HARO can be super useful for building your brand. You simply create an account, fill out a query describing what you’re looking for from a source, and sit back and watch the pitches roll in. And it’s all free!

Except…It’s never that easy. Any writer who’s actually used HARO knows it doesn’t always bring in the sources you were hoping for.

Maybe you were on a tight deadline and didn’t get a single response to your query. Or perhaps potential sources flooded your inbox, but they weren’t remotely qualified for your article. Or, worst of all, maybe the pitches that came your way were so poorly written, they could only be called spam.

Tips for using Help a Reporter Out effectively

HARO isn’t perfect, but whether you get good sources also depends on how you use it. If you want to improve your chances of connecting with stellar sources, you’ve got to be strategic about how you use the tool.

Here are five tactics for using Help a Reporter Out that will help you connect with high-quality sources.

1. Write an engaging title

HARO requests go out via email, and the best sources are usually too busy to spend long in their inbox. That means your title needs to immediately grab the attention of the sources you’re looking for.

Try using an actionable title or a question that describes the type of expertise you’re looking for.

Bad example: College students

Good example: Are you a college student who will graduate this year without debt?

2. Be specific

Tens of thousands of potential sources use HARO. You only want the right people to reply.

If your query is too vague, you’ll have to wade through a lot of responses that aren’t a fit for your article. Not only does this waste your time, it wastes the time of the sources who pitched you.

Save everyone a headache by getting specific in your query. You want sources who aren’t right for the article to take themselves out of the running so you don’t have to.

Bad example: Nurses needed

Good example: Seeking veteran night-shift nurses to comment on 12-hour shifts.

3. Ask your questions in the query

Most writers know the pain of fielding vague or unrelated pitches from HARO sources.

Including your questions directly in the query stops most under-qualified sources from sending a bad pitch. On the other hand, expert sources who have something to say will take the time to submit thoughtful, well-written responses.

This strategy is also a major time saver.

Writers are often buried by pitches from PR reps that don’t say much of anything. By including your questions in your query, you can easily weed these out and focus on sources who directly answered your questions. This eliminates lengthy back-and-forth email chains and allows you to quickly scan potential sources’ answers for those that fit seamlessly into your story.

4. Use the “requirements” field

You may think your source requirements are obvious based on your query, but you’d be wrong.

I can’t tell you how many pitches I’ve received that start with, “I’m not quite sure what you’re looking for, but… “

Reiterate your requirements at the end of every query. You may want to limit sources to a specific profession, number of years on the job, location or the ability to schedule a phone interview in the next day or two.

This is also a good place to remind sources of additional information you need from them, such as a URL or short bio.

5. Highlight what’s in it for your sources

Sources aren’t just doing you a favor, they’re looking for good PR.

Each publication you write for will have different standards for “thanking” sources, but it typically includes a link to their website or social media accounts.

Use your query to let potential sources know what they’ll get in exchange for sharing their knowledge–and don’t be afraid to brag about the positives of being featured in your media outlet.

High-quality sources want to be featured on reputable websites or in publications that will get their name out to a specific target audience. If your publication has a high number of monthly page views, is a high-authority website, or offers the clout of being a .edu site, mention it in your query!

HARO is a tool just like any other: if you know how to use it, it will serve you well in your freelance writing career. The qualified sources you’ll find thanks to these tips can be what takes your articles to the next level.

What are you waiting for? You’ve got sources to find!

What are your best tips for finding great sources on HARO? We’d love to hear them in the comments!

This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.

Photo via Vitalii Matokha / Shutterstock 

But who really cares if your writing has some mistakes here and there? Isn’t that what editors are for?

Wrong!

Poor grammar will stand in the way of your writing career whether you realize it or not. If you want to make a good first impression in your pitches and become a publication’s go-to writer, your writing needs to be nearly flawless.

It may have been a while since your last English class, so we created a short grammar quiz to put your editing skills to the test. Find out if you’re a grammar pro or if you could use some time brushing up on your editing skills.

