HARO (Help A Reporter Out) was discontinued by Cision in December 2024 under its rebranded name Connectively, then acquired and relaunched by Featured.com in April 2025. The relaunched version is free again for both journalists and sources, with no login required for the basic email digest. If you stopped using it during the shutdown, it’s worth another look — and it’s a good moment to also check the other platforms that filled the gap while it was gone.
What journalist outreach actually gets you
Reporter request platforms connect journalists who need expert quotes or data with people willing to provide them. When a journalist uses your quote, you typically get a mention and often a link back to your site — from a genuinely high-authority news or media domain, earned through providing real expertise rather than paying for placement.
This is fundamentally different from guest posting: you’re not pitching an article, you’re responding to a specific, time-sensitive request with a useful, quotable answer. See Featured’s own account of the platform’s return and current model for how the mechanics work now.
Platforms worth checking, beyond the relaunched HARO
- The relaunched HARO/Featured platform — free digest-based requests, now under Featured.com’s ownership.
- Qwoted — a source-matching platform with both free and paid tiers, popular with PR professionals.
- SourceBottle — an Australian-founded platform with a similar request/response model, used internationally.
- Twitter/X journalist request hashtags (like #journorequest) — informal but still active in some niches, worth monitoring if your area has an engaged press community.
Treat these as complementary rather than picking just one — a request you miss on one platform may appear on another, and different platforms skew toward different beats and regions.
Writing a response that actually gets used
Journalists on tight deadlines skim dozens of responses. A response that gets used typically:
- Answers the actual question asked, directly, in the first sentence or two — not after a paragraph of introduction.
- Includes a specific, quotable line, not a vague summary. Journalists often lift a single sentence nearly verbatim.
- States your credential briefly — title, company, and why you’re qualified to answer this specific question.
- Responds within the stated deadline, often within hours, since journalists typically move on once they have enough usable quotes.
Keep a short, current bio and headshot ready to send, since many requests ask for both alongside your quote.
Setting expectations on link type
Not every media mention includes a link, and even when it does, many news sites apply rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored" to outbound links by policy, regardless of how the mention was earned. See our guide to dofollow, nofollow, sponsored and UGC links for what each attribute means for the SEO value you can expect. A nofollow mention from a major, genuinely relevant publication can still be valuable for brand visibility and referral traffic even without direct ranking credit.
Fitting this into a broader link building plan
Journalist outreach produces links you can’t fully control the timing or volume of — some weeks bring several relevant requests, others bring none. It works best as a supplementary channel alongside a more predictable primary channel like guest post outreach, rather than as your only link building activity. See our guide to guest post outreach for the more controllable, plannable side of link building.
Common questions
Is journalist outreach free?
The relaunched HARO/Featured platform’s basic email digest is free. Some platforms, including certain tiers of Qwoted, offer paid plans with additional filtering and response tracking features on top of a free base tier.
How fast do I need to respond to a request?
As fast as practical — often within a few hours for time-sensitive news stories, though evergreen or feature-style requests may have longer windows. Check the stated deadline on each specific request.
Can I pitch the same expertise to multiple platforms at once?
Yes, responding to similar requests across different platforms is standard practice, as long as each response is tailored to that specific journalist’s actual question rather than a copy-pasted generic quote.
Does a journalist mention count the same as a guest post for SEO?
They’re different link types with different strengths — a journalist mention often comes from a higher-authority domain but with less control over anchor text, link attribute, or whether a link appears at all. Both can be valuable parts of a diversified link profile.
Building a link profile with more predictable placements too? Web Grouth’s guest posting service complements ad-hoc PR wins with planned, vetted guest post placements.
