5+ Reasons Why No One is Reading Your Blog

If you're like many nonprofit or social enterprise leaders I meet, you have a beautifully designed blog, but it's a little barren. In fact, you really struggle to get your blog updated. And when you finally do, you check the box, pat yourself on the back, and call it a day. But it's not enough to just write the post—it needs to get read. 

Before we even address any potential issues with your marketing and promotion of the blog post, let's first address the readability. (And, yes, that's a thing.)

Does this sound familiar: Someone lands on your little labor of love, maybe skims a little, and then promptly leaves. All without taking action, or worse, even taking in your content.

Here you find yourself with a post that took precious time and energy, but didn't actually get the job done. It's finished, sure, but it's not effective. It's not working hard enough for you. Houston, we have a problem.

You can sit around all day long, cross your arms, and shout, "It's not me, it's you!" ... but is it? Here are a few blog writing tips that will help ensure your post gets read, and better yet, acted on. 

Formatting Your Blog Post

Not sure if you've noticed, but the the look of blog posts has changed quite a bit over the last, few years. They are no longer just little (or big) essays waiting to be consumed. Everyone's vying for your attention, and here's how the winners are getting noticed.

Sub-heads or headers: Like it or not, people often skim content, so after your introduction, use sub-heads in the body text to preview what's coming up. This also helps with SEO, so it’s good to use keywords (the main topic of your post) in sub-heads as well, or at least use a few words to describe what you’ll be talking about next.

Short paragraphs: Because it’s common for people to view websites on smaller screens, like cell phones and tablets, use smaller paragraphs of just a few sentences. If you write a long paragraph, how you can break it up so that it’s more readable on any sized screen? People don't want to look at a wall of text on a small screen.

Images: We may be living in a material world, but we're also living in a visual one. You need at least one image/video/graph/etc. to accompany your post. Not only does this illustrate your topic and help grab someone's attention, but for anyone who wants to save your post to a site like Pinterest, it makes things easier.

Keywords: You also want to make sure and mention your topic several times in the body copy for SEO. And you can use it in different phrasing, too. For example, if your post is about “content creation,” you can use that phrase, as well as “creating content” and “content marketing” and similar things. Once again, we're trying to appease and appeal to the almighty Google in hopes that it will recognize us and call us worthy. Agree or disagree, it's the world we live in if we want people to find our little corner of the internet.

CTA or Call to Action: At the end of every post should be a CTA. (You can also sprinkle them throughout.) What do you want people to do as a result of reading your blog post? You can lead them to additional content, make a donation or purchase, give you their email, sign up for your newsletter, download something, etc. There are a lot of options, so be sure to include one. Get them to interact with your content to make it, your cause, and your organization more memorable. This helps you build a relationship with someone.

Don't Forget Consistency

If you've read even a couple of posts on this blog, you've likely seen some form of the word "consistency." It is a huge soap box for us—because it's that important! So, along with formatting your blog post to make it more read-worthy, let's take a look at a few things that should always remain the same, even when the topic changes.

Remember your audience: For this blog, we consider our audience to be leaders or key employees of nonprofits and for-profits with a social mission. They're typically at a small organization where people wear multiple hats. And they have a desire to improve their marketing and communications. Everything we write keeps these folks in mind in order to serve them better.

Tone and voice: If you haven't done this yet, determine how your organization "sounds" so that tone and voice remains the same. This is called your brand voice. Here at Signify, we want to sound friendly and professional, with a side of humor. (Because humor just makes the world better.)

Refrain from jargon: Unless you have a very narrow niche that understands your jargon, like rocket scientists or brain surgeons, stop using words and phrases specific to that group. Don't make your audience strain to understand what you're saying or you'll lose them. For example, here on this blog, we try to make marketing and communications easy for anyone in our target audience to understand and act on.

Grammar, punctuation, and similar do-dads: We touched on this last week, but for repeat readers, you need to make sure your style is always the same from post to post. Go read that post with advice from editors. It’s chock full o’ wisdom!

