Got some great news to share, today, gang: When HARO was acquired by Vocus in June of 2010, I promised that there’d be no changes to the HARO – It’d still be free, it’d still do everything we told you it would do, and that when we did have changes, they’d benefit you, and you’d hear it here first. All of those things are still true. And today, we’ve got some really, really great news. First off – Still want the HARO the way it is, free, with nothing else? Done. You got it. We promised we’d never take that away, and we won’t. There are some good optional changes coming, though, and I want to share them with you. [...]

When I speak at conferences catering to small businesses, I usually show up an hour before the conference starts. I check in, but don’t pick up my own badge. Instead, I scan the badges already spread out, and grab someone else’s – usually someone who runs a small business. I’ve been Jon Michelson, Tyrese McHale, and my personal favorite, Gordon Brown (not that one), all of whom own small businesses, and all of whom are looking for the magic bullet that will convince them that social media actually works for them – will actually make them money, will actually help them sell product, and isn’t the next BS thing they hear about every day on the radio, on TV, and [...]

A few weeks ago, I put out a call for an assistant editor for HARO. As HARO continues to grow, we’re going to be hiring more and more. With that said, I figured I’d share some of what we got, and possibly help you the next time you’re applying for a new job. No personal identifiable information is disclosed here, which for some people who applied, is probably a good thing. The statistics We received 481 resumes in the past three weeks. Of those, 449 of them came to the correct address. That means 33 resumes were immediately disqualified for not being able to follow the simple instruction of where to send it. TIP: Chances are, your resume is being [...]

On the First Day of Social Christmas, my followers gave to me, a Klout score of Eighty-Three. On the Second Day of Social Christmas, my followers gave to me, two Macbook Airs, and a Klout Score of Eighty-Three. On the Third of Social Christmas, my followers gave to me, three HARO emails, two Macbook Airs, and a Klout Score of Eighty-Three. On the Fourth Day of Social Christmas, my followers gave to me, four Pete Cashmore Tweets (sigh), three HARO emails, two Macbook Airs, and a Klout Score of Eighty-Three. On the Fifth Day of Social Christmas, my followers gave to me, FIVE… ANGRY… BIRDS!! Four Pete Cashmore Tweets (sigh), three HARO emails, two Macbook Airs, and a Klout Score [...]

Running HARO for the past three years, I’ve seen, hands down, the best ways to get your story placed, front page, EVERY TIME. Assuming you want ALL THAT COVERAGE, as your boss has told you that you do, these are, without question, the top five ways to get it. Make sure you follow EVERY single rule here, and you’ll be well on your way to getting tons and tons of coverage! 1) Make sure to pitch completely and totally off-topic, with absolutely no regard to what the journalist covers. Hey, times are tight, right? They should be LOVING you for pitching them at all! They cover finance? Make sure to pitch them on a home entertainment system for 8-15 year [...]