Phoenix from the Haro flames?
Connectively (Connectively.us) is a platform where journalists and sources connect with one another. Much like the HARO Newsletters, Connectively’s primary objective is to connect journalists with sources and help sources get the attention they want and need for their companies, blogs, and personal websites.
The goal for many sources is to gain backlinks to build authority for their website, while journalists are looking for professionals to quote in their upcoming stories.
The domains range across anything from Forbes and CNN to your everyday blog about budding businesses. Domain Authorities range from 95 to 0, allowing sources to pick and choose where they would like to comment. Similarly, journalists can pick and choose what source comments they want to use in their pieces after sources send their comments.
Connectively is all about facilitating connections and getting both journalists and sources what they want: comments and exposure.
Initial Issues
Aside from fully launching about four months after they said they would, Connectively has had issues with spammy journalist profiles, AI-generated sources, and a host of technical errors, including, but not limited to, an incredibly slow Help Line. It can take anywhere from 24 hours to 24 days (true story) to get a response from someone, surely as the navigate the newness of their platform and answer user questions.
Their new twitter/x account they setup had about 5 tweets a few months back and last time I looked i can’t seem to find it.
We get that Freebie customers can’t ask for discount, but doing that to paying customers is criminal.
The Price Promise They Fail To Deliver on
Connectively, unlike it’s HARO Newsletter counterpart, has Plans for sources: Lite, Core, Pro, and Premier for sources.
Monthly
The Lite Plan is free and allows a source 10 pitches per month and allows you one saved search, limited access to public profile viewing, and one profile.
The Core Plan is $19 per month and offers 25 pitches per month.
The Pro Plan is $49 per month and offers 50 pitches per month.
The Premier Plan is $149 per month and offers 150 pitches per month.
At this rate, it may be easier to purchase multiples of specific plans that cost less and send a greater number of cumulative pitches in a month as opposed to purchasing the Pro or Premier plan and having to purchase more pitches throughout the month.
You can also purchase extra pitches on your plan. 5 pitches for $5, 25 pitches for $25, and 50 pitches for $30.
Annually
Connectively boasts that, if you pay annually, you can save 20% on your purchase.
The Lite Plan is free.
The Core Plan is $182.40 for 25 pitches per month for a year.
The Pro Plan is $470.40 for 50 pitches per month for a year.
The Premier Plan is $1430.40 for 150 pitches per month for a year.
You can still purchase more pitches if you need them each month. With these totals, it may still be cheaper to purchase more of the lesser plans and pitch from those accounts – PR accounts, client accounts, what have you.
The Catch
Eagle-eyed readers will spot that the monthly Core Plan gives you 25 pitches for $19—easily the best bang for your buck. The other plans? Not so much. Somehow, the highest-priced plan doesn’t offer the best price-per-pitch ratio.
$149 for 150 pitches? You do the math: $149 / $19 = 7.8 Core Plans, which gives you 195 pitches for the same price. Or, for just $2 more, grab 8 Core Plans and walk away with 200 pitches.
Someone call the Pricing Police!
The only ‘perk’ of the Premier Plan? Convenience, maybe. But bundling 10 profiles together can backfire—one ban, and all your accounts are flagged. All eggs in one overpriced basket!
Remember the good old days of mobile phone contracts with rollover minutes? Well, Connectively doesn’t play by those rules. It’s ‘use them or lose them’ with your pitches, so brace yourself for that mad end-of-month rush, pitching away just to avoid wasting them.
And here’s the kicker: they reset on the 28th. Yep, not even a full month! Connectively isn’t exactly shouting this from the rooftops, and plenty of companies and individuals have been blindsided, losing pitches simply because they weren’t aware of the sneaky early reset
The New UX of Connectively for Sources
In the beginning, its interface was a little challenging to navigate.
With a barrage of questions from journalists needing to be answered by sources, only being able to see five at a time on the menu was a roadblock. Thankfully, they’ve changed it, and now you can see 20 queries per page and navigate the pages through the linked page numbers at the bottom of the menu.
Each query is in its own section on the table of 20, where you can immediately see the journalist’s headshot, if they have one, the deadline, when it was posted, the category it’s been tagged under, and the domain they listed as associated with it.
Each query is hyperlinked to its own ‘View Query’ page. On this query description page, you will see the journalist’s full name, the query description, the deadline, a list of topics the query is filed under, and the media/news outlet, otherwise known as the domain.
In the top right-hand corner of the ‘View Query’ page, you can bookmark the query, report it as spam, mark that you’re not interested in the query, and Pitch the query.
When you click Pitch, you will be directed to a smaller menu on the right side of your screen. It will have your full name and your job title pre-saved in the first two entry boxes. Then, it gives you the option to change the email address you want the response sent. You can then paste your subject line and pitch in the allocated text boxes and click submit to send your pitch.
At the bottom of the pitch window, you will also see how many pitches you have available for the month. These refresh on the 27th/28th of the month. Make sure to keep track of these as you’re pitching!
The New UX of Connectively for Journalists
When you use the platform as a journalist, you are greeted by a window labeled ‘My Queries’ where you can see all of the queries you have submitted to be answered by sources. To the right of the ‘My Queries’ button, there’s a section labeled ‘Archived Queries.’ This is a list of all of the queries you have archived.
