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The news is true. HARO, which was rebranded by Cision into Connectively, is now a distant memory… already fading into the past of the Digital PR space. I’m sure we all have fond memories of the glory days of HARO. But it’s time to move on, right? What now? How do we feed that rush of being quoted on a high-authority site that would’ve never given you the time of day years ago?

I can still remember my first HARO link. It was like my birthday and the holidays all rolled into one. Little did I know that message in my inbox was going to spark something inside me that made me absolutely fall in love with Digital PR. Thank you, Peter Shankman. What started out as a Facebook group helped tens of thousands (maybe more) marketers just like me realize that there was a better way for branding, link-building, networking, content writing, promoting, thought leadership and well, far too many others to list.

But let’s also be real. When HARO was sold and rebranded into Connectively, things did begin to change. And many sworn users started to look elsewhere for their Digital PR needs. And thankfully, they didn’t have to search too deeply. I pause to even refer to other platforms as “Connectively alternatives” for two very important reasons. 

The first is, it will ALWAYS be HARO to me. 

And the second is, I don’t like to position other platforms as “alternatives,” especially when they may actually be providing users with far better experiences.

So, if you need to shed a tear for HARO, do it now. Because we’re about to go on a little adventure, and we may bump into some exciting surprise friends, as well as hear from real-world users as to why they’re already loving and enjoying their favorite platforms.  

Source of Sources (SOS)

Sources of Sources, commonly referred to as SOS, connects SMEs with journalists in a way that might seem a bit familiar. SOS sends out up to three emails per day including a call for quotes in a variety of niches. And it’s simple. Look for queries where you know you can provide something of value, and send your pitch directly to the source. (Hey, could that be where the name of this platform comes in?)

And there’s a good reason why SOS comes with the ease that old-school HARO users absolutely thrived on. Are you curious yet?

I started SOS for one reason: To go back to basics: To let journalists and sources find each other in a way that is beneficial to both parties. When I built HARO, it was for the same reason. After I sold it, over time, HARO changed. SOS is filled with the same thing that made HARO so special back in the day: The knowledge that if you play nice and follow the rules, you’ll succeed. If you don’t, you’ll be off the platform so fast it’ll make your head spin. Sometimes, all you need to do is go back to what worked.

Peter Shankman, Founder, Source of Sources (SOS)

And yes, it’s absolutely working. Users are excited about the current offerings of SOS, but also looking forward to what the future holds.

As someone who was saddened to see HARO lose its edge in Cision’s acquisition and rebranding of the platform, it gave me hope when I saw that Peter Shankman had started a new, very similar platform: Source of Sources (SOS). Like HARO, SOS sends up to three emails per day with a clickable table of contents listing all of the open queries by industry, such as Business and Finance, General, Lifestyle and Entertainment, Technology, and Travel. All necessary details to pitch are in the email, including the journalist name, media outlet, deadline, and any prompts or questions to answer. The only difference I’ve noticed is that SOS is smaller… for now. I hear great things are in the works!

Lauren Walter, Director of Search & Content, Online Optimism

And in a space where we’ve all had to deal with a lot of spam, combing through countless “Hi Dear” emails to find the diamond in a pile of glass, SOS is alo providing a platform where users are protected from things that waste their time and bring them no value. And this isn’t going unnoticed, which creates trust between the users and the platform itself.

As an expert in journalist-outreach link building, I’ve closely monitored the transition from HARO to SourceofSources.com (SOS). SOS has quickly positioned itself as a game-changer in the world of PR and digital marketing. Unlike HARO, which became increasingly bloated and less user-focused post-acquisition, SOS offers a streamlined and highly efficient experience tailored to both journalists and sources. The platform’s intuitive query categorization and prompt query notifications ensure I can respond to media opportunities faster and more precisely.

What truly sets SOS apart is its exclusivity and focus on quality. Through SOS, I’ve successfully secured high-authority backlinks from renowned U.S. sites like Forbes, Business Insider, and Entrepreneur. The detailed pitch guidance offered by SOS allows me to craft hyper-targeted responses that resonate with journalists’ needs, boosting my success rate significantly. For anyone serious about earning authoritative media coverage and building credibility in their niche, SOS is a step above HARO.

