For B2B professional services firms, securing high-quality backlinks from authoritative sources remains crucial for improving search rankings, driving referral traffic, and building brand credibility. However, manual outreach and link building efforts can be time-consuming, with no guarantee of success.

That's where HARO (Help A Reporter Out) comes in. HARO is a powerful tool that connects journalists from respected publications with expert sources. By participating in HARO, B2B firms can gain valuable media exposure, earn relevant backlinks, and establish thought leadership in their industry.

HARO alternatives include platforms like Qwoted, Help a B2B Writer, SourceBottle, Featured, PressPlugs, and ProfNet.

These platforms offer an efficient and effective way to build links and garner media mentions from top-tier outlets like Forbes, Reuters, and niche industry publications. While not every pitch will be successful, HARO can help you get your expertise in front of the right audiences and potentially land featured quotes and links.

In this guide, we'll walk you through a step-by-step process for making the most of HARO. You'll learn how to create a compelling source profile, identify relevant journalist requests, craft pitches that resonate, and maximise your chances of success.

Whether you're looking to supplement your existing link building efforts or explore a new channel for thought leadership, HARO can be a valuable addition to your B2B marketing strategy. Let's dive in and discover how you can start leveraging HARO to achieve your goals.

Why HARO Delivers Results

HARO offers several key benefits that make it an effective tool for B2B professional services firms looking to build their online presence and credibility.

Boost SEO with High-Quality Backlink

When you're featured as a source in a HARO story, the publisher will often include a backlink to your company website. As well as driving referral traffic to your site, backlinks from authoritative, high-domain authority websites can significantly improve your search engine rankings. Search algorithms view them as a sign of your site's credibility and relevance and can help your site rank higher for competitive keywords and build your domain authority over time.

Establish Thought Leadership

Being quoted as an expert source in well-respected publications helps position your firm and its subject matter experts as thought leaders in your industry. When your target audience sees your insights featured in the publications they trust, it reinforces your credibility and expertise.

Gain Targeted Media Exposure

HARO allows you to more easily find media opportunities relevant to your industry or niche. The platform helps to get your firm's name and insights in front of writers for the publications that your potential clients are reading. This targeted media exposure can help attract new leads and build brand awareness within your specific niche.

Enhance Personal Branding

In addition to elevating your firm's brand, HARO can also boost your subject matter experts’ personal brands. By showcasing their knowledge and unique perspectives, HARO helps establish your key team members as go-to authorities in your space, strengthening your firm's overall reputation.

Repurpose Content for Multiple Channels

The insights and quotes you provide for HARO can be repurposed for your own content marketing efforts. You can create blog posts, social media updates, and other content assets around your HARO contributions, maximising the value of your efforts.

Streamline PR Outreach

Done right, HARO reduces the need for time-consuming cold outreach. Rather than having to constantly pitch journalists, HARO connects sources directly with journalists actively seeking expertise on specific topics. By focusing on providing value to journalists and their audiences, you can build relationships with journalists naturally without having to constantly chase down opportunities.

Cost-Effective PR and Marketing

Compared to traditional PR efforts that can be expensive, HARO provides a free or low-cost way for businesses and experts to gain media mentions from authoritative sources. The basic HARO service is free to use.

Step 1: Set Up Your HARO Account

Getting started is quick and straightforward. Simply sign up for an account submitting key professional details that showcase your expertise.

However, two profile optimisation tips can help land relevant media coverage faster:

Craft a Compelling Tagline

Your tagline is displayed alongside your pitches. Taking the time to craft a thoughtful, impactful tagline can boost the chances of your pitch being opened and read.

Reporters often scan through hundreds of responses, so an eye-catching tagline can help you stand out in a crowded inbox. This is your first opportunity to grab a journalist's attention and entice them to learn more about your unique perspective.

When crafting your tagline, think about the most relevant and impressive aspects of your experience and expertise. Use action-oriented language and be as specific as possible to quickly convey your value as a source.

For example, rather than a generic tagline like "Experienced Marketing Consultant," a more engaging alternative could be: "Marketing Strategist Who Has Helped Triple Conversion Rates for Big Name Brands."

The latter is more likely to pique a journalist's interest because it hints at the tangible insights and results you can potentially share.

Complete Your Source Profile

A robust HARO source profile is your opportunity to showcase your credentials, experience, and unique perspective to reporters. It should demonstrate why you are a credible and valuable expert source in your industry.

