What is HARO-Building Backlinks to Drive Traffic

Watching a passionate community grow around your site is the most fulfilling aspect of blogging. That community can inspire you through inevitable periods of doubt and bring additional value to conversations around your content. Starting from scratch can be daunting. To truly drive traffic, you need outside help. One service which can connect you to a new audience is Help a Reporter Out(HARO). What is HARO, and how can it connect you to renowned publications for opportunities to share your insight, earn a backlink, and drive more traffic to your site?

What is HARO?

HARO is an acronym for Help a Reporter Out, a platform that connects journalists with content experts who can provide valuable insight. The journalist is able to find knowledgeable quotes or contextual stories, provided by authoritative sources, to strengthen their story. The contributing source gains a mention in a well-respected publication and a valuable backlink to their site. This backlink can drive traffic directly as a new audience is introduced to your content via your contribution to the article and may choose to visit your site to learn more. Being selected as a source can also benefit you indirectly, as quality backlinks will increase your site’s Domain Authority, causing it to shoot up search rankings.

Is HARO a Scam?

No! While HARO may not be a singular solution to building traffic, it is not a scam. Created in 2008, HARO connects hundreds of sources with some of the world’s most respected publications every day. Operating out of Chicago Il, HARO has been leveraged by such prestigious publications as:

• The Wall Street Journal
• The New York Times
• Chicago Tribune
• Time Magazine

and countless others. Each publication I have worked with had a Domain Authority of 49 or greater, making each mention impactful.

Do You Get Paid for HARO?

While you do not receive direct compensation for acting as a source for the HARO service, exposing your expertise to a new audience has value. If you manage to secure a backlink to a related article on your site, new visitors will often follow. Backlinks provide additional value, as they tell search engines that your site is to be trusted and provides value. As you grow your backlink profile, you will appear higher in search results, resulting in more traffic for your site.

How to Sign Up for HARO as a Source

Registering as a source on HARO is painless, and you can do so directly from their website. The homepage prominently features two buttons: “I’m a Journalist” and “I’m a Source” click the one which describes how you wish to use the service. Read over the rules to abide by and click the sign-up button. As a source, you will provide the following information:

• First and Last Name
• Email
• Phone
• Country and State
• Company and annual revenue

HARO will send you a verification email to validate the email is truly yours and your setup will be complete. 

What to Expect as a Source

Upon registration, you will receive three emails every weekday. Each email typically contains between 25 and 150 opportunities broken out into sections such as finance or technology. You can subscribe to the areas which interest you if you wish to receive more targeted emails.

How Often Can You Expect to Be Chosen as a Source from HARO?

I have responded to thirty-nine requests, with roughly 13% of my pitches turning into published quotes. Of these five successes, only three were personal finance related. One was related to my day job and resulted in a link to my professional bio on LinkedIn, while the others linked directly to my blog.

About half of my accepted pitches were cross-published on additional sites (MSN Money, Yahoo Finance, and similar), putting them in front of additional audiences. Two journalists I have worked with have subsequently reached out to me directly to get quotes for other articles they were working on, allowing me an even better opportunity for future collaborations.

My experience aligns with what others had told me of their own experiences. The consensus is to expect about 1 in 15 of your pitches to be accepted. With registered sources outnumbering publications by about 13:1, most requests are extremely competitive.

Is HARO a Good Source of Traffic?

It’s easy to dream of being featured in a respected publication such as The Wall Street Journal and seeing your traffic explode overnight. Sometimes the stars may align. An insightful quote for a relevant feature at the right time may have dramatic results. For most people, HARO is a long game.

Without question, each time a pitch of mine has been published, I have seen a boost in traffic. Often the referral traffic is modest and tappers off far too quickly. The lasting impact has been the library of quality backlinks to my site and the slow but steady growth in domain authority they provide.

As quality sites link to you, search engines such as Google and Bing trust you more and more. As Google’s faith in your content grows, they will feature your content higher in search results. Higher search posistions exposes your content to a broader audience, directing more and more traffic to your site.

HARO has not been a silver bullet, but it has worked alongside my other efforts to consistently grow my traffic over time.

How to Craft a Successful HARO Pitch and Earn That Valuable Backlink

The best way to have your HARO pitch printed is to respect the time of the journalist you are responding to.  

1. Respond in a timely manner– With tight deadlines and hundreds of responses to a given inquiry, there is a significant first movers advantage if your pitch is well thought out and unique. If you don’t see a HARO email within the first two hours, only respond to queries where you have a unique take. Any longer and delete the email sight unseen and wait for the next.
2. Have something to say– Reporters are resourceful and intelligent. They will receive dozens, if not hundreds of, responses from credible sources. If you don’t have anything to say that cannot be found within a few moments on Google, it is most likely not worth your time to respond. Focus your energy on responding to inquiries where you have unique insights, a personal story, or a topic you feel passionate about. 