Rameez Ghayas Usmani, Founder, Outreaching.io

Featured

If I happened to be hanging out with some Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), Featured could be our virtual playground. Users consistently rave about its ease of use, presenting all of their offerings (including a massive list of queries) on one single dashboard. For those who prefer not to send emails, Featured may be that new best friend you’ve been looking for. But don’t worry, here’s the best introduction you could possibly have. 

Our customers say that Featured is easy to use, affordable, and an effective way to build visibility online. There’s no pitching involved—just answer questions or submit bylined articles, and let your expertise shine without the hassle of researching journalists or crafting pitches. Our transparent freemium pricing, including flexible subscriptions and pay-as-you-go credits, empowers experts to share insights and aligns with our vision to democratize access to media opportunities. Plus, Featured is fun. With over 1 million answers shared, Featured is making meaningful connections between subject matter experts and publishers to help create high-quality content.

Brett Farmiloe, Founder, Featured.com

And as mentioned, users are in love with the dashboard, which is like the main hub for everything an expert hoping to share their passion could even hope for. Plus, you can track your responses to queries to see if they’re under review, have been selected, or have been (Ding! Ding!) published.

From the HARO alternatives, I prefer Featured thanks to their dashboard where you can skip or save questions. They have great tracking so you see where your links go live. It also doesn’t spam your inbox with dozens of emails like other platforms. I only answer questions I’m interested in, and from 23 pitches, 4 got approved, leading to a 17.39% success rate.

Deian Isac, Marketing & Agency Success, Service Provider Pro

And when a platform provides successful outcomes, paired with an easy-to-use interface, users will tend to well, use it more. Maybe there’s 15 minutes of downtime in between meetings. Hey, that’s enough time to hang out on Featured!

I’m on Team Featured, and here’s why I love the platform:

Clean and organized interface: The dashboard lets me quickly view the question and its source at a glance. If you’re on a paid plan, you can also see the domain rating, which helps with prioritization. I’ve missed this feature in HARO.

Clear deadlines: The deadlines are clearly stated, which helps me prioritize and manage my FOMO. If I come across an interesting question with a deadline in a few days, I can click “Save” and tackle it later in the week.

Search function: I can easily search for niche keywords, saving time by not having to manually screen all entries.

I’ve had some great results with Featured and can’t recommend it enough as a HARO alternative.

Corina Burri, Senior SEO Professional

SourceBottle

SourceBottle is a free, easy-to-use connection platform that originated in Australia, but now is spreading the love to an SME near you. Users appreciate the ease of checking their emails to easily click on a call out and provide a response right there. 

AND there’s even more fun on the horizon for this unique platform. But they tell it better themselves. (Could this be breaking news?)

We’ve been quietly beta testing a direct-response expert pitching service for the last few months and we’re about to formally launch this alongside some other exciting changes in the new year.

What is it?

It offers journalists/bloggers an on-demand expert pitching service to help them get access to the expert comment/opinion they need when they need it.

How does it work?

When a journalist posts a call out on SourceBottle mentioning that they’re looking for a particular expert, we publish the call out AND have a dedicated team who will manually search our Expert Directory (applying reason and nuance to the search) and then pitch relevant experts in response to the call out, often before the Drink Up! email alert has even reached the broader database.

Why is it unique?

Prior to this, we provided a similar, but automated service, which was prone to error. In a world that’s gone full AI, we’ve shifted to a human-led service that’s able to provide real value to both the media and our subscribers.

Bec Derrington, Founder, SourceBottle

While SourceBottle is definitely not new to the game, many HARO users are making the switch over to the easy-to-use platform. Plus, they even find that its reliability checks an important box for them.

As Connectively/HARO is gone, I’ve tried to find a replacement in Qwoted, SourceBottle, and Featured, and have had good sucess with all of them. But I can single out SourceBottle as a straightforward and reliable platform for finding relevant opportunities. I appreciate how it simplifies the process by delivering niche-specific requests directly to my inbox, saving time compared to endlessly browsing other platforms. There isn’t that much content out there (yet), but I’ve used it successfully to secure a few quotes for a client in the transport industry.

Iva Jovanovic, SEO and Content Specialist, Made Online

But when it comes down to it, success is the ultimate factor that draws in new users. After all, you can “enjoy” using a particular service, but is it working for your specific needs?

