WTF is Haro = Help A Reporter Out
The Boring Basics of Haro
HARO – the catchy, yet mostly unknown (hey that’s why you’re on this page) abbreviation for Help A Reporter Out.
It’s a platform that connects journalists, content writers and freelancers with potential expert sources for their query.
It enables brands, pr agencies and website owners to offer their expert & topical insights on the request, with the aim to get featured – with the chance of that all-important backlink.
It eradicates the need to search for articles relating to your or your client’s expertise, where the requests come to your inbox, Mon-Fri, 3 times a day.
What does Haro Helpers do?
We pitch on your behalf, using our writers expertise to pitch a quick, concises and punchy response. Conversion rate.
You give us some details of people at your company to quote, the more the merrier and we will pitch on your behalf. We have a collection of writers with a broad knowledge alongside expert/niche writers.
For full info and to save your eyes and my typing fingers – check the FAQ page
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Why should I use Haro Helpers when I can do it myself?
You shouldn’t have to, you can do Haro’s yourself or assign to your team. However, if you don’t have the time/team/expertise – we do
Although you don’t pay for our time, team or expertise either 😉 – just the confirmed live links 🙂
Even if you don’t use our service, you can find me on Facebook groups discussing the finer arts and I’m always happy to share tips if you drop me an email….
TL;DR – Help A Reader Out
Journo’s too lazy to Google info for articles. We do it for them. Our Links replace Laziness.
FAQ
WHAT IS HARO?
DO YOU GUARANTEE A MINIMUM DA?
We can guarantee a minimum DA/DR of 40+. The average DA/DR of our links built to date is between 50-70. Some queries are anonymous so we don’t know the DA/DR; if lower than 30 then we will not charge for the link.
ARE THEY ALL FOLLOW LINKS?
Yes, 90% of our acquired links are followed. We will capture nofollow’s too unless directed otherwise. We recommend a small smattering of nofollow to keep a link profile looking natural
WILL THEY ALL BE FROM DIFFERENT DOMAINS?
Yes, sometimes they are syndicated or we get 2 different comments quoted on the same domain due to them not publishing or letting us know before we pitched again.
Will only bill for one link from each domain. If they are from subdomains or syndicated on other domains then these will count as new links – within reason.
WHAT IS THE TAT ON THE LINKS?
Dependent on the niche, between 6 – 12 weeks. Most publications (with exceptions) don’t publish for a few weeks. However, once the first links land, it has the momentum needed so they are more consistent.
With more difficult niches, there are fewer callouts so the pitch volume is lower, plus the niche is less likely to be linked to from reporters, so we need to send more emails.
HOW TOPICALLY RELEVANT ARE THE SITES?
We always pitch relevant niches when the requests come in. Sometimes hyper-relevant niches opportunities are few and far between, so we also pitch for more general/business-aligned ones.
CAN YOU GUARANTEE YOU WILL GET ME ?/10 LINKS?
No, however, we won’t take on your website for our service unless we think we can get the requested links for you. In case of not hitting the target, we will partially refund the non-acquired links. Not happened yet.
AM I ABLE TO SEE THE PITCHES YOU SEND ON MY/OUR BEHALF?
Yes, if you wish we can BCC you into the pitches.
Alternatively, if we use your email you can just log and view them 🙂
WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T LIKE THE COMMENT?
Tough.
Joking aside, comments are generally quite neutral, non-offensive and researched. Sometimes they can be a little cheesy so be prepared for that. Snowflakes are not my best customers.
If you would like we can ask the media publication to remove the comment. In most cases, we don’t advise that as it can make us/me look rogue and/or dodgy.
CAN I RESPOND MYSELF?
Yes, but please bear in mind that you will have to send a reply to us within the hour and you may be peppered with email requests multiple times – at 3 different time periods of the day.
Yes, but please bear in mind that you will have to send a reply to us within the hour and you may be peppered with email requests multiple times – at 3 different time periods of the day.
The time on this will depend on your time zone and as such some may be inconvenient for you, or even when you should be sleeping 😉
If you go down this route then please bear in mind that the turnaround time will be a fair bit longer as there will be fewer pitches made per day, due to the limitations discussed above.
WHY DO YOU WANT A DOMAIN EMAIL FROM US?
Because we can apply to more pitches as some request forbid PR reps, plus being direct from the source can add legitimacy and improve the conversion rate
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T HIT MY LINK TARGET?
HOW DO I KNOW THAT YOU HAVEN’T JUST PAID SOMEONE TO PUT EDITORIAL LINKS ON A SITE?
All Haro requests are in emails from the company themselves. We can show you any emails from them, which will show the request, should you wish to see it.
HOW MUCH FOR MY NICHE?
It depends on how many opportunities are available for a given niche. The fewer opportunities and/or the more competitive than the higher the price. The lower conversion rate for certain niches will increase the price also.
You pay for a combination of our time, the DA and my expertise.
We will always check your niche and give you a price to agree on before proceeding.
Check the pricing for the current rates on certain niches.
WILL YOU RUN OUT OF SOURCES?
There may be a point where diminishing returns happen. This won’t occur – at a rough estimate – will only start at 50/60 links.
We are also trialling other media sites to use in case we get to this point.
CAN I CHOOSE MY OWN ANCHOR TEXT AND/OR TARGET URL
To put it bluntly, no. We don’t pay writers to inject our links, we legitimately pitch good insights to journalists in the aim of helping them. If we start requesting anchor text or specific URL’s then the game is up.
Almost all links are branded and to the home page. Better this way as they are not manipulated and will not cause any penalties or be removed like other links are when the paid writers are exposed.
WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG?
Journalists can take from 3 – 12 weeks to post an article, bar some exceptions. There is always bottlenecking for the first 3 weeks, then the links start to gain momentum.
After all, it’s a white hat manual process, and we all know legitimate link building takes more time than other types. Look on the positive side you don’t have to concern yourself with a link frequency penalty! If such a thing exists of course.
CAN YOU EXPEDITE MY LINKS?
Yes, and no. As with all SEO questions – it depends. We can put more writers on there and pitch for more general queries as well as niche ones. However, we are governed by how many opportunities Haro sends out per day, unfortunately.
Some niches are more difficult to rush, we take each request on its merits, as no 2 sites and opps are the same.