The Write Life’s grammar quiz for writers

Each of these sentences features one common grammar or punctuation mistake.

Give it your best shot, then scroll down to see how you did!

1. Local media is calling for the mayor’s immediate resignation following recent reports of his embezzlement scheme.

2. It may be counterintuitive, but if your child is struggling with separation anxiety, quickly saying goodbye to them is the best short-term solution.

3. Without having her address, it was hard to find her house.

4. No one objects to the library’s closing more than me!

5. “Have you seen my book? I left it lying on the table last night, but now it’s gone.”

6. Your sister is still obsessed with Twilight—she showed up to the Halloween party wearing a blood red dress and pointy vampire teeth.

7. My favorite Chinese restaurant doesn’t deliver, however, the one across town does.

8. The editor-in-chief is retiring next May, meaning one of the senior editors are going to be up for the job.

9. My doctor recommended I get the flu shot only in October.

10. We’d like to publish your article, and pay you $1 per word.

Answer key

Feeling confident? Let’s see how you did!

Each correction appears in bold, followed by a brief explanation.

1. Local media are calling for the mayor’s immediate resignation following recent reports of his embezzlement scheme.

“Media” may sound singular, but it’s actually plural! (The singular form is “medium.”) This sentence represents a common error in subject-verb agreement.

2. It may be counterintuitive, but if your child is struggling with separation anxiety, quickly saying goodbye to her is the best short-term solution.

This sentence has a problem with pronoun-antecedent agreement. Because “child” is singular, it should take a singular pronoun like “he” or “she.”

AP has recently accepted the use of “their” as a singular pronoun in limited cases, such as when non-binary people prefer to be referred to with a gender-neutral pronoun, but in most instances, you’ll want to choose a singular pronoun or rephrase your sentence.

3. Without having her address, I had a hard time finding her house.

This sentence is a prime example of a dangling modifier. In the original sentence, the phrase “without having her address” is modifying the subject “it.” Except “it” isn’t referring to anything!

The corrected sentence clarifies who exactly was missing the address and struggling to find the house.

4. No one objects to the library’s closing more than I.

I’ll admit this is an ugly sentence that should be rephrased before being published anywhere. Ugly or not, “I” is the correct pronoun here because it’s the subject of the sentence, so it requires the subjective case (rather than the objective “me”).

Issues with case are some of the most common problems editors come across. The rules are confusing even for professional writers! If you’re having trouble, try flipping the sentence around: “I object to the library’s closing more than anyone.”

5. “Have you seen my book? I left it laying on the table last night, but now it’s gone.”

Is there any case of mistaken word identity more prevalent than lay/lie?

In short, “lie” means to recline, while “lay” means to put or place an object somewhere. To make matters even more confusing, “lie” becomes “lay” in past tense!

6. Your sister is still obsessed with Twilight—she showed up to the Halloween party wearing a blood-red dress and pointy vampire teeth.

Hyphens can be tricky little buggers. The general rule is to hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun but not after (“Her dress was blood red”). There are plenty of exceptions, though, so be sure to consult a dictionary and your preferred style guide if you’re in doubt!

7. My favorite Chinese restaurant doesn’t deliver. However, the one across town does.

This run-on sentence is trying to slide under your radar by using the word “however” to connect two independent clauses (clauses that could stand on their own as complete sentences). The only words with that power are called coordinating conjunctions: “for,” “and,” “nor,” “but,” “or,” “yet,” and “so.”

8. The editor-in-chief is retiring next May, meaning one of the senior editors is going to be up for the job.

Subject-verb agreement strikes again! Don’t let the plural “editors” fool you. “One” is the singular subject here.

9. My doctor recommended I get the flu shot in October only.

“Only” is the culprit behind many misplaced modifier errors. There are even more options for this sentence depending on what the writer meant:

• Only my doctor recommended I get the flu shot in October. (No one else advised this, just your doctor.)
• My only doctor recommended I get the flu shot in October. (You have one doctor, not many.)
• My doctor recommended I get only the flu shot in October. (Your doctor recommended you get the flu shot but no other vaccinations during October.)