We have had some very unique successes with Sourcebottle, because it’s a commonly used digital PR platform in Australia. Some examples would be a dedicated business feature on Prospa and a contribution to a sponsored placement on News.com.au that was cleaning-related. In the craziest story though – we found out about a speed cleaning competition through Sourcebottle and one of our house cleaners was a finalist! The PR came along with it 

Strategies:

Sourcebottle allows you to submit an email address that is different from the one you sign up with. Use this to your advantage by submitting your expert source’s email address instead of your own if you are doing PR.

There are a lot of local opportunities on Sourcebottle – make sure to emphasize your relevance in your response!

Lauren Schwartz, SEO & Content Manager at Maid2Match

Qwoted

Qwoted is well-loved by users because it actually fosters relationships between the contributor and the journalists. You immediately cease to be an almost anonymous respondent at the other end of a query, and you transform into a real person with valuable insights. (Yes, Pinnochio, you’re a REAL boy now!)

Plus, the team at Qwoted is proud to share these instant differentiators.

As a network, Qwoted makes collaboration and connection easy for journalists, experts, and PR professionals. We have various tools available to help journalists reduce spam and filter irrelevant messages from their inboxes. We also have resources to help PRs and experts build their presence within the platform so journalists can connect with them directly for relevant opportunities.

Shelby Bridges, Success Manager, Qwoted

But why is there such a huge difference? Journalists are super-busy and always chasing deadlines, right? So when they can build a list of professionals whom they can rely on in a pinch, you can bet they’ll be reaching out.

I started using Qwoted earlier this year and have had strong success for my clients. I put special focus on getting mentions for one client to test the effectiveness. Over a four month period, I received placements (and backlinks) for this client in four sites with high domain authority: The Spruce, Family Handyman, Architectural Digest and Delish. In that same time, we saw our client’s domain authority improve one point for every placement. We went from a 23 DA to 27. We also saw improvements in local visibility and increases in traffic. We’re now pushing this strategy forward with other clients and seeing similar successes.

I find the most success in earning placements on Qwoted when I keep my message to journalists as short as possible and let the client’s quote shine on its own. I also respond as fast as possible — journalists are always on a deadline!

Katie Stone, SEO lead, Leadhub

Qwoted also offers filters that make the process a breeze, such as “frequently contacted,” “quick to respond,” and a host of others. Qwoted users are seeing a lot of success, so enjoying the process is like the cherry on top of the query sundae.

Qwoted is an excellent platform to use with high quality digital PR opportunities. We have had a ton of success with Qwoted over an extended period of time. I appreciate that you can ‘trial’ the platform with 2 free pitches per month before committing to a paid plan that includes more value as a user.

We have had such a variety of successes using Qwoted. From directly relevant brands (Care.com), to shoulder niches (cleaning after cooking – Simply Recipes), to giant publishers (Forbes, TIME, AP, and many more). As with all digital PR opportunities, the quicker you can answer, the better. However, ensuring you take enough time to provide thorough detail is really appreciated by journalists. Once a journalist realizes you’re a trustworthy source who provides in-depth information, they will direct message you on the platform about future opportunities. Most journalists write as freelancers, which means they contribute to multiple large publications. This creates an ongoing cycle of getting your brand featured, with less effort!


I always include the relevant experience of the expert being quoted (for example: “Toby Schulz worked as a professional cleaner for several years prior to starting the business with his brother”) as well as links to their website bio and LinkedIn profile. This provides reassurance for the journalist that the expert is genuinely trustworthy in their field. Take the time to build out your expert’s Source profile page on Qwoted. You can never have too much social proof.

Lauren Schwartz, SEO & Content Manager at Maid2Match

Help a B2B Writer

Help a B2B Writer does more than bridge the gap between a writer and their sources. Instead, it sends the writer directly to SMEs who have registered as sources. Then, the sources have the option to submit a quote or wait for something that better suits their specific expertise. There’s no need to try to make a response “fit” the query. I mean, it doesn’t work with shoes, so don’t expect it to work for your next quote!

The first step to getting backlinks from Help a B2B Writer is to focus only on relevant requests. But you need to carefully assess the requests, as they might have a relevant category tag but still not align with your expertise. For example, your domain might be Education, but the writer could be looking for insights on staff training.

Once you’ve identified suitable opportunities, take time to structure your pitch effectively. Begin with a brief introduction about yourself and explain why your quote is valuable.

In the second paragraph, share the requested details and include links that support your claims. Use clear, error-free language to maintain credibility.

End with offering your availability to address any additional questions. Timing is important, but never compromise the quality of your pitch just to respond faster than others.

