HARO, or Help A Reporter Out, used to be a go-to platform or online service for connecting journalists with sources and topic experts. This meant that you could get high-quality backlinks and build your authority.
But, seemingly out of the blue, it no longer exists. At least, it’s not the way it used to be.
HARO has recently been rebranded as Connectively.us. With this rebrand, a couple of changes have come, which means it might no longer be the best option for you.
But do not fear. I have been in the backlink and authority-building game for a while now and have come across many HARO alternatives on the internet.
Let’s go through some of the best ones so that you can figure out which one is best for you.
1. HERO
Price: Free.
HERO was created by Peter Shankman, the same man that made HARO. It was created in response to HARO being shut down and turned into Connectively.
HERO is very similar to the old HARO and allows you to give unlimited answers per month, so if you were already finding success on the old platform before it was changed, it is a great option as a HARO alternative. And, best of all, it is still free and promises that it always will be!
2. Featured (Formerly called Terkel)
Price: Free plan available, paid plan from $99 per month.
Featured, formerly known as Terkel, provides opportunities for you to create an expert profile to show your knowledge. Journalists can then discover you. Its goal is to facilitate collaborations and community-driven content.
The Featured free plan allows an expert to give up to three answers per month, while the Pro plan gives you unlimited answers and even gives you access to key features like domain rating and link type.
This makes it great if you are really serious about authority building.
3. SourceBottle
Price: Free plan available, paid plan from $5,95 per month.
SourceBottle allows experts to get ‘Drink Up’ emails on topics that they are interested in. The online community also allows an extensive database of journalists to find experts with ease by asking questions or looking for profiles.
Even though you can get ‘Drink Up’ emails on the free plan, for anything else you will need one of the paid plans.
4. PitchBox
Price: From $495 per month for 5000 outreach emails.
PitchBox is a comprehensive platform for professionals and enterprises. It helps you create personalized outreach emails using their email templates and track campaigns.
Although it is incredibly versatile, it is definitely not for small business owners, as the smallest plan includes 5000 outreach emails and follow up emails! However, it is definitely worthwhile for established companies.
5. PitchRate
Price: Free.
PitchRate is a free PR tool that connects journalists to experts looking for free PR.
It is an easy HARO alternative to use as both a journalist and an expert and delivers pitches and media requests straight to your inbox.
It can help you become a go-to source and foster a long-term connection with a journalist.
6. Qwoted
Price: Free plans are available, and the paid plans start from $99 per month.
Qwoted is one of the most popular HARO alternatives out there. One of their biggest selling points is that they are using advanced tech and AI to streamline the connecting process.
Their basic plan is completely free.
7. OnePitch
Price: Standard $50 for all features.
OnePitch is a tool that helps you streamline your pitches. This helps you to reach out to relevant journalists far faster and more efficiently.
It does not have a free version, but you can try out their standard plan using a 14-day free trial before you commit.
8. PitchResponse (Formerly known as Sourcery)
Price: Plans start from $29 per month.
Pitch Response, formerly known as Sorcery, focuses on connecting journalists with expert sources.
It includes the ability to set up keyword alerts and provides on-platform pitching by simply filling out a pitch template.
9. Muck Rack
Price: Some free tools are available, with custom pricing averaging at $10,000 per year.
Muck Rack is a comprehensive PR software platform that helps PR professionals find journalists, monitor news releases, and measure the impact of their PR efforts using custom reports.
Muck Rack provides tools for media monitoring, advanced outreach, and relationship management, but all of these come with a hefty price tag.
10. JustReachOut
Price: Starter Outreach plans from $147 per month.
JustReachOut is an AI-powered platform that enables you to pitch journalists your stories and ideas. JustReachOut aims to streamline the ultimate outreach process.
You can try their intelligence tool out risk-free thanks to the 7-day trial.
11. Meltwater
Price: Starting at $6,000 annually.
Meltwater provides media monitoring features, social media analytics, and media outreach solutions to help you understand and engage with your target audience.
With its advanced analytics capabilities and customizable dashboards, Meltwater enables you to track your media coverage, such as in online news, measure campaign performance, and identify emerging trends.
Although it’s expensive, it’s a good choice for organizations.
12. ProfNet
Price: From $99 per month invoiced annually.
ProfNet is a product by Cision, which is the company that bought HARO and created Connectively, as mentioned above.
If you’re a journalist, you can submit queries detailing their specific needs, and as a PR professional, you can answer queries with relevant expertise and insights.
13. Prowly
Price: From $258 per month.
Prowly is a Semrush company that streamlines the PR process by providing key features such as media database management, press release distribution, and email outreach automation using personalized pitches.
With its intuitive interface and customizable workflows, as well as over 1000 brands worldwide, it is worth the price if you can afford it.
If you are unsure, you can check out the 7-day free trial.
14. X (formerly Twitter)
Price: free.
While X, or Twitter as many people still call it, is not specifically designed to connect content creators with journalists or other professionals, it can be a useful tool.
As a social media platform, many use it to engage with other users, build relationships, and cement authority.
Certain X accounts, such as JournoRequests, share journalist requests and are a great place to start if you are used to using social media and want to reach out to others.
15. Hunter.io
Price: Free plan available, premium plans starting from $34 per month.
Hunter.io is an email outreach platform. It can help you find contact details, specifically the email address, for a variety of different people, such as journalists or contacts in media companies.
