Help a Reporter Out for PR Professionals and JournalistsA wonderful resource for businesses looking to garner publicity while on a budget is Help A Reporter Out (HARO). HARO is a free PR newsletter that is sent out three times daily with journalist queries looking for expert sources in various industries.

HARO was created in 2008 by Peter Shankman, a Public Relations Expert and Entrepreneur. Shankman thought of the idea when journalists asked him regularly if he knew of any sources for an upcoming story.

To date, HARO brings nearly 30,000 reporters and bloggers, over 100,000 news sources and thousands of small businesses together to tell their stories, promote their brands and sell their products and services.

Once you subscribe to the newsletter, it is easy to scan the table of contents to see if there is anything relevant to your business or industry. If there is a request for an expert that applies to you, be sure to pitch on topic.

Answer promptly and include the query in the subject line with HARO listed. There are Five Rules of HARO that Shankman points out to always follow.

Other tips? Keep your pitch short and sweet. Offer contact information and links to more details if necessary, but no attachments. PR Web wrote How to Pitch HARO Successfully and it is chock full of tips from PR experts.

We have shared tips on pitching, building a media list, and follow up which are all elements, when done correctly, of a successful PR campaign.  Hopefully Help A Reporter Out can enhance your PR campaign and help your business reach the right journalists at the right moment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foXCkmzFIgQ

Image via Help A Reporter Out