Some key elements to include in your profile:

Professional title and company
Years of experience in your field
Areas of expertise and specialisation
Noteworthy accomplishments or results you've achieved for clients
Previous media mentions or contributed articles
Links to your professional website, blog, or social media profiles
Headshot (putting a face to your name can help you connect with journalists)

The meatier your profile is, the higher the chance reporters will select you as an authoritative source. Regularly update your profile as you gain new experiences and media appearances.

With a compelling tagline to hook journalists and a strong profile to demonstrate your credibility, you will be well-positioned to start landing valuable HARO media opportunities.

Step 2: Monitor and Respond to the Right Queries

You will start receiving email alerts for journalist queries seeking sources related to submitted expertise areas in your profile.

HARO sends out email alerts with journalist queries 3 times per day - morning, afternoon, and evening - Monday through Friday. Free HARO accounts receive all three daily emails.

While this does require a consistent time investment, the potential benefits of landing earned media coverage and authoritative links make it worthwhile. Plus, spotting the right opportunities becomes faster with experience.

Expect to dedicate around 30-60 minutes per day for monitoring alerts, preparing timely, tailored pitches, and following up. Some queries may require additional research and time to prepare a quality pitch.

If your schedule is tight, consider upgrading to a paid HARO account. This allows you to set up alerts by keyword and get real-time emails whenever a relevant query comes in, saving time on sifting through unrelated requests.

Being prompt with your pitches is key to increasing the chances of being featured. Respond quickly to queries, as journalists are often on tight deadlines. You can set up phone alerts to ensure you don’t miss out on prime opportunities, and aim to reply within 30 minutes to an hour of the query being sent out.

However, you shouldn’t respond to every query that crosses your path. It takes time to respond well, so only reply to 2-4 queries daily where you can offer distinctive value.

This means honing your focus on queries that align with your expertise and industry. Don't be tempted to respond to queries outside your area of knowledge. You should only respond if you can offer a high-quality, insightful perspective that is worthwhile for readers on trending issues.

Prepare your point of view ahead of time so you can reply in a timely manner. Stay up to date with the trending issues in your industry, and the challenges your audiences and clients face. Identify the issues you can provide unique angles around and pull together some information so you have it at your fingertips when needed.

Step 3: Prepare Value-Added Pitches

Simply providing a quote for sake of visibility rarely cuts it anymore. You need to share something people haven’t heard before.

Pitching, therefore, takes time and effort to do well. You need to vet the journalist and publication before investing your resources. Analyse the outlet's content to ensure it aligns with your brand values, business goals, and target audience.

Contributing to publications that don't match your brand ethos or produce low-quality content can damage your reputation by association. Protect your credibility by only pursuing opportunities with reputable media outlets relevant to your industry.

When you’re ready to pitch, follow these tips for a more enticing approach:

Follow query instructions precisely regarding response format, length, credentials required, etc so you’re not adding to journalists’ workloads.
Use a clear and professional tone that is publication-ready with proper grammar and no spelling mistakes. In short, make it easy for journalists to include your input with minimal editing required.
Personalise each pitch to show you understand the journalist's story angle and needs. Don't send blanket, templated responses.
Provide high-quality, insightful and detailed responses that go beyond simple quotes. Offer unique perspectives, examples, and actionable advice.
If you can, recommend a smarter approach. A new way of doing or thinking about things will intrigue journalists to request more material from you.
Wherever possible, back your opinions and ideas with recent data to provide evidence of their effectiveness and validity.

In addition to strengthening your pitches, these tips can help ensure your contributions adhere to the publication's editorial standards and maintain a high level of quality. This protects your brand image and increases the likelihood of your pitches being accepted.

By taking a discerning, strategic approach to HARO pitching, you can focus on landing opportunities that will elevate your thought leadership and drive meaningful results for your business.

Step 4: Follow Up

After providing pitch quotes, your job isn’t done. A successful HARO placement can lead to future opportunities for interviews, contributed articles, etc so it is worth following up if you don’t get a response.

Express that you’re willing to jump on a quick call or can share additional data, like relevant industry report summaries, to pique a reporter's interest further. This can build goodwill and positions you as an advisor sharing more for reader benefit - not someone pitching themselves.

However, don't follow up excessively. One polite message is usually sufficient. You want to focus on building relationships with journalists who cover your industry, and harassment is not usually a great route to a lasting friendship!

After your insights are published, make sure to share the story across your social media channels, newsletter, and owned content assets like your blog. Include tags to the writer and publication. If you run an employee advocacy program you can also use your extended network to increase the story’s reach.

