At Costa DeVault, it’s no secret that we are big fans of Peter Shankman’s Help a Reporter Out (HARO). Dubbed the “largest source repository in the world,” HARO sends out approximately 210 media opportunities daily. For down-to-the-wire deadlines, it’s a journalist’s best friend … and a PR professional’s dream. But, with more than 120,800 active sources receiving the thrice-daily email, competition can be stiff for that coveted placement.

When you find a fitting query, having the perfect resource is just half the battle. The following are a few of our favorite HARO tips that we’ve learned from personal experience:

• Keep it short. When you mix a tight deadline with a high volume of replies, multiple paragraphs of text – while relevant and informative – might be overlooked in favor of short and to-the-point bullets. (In fact, People Magazine’s Steve Helling is a big advocate of the 250-word pitch.)

• Provide all the information. Some of the most coveted queries request particular information. Often times you’ll be asked to include common details, like the name of the source, company name and contact information. But sometimes, the reporter might want even more information – like a headshot, the source’s age or highly specific quotes and comments. When compared to another expert resource, if your email lacks any of the requested information, it might be the difference between being included and being ignored.

• Subject lines are valuable. Use them wisely. Our friends at HARO automatically add “New Pitch –” to your email’s subject line (at least when you reply to an auto-generated HARO email, like “queryxyz@”). Don’t waste valuable subject line real estate by including something similar – instead, get right to the point.

• Omit bold text to avoid “screaming.” In the past, I’ve used bold text to call out specific statistics and relevant information when responding to a HARO query. Sounds like a smart idea, right? When a reporter replied to me recently, they included my original pitch and I was surprised to see that my “courtesy” bolding had actually translated into SCARY CAPITALIZATION. Eek! Often times, people read capitalization as screaming … which is definitely not something I want to portray to a reporter.

For more best practices – from Peter, himself – visit Shankman.com. Please share your own favorite tips in the comment section below.

Roses are red, violets are blue … we hope these tweets help you, too.

Florida-based People magazine staff writer Steve Helling skipped the chocolate and roses for Valentine’s Day yesterday and instead gifted PR professionals everywhere a candid look at his pitching tips and pet peeves.

If you have more to add, please share your insight in the comments below.

By making the media more accessible than ever before, Twitter is changing how public relations professionals engage with journalists. Offering insight into the day-to-day (and sometimes personal) lives of reporters, Twitter puts a “face to the name” – and provides other, non-traditional ways to “connect.” PR pros would be wise to use this to their advantage. Creating any sort of relationship – even a virtual one – is better than simply making a blind pitch.

More accessible

Pitching via Twitter works especially well when the reporter is actively searching for story leads. Follow journalists in your area – or nationally if you have appropriate clients – and pay attention to their tweets! By reading one tweet from a TV anchor, my coworkers and I were able to land six different TV news stories for multiple clients.

Twitter can also work when the reporters aren’t actively seeking story ideas or resources. Pay attention to the stories they link to – and the comments they make. Do you have a client who would be an appropriate follow-up to a story they’ve linked to? If so, pitch them.

Where to find them. . .
Twitter has spawned many different web sites purely dedicated to listing media personnel who tweet. Two of my favorites are Muck Rack and Media on Twitter. Muck Rack contains real-time updates from tweeting reporters – an excellent resource for national leads. Media on Twitter allows you to search for particular publications (like your local daily paper). In addition to those online resources, many publications list employees with Twitter accounts. (Check out the Orlando Sentinel’s tweeps.)

So how should PR pros contact reporters?

I’ve encountered varying opinions on this topic – and everyone has a different preference for being pitched. To alleviate any future issues, I think a quick direct message or @reply to the reporter to ask about their contact preference should suffice – and answer your question. If they don’t respond, there’s a good chance they don’t want to be pitched through Twitter. However, if the reporter is asking for leads or a story idea on Twitter, then by all means respond via direct message or e-mail.

I’d like your take on this: Do you think there are certain rules that need to be followed when using Twitter to pitch media? Have you had success using this channel?