Low-Hanging Fruit

Today, I want to talk about a concrete way to get you some PR coverage. The dream scenario for every PR person or every person who does their own PR probably is that media are knocking at your door because they want to feature you, your brand and your product or service. It does happen, but it’s rare and usually the result of many years of doing proactive PR. 

That said, there is an easy way to get started! There are services out there that channel requests from journalists to potential sources. A little bit of the burden is still on you because you have to keep track of the queries to find the ones that are a fit, and of course, you have to submit your pitch.

The most popular of these types of services is called HARO, which stands for Help A Reporter Out. It was founded by a PR pro and now is owned by Cision, a PR software company. The good news is that it’s completely FREE, at least if you settle for the basic version, which sends you three emails a day with queries.

I’ve been monitoring the HARO queries and will tell you that each month there are on average over 30 requests that specifically ask for input from interior designers. That’s a whole bunch of media opportunities! Some are from smaller outlets like blogs, but you see queries from Apartment Therapy, Forbes, realtor.com, HGTV, My Domaine, and many other notable outlets.

The deadlines are usually very tight so it is crucial to keep an eye on the queries as they come in because responding quickly will definitely up your chances of getting picked up. We’ve seen some fast successes in my Design PR Insider Membership! 

If you give it a shot, just be aware that you can’t expect coverage for every pitch you send it. It’s a bit of a numbers game, but I will guarantee you that if you commit to submitting a few pitches a month, you will see your name pop up in some of the articles!

Besides adding to your press portfolio, HARO queries are also great pitching practice that will come in handy when you are ready to launch a proactive pitch to your dream outlet!

It’s a solid way to get started and start to regularly generate press mentions. I’d love to hear from you if you decide to go for it!

If it seems like a lot of effort to constantly check your email and sift through hundreds of queries, I get it. In my Membership, I vet all the HARO queries and share only the ones that are relevant for interior designers, plus I include useful info on the outlet and pitching tips.