Free Publicity – Really?

Ever heard of HARO – Help-A-Reporter-Out?

This website has been highly recommended in marketing and business circles, but I had never taken the time to check it out until recently. It is a portal where nearly 30,000 reporters from many of the major television news networks, prominent newspapers and magazines connect with sources for their articles and stories; even book research.

You can be one of those sources. It’s really very simple. You just sign up for one or multiple daily communication lists. They are listed by category; Business and finance, Lifestyle & Fitness, Education, Entertainment, Technology, Travel, etc. , as well as a general list that hits the highlights of them all.

The lists are sent out either once or twice per day and you can unsubscribe at any time if you find a particular list does not appeal to your area of interest or expertise. If there is a query you have some knowledge about, you simply click the link and send a short email to the reporter (not named) answering whatever the question is. If you are the kind of source they are looking for, they may use you in their article, TV interview, news story or book.

It’s free publicity for you or your company if you are selected and if not, you should only have lost a few minutes of your time. Don’t spend hours on this trying to answer every question you remotely know anything about. Just scan the list in your email inbox and delete it if nothing applies. If you see a query that is a fit, send a quick note and then delete it. Do not clog your inbox with these emails or save them for later. There will be more tomorrow!