The Pitch

1. Get to the Point– Consider your response an elevator pitch. Address every part of the request in your initial pitch, but realize that you have about ten seconds to grab the journalist’s attention and convince them you have something to add to their story.  
2. Respect the Requirements– Many HARO inquiries will list credentials they need from their sources. Some articles need insights from certified professionals. If these are suggested or preferred, only respond if you have something insightful to share. If they are required, and you do not meet the requirements, do not respond. The last thing you want to do is waste the journalist’s time (or your own) as there will always be more requests.  
3. Address the Request in Full– Each HARO request is unique. Some will have a word limit, while others will include multiple questions or ask that you provide availability for a follow-up call or email. If you respond to a query, provide everything the request calls for directly within your initial pitch.

How Long Does it Take to Know if Your HARO Pitch was Selected?

The time from submitting your pitch to discovering you have been chosen as a source varies by the publication. Reporters have thanked me within the hour, while other times, I have received notification five weeks later, after I had given up. There will also be times you are used as a source and are not informed. Consider using a service such as Google Alerts or Mention to ensure you know when you have been quoted. Both services will monitor the web for a term (such as your website) and alert you when it appears in new articles.

How Long Does it Take to Be Published? 

The editorial review process can take time, with some larger publications taking months for an article to show up in print.  My experience has shown the majority of articles to take about three weeks to go live.

Taking Control of Your HARO Backlinks

You’ve put in the work, responded to dozens of HARO requests, and had one of your HARO pitches chosen for inclusion in a published article, but how can you use this opportunity to turn those readers into returning visitors to your site? 

Most of my HARO successes have resulted in a default backlink to my homepage. If you can direct the traffic, you can ensure that you present this audience, viewing your content for the first time, with articles tailored to their interest. By ensuring this first impression is a good one, the likelyhood of them checking out more of your content skyrockets.

I recently received an email notifying me that a pitch I had written on the impact of adding bitcoin to my portfolio had been selected, and the article would soon reach publication. Reviewing the initial pitch, I noticed the HARO query did not mention if a backlink would be provided. I took the opportunity to congratulate the author on the upcoming article while securing a backlink for my site:

Hi ####! I realize you have many articles to your name, but it’s always great to see an article go well. Linked below is a headshot that you can include in the article.  Do you have the freedom to include a backlink? 

When the author responded, he was open to providing a backlink as long as I could show the value it would bring to his audience:

Yes, I would be able to include a backlink. What did you have in mind and what exactly would it link to?

Since the article was on the impact of adding cryptocurrency to a portfolio, an article I had written on the thought process I went through when deciding to add it to my portfolio seemed like it would serve the audience well:

I have an article that should be a good fit detailing the considerations investors new to cryptocurrency should weigh when considering if it is an appropriate investment vehicle for their portfolio:

https://www.inimitablepath.com/should-i-invest-in-bitcoin-in-2021/

Given the nature of your HARO prompt, it seems this article could provide additional context to your readers and be of value. 

If you don’t believe this would be a fit, linking to my homepage is a less ideal, though still appreciated, option. 

Your primary responsibility is to serve the needs of the HARO reporter who selected your pitch and their audience. By supplying a backlink that supports the article you contributed to, you provide this new audience with additional information relevant to their interests while securing a valuable backlink to the content you want to support.

Is HARO Premium Worth It for Sources? 

HARO offers a paid version with the following benefits to sources:

• Keyword Alerts (one at standard, two at advanced, unlimited at premium)
  • A way to narrow down the opportunities to those most relevant to your experiences. A single or even two keywords does not provide the flexibility you need to not miss out on opportunities. While unlimited might be a time-saver, ‘ctrl + f’ can accomplish much of the same for free.   
• Profile (1,3, unlimited)
  • Over time, you will develop a general flow to your pitches. Paid users can automatically insert contact information or social media handles into each pitch. Most email clients or services will allow you to create signatures to attach this information for free.
• Text Alerts
• Search Online
  • Often the daily emails will include so many opportunities that the email will be cut off, making an online search desirable. As a free alternative, at the bottom of those emails will be a link to view the entire email in a new browser window. 
• Head Start (advanced and premium only)
  • The crown jewel of the paid program and a benefit that may be worth your time. Paid users will receive the daily emails a full hour ahead of everyone else. Use this time to refine your pitch and move beyond your first thoughts, which will often be explored by others. If your pitch is unique and provides value, you can always earn a selection without this advantage.   
• Phone support (Premium only)  

How to Get HARO Premium for Free

If you already pay for the PR service Respona, the features of HARO premium are yours at no additional cost.