Pro Tips for Your Blog Posts

We know, we know. You already have a long list to work on where your blog posts are concerned. But for those of you who may be a little further ahead, or think overachieving is a way of life, here are a few other things to make your words stretch further.

Work on your headlines: You already know this, but your blog headline is super important. We use this headline analyzer to help determine if our headlines will entice readers. Aim for a score of above 70, just like in school!

Add internal links: Link to other posts or pages within your site. Like when you talk about promoting a launch, you can link to another place where you talk about that same subject. ( <-- See what we did there?) This keeps people on your site longer because they're looking around at all the pretty content you've created. This is obviously great for your website, but when people stick around, it also tells Google that your site is a good one, and they should recommend you more.

Add external links: On a similar note, link to other websites when you can as well. It helps build the credibility of your own site in Google's eyes. So, when you mention that you're attending the Plywood Presents conference in a few months, make it easy for people to get there. ( <-- Did it again!)

Briefly consider length: There are MANY opinions about what the "right" length of a blog post should be, but here we ascribe to a single philosophy: cover the topic well. We write a minimum of 500 words, because again, you want to have enough content for Google to search, but past that, there aren't a lot of length requirements. Just deliver on the promise of your headline to keep your readers happy.

Maybe add a bio: Unfortunately, the sales cycle isn't like IKEA. Potential customers and donors don't all show up on the same page of your website, walk through it in one direction, and then end up on your sales or donations page. (Sigh.) For that reason, every blog post contains a short bio and photo of the writer. So, if I (Kristi) only get someone to read one post on this blog, they can at least also catch a little bit about me and what my company does. 

SEO and Keywords: To be completely honest, we don't focus heavily on SEO around here right now. As the team grows and capacity expands, we'll work on it, but for now, we've just dipped our toes in.

The gist, however, is to include keywords (the words you want the post to be known for) in a few different places:

• blog headline/title

• URL slug (the part that comes after your domain)

• First paragraph

• Alt tags (the “names” you can give to images behind-the-scenes)

• One or more subheads

• Sprinkled multiple times throughout the content

If you’re on WordPress, be sure to grab the Yoast SEO plug-in, which will make things much easier. If you’re on Squarespace, like us, here’s a link to their SEO checklist. You can also visit Megabolt Digital, where we get a lot of our SEO info from. Meg makes SEO very easy to understand!

Promoting Your Blog Post

We'll just cover this briefly here, but you can have the best-written, most beautiful post in the world, but if no one reads it, it won’t do you much good. Here are some of the ways we promote our posts, and you may think of others that work for you as well.

• Facebook (our own Page and FB groups we belong to)

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• Pinterest

• Special Features (our monthly newsletter)

• Guests (If it’s a guest post or someone/company is prominently featured, we tag them on social media so that they can share as well.)

Read the other posts in this series:

• Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Company's Social Media

• 7 Tips You Need to Know to Write a Better Website

• Advice From The Editors: Avoid These Writing Mistakes

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I'm Kristi Porter, and I started Signify to provide writing, consulting and strategy services to nonprofits and for-profit organizations with a social mission, primarily through copywriting, marketing, and business communications. I believe that cause-focused organizations like yours are the future of business. You're proof that companies can both make money and do good. And I'm here to help you get noticed and grow. When you succeed, we all win.

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Advice From The Editors: Avoid These Writing Mistakes

If you've been wondering what makes for great business writing, you're in luck! Based on feedback from the Signifiers Facebook Group, we're focusing on writing tips all month long. But before we talk about how to write an enticing and effective blog post, website, or social media, let's first chat about common writing mistakes. 

I don't know about you, but I see errors on professional websites, blogs, social media, and even national commercials almost daily. And, as someone who can spot them, it makes the brand seem more amateur to me, especially when it's a large company. That's definitely not what I want for your organization. 