The free plan is more than enough to get started, while the paid plans give you access to additional features like campaign tracking.
16. Quora
Price: Free.
Quora is a question-and-answer platform where users can ask questions, answer questions, and collaborate on topics of interest.
By establishing yourself on Quora and showcasing your expert insights, you can give yourself quality backlinks and build credibility.
17. Forbes Councils
Price: $2500 to $5000 annually.
Forbes Councils is an invitation-only platform for experts. You already need to be a leader in your field. But, once you are invited to join, you can contribute expert insights on platforms like Forbes online, skyrocketing your authority and audience.
18. Business Journals Leadership Trust
Price: $1000 to $2500 per annum.
Business Journals Leadership Trust is also an invitation-only network for business leaders and executives.
If you are invited to join, you can network with other leaders in your industry and collaborate with one another.
19. Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG)
Price: Value-based pricing.
The Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) connects professionals with subject matter experts. The main purpose is really consulting and advisory, but it can be a great resource for those looking for insights.
This means that you might be able to get more mentions and build business relationships that can lead to collaborations.
20. Help a B2B Writer
Price: Free.
Help a B2B Writer focuses on connecting B2B writers and industry experts.
You can participate in relevant queries whenever you think there is a worthwhile opportunity. Since it is completely free to use, you have nothing to lose.
What is HARO?
HARO (Help A Reporter Out), or Connectively.us as it has now been rebranded, is a platform where you can be connected with sources for your content.
For example, if you are a political journalist, you can connect with an expert source in political sciences.
Originally founded by Peter Shankman in 2008, it has become very popular in any sort of PR. Online content creators use it to advertise themselves as an expert opinion in the hopes that they get mentioned. And, of course, backlinks.
Pros & Cons of using HARO/Connectively
There are several advantages and disadvantages to using HARO or Connectively.
The main advantages include the fact that you put yourself out there for more people to see. This can lead to building relationships in your industry that will let you collaborate and learn.
Of course, responding to HARO queries also leads to building backlinks, many of which will be from very authoritative sites. Being featured by these people will help you grow your domain authority, too.
All of this is entirely free on the limited ‘Lite’ plan that allows you to send up to ten pitches per month.
But, of course, no platform is perfect.
If you are starting out, you may notice that the platform is incredibly competitive. It can also be very time-consuming to create effective pitches.
And, even if you are able to stand out after spending many hours reaching out to people, you may have wasted your time on a low-quality inquiry and might not even get mentioned at all, or might be misrepresented.
You have very little control over Connectively, so make sure to use it with caution and consider any alternative platforms that might be more suitable.
Other Ways to Get Backlinks and Expert Quotes
What if you decide that using one of these platforms is not for you? Are there other ways that you can get backlinks and expert quotes?
Of course!
Let’s look at two of the main ways that you will be able to do just that.
SEO Companies + Digital PR Agencies
One of the best ways to get high-quality links and expert quotes is to partner with SEO companies or digital PR agencies. They have access to their own networks and can give you peace of mind by ensuring the quality of your backlinks.
However, their link-building services can be rather pricey, and even their smallest packages may be out of budget if you are just starting out and don’t have much to invest in your website.
Create High-Quality Content for Organic Links
Another way, and one that is entirely cost-free, is to create high-quality content like blog posts. If you create high-quality blogs and other content that is useful to people, you will attract natural backlinks from other websites.
And the better your reputation and the more content you have out there, the faster this will start to happen, just like a snowball!
I do recommend that you use backlink monitoring and analysis tools, though. You are likely to get just as many spammy backlinks and mentions as you are high quality ones.
One of my favorites is Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker. It is a powerful tool that is very easy to use and understand.
Join 900+ to receive a weekly SEO video from my YouTube channel, which I’ll share, and an actionable SEO tip every week.
Wrap-Up
If you are concerned about HARO disappearing or don’t think it is suitable for you, don’t worry. There are many different ways that you can get backlinks to help you improve your authority and countless HARO alternatives out there.
Just remember that a lot of your website’s authority depends on your reputation, so make sure that you are creating high-quality content optimized for user intent as part of your link-building strategy.
And keep an eye out for any spammy backlinks and misrepresentations that could be dragging you down.
To keep up to date with the latest SEO best practices, I recommend checking out some of these Podcasts, I’ve listened to them all personally.
FAQ
What is the success rate of HARO?
The success rate of HARO can vary depending on factors such as the quality of your pitches, the relevance of your expertise to journalists’ queries, and the competitiveness of the niche.
Is HARO free to use?
Yes, HARO, or rather Connectively, offers a free ‘lite’ subscription that allows you to make up to ten queries without any cost.
How do I create HARO backlinks?
To create backlinks through HARO, you need to search the platform for relevant opportunities. Then, you can craft personalized responses to journalist queries and provide valuable insights or commentary.
If the information is mentioned, you may get a backlink or a mention.
What is the meaning of HARO in search engine optimization SEO?
In the context of SEO, HARO can be a valuable tool for acquiring backlinks from high-authority websites, which can improve your website’s search engine rankings and organic visibility.
What are some alternatives to Help A Reporter Out (HARO) or Help A B2B Writer?
Some excellent alternatives to HARO include platforms like Featured, SourceBottle, PitchBox, PitchRate, Qwoted, OnePitch, Sourcery (Pitch Response), Muck Rack, JustReachOut, Kiti, Meltwater, ProfNet, and Prowly.
