In this article, I’m going to walk you through exactly how I’ve used HARO to land PR and backlinks for myself and clients.
I’ve used this process to get mentioned in places like CNET, American Express, MarketingSherpa, and others.
Here are the 3 steps to successfully using HARO to land powerful PR placements and get awesome backlinks.
Step 1. Sign up
The first step to using HARO is to sign up to get their emails every day.
Just go to their website, click “I’m a Source,” and follow the instructions.
You should see this:
For the most part, the default settings are fine. However, I like to choose my industry to narrow the email down to only have queries that are relevant to me.
Once you’ve completed these steps, you’re ready to start receiving emails and responding to reporters!
Step 2. Check your email every day at 5:45 am, 12:45 pm, and 5:45 pm (EST)
These are the times HARO sends out their emails that contain questions from reporters.
They look like this:
Scroll through the queries until you find something you legitimately feel that you can answer with a unique perspective.
A unique perspective is important because if your answer is the same as everyone else’s, you only win if you’re a good writer.
Suggesting something extremely unique helps you stand out, so feel free to pull from personal experiences when looking for questions to answer. Journalists often prefer this.
Step 3. Write your response
When you write your response, follow these guidelines:
- Put their name and the query name in the subject line.
- Leave white space in your response to make the email readable.
- Write a 200-300 word response that they can copy and paste into their article.
- Close with the assets they need, such as social media links, a headshot link, and your website URL (put the page you want a backlink to!).
- Add a line at the start of each response where you briefly state your credentials (this tip was provided by Sam Browne from HARO SEO)
Here’s a template you can use (yes, use the long subject line):
Hey Sara!
Here’s my response to your HARO query, “[Query Name]”
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[Your Response]
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Hope this helps!
Here’s some info for you:
Full Name: [Your Name]
Title: [Your Title]
Bio: [2-Sentence Bio]
Headshot: [Public Headshot URL]
Website URL: [Your Website URL]
Happy to answer additional questions if needed!
Cheers,
[Your Name]
Here’s an example of this template in action:
You can even elaborate more on why you’re a fit in your intro. Sell yourself! Here’s an example of that:
Think about the perspective of the reporter. Make things easy for them, and give them everything they need for their story.
Good luck out there!
FYI, if you don’t want to do this, you can hire us via our HARO pitching services or contact us by booking a call below. 👇