HARO Link Help - Exploring Other Platforms for Success?

[Madsteel]

Hey fellow Blackhaters,

I hope you all are having a fantastic day! So, I've been using HARO for about half a year now, and I've had some decent success in getting valuable link backs. But, as always, I'm on the lookout for ways to up my game.

I'm curious if any of you have tried other platforms similar to HARO that charge a fee for their services. If so, how has your experience been? Is the investment worth it in terms of results? Are the results on par with, or even better than, HARO?

If you've used any of these alternative platforms, I'd love to hear your thoughts on which ones are worth checking out or which ones to avoid. I'm sure there are others in our community who are curious about this as well, so your input could help out many of us.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences and wisdom. Excited to hear your thoughts and learn from your experiences.

Cheers,

 

[warriorsam53]

I used Qwoted for a while. It’s trash.

I haven’t used any others.

 

[Madsteel]

I used Qwoted for a while. It’s trash.

I haven’t used any others.

Thank you so much. I was thinking about use qwoted. Now I will avoid.

 

[warriorsam53]

Thank you so much. I was thinking about use qwoted. Now I will avoid.

They have/had a free version. But the interface is crap and it’s really complicated to use.

I’ve been meaning to reach out to journalists directly via email after publishing some link bait articles but I haven’t got around to it yet. Maybe you want to give that a shot.

 

[SoccerLover]

HARO is best buddy but Terkel also works for me but quality wise HARO is much more superior.

 

[Madsteel]

They have/had a free version. But the interface is crap and it’s really complicated to use.

I’ve been meaning to reach out to journalists directly via email after publishing some link bait articles but I haven’t got around to it yet. Maybe you want to give that a shot.

I actually found after a successful pitch I got the social media of the reporter/ writer and some people will post on their social media first before the HARO and I can take advantage of that by sending pitch faster.

 

[Madsteel]

HARO is best buddy but Terkel also works for me but quality wise HARO is much more superior.

My problem is the niche I worked has very limited HARO chances. That's why I ask is there any other platform that I can check. I will take a look at Terkel. Thank you!

 

[kshatriya]

My problem is the niche I worked has very limited HARO chances. That's why I ask is there any other platform that I can check. I will take a look at Terkel. Thank you!

What's your success rate? How many emails do you send per day? How many links have you gotten?

 

[warriorsam53]

What's your success rate? How many emails do you send per day? How many links have you gotten?

5-10% for well thought out human responses.

Less than 1% for ChatGPT responses.

Much less than 1% if you target sites high authority sites like Forbes, MSN etc.

 

[Waifu_tatyana]

Much less than 1% if you target sites high authority sites like Forbes, MSN etc.

The HA sites always ask for phone interviews.

 

[warriorsam53]

The HA sites always ask for phone interviews.

Yeah that’s true. I‘ve got a lot of phone interview requests.

If you’re familiar with your niche, you should accept them. The worst that can happen is that you spend a few minutes with them and don’t get a link.

I usually have no idea about the niches I’m in so I don’t do the phone interviews. Lol.

 

[Waifu_tatyana]

Yeah that’s true. I‘ve got a lot of phone interview requests.

If you’re familiar with your niche, you should accept them. The worst that can happen is that you spend a few minutes with them and don’t get a link.

I usually have no idea about the niches I’m in so I don’t do the phone interviews. Lol.

But I'm not a native English speaker although my blog persona is of one.

I know shit load about my niche but my English accent will be an immediate giveaway.

 

[warriorsam53]

But I'm not a native English speaker although my blog persona is of one.

I know shit load about my niche but my English accent will be an immediate giveaway.

I don’t know if that will be an issue. You can always change the persona on your website to match your real background.

I don’t think your accent will matter. People from different backgrounds are living all over the world. If you know what you’re talking about, your accent is irrelevant. The value you provide is way more important than how you sound.

Give it a shot anyway. Besides a few minutes of your time, you have nothing to lose. The worst thing that can happen is not getting a link. And skipping the interview is not going to get you the link anyway.

 

[Waifu_tatyana]

I don’t know if that will be an issue. You can always change the persona on your website to match your real background.

I don’t think your accent will matter. People from different backgrounds are living all over the world. If you know what you’re talking about, your accent is irrelevant. The value you provide is way more important than how you sound.

Give it a shot anyway. Besides a few minutes of your time, you have nothing to lose. The worst thing that can happen is not getting a link. And skipping the interview is not going to get you the link anyway.

Doesn't changing EEAT impact target audience?

 

[warriorsam53]

Doesn't changing EEAT impact target audience?

Tbh, I don’t know. If you think it’s going to have an impact, you can make small changes to your persona without changing any important qualifications that may impact your EEAT.

For example, if you have a travel site about Greece and your persona says you‘re from Greece, you can always change it to say that you were born in XYZ country and you‘ve been living in Greece for 10 years or something similar.

Your persona is already fake. Changing a few details shouldn’t really make a big difference.

 

[Madsteel]

What's your success rate? How many emails do you send per day? How many links have you gotten?

From 12/23/2022 until now. I sent out 86 pitches. I look at the alert from HARO daily and write a response every day.

and I got around 8 results. Among 8:

Authority Score	Follow Status	Note
49	Do	Related Niche
34	Do	Related Niche
100	No	No link
100	No	No link
81	Do	Link to LinkedIn
52	Do	Link to LinkedIn
54	No	No Link
52	Do	Link to LinkedIn

 

[ravid32]

Do you guys use the free version or paid?

 

[Madsteel]

Do you guys use the free version or paid?

Free so far.

 

[rb2023]

Qwoted is worth being on. Even if just for the free version. That's all I use and I've had quite a few quality backlinks on there, I was quoted in the WSJ as well but no link and behind a paywall. So it wasn't useful from an SEO perspective, but there was still value from it, especially in my industry. Searching #Journorequest or #PRRequest on Twitter with keywords related to your niche once or twice a day can be useful as well. Some journalists will use those hashtags when they're really desperate for a source as well, and if you save the day, they'll likely save you as a source and contact you in the future when they need a quote. Saving the top journalists in your niche to a list on Twitter is a really good technique as well, it'll help you get an idea of the kind of stories they write which will help you pitch them when they need a source.

By the way, the phone interviews aren't too difficult, especially if you're an expert, so I'd take them if you get them. But there's a real knack to giving good quotes that they'll want to use when you don't always have the time to reword and refine them. Very few people can think up great quotes off the top of their head in the middle of a conversation. So just remember that the journalist is usually looking at least 2 of 3 things - a hook for their story, a quote to back up their angle and, if it's a reputable press outlet, the opposing view.

So you want to prepare a couple of things. Firstly, the strong opinion you're going to take (I'm terrible at this by the way, but it's important) and secondly at least one interesting, memorable or surprising quote about the subject. During the call, wait for a question that is slightly related to the subject, and then just tack the quote on at the end of your answer. And, believe me, if they get the quote they want, they won't care or mention that you're not a native English speaker. Their incentive is to get as many people to read their article as possible and a lot of online journalists are paid on article views, even for reputable newspapers, so if you give them something that will spark engagement or shares - they'll use it.

It might be a bit out of your comfort zone, but if you know enough to be an expert, you'll find them really, really easy.

I know I've gone on a tangent there, but hopefully this helps!

 

[imperialhustle]

Yes, exploring other platforms can be beneficial for success. Utilizing HARO (Help a Reporter Out) is one great way to increase visibility and reach more potential customers.