Context is everything! When using modifiers like “only” or “just,” you can avoid confusion by placing them as close as possible to the word they’re modifying.

10. We’d like to publish your article and pay you $1 per word.

Many writers get in the habit of using commas where they’re not needed with conjunctions like “and” and “but.”

No comma is necessary if a dependent clause follows the conjunction (in other words, it couldn’t stand on its own as a full sentence).

Now that you know which tricky grammar errors to watch out for, make your writing even better with these 25 editing tips to tighten your copy!

How did you do? Let us know your results (and any other common editing errors we didn’t cover) in the comments.

Photo via panitanphoto / Shutterstock

You’ve got all your bases covered, right?

Wrong. There’s one big writing income stream you’re missing out on: paid blogging.

Paid blogging, known in the industry as content marketing, is creating blog posts that attract a company’s ideal customer and potentially generate new leads. It’s not about selling products or services — it’s about offering value to readers to increase brand awareness and build trust.

Content marketing could offer a significant boost to your freelance writing income. This writing niche is expected to be a $300 billion industry by 2019 — and many companies are seeing the opportunity to outsource their blog work to freelance writers.

If you can write novels and magazine articles, you can probably write paid blog posts. Here are six signs you’d make a top-notch content marketer.

1. You’ve mastered conversational writing

This is one type of corporate writing where jargon isn’t welcome.

Companies are paying for posts that engage readers and make difficult information easy to understand. Writing doesn’t have to be formal to be professional!

You won’t be rewarded for your oversized vocabulary in this field. If you can simplify sentences, use contractions and slang, and maybe even add relevant GIFs to your blog posts, you’d make a great content marketer.

2. You can grab readers’ attention

Readers often find a company’s blog because they searched for an answer to a problem.

Your client’s blog is one of many they could choose to help them. Your job as a content marketer is to keep them from heading back to Google to search for answers elsewhere.

Your essay-writing skills will come in handy here. You already know the ropes of crafting an attention-grabbing hook. Why not put that talent to use as a paid blogger?

Your clients will thank you when they see their site visitors sticking around!

3. You’re a natural storyteller

You have one blog post to make a new site visitor care about your client’s company.

How do you do it? Tell a story.

Content marketing is about forging a connection between readers and a company’s brand. If you can write compelling fiction, you can craft an engaging brand story.

Good storytelling is the difference between a distant corporation and a friendly business that cares about its consumers. Who said writing fiction was a non-transferrable skill?

4. You have an area of expertise

Companies in nearly every industry work with writers to improve their blogs…and some of those industries are pretty complex.

Part of a content marketer’s job is to make confusing information simple to understand.

Companies need writers who understand complicated topics so they can explain those ideas to potential customers- — without relying on industry-specific jargon (remember that conversational writing voice we talked about?).

Having an area of expertise gives you a huge leg-up as a content marketer, especially in certain industries like the legal or medical fields.

Potential clients can glance at your past experience and feel confident in your ability to simplify their subject matter.

5. You can meet deadlines

If you’ve ever written a journalistic piece, you’ve probably bowed down before the almighty deadline.

Content marketers may not be rushing to get a piece submitted in time to make a print deadline, but making your deadlines is still crucial in the world of paid blogging.

Most corporate clients have well-thought-out editorial calendars that dictate the ideal date to publish a particular post. If you submit a piece late, you could throw off their publishing schedule.

Companies are often juggling a team of freelancers to meet their content marketing needs. If you stand out from the crowd as the one whose work is always on time, you’ll set yourself up for recurring writing assignments.

6. You’re a decent editor

You’re not submitting your blog posts to a magazine with a full-time editorial team to catch typos and hold your hand through big-picture edits.

Freelance content marketers typically work with the in-house marketing team at a company. Unlike magazines, marketing teams often don’t have the skills or the time to polish your work.

Part of the value you bring a company is the confidence that their blog will be professionally written. If you can be your own editor, you’ll win major points with your content marketing clients.