On the right hand side of the window, you can create a new query, this will take you to a new window where you will upload the News Outlet, the URL, the Query Tile, Description, Deadline and the Topics that relate to the query.
After you click Submit, your query will be published and sources will be able to answer it.
All of the replies will be listed under the query under the My Queries tab. You can click in to each one and scroll through the answers provided from sources.
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, as a Source
Fortunately for sources, the navigation can be quite seamless, if you know how to use the platform. With 20 journalist requests per page, you can pilfer through the different opportunities to find ones that match your expertise.
It’s quite straightforward to pitch. All you need to do is click the ‘Pitch’ button in the top right… when it actually shows up. Yes, there are times where you have to manually refresh the page in order to see the pitch button. Speaking from experience, this causes a {small} heart attack, especially if you’ve sunk 40+ minutes of your time crafting the most perfect, detailed answer.
Sources Beware! When a query says ‘Archived’ under ‘Status,’ that means you can no longer pitch it. It will not be listed as ‘Expired,’ letting you know you can’t submit writing anymore.
Some journalists will manually click to archive their own query when they have had enough pitches. We’ve seen this done hours before the official deadlines and in some cases days.
The Sequel: The Advantages and Disadvantages Over HARO
Advantages of Connectively Over HARO:
Searchable Database:
- Connectively allows users to browse queries in real-time through a searchable database, which is a significant improvement over HARO’s email-based system. Users can filter results based on keywords, websites, topics, date posted and deadlines making it easier to find relevant media opportunities.
- HARO relied on mass email blasts, which could be overwhelming and difficult to sort through.
More Organised Pitching System:
- Connectively integrates a real-time pitch submission system directly into its platform, with features such as pitch tracking and deadline alerts. This streamlines the pitching process compared to HARO, where users had to email their responses separately.
- HARO lacked any integrated pitch system, relying solely on email, which often led to confusion and clutter.
Fewer Spammy Pitches:
- With a pay-to-pitch model, Connectively reduces the volume of low-quality or AI-generated pitches, ensuring that journalists receive more serious and relevant responses. This was a common issue with HARO, where spammy pitches would overwhelm journalists.
- Don’t be fooled though, it is still spammy as they don’t verify sources or journalists.
Improved User Profiles:
- Connectively offers detailed user profiles for sources, helping them stand out more clearly to journalists. These profiles are visible to journalists before they review a pitch, adding credibility.
- HARO did have user profiles but they were under utilised and under the radar, so journalists had no real idea that they could vet sources on the platform itself.
Real-Time Query Updates:
- Unlike HARO’s fixed daily email blasts, Connectively’s platform provides real-time updates on media queries, allowing sources to respond quickly to new opportunities.
- HARO users had to wait for the next email, which could mean missing out on last-minute opportunities.
Disadvantages of Connectively Compared to HARO:
Pay-to-Pitch Model:
- While this model reduces spam, it introduces a financial barrier that HARO did not have. HARO allowed users to pitch for free, making it accessible to a wider range of people,.
- For some users, especially smaller businesses or freelancers, this cost could be prohibitive and may limit their use of the platform.
Steep Learning Curve Initially:
- Connectively’s platform was initially criticized for being difficult to navigate, with users needing time to adapt to its new interface and features.
- HARO’s simple email-based system required little to no learning curve, making it easier for beginners to participate.
Longer Customer Support Response Times:
- Users have reported that Connectively’s customer support is often slow to respond, sometimes taking days or weeks to resolve issues. This was still a complaint with HARO, but the new platform raised expectations for better customer support. Fat chance!
Limited Free Pitches:
- HARO allowed users to send unlimited pitches for free, whereas Connectively caps the number of pitches at 5 per month for its free tier, with additional pitches requiring a paid plan.
- This limitation may discourage smaller users who were used to HARO’s more generous model.
Journalists Queries Going Unchecked
- Once a journalist has posted a few queries, they’re given free rein. We’ve seen queries go live just a minute after submission, which can open the door to some rather crafty, even fishing-style pitches. With HARO, there was always a bit of a buffer between submission and the email going out, giving editors plenty of time to proof. HARO let users send unlimited pitches for free, but Connectively? It caps you at 5 per month on the free tier, with anything more requiring you to cough up for a paid plan.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting: a journalist can post for one media outlet – say, the parent site – and then scatter the answers across various sister sites. And let’s be honest, some of those sites are a bit questionable. If you’ve seen URLs with multiple variations of ‘Icy’ in them, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
- Once a journalist has posted a few queries, they’re given free rein. We’ve seen queries go live just a minute after submission, which can open the door to some rather crafty, even fishing-style pitches. With HARO, there was always a bit of a buffer between submission and the email going out, giving editors plenty of time to proof. HARO let users send unlimited pitches for free, but Connectively? It caps you at 5 per month on the free tier, with anything more requiring you to cough up for a paid plan.
If you’re looking to separate the real from the fakes, squeeze every ounce of value out of your free subscription, or learn the art of reverse engineering those journos while outsmarting the phishers, drop us a line: brett@harohelpers.com
Or want access to our $10 per month unlimited access to live Pitch data, Journo backgrounds and the traffic light warning system of queries then email me with ‘Help us out Haro’
