Me!
Anyone in the media business has become a huge fan of HARO, which stands for Help a Reporter Out. Social media and marketing guru Peter Shankman created it, oh, about a year ago.
HARO is a thrice-daily list of media leads, which I’ve used as a writer and as someone trying to promote her books. Today, I took my HARO-ness to a new level by purchasing the “ad” that appears at the top of every HARO dispatch.
In case you’re interested in reading that ad, here it is:
This HARO is thanks to Leah Ingram, writer, book author and spokesperson extraordinaire. Do you need to hire a media-trained, camera-savvy spokesperson for your next PR campaign? Then Leah’s your gal. Leah is a high-energy lifestyle expert with a low-maintenance attitude. She knows how to deliver on-target message points in a friendly, conversational way, and she gets results. One tour she completed helped to increase sales of a technology company’s products by 20%. Did I mention that she’s an awesome, nationally published writer, too? Leah can put words to any story that, well, needs writing. Want to see Leah in action? Visit her website http://www.leahingram.com to view video segments, read her clips or check out any of her 13 published books. Her newest book on frugal living, called Suddenly Frugal, hits bookstore shelves in September.
Only time will tell if this ad will bring a worthwhile return on investment. Considering that each HARO reaches nearly 25,000 people, I’ve got fingers crossed that it will.
READ LEAH ON HOME GOES STRONG
Great idea. Can’t wait to see what comes from it.
I’d love to hear how it works out for you!
Hi Leah-
Love to hear your feedback on the HARO ad. I know Peter has shared some great successes in the past. I’m considering recommending it for one of our non-travel clients. Do you think it was a worthwhile investment?
Hi, Allison:
I had really high hopes for my HARO ad, based on the testimonials that we’ve all seen on those HARO emails. Unfortunately, the response did not live up to expectations. Maybe it’s because I was advertising myself as a writer/spokesperson, and people just don’t need someone with those skills lately, but I got one email that was marginally professional and inquisitive. Other than that I got unsolicited critiques of my website (and not very nice critiques at that) from people who were pitching themselves as web designers, a number of people who wanted me to invest in their business or record testimonials for their products, and a bunch of other cranks. My experiences was the polar opposite of what we’ve heard from other advertisers, which makes me think that not everyone is getting those off-the-charts results. That’s fine–it was a risk I was willing to take. But if I were considering advertising again in the future, I’d want to know how people in MY FIELD fared, not just testimonials from random folks. Hope that helps.
Thanks Leah. Thats really helpful and definitely keep that mind! Did you at least notice a spike in visitors that day?
Allison:
Only about 20 more visitors. I’ve had other days in March when my blog traffic was up even more. It was very disappointing.
Leah
Leah,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience so honestly as I was toying with the idea of doing this myself. In this economy, it is so important to get the best bang for our buck. As a newly published author, I thought it may help drive up sales for my memoir. I have read the testimonies as well that claim tons of book sales based on a HARO “ad”. Thank you for being so honest as $1,500 is no joke these days, especially for those of us just starting out.
Jennifer
You’re welcome. You know you could probably figure out a way to use HARO to your advantage in other ways. Feel free to email me; I have some ideas that I’d rather not share in public.
Leah