One of the BEST Blog Posts I’ve EVER Gotten To Write!
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I am beyond thrilled to announce that HARO, my baby, what I started in November of 2007 as a FACEBOOK GROUP, with NO idea what it would eventually become, has been acquired by Vocus, Inc. It is a GREAT day!
As you’ll see in the video below, NOTHING CHANGES. HARO will still be free. You’ll still get the most helpful media queries in the world, three times a day, right to your inbox. I’ll still be running HARO, and still writing the ads, and updating you with my little blurbs each day.
But… Great things will now be able to happen. We’ll have a kick-ass infrastructure, which will allow us to grow HARO better than ever before. Different countries. More lists. Breaking news queries! You name it. It’s gonna be an AMAZING ride.
To everyone who has EVER used HARO in any capacity whatsoever, I say THANK YOU! It’s because of YOU that HARO has grown to what it is, and I’m just beyond excited that Vocus saw that, saw my vision, saw YOUR vision, and wants to help me take it to the next level.
From a Facebook group with two overweight cats, to a 100k+ person mailing list used by thousands upon thousands of journalists and sources, (and with two now more slightly overweight cats,) this has been one HELL of a ride. I can’t wait to see where we go next.
And of course, Meagan, Mike, and Laura, I couldn’t have done any of this without you. I love you guys.
Can I get a WOOT!!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:19 am
You sure can: WOOT! Exciting news – congrats!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:20 am
You can get a double WOOT! So deserved Peter, thank you for all that you Megan, Laura and Mike do, we love you!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:21 am
WOOT WOOT!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:21 am
Congratulations!
Been part of the group since Facebook. HARO rocks! Directly responsible for getting me in the New York Times as an expert… Thank You!
Best of Luck in the future!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:24 am
Woot! You deserve it, Peter!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:25 am
Fabulousness! Congratulations!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:26 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Lee Odden, Peter Shankman, Brandon Chesnutt, Karen D. Swim, Jacklyn Johnston and others. Jacklyn Johnston said: WOW. Congrats! RT @skydiver: Guys, I wanted you to hear this amazing news from me first: HARO has been acquired!! http://is.gd/cK6Zz [...]
June 10th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Congratulations–you created this with nothing but good ideas, talent and drive.
And love.
Thank you so much and yes, WOOT!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:27 am
Wow! And a WOOT! Congrats to the HARO team, and most importantly, thank you for your ongoing commitment to those who have come to love HARO. Thrilled for the news, and even more thrilled it sounds like while HARO will be even better than it is now (hard to imagine!) you will continue to offer the support, service and opportunities that have always made HARO my favorite tool. Congrats and Thank you for all you do!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:28 am
Congratulations. It’s because of HARO that I have some great content on my web site with articles within which I was quoted. Thanks.
June 10th, 2010 at 8:30 am
Time to break out the champagne :)
June 10th, 2010 at 8:31 am
woot! Woot! WOOT! Nice to see you movin’ on up, my man!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:32 am
You are an inspiration! I’m so proud to be your Mom!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:32 am
That’s great Peter. Congratulations! You’ve earned this excitement.
June 10th, 2010 at 8:34 am
Congrats (and WOOT!)!!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:34 am
This is simply outstanding news, Peter. Hearty and heartfelt congratulations to the entire team. This is an enormous win for Vocus and just a great result for the nicest man in the world – and the bestest team in the world.
Just one question: why are there sheets on that couch? Literally getting into bed together?
June 10th, 2010 at 8:35 am
Congratulations, Peter! What an amazing example of what happens when you take the bull by the horns and make stuff happen. Love it!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:36 am
Woot, Peter, woot! Congrats, and welcome aboard!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Woot-Woot!! Congrats Peter-and thanks for getting Carry-Her some awesome press!! Reach for the sky Mr. Skydiver!! :)
June 10th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Yay, Peter! So excited for you — congrats! :)
June 10th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Congratulations Peter! Wishing you continued success. A long time member of the HARO family I selfishly hope that the philosophy and integrity of HARO remain the same!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:39 am
Party time! Congratulations! :)
June 10th, 2010 at 8:39 am
This is awesome! For everyone.
