The 5 Golden Rules to HARO Success, as Shared by Real Users

  by Mihaela Lica Butler

HARO, short for Help a Reporter Out, is an amazing tool, if you know how to use it. For business owners with no budgets for PR, it’s a godsend. For PR professionals, it’s the promised land: direct opportunities to pitch journalists who are actually interested in their stories. But of course, things aren’t as simple as they appear at the first sight: using HARO requires a bit of common sense, self discipline, and pitching skills.
There are no real secret recipes to using HARO, however, to learn how to maximize your chances of being selected as a source by a journalist, you need information from those who actually experienced success. What did they do to be selected? Are they willing to share the wisdom? Are there tips and tricks that helped them score great media mentions?
Everything PR ran a query with HARO, asking sources to share their success stories, and the amount of feedback received was mind-blowing. In less than 24 hours, there were over 50 pitches in my mailbox, from business owners and PR professionals alike. These responses provided tremendous insider intelligence value – concrete real life examples of successful pitches, tips and advice from real HARO users.

1. Off topic pitches will fail

Don’t pitch off topic – there seems to be a general consensus among 57 people who answered Everything PRs call for success stories. Pitching off topic is a waste of time for you, and might impact your image negatively with journalists:

Stay on topic and get to the point quickly. Reporters are busy and they get tons of
queries through HARO — respect their time,” told us Julianne Coyne, PR specialist at Fahrenheit Marketing. Her company was recently selected as a source for an article on Secret Entourage, How to Do Keyword Research for SEO.

Christina Daves of CastMedic Designs told us the same thing:

Don’t pitch off topic to a reporter. They get inundated with responses. Don’t waste their time.

And Daves knows a thing or two about success with HARO. Aside several mentions or national media (like Blog Talk Radio, NerdWallet, Examiner and others), Daves appeared on the Steve Harvey Show, after answering the query, Do you want to take your product to the next level? (National Television). The show ended up being a contest:

“I competed against 5 other inventors and was selected by two branding expert judges and won $20,000 in seed money. As a result, sales have boomed and I also have had celebrity customers.”

2. Keep it short, smarty

Brief pitches work best – it appears that users who send out brief pitches experience a better success rate than those who rant.

“My best advice to new HARO users would be to send very brief pitches that are highly personalized. Nobody wants a form letter,” told us Alexandra Chauran, a fortune teller who recently got a mention in the Colorado Springs Gazette after answering a journalist query on HARO.

The same advice comes from Jason Fitzgerald of Strength Running who used HARO to get press mentions and quotes in Yahoo, Health Magazine, Shape, and many others:

“Beginners to HARO should keep their tips short, to the point, and offer to help the writer with additional information or quotes.”

3. Stick to the topic, without the fluff

Keep to the point – even if you want to give additional details you believe relevant, keep them to yourself:

“Respond to queries where you can truly offer the expertise and information that the reporter is seeking,” explains Michelle Sullivan, Director of Marketing at Privia. “Do not waste their time as that certainly won’t endear you to them. Answer the questions that they are asking and do not offer tons of additional data that doesn’t really benefit their article. Understand that they are on a deadline and that if they need additional details, they will certainly ask.”

And Sullivan should know. Her CEO was recently featured in the SmartCEO Magazine after answering the query Seeking DC area C-level executives for interviews on corporate team building.
Keeping to the point works even when you are not in the business field the journalist is interested in, but only if you know what you are talking about. Liran Hirschkorn, who is an Independent Insurance Agent was quoted at SheKnows.Com about fathers who work from home, a mention that brings traffic to his website:

“My advice would be to look at the HARO emails every day and any request that might be a good fit – submit to. It doesn’t matter if it relates directly to your business or not – for example I was quoted at SheKnows.Com about fathers who work from home, and that mention gets traffic to my website. Write through, useful responses that add value and you have a good shot at a reporter emailing or calling you back.”

Joseph Shrand, MD, Medical Director at Castle, High Point Treatment Center in Marshfield, experienced the downsides of too long, fluffy pitches first hand:

“My first attempts were dismally unsuccessful: I put way too much information in the response. I am now much more likely to get what I call a HARO hit by writing perhaps three or four pithy sentences that get right to the heart of the query.”

4. Credentials matter

Your credentials may sell you as an expert. As reporters are more often than not looking for experts, you should showcase your credentials as early in your response as possible. Conor Keenan, SEO Analyst & Lead Email Marketer at Perfect Search Media explains:

“Give your information immediately, and any other credentials you may possess to build your klout with the reporter in question. Any credentials you can give early on in the email will help to ensure that your email gets read by that reporter, and that will increase your likelihood that you will be mentioned.”

