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By AayushHARO (Help a Reporter Out) is a widely used service that targets both the journalist and the source, enabling the latter to directly receive inquiries from the reporter and respond with comments or a pitch. However, HARO has some drawbacks, which are listed below, which means that several alternatives to the platform have emerged to make changes.
Here are some of the top 3 HARO alternatives available today:
SourceBottle
SourceBottle positions itself as the evolution of HARO, a known service providing journalists with sources. Some key features that set it apart include:
Custom Filters: It is possible to engage reasonably precise control of which queries reach the page instead of having a large number of irrelevant ones. There are different categories of filters, including the topic filter, location filter, circulation filter, and writer gender filter, among others.
Team Access: A new feature that will help assign queries to a team so the team can work better together. See the replies and to whom they are sent.
Related Queries: See other related search topics that you did not find but may be within your scope of the specialty.
Response Tracking: SourceBottle has the feature of reading receipts, which tells whether the response has been opened.
Query Alerts: Be notified whenever a person asks a question based on the filter settings you have set. Respond quicker than the competition.
SourceBottle has been developed to help reduce the challenges associated with using experts. It is highly credible as it has over 500,000 sources and 40,000 journalists as members, which makes it highly credible.
ProfNet
Founded in 1989, ProfNet is a PR Newswire service that connects journalists with subject-matter experts. Some unique advantages include:
Wider Audience: ProfNet has a network of over one million influence, which comprises journalists, producers, bloggers, and editors, among others. Another disadvantage is that the queries received by businesses tend to reach more people than just the journalists on HARO.
Local Access: Extreme makeover: get more localized queries directly in your area. The local PR specialists, in particular, use local professionals for their clients.
Multimedia Requests: It also excludes calls from radio programs, podcasts, and TV networks – it is not limited to journalists from newspapers or online publications. Good for non-writers.
Premium Membership: If you wanted even more control, you could pay for a premium membership at ($25/month), which extends the number of filters you can set, and your responses do not go to moderation.
Although the amount of queries is not as large as that of HARO, Profnet does have a pretty widespread range of users.
BizSum
BizSum is a popular site like HARO that answers journalist’s questions and can help them find sources and experts to feature in the content. In this way, as an expert source, it can publish your name, brand , and insights to newly targeted readers. Nevertheless, low-quality answers demoralize your reputation and leave you as a candidate with nothing to offer. Here are some tips for writing high-quality responses:
- The journalist should be responded wholly by fully understanding his or her query. Ensure that the kind of expertise you possess fits that which the employer is seeking in your potential.
- Respond promptly. Of specific importance is response time because journalists are usually under pressure in terms of time constraints. This is WHY you need to be the first to reply – because that gives you the highest chances to get selected.
- Avoid overt self-promotion. It is okay if you briefly state something about the background; however, do not promote your company or products. Make sure that your knowledge is apparent.
- Provide short comments that contain helpful information that is not easily found elsewhere. When dealing with him, focus on only 2 or 3 vital points – keep it simple and avoid writing extensive essays.
- Support comments with data, statistics , and quantitative or qualitative examples when possible. Nonetheless, do not make statements not supported by evidence or data.
- Make sure all the writing is grammerly, spell checked and conforms to your desired writing style. Rebut professionally as you would for any interview with a media channel.
- If more details are required ask, but do not over step your authority or become overly assertive. They like it when people are prompt and polite to them as they consider it helpful for their occupation.
The above tips will guide you on how to provide quality responses with an aim of attracting journalist’s attention while at the same time managing your reputation in case you are a company that operates within HARO platforms. And, as they do so, you will find yourself building the kind of rapport with reporters that makes them turn to you whenever they need information!