Congratulations to Peter, Meagan, Mike, and Laura, Vocus, and the 1000s who use/peruse HARO (me included!!).
Peter, this means you have more time for training and (fingers-crossed) a nonpretentious mix tape, right?
WOOT!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:40 am
Way to go Peter. Well deserved!!!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:40 am
Peter, it’s great to know thtaat you have been rewarded for your remarkable contributions to the success of so many PR firms (including ours) and journalists!
Mazel Tov!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:42 am
congrats! mazel tov. and suchlike!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:42 am
WOOT!!! Congratulations. That’s MAJOR!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Woot! Woot! Congrats, Peter! What a great day!!!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:44 am
congrats peter! nice to know that hard work and ingenuity pays off in the end.
June 10th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Woot!! Congratulations. HARO is a great resource, keep up the good work! What an exciting example of how a simple idea can grow to affect multitudes of people in such positive ways.
June 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
can we get updated pics of the overweight cats? And congrats!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:47 am
Congratulations, Peter! Wonderful news — just want to thank you for HARO and the role that it has played in expanding my firm’s horizons, thank you! All the best from your Boca running buddy.
June 10th, 2010 at 8:48 am
*woot!*
Congrats! :)
June 10th, 2010 at 8:49 am
Nothings going to change? I’ll bet you just lost 80+% of your non-VOCUS ad revenues.
June 10th, 2010 at 8:52 am
Congratulations Peter!!! Well deserved! HARO is a great tool and has helped myself and my colleagues in landing many successful placements for our clients.
June 10th, 2010 at 8:52 am
Awesome! Congrats Peter!!! Woot woot!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:56 am
Absolutely awesome Peter! Congrats and give Meagan a raise…
June 10th, 2010 at 8:58 am
congratulations! When do you buy the private island? :)
June 10th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Congrats!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Congratulations, Peter! What a wonderful outcome: more resources and your continued involvement, too.
All the best to you.
June 10th, 2010 at 9:01 am
Congrats Peter!
Any word yet on Chris going skydiving with you?
I’ve offered to help him lose weight if that’s the only thing stopping him…
Congrats again on the exciting news!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:01 am
Congratulations, Peter!! This is great news!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:06 am
One small step for fat cats, one giant leap for people. Seriously, good stuff. Major congrats on such a BIG accomplishment.
June 10th, 2010 at 9:07 am
Woot, woot, indeed!!! Congrats to you and the HARO family (cats included!) Truly inspiring, Peter!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:09 am
Absolutely fantastic – you enthusiasm is contagious. Woot Woot!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:11 am
Woot woot woot!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:13 am
As a long-time HARO advertiser, we’ve seen the benefit of HARO for driving interest in our AwardSync (www.awardsync.com) offering. Congrats to you and your team Peter. You discovered a niche and filled it. Well done!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:14 am
What a great combination. Congrats to you Peter and to the team at Vocus. Looking forward to “Great things will now be able to happen”!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:16 am
Peter, Congrats. Way to go! As a small non-profit patient advocacy organization, we greatly appreciate having been along on the ride and having benefited so much from HARO both as sources and journalists. We’ll be there with you on the next phase of the journey. Woot!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:19 am
Congratulations to you, Peter! You do great work and deserve all the best.
June 10th, 2010 at 9:22 am
Congrats – it is what every person wants in their small business. PRISSAM is celebrating their 2nd anniversary today and we always say it is about ‘looking at life in a different perspective’ and you certainly did – -
Can’t wait to future!!!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:23 am
Congratulations Peter! Woot woot!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:23 am
What a fantastic new chapter to the HARO story. Congratulations to everyone.