Doing so shows the journalist that you're actively amplifying their work and helping to drive more eyes to the story. Writers appreciate sources who help expand the reach of their articles.

Journalists closely monitor the performance of their stories. Many aim to write content that attracts high engagement. So when they notice sources making an effort to circulate their writing, it can help you stand out and stay top of mind.

This increases the chances of them coming back to you for future expert commentary. They may even start to see you as a go-to authority on the topic and reach out proactively when they need a source, opening up more earned media opportunities.

Promoting published HARO stories is also a way to showcase your media wins to your audience. It reinforces your credibility and authority. When prospective clients see you regularly featured in respected industry publications, it builds trust that can shorten sales cycles.

So sharing your HARO successes is a win-win. It supports the journalists amplifying their work while strategically elevating your authority with target audiences. When done consistently, it sets the stage for fruitful long-term relationships with key media contacts.

Step 5: Secure Backlinks from Published Coverage

Once your pitch gets published, track the coverage through the HARO My Clips section.

If an article doesn’t provide a backlink, identify the article’s writer and drop a personalised request asking if they could update it. Provide them with relevant company blog links and explain how it would provide further value to their readers.

Phrase this politely. Focus on enabling readers with more information and insights around the topics covered, rather than the fact you’re looking for backlinks for SEO sake.

Writer's mostly oblige without hesitation when convinced the reader's experience merits an update.

Step 6: Track Your HARO Successes

To gauge the impact of your HARO efforts, it's important to track key performance indicators (KPIs). Monitor which queries, niches, and pitching styles lead to more placements and high-quality backlinks.

By analysing which HARO topics, publications, and pitch angles drive the best results, you can optimise your strategy and double down on what works. Regularly reporting on these KPIs will also help secure continued buy-in and investment in HARO as a core part of your earned media and link building strategy.

Here are some key metrics you can measure:

Media Placement Rate

Track the number of successful media placements you secure relative to the number of pitches you submit. A higher placement rate indicates your pitches are resonating. Aim for a placement rate of 10-20%.

Backlinks Earned

Monitor the number and quality of backlinks generated from your HARO media wins. Useful metrics include Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA) of the linking page, relevance of the linking site, and referral traffic.

Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Google Analytics can help track these. To accurately attribute results to your HARO campaigns tag links in your HARO pitches with UTM parameters for easy tracking.

Organic Search Rankings

Measure improvements in your search engine rankings for target keywords related to your HARO topics. Higher rankings and organic traffic growth can demonstrate the SEO uplift of your earned media links.

Brand Mentions

Track total brand mentions and sentiment across target publications. An increase in positive brand mentions can indicate growing media visibility and authority. Set up Google alerts for your name, company, and branded terms to catch any HARO wins you may have missed. Tools like Mention and Cision can also streamline media monitoring.

Leads and Conversions

Ultimately, your HARO efforts should contribute to business growth. Track leads and conversions generated from referral traffic and organic search tied to your media placements. Marketing attribution software can connect the dots.

Unlock the Power of HARO for Your B2B Link Building and Thought Leadership Strategy

Platforms like HARO offer a powerful opportunity for B2B professional services firms to build high-quality backlinks, gain targeted media exposure, and establish thought leadership. By consistently participating in HARO and providing valuable insights to journalists, you can drive meaningful results for your business.

Remember, success with HARO requires a strategic and persistent approach. It's not about responding to every query but focusing on opportunities where you can offer unique and compelling insights. Crafting a strong source profile, personalising your pitches, and building relationships with journalists are key to standing out and securing placements.

While not every pitch will result in a media mention or backlink, the potential benefits of HARO make it a worthwhile investment of time and effort. By tracking your success and refining your approach over time, you can turn HARO into a reliable source of high-quality backlinks and media exposure. The relationships you build with journalists and the exposure you gain can lead to additional media opportunities, speaking engagements, and even new business leads.

So if you're looking to take your B2B link building and PR efforts to the next level, give HARO a try. With the right strategy and execution, HARO can be a game-changer for your online visibility and authority.

Want to see how HARO can fit into a comprehensive B2B content marketing strategy? The team at 1827 Marketing is ready to help. We'll work with you to develop a tailored plan that drives backlinks, media exposure, and thought leadership. Reach out now to schedule a consultation.

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How B2B Firms Can Boost Online Visibility and Credibility by Helping A Reporter Out