If you’ve ever wondered how small businesses end up quoted in Forbes, business journals, or niche trade publications without paying a PR firm, the answer is often HARO. Help a Reporter Out connects journalists who need expert quotes with people willing to provide them, and in exchange, sources frequently get a link back to their website and a byline mention.
Table of Contents
This guide walks through exactly how HARO works today, how to sign up, how to write a pitch a journalist will actually use, and the mistakes that keep most responses from ever getting a reply.
Quick Answer
HARO is a free, email-based service, now run by Featured, that sends you journalist queries several times a day. You scan each digest for queries that match your expertise and reply directly to the ones you can speak to, and if a journalist uses your quote, you typically get named in the article along with a link to your website, which builds backlinks and brand visibility at no cost beyond your time.
How HARO Works Today
HARO has had a bumpy few years. Cision, which owned the service, rebranded it as Connectively and then shut the platform down at the end of 2024. In 2025, the company behind Featured (an AI-powered PR and content platform) acquired the HARO name and relaunched it as a free service, restoring the classic format long-time users knew: journalists submit queries, and those queries go out in digest emails to registered sources.
Signing up as a source is simple: you register with your name and email address (no category or industry selection at signup), confirm your account, and start receiving digest emails that include all of the currently active journalist queries. It’s up to you to skim each digest and pick out the queries that match your expertise, rather than the platform pre-filtering queries for you.
The service is free for both journalists and sources. Featured monetizes the platform through other means, such as newsletter sponsorships and its paid PR tools, rather than charging sources to participate.
Step-by-Step: Getting Your First Media Mention
Sign up as a source with your name, email, and (optionally) your website. There’s no expertise category to choose during signup, so every digest you receive will contain the full mix of active queries across topics like business, tech, health, finance, and lifestyle.
Read every digest email quickly and scan the full list, since queries aren’t filtered to your niche. Open only the ones where you have direct, credible experience to offer. Speed matters: popular queries can draw a large volume of pitches within the first hour or two, so responding early meaningfully improves your odds.
Write a focused pitch, not a generic bio. Answer the specific question asked, in the journalist’s context, using your real name, title, and company. Keep it tight, roughly 150 to 300 words, so an editor can scan it and lift a usable quote without heavy editing.
Use a subject line that references the query topic and your angle, for example something like ‘Retail Marketing Expert on Holiday Ad Budgets,’ so the journalist can tell at a glance whether your response is relevant.
Include your credentials and a website link in your signature, not buried in the pitch body. If you’re selected, the journalist typically reaches out to confirm your quote and details before the piece runs, and the resulting article often links back to your site.
Track what you send. Since not every pitch gets used, and journalists rarely reply to say no, keeping a simple log of which queries you answered helps you learn which topics and formats get picked up.
Tips and Common Mistakes
Do not send the same generic paragraph to every query. Journalists and editors read a high volume of pitches, and a copy-pasted response is easy to spot and easy to skip.
Do not oversell your company. Most queries want a useful, quotable answer to their question, not a sales pitch. Mention your business briefly in your signature rather than as the focus of the pitch.
Do not ignore the byline instructions. Some journalists specify exactly what credit line they want (name, title, company, and sometimes a link); following that format precisely increases your odds of being used as written.
Expect a modest hit rate. Most sources land only a fraction of the queries they respond to, so treat HARO as a numbers game, respond consistently, and don’t be discouraged by queries that go unanswered.
Set up an email filter or a quick daily habit for scanning digests, since every query shows up regardless of topic; without a system, it’s easy to let digests pile up unread or miss time-sensitive queries buried in a long list.
Verify a link is actually included before counting on the SEO benefit. Some outlets link to your site, others only mention your name or company, so treat backlinks as a bonus outcome rather than a guarantee.
Explore more: more digital strategy guides.
HARO (Help a Reporter Out) FAQs
Is HARO really free to use?
Yes. Signing up as a source and responding to journalist queries costs nothing. Featured, which now operates HARO, generates revenue through other parts of its business rather than charging sources.
How often does HARO send emails?
HARO typically sends digest emails multiple times a day, compiling all currently open journalist queries so you can scan and respond to the ones relevant to your expertise.
Do I choose categories when I sign up for HARO?
No. Signup is just your name and email; there’s no expertise category selection. Every digest includes all active queries across topics, so you’re responsible for scanning and picking the ones that fit your background.
Do I always get a backlink if my quote is used?
Not always. Some publications link to your website, while others only credit your name, title, and company without a link. It depends on the outlet’s editorial style.
What happened to HARO shutting down?
Cision discontinued the original HARO service (rebranded as Connectively) in December 2024. Featured acquired the HARO brand in 2025 and relaunched it as a free, email-based service for sources and journalists.
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