Constant Content

Hi all,

A while ago Celeste posted a link to www.helpareporter.com as a resource, saying she hadn't yet tried it out. I've been using HARO obsessively ever since, and I wanted to share my experience, because it turns out that HARO is awesome!

- You know how you see a public request on some topic that you know nothing about, and you either spend hours researching it or else don't even try? HARO lets you connect with experts in the field and get quotes, so you don't have to know much about the topic yourself. I wrote an article in under an hour for one obscure high-priced topic with the help of some experts.

- For those of you who have ongoing private requests, you can use HARO to get quotes on very specific sub-topics that you usually have to dig deep to find source material for. Imagine telling your client that you can provide well-written articles on WHATEVER they want!

- For on spec articles, you can choose an article topic, and instead of spending hours researching, you just ask experts directly to respond to the questions you want your article to answer.

So, how does it work? You go to the website and set up an account. Then you submit a query. HARO emails queries out to their members once a day. Within a couple days, you'll see responses to your query come in. I've gotten anywhere from 3 to over 30 responses. Sometimes I just quote whatever people say in their email and sometimes I schedule a phone interview with them. (With phone interviews they usually want to know the publication, so I probably wouldn't try that for on spec writing.)

Examples of queries I've sent out: "Traveling to an unfamiliar place can be an emotional roller coaster. What specific strategies do you use to feel grounded? Please use actual place names and concrete examples of things you've done yourself successfully, not just generic ideas."

and

"Quotes needed from professional nurses working anywhere in the USA. Any degree okay, please include your qualifications and where you went to school. Just answer the question, "Which nursing book or books had a strong positive impact on your nursing career?" (E.g., changed how you see your patients/coworkers, made you a better nurse, inspired a speciality change...) Thanks!"

You are getting all these amazing expert opinions for FREE...and what they get in return is publicity, so it's expected that you include the people's full name and qualifications in your article, and a link to their website. Although sometimes people reply who don't even care about the publicity, they just want to share their opinions and have a voice. You also build relationships for future articles...people will say, "Oh, ask me anytime if you want a quote on a related topic"...and I've had tons of PR managers contact me saying "I've got person x and person y, I can schedule an interview for you"...

Since I started using HARO, my articles have been so much easier to write, they sell for higher rates, and IMO are way more fresh and original. Although lately I've only been doing requests, which don't show up on the website, so you'll just have to take my word for it

Hope some people try it out, and I'd love to hear your experience with it. And thanks, Celeste, for posting the link--I'd never have found it otherwise!

Awesome! I still haven't tried it so I'm glad to hear your success. I keep meaning to do it, but have been dragging my feet. But I definitely will be using it. One tip, make sure to sign up for the daily digest version or else your inbox will be filled with emails from HARO.

There, I just posted a query about FlexFuel cars.

What a fabulous resource As soon as I think of something worthy to write, I'll submit a query. If you are writing freelance, what do you put down as media type, publication, etc.? If you're writing on speck (or even for a public request) we don't usually don't know where the piece will end up.

A lot of people just put "freelance" there. You can see the queries of others once you sign up. You'll get a couple of emails with lists of queries for topics that you're interested in each day.

Yeah, just put freelance or on spec for the media pub. If you know your target audience you could put that in the description. I do like seeing other people's queries--good source of topic ideas! I've found that asking really specific questions and keeping the query short results in better responses.

Thanks, Antonia and Celeste. This sounds great! Have signed up and submitted a query. Do you have to sign up as both a reporter and a source if you want to see others' queries though? Also, Celeste, where exactly do you request the digest version? I don't remember seeing this option when I registered.

Many thanks,

Jane

I signed up as both. To change the email, go to My Haro (It's in the upper right by your name). Scroll down to HARO Preference and choose the categories you want emailed to you or go for the Master Haro which is the digest. The digest comes three times a day.

Great. Many thanks, Celeste.

Jane

Yeah, Haro rocks! A Ford representative has already contacted me and will be arranging an email interview with an executive. Nice!

Also, you never know... Some of the people may need writers one of these days.

Whoa! I put up a query yesterday about games for pets and this morning I had 30+ pitches in my mailbox. Some were off-target a bit, but most were right on. HARO is so cool

I am a real novice at interviewing (and a telephone-phobe) so now that I have all these great leads, I feel overwhelmed. Some people just poured out information in their pitches and others gave a taste and then suggested further contact.

I could use advice or links to advice on interviewing techniques from all you veterans. Also, how do you winnow out the unqualified kooks from the serious experts? How do you choose when to quote and when to paraphrase?

Gah, you'd think I'd never written an article before....

Hey Debbi,
I'm interested to see what others say about interview tips. This probably goes without saying, but recording is recommended. Just ask permission beforehand. I hate listening to myself later when I transcribe the interview, but it's worth the humiliation. Plus it helps me improve my "professional" voice.
Em

I also received a great response to a pitch I sent out. As with Debbi, some of my responses gave quite a bit of info, whereas others were just saying that they knew an expert in the field who would give an interview.

What's the protocol when it comes to dealing with these? For staters, I intend to email all saying thanks for the response. However, when responding to the ones who have provided info I would like to include in my article, is it in order for me to ask if I can include the info they've provided, paraphrased accordingly, without necessarily quoting them? One or two I would like to quote so I will ask them if I may.

Any advice on how to deal would be welcome.

Great resource!

Thanks

Jane

I only received one response to my query, but it was an awesome one! I've been working with a PR rep for Ford and she just sent me the responses from one of the Ford executives. Nice! She's looking forward to reading the finished article, so the pressure is on. . . I want to work on it this weekend, but doubt I'll have time due to houseguests.

I am excited that you guys are finding HARO as helpful as I have! In answer to some of the questions, here are my thoughts:

- No need to respond to everyone who pitched. At first I did, but it takes up a lot of time if you have 30 emails to write! I only respond to those I want to use. You can say that in your query--"will respond to pitches if I quote you"--and people understand.
- No need to ask permission before quoting. You've already asked permission by sending your query. I sometimes ask for clarification about how they want their name to appear or which website link they want to be included.
- After quoting someone in an article, if it's for spec I write and tell them that I've quoted them and that I'll be in touch if the article runs. If it's for a request I wait until the article is live and then I email them the direct link and a huge thank you!
- Paraphrasing vs. quoting: whether or not you paraphrase or quote, you need to cite the source. "According to Bill Builder of Belmont, the larger cows are easier to deal with." "The larger cows are easy," says Bill Builder.
- Kooks vs. experts: the experts usually include their qualifications and if you google them something comes up. If they have a website check it out. Of course sometimes you don't necessarily need an expert, just a "man on the street" viewpoint.

Interviewing:

- I use Skype and ecamm Call Recorder to record my phone interviews. Call Recorder is about $20.
- I always state clearly in an email that I'm going to record the phone call.
- Yes, I hate listening to my own voice! And I was very awkward at first--nervous laughs, not pacing the conversation well--interrupting by mistake, long pauses....but, I force myself to listen to the whole interview afterward, and with each one I'm getting better. I'd love to get some advice from someone who has more experience with interviewing.
- It takes me about twice as long to transcribe as it does to do the interview. So 20 mins on the phone means 40 mins transcribing. Plus writing/editing time. So to keep the price reasonable for both parties, I try not to spend too much time on the interviews. On the other hand, one interview can provide valuable material for several articles!

I can't post the links to my interview articles here since I sold them for full rights, but if anyone wants to see an example of how I've used HARO for arties, email me and I'd be happy to send the link privately. I'd also love to see articles that anyone else has written using HARO sources.