How to invite people to Help a Reporter
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Easiest way in the world to invite people to Help A Reporter - Simply cut and paste below:
As you know, reporters are constantly looking for sources. They’re always writing stories, reporting on something, and always need experts in the field of whatever they’re reporting.
Problem is, they don’t often know how to find them.
On the flip side, if you’re an expert at something (And come on, everyone’s an expert at SOMETHING,) how do you let the media know you’re available to talk and be quoted when they’re writing a story?
Well, I joined a free mailing list that solves both problems.
Basically, reporters send the list owner queries about what they’re working on. (”I’m writing a story on farming, and I need someone in NYC who’s grown a windowsill garden,” or “I’m doing a story on General Electric, and need a financial analyst who covers them.”)
Peter (a rather high-energy, but seemingly decent guy (www.shankman.com) puts these all queries together, and emails them out, three times a day. There are usually anywhere between 10 and 25 queries per email, organized so you can read all of them in about five seconds. If any work for you, simply scroll down, and email the reporter with your details and why you’re an expert. If they don’t, simply delete them.
It’s that incredibly simple. Like most brilliant things are.
Oh yeah - it’s all free. The list has over 12,000 members that have joined since it launched three months ago, why not be one of them! Members have been quoted in everything from the NY Times to CNN to the Washington Post to the NY Daily News to Fox News to TV to radio to bloggers around the world.
Sign up here: http://www.helpareporter.com
If you’re a journalist and want to submit a query: Submit it here: www.helpareporter.com/press
That’s it! Use it well, happy quoting!
And there you go. 
June 30th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Hello Peter,
You not only help reporters but also people who are just starting an online business. This is a great way to help someone and be helped too.
Thanks,
James Savage
June 30th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
May not be jumping out of planes (yet) but I did get my feet off the desk and have finally begun to send HARO invites to my favorite reporters!
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:47 am
Hey there,
I was told about this website from a gal I met through a horse rescue photo shoot. I’m not quite sure what I can do to help reporters but am always willing to give open and honest responses to questions (and who knows, maybe I’ll be contacted by a reporter that wants to do a story on our wonderful horse rescue group, Double HP, http://www.doublehphorses.org).Thanks!
Cindy
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:20 am
[...] of my friends, Dana vanDen Heuvel, recently sent me a link to a very interesting project: Help a Reporter. This project is the brainchild of Peter [...]