Sources for Writers: HARO

Do you know about HARO?

Have you ever used it?

What is it??

HARO – Help a Reporter Out – is the brainchild of Peter Shankman. You can sign up to send a query or be a source. As a source, you’ll receive three HARO mailings a day with varying numbers of queries. Some queries are for national publications and/or news shows.

If you sign up to send a query, you fill out an online form, which will then be sent out to the mailing list. The number of responses varies.

I’ve used HARO a couple times. Once was on a plus-size fashion query I was working on. Within a couple hours, I had over 20 responses. I am still in contact with some of the people who replied through social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Plurk.

Speaking of Twitter, if you’re already a member or plan to sign up, follow Peter Shankman @skydiver. He posts urgent HARO requests there as they come in.