So, to kick things off, I asked a few of my favorite #girlboss editors to explain some common writing mistakes, which will allow you to spot any weaknesses you may have, and improve them. (Basically, here's how you can up your writing game in just a few minutes!) Any corrections you can catch now may cause you to retain customers and donors in the future.

Audience

Sara Shelton:

My biggest tip for any and all writers would be to remember your audience. If you don’t know who you’re writing to, don’t start writing until you figure that out! Identify your primary audience and then write with them in mind. Read everything back through the lens of that audience and ask yourself if it makes sense just for them. Did it communicate specifically to that audience?

As an editor, one the biggest content mistakes I find myself having to correct is a lack of focus on an audience. It’s much easier to make a clear point and deliver a direct message to one, specific audience. When a writer or brand doesn’t know who they’re trying to communicate to, clarity and messaging gets lost and mixed up pretty quickly!

 

Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling, and Related Nonsense

Afton Phillips:

The Oxford Comma Debate

To add the third comma, or not to add the third comma. That is the question. A REAL BIG pet peeve of mine when editing is inconsistent commas. The Oxford comma is the last comma in a list of three or more items just before the "and" or "or." For example, “Johnny, April, and Samantha drove to the store to get Tombstone frozen pizza, which as we all know, is the best kind of pizza.” The comma after "April" is the Oxford comma.

The reason this matters is that sometimes the meaning of the sentence can be misconstrued without the comma. In the above example, it might otherwise seem like we’re telling Johnny that April and Samantha went to get delicious pizza without him, which is very rude. Without the Oxford comma, the last two subjects can sometimes be grouped together separately, leaving the first guy all alone, hungry, and wishing he had pizza. So, my humble opinion is to be kind and add the Oxford comma.

There are a lot of opinions on this topic, but no matter where you fall, my one piece of advice is be consistent. Whether you want to use it or not, whenever you have a list of three or more, make sure you either always or never use your Oxford comma. This will make your editor's life much easier, and it will clear up any misunderstandings in your text by your willy-nilly use of punctuation.

Jill Turner:

The number one mistake I have corrected lately (and so many times) is no comma before "and" (or any other conjunction) when marrying two sentences that could stand on their own. For example: Kristi Porter is a friend of mine. She is a talented writer. If I put those two sentences together, I have to say, "Kristi Porter is a friend of mine, and she is a talented writer."

A second thing that bothers me is the very popular use of "based off." A base is something you put something else ON. A base is a launching pad, a setting place. You can only base something ON something else.

A resource Jill recommends:

• Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss

I will also add two of my own here:

First, an ampersand, or the famous "&" character, should not be placed in the middle of a sentence. I think this probably became more popular when people started writing like they text (note: me shaking my head and sighing). Use it for titles, names, and things like that, but if you're using it in a sentence because typing two more characters for "and" is a bit much for you, rethink it. It just leaves me feeling that whatever is written is unprofessional or sloppy. And it drives me insane to see large businesses who can afford proofreaders make this mistake.

Second, and somewhat related, is the use of single and double quotes. I still hold true to what I was taught in school: use double quotes every dang time, unless you are quoting someone within a set of quotes. For example: "I turned to look at a bewildered Samantha who said, 'Oh, no, she didn't!' and then we both burst out laughing."

That latter mention is the only time I believe a single quote should be used. And I really enjoyed this funny, tirade on the subject. Again, I think this leads back to texting being the death of proper writing. (Call me old, I don't care!) Then again, sometime these mistakes keep me in business, so there's that...

Resources I recommend:

• I admit to Googling these questions now and again, but I only get my answers from reputable sources like AP Stylebook, Grammarly, and Grammar Girl, which you'll also see noted below.

• Make friends with editors, ha! I'll also admit to texting some of these ladies questions from time-to-time.

• If you have the budget, hire a proofreader. It may not seem like it should be at the top of your list, but remember, everything you say (including how you say it) conveys something about your organization. If you're asking people to buy something from you, or donate to your organization, you'd better make sure that you look and sound professional. Personally, if I see a lot of errors in a website, email, blog, or social media, that's not where I'm going to send my money.