June 10th, 2010 at 9:26 am
WOOT WOOT! Congrats Peter! And you have an AMAZING view from your window. Wow! :)
June 10th, 2010 at 9:28 am
Congratulations Peter! This is truly a big next step for HARO and I wish you and your team much continued success!!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:42 am
[...] HARO’s recent acquisition by Vocus is illustrative of the oft-preached axiom of value-oriented e-mail marketing: If you provide it, they will come. But what is “value”? Well, that depends on your audience. But if you don’t figure that out, any forays into e-mail communications will be met with challenges, inconsistencies and, potentially, disappointment. [...]
June 10th, 2010 at 9:44 am
WOOT! WOOT!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Peter!
Congratulations, I am so very happy for you. You are such a brilliant man, this is great.
June 10th, 2010 at 9:58 am
Peter, congrats! It’s inspiring to see and be a part of a real life case study for entrepreneurial success. Can’t wait to see what happens when your ‘baby’ goes off to college.
June 10th, 2010 at 10:06 am
WOOT! Congratulations.
June 10th, 2010 at 10:10 am
Wishing you all the best! huge congratulations. you deserve all this success. no one works harder. :) cheers!!
June 10th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Congratulations, Peter. I love what you have built.
June 10th, 2010 at 10:21 am
Congrats Peter! You’ve created an incredible service that has served both us and our clients very well. Can’t wait to see what the future holds for HARO!
June 10th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Congratulations!
June 10th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Three WOOTs for Peter!…
News today that Peter Shankman’s phenomenally successful HARO has been acquired by Vocus. He requests a Woot or two – please give him at least three woots! What’s HARO? If you don’t know, it’s a service Peter started a few……
June 10th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Woot-woot! Holy crap, what great news! I feel priviledged to have benefitted from your service and can’t wait to see what’s next! Congrats Peter — and the two cats, Megan, Mike & Laura. You guys rock!
June 10th, 2010 at 10:41 am
WOOT and a Jersey Girl fist pump!
June 10th, 2010 at 10:51 am
Woooooot! From your southernmost admirers and users Thanks Peter! Great Run and Congrats!
June 10th, 2010 at 10:56 am
Peter, that is amazing!!! WOOOOOT!!! Congratulations to you, Meagan, Mike and Laura–so much deserved!
June 10th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Congrats! And wonderful – I love Vocus!
June 10th, 2010 at 11:04 am
So proud and happy for YOU! Peter – build it and they will come! Continue soaring!
June 10th, 2010 at 11:21 am
You have pulled this reporters feet out of the fire several times and I more than appreciate it. Congratulations – and I just hope you are right that nothing will change.
June 10th, 2010 at 11:22 am
You completely deserve this!!! A HUGE CONGRATS!
June 10th, 2010 at 11:45 am
[...] This is somewhat of a big deal for people in the PR world. That is, as long as nothing changes with our service. Peter Shankman started Help a Reporter Out back in 2007 and now it has been acquired by Vocus. [...]
June 10th, 2010 at 11:55 am
So great, Peter! Thanks so much for HARO; my clients and I have gotten so much press over the last couple of years because of you and your baby! Woot!
June 10th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Congrats, or should I say, woot woot!
Ryan
June 10th, 2010 at 11:59 am
Congratulations to the HARO team.
June 10th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Mazel to the Tov!
June 10th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Peter- Mazel Tov!
You deserve this and much more!
go relax a bit… and get that next book contract penned about how you pulled this off! :)
June 10th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Peter, congrats!! You definitely must be soaring on cloud nine and you’re not even at a drop zone! All the best …
June 10th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
You can get a woot woot! Thanks for the inspiration and for not changing a thing!
June 10th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
What’s my day like without HARO? I wouldn’t know. Great service! Great people working behind the scenes! Cheers!
June 10th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Congratulations!! HARO is an invaluable tool.
