The Pros and Cons of Using HARO for Your Business

Online marketing involves treading a fine line between mass outreach and promotion with a little more finesse. You obviously need a certain weight of promotion behind you to build momentum and push your brand out into the wild, but you must also pay heed to the need for finesse and be prepared to use your scalpel when required. If you want to get the kind of response you're after from the Help A Reporter To (HARO) service; the latter scalpel option is what you want to use. While it's true that a laser-like focus increases the likelihood of success, it also comes with a few drawbacks that may leave you tearing your hair out if you don't get the results you were hoping for. This post will explore a few of the major up and downsides of the HARO approach to brand building which should leave you feeling mildly better about yourself if you have thus far been unsuccessful in seeing the outcome you so desperately wanted.

It's A Great Way To Achieve A Level Of Authority Unlike Anything Else

Perhaps the most significant advantage that HARO has over other forms of promotion is the sheer weight of authority of some of the publications that are available via the platform. We are talking about outlets such as the BBC, the New York Times, The Guardian, and more, all within the ordinary person's reach. In fact, you could argue that these kinds of links and mentions were previously unable to the average webmaster before this kind of service came along and shook the industry up.

There Will Be More People Exposed To Your Brand Than Ever Before

Because of the size and number of people that read some of the publications, you will be utterly amazed at how much exposure your brand can receive from the slightest of mentions! Moreover, due to the selective nature of the service and the fact that the reporters who reach out for information have their own reputations on the line, they will only choose advice from those who genuinely exhibit an innate knowledge of the topic. Consequently, the more knowledgeable you are, the more likely people will trust both the publication for mentioning you and you for the information you present. This can be a real boon regarding traffic and possibly even new subscribers for your various channels.

With The Right Approach And Lots Of Patience, You Can Build Amazing Backlinks

Although it seems that most search engines have reduced the impact of backlinks over the years, they still remain an absolutely integral aspect of ranking and therefore receiving organic traffic. However, there has been a palpable shift from quality to quality over the past decade, and when it comes to quality, you simply can't beat the types of links you can acquire from helping a reporter in need! Even though most links will be of the nofollow variety, they still impart confidence that your website is worthy of being mentioned by such illustrious and trusted publications.

It's A Far More Measured Approach To Link-Building Than Other Options

You can choose to class this as a pro or a con as you please, but there is no denying that it is a far more calculated form of link-building than other options. For instance, when compared with acquiring guest posts from other reputable websites, you have several more steps involved. While your average outreach campaign consists of reaching out to other webmasters and offering something of value, a HARO link building campaign demands that you construct intelligent pitches that a dedicated reporter finds viable enough to warrant your inclusion in their publication.

You Need To Craft Unique Responses To Each Request

As briefly mentioned in the previous section, you need to create a unique response to each request from a journalist that meets their requirements. Depending on how au fait you are with creating concise and pithy proposals, this is a lot more challenging than most people give it credit for.

It Is Extremely Difficult To Scale In A Meaningful Manner

While quality is almost certainly the thing that all reputable websites and business owners must focus on these days, there is still the need for quantity and a specific velocity in order to achieve reasonable results within a particular timeframe. HARO certainly covers the quality aspect of things, but it is almost impossible to scale without coming across as spammy. Nonetheless, you can usually find exclusive services that offer HARO links for a fee, but as you might expect with such an involved process, they aren't always that inexpensive.

HARO is a unique service that, when used correctly, can bolster your reputation as an outstanding company worthy of attention. Neverhtrtelss, it takes a willingness to learn how to craft the perfect pitch as well as a lot of patience to see results.

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