How to Use Connectively (formerly HARO) For Public Relations

Connectively (formerly HARO) is a place that connects individuals and businesses with journalists. It’s a two-way street that benefits both parties. Reporters have access to experts through a trusted platform, and businesses can use for publicity and getting their story out to trusted news outlets.

Personally, I love the new Connectively platform (and I have zero affiliation with them).

The old HARO site was outdated and clunky, and in much need of a modern refresh. And this rebranded platform is exactly what it needed.

While the HARO acronym stands for “help a reporter out,” the “subject matter experts” in Connectively (individuals and businesses) are being helped out equally.

In this quick guide, I’ll show you how to leverage Connectively for connecting with reporters and improving your public relations strategy.

Step 1 – Create a New Connectively Account

Connectively is a members-only platform. So you can’t do anything until you’ve signed up.

Fortunately, it’s free for basic use. For those of you who aren’t ready to commit to a paid plan, Connectively Lite gives you access to the HARO queries feed and up to 10 pitches per month.

If you need more, you can always upgrade. Premium plans range from $19 to $149 per month, but most of you can get away with the free option or first tier.

It’s also worth noting that the old HARO platform was officially sunset on April 2, 2024. So for those of you who previously had a HARO account, you still need to create a new Connectively account now to proceed.

Signing up took me less than 30 seconds. I just entered my name and email address, and Connectively sent me a verification link to set up my password. That’s it.

Step 2 – Join as a “Subject Matter Expert”

This part is important, and should be obvious. But I just want to make sure that you join as a Subject Matter Expert.

That’s because Connectively has two different profile types, and the only other option is to join as Journalist.

If you make a mistake now and join as a journalist, then you won’t get connected with other journalists (which is the whole point of what we’re doing here).

Step 3 – Browse Through HARO Queries

To connect with journalists through Connectively, you’ll start by browsing through query submissions.

These queries are stories that reporters are actively looking for, so you’re essentially filling a gap on a story that’s either already being written or in the works.

However, browsing through HARO queries can be a bit intimidating. There are hundreds, if not thousands of options to choose from. So I recommend searching for keywords related to area of expertise.

Let’s say you have a legal practice, you could search for something like “law” as a general term to narrow the search.

This first result looks pretty solid compared to the rest.

If we click it, we can see that the reporter is looking for an expert to help them with a story in a legal magazine. Specifically, they want to know about best practices for records management.

Step 4 – Submit Your Pitch

Assuming you’re interested, you can just click the “Pitch” button in the top right corner of the screen.

Explain who you are, why you’re an expert, and how you’re qualified to answer.

To stand out from other pitches, make sure you clearly state your qualifications. That’s probably the most important thing that a reporter is looking for.

Don’t go overboard and submit more information than necessary. Keep it brief, and stay on track with what they’re asking for.

Instead of a broad pitch about why you’re an expert, you can begin answering the questions. For this pitch specifically, you may submit something like this:

In this scenario, I used less than 400 of the 6,000 allowable characters.

Again, this is just an example. You can add more if you’d like, but I tend to keep these short and sweet.

That’s it!

If the journalist likes your pitch, you’ll be connected and you can be featured in their story.