Tangela Walker-Craft, the mom inventor of www.TheGoPillow.com, believes in credentials too, especially because complete contact information ensures that you can receive a reply if you’re selected. But also because her credentials are what scored a mention in the 8 Must-Have Gadgets for Your Next Road Trip segment on the Today Show.

5. The early bird catches the worm

Respond quickly – this is one of the most important rules, often ignored by HARO users. But Jennifer Stagner, search engine optimization, analysis, and technical support manager at Tops Products, knows it well:

“Respond QUICKLY – many reporters stop reading their pitches after they have found the ones that will work. They are meeting deadlines, so respond accordingly.”

Take Stagner’s word for it: she has already experienced tremendous success with HARO, with mentions on MarketingSherpa, CEOBlogNation, Secret Entourage, and many others.
Casey Halloran of Costa Rican Vacations, who got a couple of mentions in Forbes, agrees:

“I cannot imagine how many replies they have to sort through, so I think it’s worth bearing in mind that you need to somehow stand apart….and fast.”

Instead of conclusion: we will follow up

There’s so much more to share from the responses we received: enough material to write 10 HARO articles, not just one. We will follow up with more in the near future. In the meanwhile, the 5 golden rules should help you get started.

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Neuromarketing: The Future of Advertising

Marketing Conversation

Neuromarketing: The Future of Advertising
by speters on August 14, 2012
Marketing evolves over time to the will of the people. This is a very important fact for business owners and other entrepreneurs to remember and follow accordingly. As times change, people change, and because advertising and marketing rely on the response of the people, they need to change as well.
In recent years we have seen the use of strategic ad placement, as well as social media marketing techniques. These strategies work very efficiently and sometimes effortlessly; however, success can be pushed even further by getting it all down to a science. What does that mean? Marketing to the masses using neurological means of advertising.
Some of you may think this already sounds confusing and complicated, but thankfully, it isn’t. Neurological marketing strategies are in fact very simple and easy to effectively incorporate in your business. In order to equip them into your business plans, you’ll need to understand basic examples of neurological marketing strategies.
When designing psychological based methods of advertisement, entrepreneurs should always be thinking of basic human needs. Basic human needs are what drive consumers to make choices about certain products and purchases; thus, if a consumer ultimately feels that their needs are not being supported, they will choose to not purchase a product. Bartering with consumers and proving to them that you understand their desires and needs can help resolve their decision in your benefit.
With our current generation, there are multiple needs you can strike a chord with in order to be innovative and successful. In fact, these methods of neurological marketing are simple and have been used for years, but the way we use them is what has changed. The following are 3 basic marketing needs used by business savvy entrepreneurs that had their production booming in a short amount of time.
The first basic need we’ll cover is sex. For example, in 2002, cosmetic dentistry business owner Helaine Smith was finding trouble with her advertisement plan. She began to brainstorm other abstract ways in which to bring interest to her business. She considered the human need for sex, and published an electronic book titled Healthy Mouth, Healthy Sex, documenting how good oral hygiene assists sex in being a much more pleasant experience.
Since the publishing of the book, her Helaine’s annual revenue for her business has tripled to one million dollars. This is due to readers finding information linking the book to Helaine’s original business.
Read More

How to Photograph Pets

How to Photograph Pets
by Darren Rowse

Photo by mommamia

Here’s my top ten tips on taking great photographs of your pet:

1. Start with Your Pet’s Personality

Before you start photographing your pet ask yourself ‘what sets it apart from other animals?’ Think about what type of personality it has and then attempt to capture some of that in your shots. For example if everyone knows your pet as a sleepy, lazy or placid little thing set up your photo shoot around it’s bed or where it goes after a meal to lie in the sun and you’ll have every chance of capturing a shot that sums your pet right up. Alternatively if your pet is hyperactive, inquisitive and always on the move it might be better to do your shoot at a local park where it’s racing around, jumping for balls or playing with other animals.

Photo by annia316

      2. Think about Context
In choosing the location to photograph your pet you might want to consider a variety of other factors also. For starters choose a place where your pet will be comfortable and at ease. Also consider the familiarity of the location and the emotions that it will evoke in you as the pets owner. For example you might have a place that you and your pet have had some special moments together that will mean a lot in the future as you look back over your shots. Lastly consider the background of your shots. Ultimately you don’t want your backgrounds to be distracting from your photo – sometimes the best locations are the plainest ones – a large patch of green grass, a well lit room with white walls and plain carpet etc can be ideal. Of course this can also be tool plain and sterile – my motto is that if the different elements in the background of the shot don’t add to it avoid them
I hope you have enjoyed this article  as much as I have, if so check out Darrens site for more fantastic tips.

Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-pets#ixzz1zslZ7jrx

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5 Tips to Shake Up Your Travel Photography

 by James Maher

I love to look at travel photography, but man, sometimes it can all just seem mind-numbingly similar.

Put a cabin, some rocks, grass, or sand in the foreground, a lake or ocean in the middle ground, and a sunset or mountain in the background, preferably during a slightly cloudy day.

Shake. Rinse. Repeat.

I do this frequently; everyone does.  But that’s the problem.  Sometimes we need to break away from the formulas of what we think photographs should look like.  We need to think outside of the box and try to do things a little differently.

So here are a few tips and thoughts to help you create unique travel photos.
When we’re in a new place, sometimes all we can think about is taking photos of the beautiful architecture, the monuments, and the wonders that we travelled to see.  We have these thoughts from the countless guide books we’ve read and from the imagery we’ve seen over the web.  We want to take those same pictures to have for ourselves (and we should take these photos.)  But these things are not necessarily what gives a place its essence and its soul.

Stop and think about how you feel.  What is it that is creating that feeling?  Is it that tiny, bustling restaurant, lit up at night and filled with regulars?  Is it the well dressed men in expensive suits and shoes riding their bicycles to work?  Is it the chaos and constant traffic on the streets?  Is it the food vendors on the side of the road?  Is it the fresh bread and cheese?

For instance, what describes Italy better?  Is it your typical capture of the Duomo or the Ponte Vecchio, or is it a detail shot of an older man in a well-made suit walking on wet cobblestones and bringing home fresh bread at the end of the day?

Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/5-tips-to-shake-up-your-travel-photography-ready#ixzz1zmlcURwh
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Suznanne Scholl
empowernetwork1967@gmail.com
 http://www.sunrisedata1.net

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The Things to Avoid In Article Writing

There are some things that you need to avoid while article writing for the web. By avoiding such mistakes, the article will be more attractive and reader friendly.
There are quite a few article writing mistakes that need to be avoided. Writing for the purpose of search engine optimization  has its own skills and technicalities and an article should adhere to it in order to be effective. If the article is written without complying with the guidelines and technical aspects, it will be nothing more than garbage. While writing, one should have an idea of the guidelines and technicalities and try to follow them. If done with care, the article writing task with be absolutely full proof and yield great results in terms on linguistic finesse as well as revenue aspects.
The first mistake about article writing for SEO is that lots of writers club the keywords together. This will not only reduce the flow and look of the article, but also make the article a spam. As such care should always be taken to ensure that the keywords are evenly spread though out the whole article. For example, if the whole article consists of 4 keywords, the article writing should ensure they are spread all over the article in relevant places. This will make the article more reader friendly to the user, and also help increase the ranking on the search engines.
Secondly, while article writing, lots of writers tend to use hyperbolic words. This should be absolutely avoided. Writing for the web demands that the article content should be lucid, precise, and also easy to read. The article needs to have a flow that induces the reader to go further into the body of the article. In the beginning, there needs to be an attractive article that makes the reader get interested to read further down. Moreover, the article also needs to be informative as the sole purpose of article writing for the internet is to provide useful information and details.
Last but not the least, another article writing flaw is to deviate from the relevant topic and start writing something else. Because writers have a creative bent of mind, there are lots times when they start writing lots of things that may be considered irrelevant to the whole topic. This should be avoided so that the article looks much better and also friendly to the reader. Article writing that is relevantly written article with a wonderful simple language is the trick to writing for the web. The language should be easy to comprehend, and also lucid and flowing.
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The Abstract Art of Georgia O'Keeffe




The artist Georgia O'Keeffe was born in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin on November 18, 1887. In 1905, O'Keeffe attended the Art Institute of Chicago before moving to New York City to study at the Art Students League in New York City in the period 1907-08. After working as a commercial artist in Chicago, she became interested in Oriental design. From 1912 to 1914, she worked as a public school art supervisor in Amarillo, Texas, and then moved back to New York City to attend Columbia, where she took art classes conducted by Arthur Wesley Dow. Dow's system of art education was rooted in Oriental art themes. In 1916, she was appointed department head of art-teacher training at West Texas State Normal College, where she used Dow's philosophy in her teacher-training. She remained at the college through 1918.

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