It’s well worth your time to explore freelance content marketing. It could be the next big break in your writing career!

Have you ever thought about getting into content marketing? If not, what’s holding you back?

Except freelance writers don’t write all day.

As any freelancer knows, your time is often eaten up by random administrative tasks, lengthy email chains and continuously pitching article ideas.

You aren’t just a writer, you’re also a business owner.

All those behind-the-scenes tasks keep your business running, but they also take you away from doing the writing that actually pays the bills.

Luckily, these five Gmail add-ons are the perfect solution for freelance writers who want to spend less time on admin and more time on billable hours.

Give them a try to boost your bottom line and avoid time-sucking administrative work!

1. Boomerang

How often have you sent a batch of pitches and forgotten all about them?

By the time you remembered, you felt like it was too late to follow up. Or perhaps you always remember to follow up on pitches … but only because you spend precious time maintaining a detailed spreadsheet.

That will never happen again thanks to Boomerang.

Though it has several handy features, the one that’s most valuable for writers is the “reminder” option. When you send a pitch, simply set Boomerang to remind you to follow up if you don’t hear back within a certain timeframe.

Say goodbye to lost pitches and wasted time and hello to professional, timely follow-ups.

2. Canned Responses

Ever feel like you’re writing the same email over and over again?

This brilliant Gmail Lab allows you to save those emails and pop the text into a new email with just a few clicks. Much of a writer’s job involves getting in touch with sources and editors, so Canned Responses can save you tons of time in your inbox.

Just select the message you need, fill in the blanks with the details, and hit send!

Here are some e-mails you might want to set up a canned response for:

• Formatting new pitches
• Following up on pitches
• Notifying sources that their article has been published
• Telling a HARO source  their pitch has been accepted or rejected
• Thanking an editor for responding to your pitch

3. WiseStamp

Think your e-mail signature doesn’t matter? Think again.

There are thousands of writers out there trying to make a living as a freelancer, and editors are looking for clues that you’re the real deal.

WiseStamp is the simple way to create a good-looking, professional email signature.

A professional email signature immediately shows you take your business seriously—plus it encourages editors to follow you on social media or view your writing portfolio.

Editors are more likely to take a chance on you when they can see where you’ve written in the past and get a feel for your writing style. And if they check out your social accounts and see that you follow their publication and have shared some of their recent pieces, you’ll really stand out.

4. Rapportive

This clever email tool makes it simple to connect with editors and sources across other platforms. Once you add someone as a contact, Rapportive displays their social media profiles, mutual colleagues you may know, and job info from their LinkedIn profile, right inside your inbox.

Having a strong network is essential to your freelance writing career. Rapportive gives you the opportunity to connect with editors on social media, where you can interact with them and stay on their radar in between article assignments.

You can also use the job information to stay current on where your favorite editors are working. If one of them moves to a new publication, you could get your foot in the door and snag some great new writing opportunities

5. Sortd

If your inbox looks like the email equivalent of a teenage boy’s bedroom, Sortd is for you.

This inbox organizer will keep you from losing important emails and stop you from wasting time searching for specific messages.

Sortd replaces the typical Gmail interface with a series of organized lists. You can customize each list with whatever title you want, making your inbox clutter-free and perfectly suited to your unique work system. Try these ideas for Sortd list setups to get started:

• To-Do, for ongoing tasks or emails that require action
• Currently Writing, for emails related to your articles-in-progress
• Sources, for keeping track of email chains with your sources
• Ideas, for when you email yourself that brilliant article idea so you don’t forget
• “Insert Article Title Here,” for if you’d like to organize emails by the specific article they relate to
• Editing, for tasks related to revisions and changes from your editor
• Ongoing, for emails related to recurring assignments or regular columns

Dealing with email and other administrative duties is never fun, but these Gmail add-ons are the first step to getting that drudge work off your plate. Once you get these systems up and running, you’ll be amazed at how much more time you can spend on the billable writing work you enjoy.

Do you use any email add-ons to improve your workflow? Tell me about them in the comments!