June 10th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Well-deserved Peter for you and your team!!! I can’t imagine it happening to anyone nicer. May it be a harbinger of many great things for you this year. Ironman anyone? Woot-tastic!!
Best,
Patty
June 10th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
HARO is BOLD, AMAZING and PREPARED, ALWAYS a part of our weekdays, 3 X a day (http://www.facebook.com/vickie.oldham; http://review.fvsu.edu)
What kind of camera did u use for the embedded video announcement?
June 10th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
WOOT!
June 10th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Great news for you guys — I just joined yesterday, so I don’t have much of a relationship with you guys yet, but it’s always nice to see people succeed as they do the right thing. Congrats! :)
June 10th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Congrats, Peter! Well deserved and very happy for you and the folks at Vocus!
June 10th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Congratulations Peter!
June 10th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Peter–Congratulations once again on creating a great service and brand. Looking forward to our collaboration!
June 10th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Hi Peter,
I’ve never been to your site before, but saw this link floating around on my Twitter feed. Want to say congratulations, but also just want to tell you that your personality and energy in this video (and I’m sure always) is absolutely INFECTIOUS! I love it! Definitely going to look into HARO now. Congratulations once again!
June 10th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Wow. Congrat Peter. Two great companies. Love you both. Look forward to great things moving forward.
–Lee
p.s. BTW THANK YOU for adding a biotech/healthcare category! Much loved.
June 10th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Congratulations to everyone at HARO! Keep up the great work.
June 10th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Absolutely WOOT! Congrats Peter! Nice work… :)
June 10th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Congrats on the successful sale. So glad to see great work rewarded. HARO was a great service. Thanks so much for all the entertaining emails and the great pr opportunities.
June 10th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
WOOT indeed my friend! I couldn’t be happier for you + the whole HARO crew. Congratulations on an incredibly deserved endorsement for all your creativity and hard work. Blue skies!! xoxoxo
June 10th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Yes you can! Woot! Woot! Woot! Congrats on the sale; it’s awesome news and a great reward for your hard work in building HARO.
June 10th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Congrats and Woot! I’ve been with HARO since the Facebook days and remember the big deal when there were 10K subscribers on the list! Blue skies and all the best to you and the HARO team.
June 10th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Congrats!
June 10th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by . said: [...]
June 10th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
Congratulations Peter. I am so excited for you, but glad for us that you will still be involved!!!
June 10th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Great work Peter! Congrats! See you round LA I hope!
June 10th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
[...] been a big day for acquisitions. This morning, in a blog post, Peter Shankman announced that HARO (Help a Reporter Out) was acquired by Vocus, Inc. Be sure to [...]
June 10th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Congrats, Peter! I get the feeling I’m one of your top freelancers in terms of HARO usage! It’s a great service.
June 10th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
You the WOOT! Congrats.
June 10th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Congratulations, Peter – HARO really is an American small business success story! I’m happy for you and everyone at HARO… and particularly that you’ll still be at the helm. VOCUS is a great company, but your style, personality and commitment to providing a much-needed service at a price everyone loves… lol… is what makes HARO so awesome! Best wishes to you and your staff!
June 10th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
I would have commented sooner, but I had my heart set on being comment 100. Congrats on your success Peter. Good to see you in DC. JP
June 10th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Many congrats, Peter! Thanks for making a great resource for all of us–and as a freelancer, appreciate the staying free part! Can’t wait to see it in full swing! Again, congrats!
June 10th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
WOOT! WOOT! WOOT! Big congratulations to you Peter and everyone at HARO!
Cannot wait to see what comes next with you and Vocus!
June 10th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
AWESOME news, Peter! Big time congrats! You’re publication and service is already fantastic, I can’t wait to see how it’s going to get even better.
June 10th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Woot! Woot! Woot!
June 10th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Congrats!! Vocus is an awesome company and they seem to be doing a lot of great things!! Great to hear they aren’t changing anything too!
