How to connect with journalists: my three favorite (free) tools for top-tier media opportunities
Are you interested in getting more meaningful PR opportunities for yourself or your clients, including major national outlets?
In today’s post, I’ll share my top three favorite platforms that beginners and experts alike may use to connect with journalists quickly and easily.
While there’s no substitute for the traditional PR process—creating the ideal pitch, researching publications and reporters, conducting outreach effectively, and positioning stories and content for positive business results—it can take significant time.
Using tools that connect journalists and expert sources just makes sense for quick PR wins. In contrast to pitching a brand new story that has to pass muster with the publication, opportunities derived from these tools are relatively easy wins because the story is already being written.
My favorite three PR opportunity platforms
Founded in 2007 by Peter Shankman, Help a Reporter Out (HARO) was once every PR pro’s can’t-miss-it, thrice-daily roundup of opportunities, but after being acquired by Cision, it was shut down. The disappearance of a tool that once connected media and the public relations industry left a significant void.
Luckily, a few similar concepts to HARO have emerged in recent years. I’m excited to share my favorite three tools for connecting with journalists:
- Qwoted: This easy-to-use platform offers a daily deluge of opportunities from top-tier media outlets, trade press, brand blogs, and independent media on a wide variety of topics. You will need to sign up from a business email (no Gmail sign-ups allowed) and get three (3) pitches per month, and while there is no guaranteed response, you do learn if the reporter opened your message. If the reporter replies, you may continue the conversation in-platform or migrate to email or phone communication. Either way, we love Qwoted for its user-friendliness and mix of opportunities, including top-tier, for various industries.
- Featured: Another media lead source that I recommend checking daily for opportunities is Featured. It’s easy to use and offers up to three (3) free pitches per month. One thing to note is that the platform is set up to submit commentary directly, bypassing the querying stage entirely, and instead simply submitting the answer to the question. I often recommend the site because of the types of opportunities that don’t appear anywhere else. Featured announced this week, as I was about to hit “publish” on this very post, that they’ll be acquiring HARO, the free daily listing of opportunities. You may sign up for that at https://www.helpareporter.com.
- Help Every Reporter Out (HERO): After the shutdown of HARO, its founder launched this new, free daily newsletter offering opportunities with national news and trade media and company blogs, and is easily the most straightforward way to scan for PR opportunities. One major benefit of this newsletter is that you get the journalist’s contact information, so you can reach out to them directly. If you’re interested in being included in media stories as an expert, or helping clients get more media coverage to reach their target audiences, this newsletter really is the most no-brainer sign-up you’ll do today. You may do so here: https://sourceofsources.com.
How to secure opportunities
Because journalists constantly post new stories and deadlines can require quick turnarounds, we recommend signing up with these platforms and scanning each of them daily for opportunities that may be right for you and your clients.
A consistent approach and strong, expert answers will ensure you get included in the articles you are pitching.
You can use the articles you are featured in for marketing and business development and to generate new leads.
Being featured on high-visibility media outlets and blogs will not only increase your credibility in the marketplace but will also help you become your industry’s known expert.