Tooba Jamal, SEO Content Marketing Specialist, Arc

And how does HaB2W work as opposed to the old HARO setup? Is it worth a try?

HaB2BW is a great HARO alternative for getting brand mentions, expert quotes, and backlinks. Help a B2B Writer is free. It also allows you to edit your preferences and receive relevant source requests. You have nothing to lose.

Iryna Podliesna, Marketing Specialist, Collaborator.pro

But as mentioned before, users are looking for success, and those who are new to the platform may be curious about what they can realistically expect from such a direct method of queries and responses.

We have been using HelpaB2BWriter with great effect for the last couple of years. This isn’t always suitable for every project, but if you are in the SaaS or MarTech sector, or you have the credibility to particularly comment on very marketing or business tech-oriented topics — this will be a good platform to use. Better yet, you’ll bag some authoritative links like Hubspot and Dialpad — or you can get some highly relevant links in sectors like logistics or HR. 

What you tend to find is that most of the writers or editors requiring help, either need help with a marketing/martech topic, or it’s a blog piece they are writing on a very specific topic relevant to their industry. You will really have to be specific with your advice, because they’re often trying to write content that addresses a very specific topic that is important to their audience or a pain point they’re trying to solve. 

What tends to work here is if you can bring in things you have actually implemented in your company, or from your past experiences. If you can do this, it’ll be much easier to stand out and get your quote accepted. 

For instance, here’s a quote I had published on Hubspot. Everyone knows about the ‘sandwich method’ so that kind of advice wasn’t going to cut the mustard (if you’ll excuse the pun!)  – I had to be very specific and talk about something which we actually do at our company, and things I have picked up from managing teams. This type of very nuanced advice is what you really want to aim for, especially since this will be published on industry blogs, and not mass media.

Amit Raj, Founder and Chief Link Building Strategist, The Links Guy

Some Things Never Change

While we’ve learned about several exciting platforms here, the strategies and meothodologies behind why and how respondents approach queries and call outs are unlikely to change that much.

First, you have to be on time to the party. If you show up late, you’re likely to have to eat the cake that no one else wanted, and not the pretty unicorn cake with the sprinkles on top.

Responding to journalist queries quickly and with the necessary details is crucial for getting noticed. While I haven’t had much success due to responding too late, I’ve seen others gain opportunities by being prompt and specific. To improve your chances, make sure to tailor responses to fit each query and provide valuable insights.

Safia Marmon, Project Lead, Sunbowl

Next, you have to keep it current. We all know how trends and ideas can change quickly in this space, so there’s no time to waste. If you do, then you’re going to be posting about something everybody knows already. You know that uncle who keeps talking, even after you’ve told him he’s told you that story already? Don’t be that uncle!

Trends sell. If there’s a chance to mention a recent trend or popular topic, include it! I use tools like Exploding Topics and Google Trends to find what’s trending in a specific area.

For example: If we’re talking about beauty, I’d mention a current populat topic like personalized skincare and add some cool stats.

Keep it short and stick to this format:

Credentials + Answer + Trends/fun facts/data ( in bullet points) + Contact info + sources

Martina Vasconez, Freelance Marketer

And finally, don’t forget to put your expertise into every word you write, and make it relatable! Journalists want to identify with you because then they know that the reader will, too! They want to feel good about including your quote in their article. 

In the End

So as we say goodbye to what was once HARO, you may feel like you’re saying farewell to an old friend from high school. Sure, they’ve changed over the years, and maybe you’ve grown apart and have built new, more authentic relationships. But it was still nice knowing they were around.

One important thing to remember is that, during this time, it’s crucial to explore your other options. Even if you’ve checked out a platform on a trial run before, keep in mind that things may be changing… and for the better. Those high-authority websites will need new places to call home. Show up to the housewarming parties, meet some new people, and look at every opportunity as to how it aligns with your own specific needs.

I’d say good luck, but I know you won’t need it. Souls in this space are go-getters. We don’t sleep when we have a good idea, and we don’t care if we’re tired the next day. We’re always ready for the next big adventure, and I’m betting these platforms (and the brilliant creatives behind them) won’t let us down.

Author

Angela Ash
Managing content and publicity even when she sleeps, Angela also writes poetry, plays the piano, travels, loves on her two feline fur balls and can even beat Mickey Mouse at Disney trivia
Flow Blog

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