June 10th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
Woot! Woot! Congrats Peter! Nice Job Vocus. (Are you two sitting on an unmade bed?) :)
June 10th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Peter – Woot x infinity!!!! And a cha-ching to boot!! Congratulations on landing the big one!!! Love seeing someone’s hard work pay off!! Thrilled to see this happen as well as to have been there early on.
June 10th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Awesome Peter!
You’ve built something amazing here, congrats!
WOOT!!!
June 10th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
Congrats!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
Here is your well deserved Woot! Could not have happened to a nicer guy. My warmest congratulations Peter!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
BIG congrats Peter. Onward and upward is always a GOOD THING! Like this logo/header. Pic captures you. Celebrate.
June 10th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Super congratulations, Peter. Great news for a great guy. Caviar for the cats!!!
June 10th, 2010 at 10:54 pm
So incredibly thrilled for you. All the best!
June 11th, 2010 at 12:24 am
I can’t wait to see this ! :) Chris’ video is funny – can’t wait to see how you will ‘edit’ the jump and decent !
June 11th, 2010 at 1:06 am
WOOT WOOT!! Congrats HARO team!! :) Thanks for keeping it real in the vid and protecting us against charges hee hee :)
June 11th, 2010 at 5:54 am
Congratulations Peter. You deserve it!!!
What an amazing ride !!!
From Your biggest fan from Canada !!!
Nelson Hudes
Hudes Communications International
Nelson@hudescommunications.com
June 11th, 2010 at 6:26 am
That’s awesome.
June 11th, 2010 at 7:09 am
Oodles of WOOT! Your energy is contagious! Congratulations! :)
June 11th, 2010 at 9:47 am
Congrats on your success, looking forward to seeing what’s in store.
June 11th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
WOOT CONGRATS!
I love HARO, and can’t wait to see where it goes now!
June 13th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
[...] HARO (Help a Reporter Out), a free service from Peter Shankman that links up reporters and sources, has been acquired by Vocus, Inc. [...]
June 14th, 2010 at 1:02 am
[...] HARO (Help a Reporter Out), a free service from Peter Shankman that links up reporters and sources, has been acquired by Vocus, Inc. [...]
June 14th, 2010 at 7:45 am
[...] HARO (Help a Reporter Out), a free service from Peter Shankman that links up reporters and sources, has been acquired by Vocus, Inc. [...]
June 14th, 2010 at 11:16 am
Are you two sitting on a hide-a-bed?
June 14th, 2010 at 11:37 am
Congrats to you and your team. Well deserved! Just read your book, and what a great read! You continue to inspire!
June 14th, 2010 at 11:56 am
CONGRATS PETER!!!
June 14th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
Well deserved Peter. HARO is a perfect example of an everyone-wins type product and it is great to see these types of products making it big. Awesome to you and your team.
June 15th, 2010 at 9:40 am
Comment number 127! Damn dude look at all the love for you. That says a lot about your character and who you are. Congrats again and its been great connecting.
June 15th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
All the best to you Peter! You deserve this~ you are the hardest working man in
web/publishing. Congrats!
June 16th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Bringing you a basketful of Woots! Congratulations!
June 16th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
This is a great example of what great things can happen with a great idea and a LOT of hard work. And I need an new adjective to replace great. WOOT!
June 17th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
I also seen this on twitter this is very interesting congrats!
June 17th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Hey this is a great service brought to you bay bunch of hard working folks thanks a bunch
June 17th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
great news Peter if anyone deserves this its you
June 17th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Congratulations Peter you the man and deserve every bit of the credit
June 17th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Peter you inspire us all keep up the good work!
June 17th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Hey Great Job! Congratulations keep up the good work
July 6th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
WOOT! Congratulations, and now’s the time to break out the primo catnip for KARMA and NASA!
Cheers!
July 16th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
[...] clients as experts in response to journalists’ queries. That’s right, this service, recently acquired by Vocus and started by Peter Shankman, provides a good laugh here and there as [...]