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Peter Shankman's free service that connects
journalists with credible sources grew from 3,000 members to nearly
40,000 in just one year
November marked one year since PR executive Peter
Shankman launched his free “Help a Reporter Out” (HARO) service. What a
year it’s been for something that started out as a simple favor for
Shankman’s friends and contacts in the media who were looking to
connect quickly and easily with a wide array of sources.
When Ragan.com first checked
in on HARO last April, Shankman, who also is the CEO for New York PR
firm The Geek Factory, had recently moved the service from its Facebook
page, which could no longer handle the e-mail traffic, to its new home
at www.helpareporter.com. His distribution list grew to 3,000 people and he was sending out HARO e-mails once or twice a day.
Get more helpful advice from Peter Shankman, a keynote at the upcoming Social Media for CommunicatorsMarch 6-8, 2009 Las Vegas 
As of mid-October HARO’s distribution list had
ballooned to 36,000 members, who range from TV reporters to PR
professionals to industry experts to business entrepreneurs looking for
a little publicity. Shankman was predicting HARO’s membership would
reach 40,000 by the end of 2008, and he already had advertising lined
up for the remainder of the year.
Shankman’s success and the tremendous growth of
HARO are not terribly shocking, perhaps, given that today’s media
machine is churning out content 24/7. That means new and interesting
sources and experts to interview are always in demand.
HARO’s tagline is “Everyone’s an expert at
something,” and to be sure, people have not been shy about sharing
their expertise and gaining some exposure while, of course, helping a
reporter out in the process.
Fashion model and pest extermination business owner, Genma Stringer
Holmes, of Nashville, Tenn.—yes, she really is both, as well as a
writer and public speaker—is a big fan of HARO.
“Peter Shankman sends out good karma, and I think
he is helping people understand the value of social media,” says
Holmes. “I am all about relationships and connecting with people, and
HARO has led to some good things for me that I don’t think I would have
been able to take advantage of otherwise.”
Holmes’ recent HARO-related opportunities include speaking engagements for Essence magazine and Howard University.
Carla Caccavale Reynolds, a partner with New
York-based PR firm Quinn & Co., says HARO has been a useful
resource for her agency, not just for connecting with the media but
also for some recent free advertising.
“In the HARO e-mail he sent out on the Friday
before Labor Day, he mentioned that luncheon and our agency in his
intro. After that our Web traffic went through the roof, which I
thought was pretty amazing considering it was a holiday weekend,”
recalls Reynolds. And like Holmes, Reynolds says she finds the
“personality” Shankman brings to the HARO service appealing.
Both Holmes and Reynolds also have experience using PR Newswire’s ProfNet service,
HARO’S biggest competitor. Reynolds said that while her agency still
subscribes to ProfNet, she did recently discuss cancellation options
with the company. She says she was taken aback by the ProfNet
representative’s response.
“The person I spoke with said HARO’s listings are
off-topic and not proofread,” recalls Reynolds. “To me, that didn’t
seem like much of an argument for keeping ProfNet … but some people
here do like the service, so we are keeping it for now. And the cost is
really not a factor for us because it is spread out among our clients.”
Holmes says she had a similar conversation with a
ProfNet representative who questioned HARO’s quality when she recently
canceled her ProfNet subscription. She says she told the individual
that she felt the leads she has been getting with HARO have been more
useful to her, and after evaluating both options “did not see the
value” in continuing with the paid service. Holmes said she also
offered to send the ProfNet rep examples of the coverage she has
received because of HARO leads.
Ted Skinner, vice president of public relations
products for PR Newswire, says he is surprised to learn about these
experiences and will look into them. (He also encourages anyone who has
similar issues to contact him at ted.skinner@prnewswire.com.) “We would never bash HARO,” Skinner says. “We would never talk down about someone having such success.”
While Skinner says he is aware some subscribers
have canceled ProfNet in the past year because of their preference for
the free HARO service, he says ProfNet is committed to providing “the
best overall journalistic experience.” He adds, “We have 27,000 experts
in our database. We also are a neutral third-party for bringing
reporters and experts together, and have been trusted by the media for
15 years.”
And as for the price, Skinner says, “We think our
service is worth every nickel,” adding that ProfNet offers its users a
variety of products and subscription rates.
Meanwhile, other companies also have been taking notice of Shankman’s success
with HARO, but are hoping to do a deal with him. Shankman says he has
been approached by “some interested parties” in recent months, and he
is “considering everything.”
However, he says he is not going to start
seriously weighing any offers until early next year. And whatever he
does decide to do next with HARO, he insists he will remain involved.
He also says that as long as he owns HARO, he will “never charge a
penny” for the service.
“I’m just having a lot of fun with this and I want
to keep doing it,” says Shankman. “People—like real people, you know,
mom-and-pop types—e-mail me and say, ‘Thank you so much. I would never
have been able to afford this kind of press.’”
Shankman does admit, however, that running HARO
has become time-consuming. “I need to plan my life, including my air
travel, around these e-mails, which gets crazy,” he says.
Currently, HARO is supported only by Shankman and
one administrative assistant, but he plans on adding more help soon. He
also is looking at ways to automate certain aspects of the service so
he can get information out to members faster.__________________________________________________________________________ At any rate, I sent Peter some glycerin soap and butter bars for a giveaway. Wow! I had almost 3 times as many hits as normal that day when Soapourri was mentioned. He made it fun, too - he asked what people's favorite smells are, and then awarded the prizes to the ones he chose. Many people accidentally sent their picks to me - the most common was "the smell of my baby's head". AWWWW. The winners were - you won't believe - bacon, puppies, and Fenway Park! Anyway, THANKS PETER, for the mention! | 
