little tip here,
I recommend using storytelling
to make yourself look more human
and therefore the journalist will feel
more attached to your story
and you'll be more likely to get featured.
So thanks for watching!
If you have any questions about HARO
please let me know in the comment section below.
If you want more videos about Help A Reporter Out
please check out my playlist on YouTube.
And if you haven't already please subscribe
so that my channel can help you
build your brand, grow your business,
and drive more traffic to your site.