 

Style

Crystal Chiang:

When writing, nothing is more often overlooked or more impactful than tension. Tension helps the reader answer the question, “why do I care?”. It moves them to feel something, to engage.

The problem is that no one really likes tension, not even the author. We want it to be relieved. We want the reader to know that we know the answer to the questions we’re asking. We want to stop feeling the tension, so we resolve it to quickly. And in doing so, we unknowingly sabotage ourselves.

The truth is, there’s a lot of content out there and our time is limited. So helping a reader know why this topic matters to them is key if we want them to stick around.

A resource Crystal recommends:

• Communicating for Change by Andy Stanley

Leigh Harper:

Don't fall into the trap of foregoing correctness for the sake of being catchy or memorable. Trust me, you'll be remembered—but not for the reasons you'd like! Creativity is great, but keep it professional by using proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Playing off of words is welcomed (i.e. naming a boutique "Sew In Style"), but there's no need to get sloppy ("Sew 'N Style" or worse, "Sew-N-Style"). You'll be hurting yourself by appearing amateur. Plus, deviating from traditional spelling, punctuation, or grammar opens the door wide open for vendors, donors, and customers to misspell or confuse your brand. Naming an event, product, or campaign? You guessed it. Same rules apply in order to put your best foot forward.

Resources Leigh recommends:

• Follow @APStylebook on Twitter

• AP Stylebook

 

A Little of This, A Little of That

Jennifer Bradley Franklin:

Effective writing is the foundation of successful messaging—in public relations and beyond. It can communicate the strengths of a brand to virtually any targeted audience, convert skeptics into evangelists, and it can make the journalist receiving it say, “Yes! I want to write a story about that!” Bad, boring, or unclear writing will make many people ignore the potentially terrific information you have to share.

What Makes Bad Writing?

• Too much "puffery" such as: "It will be a fun-filled evening for the entire family, with each hilarious performance starting promptly at 8 p.m.”

• Empty/meaningless language: there is, amazing, actually, basically, really, charming, fantastic, wonderful, etc. Use concrete adjectives that convey what you want to say.

• Cramming in too many big words, just for the sake of, well, using big words.

• Being unclear. Don’t make assumptions about your reader’s knowledge of a subject.

What Makes Good Writing?

• Master the basics (grammar, structure, format) and then build in personality and “punch” from that strong foundation.

• Write for clarity. Read your work with a critical eye, asking the question, “If I weren’t close to this project, would this paragraph make sense?”

• Be concise, but include interesting details that entice the recipient to read on. Think like a journalist.

Resources Jennifer recommends:

• Grammarly

• "In general, I think the best way to become a better writer is to be a voracious reader. Reading good writing hones those skills!"

Jennifer Wilder:

I have two pieces of advice. First, no matter how well you write, you can still make spelling errors on words like here and hear, or they're and their, or your and you're. Often, these spelling errors elude us even after reading it twice. That's why it's important to have a second set of eyes read your article. This person could be your spouse, your business partner, a professional editor, or a virtual assistant. The second person will often catch things that you didn't.

If you're unable to locate someone to read things twice, then read it yourself, out loud, a third time. Pretend that you are reading it to someone who is looking over your shoulder at the document. You'll likely find that spelling errors jump out at you when taking this perspective.

Second, write as if your article or communication was going to be read by a group of fifth-grade students. Are your ideas clearly thought out and linked together? Are your sentences less than 20 words? Check to make sure you limit the use of pronouns or referring words. Mix in the proper names of things among those referring pronouns to ensure that readers follow your thought process through complex ideas about multiple subject matters.

Resources Jen recommends:

• Grammar Girl

• AP Stylebook

Patti Townley-Covert:

• If a nonprofit does not have an experienced communications department, I highly recommend they hire someone to come in and do a seminar about writing tips. (Or if you have someone experienced, it's worth making the time for that person to share writing info with whatever staff personnel might write for the organization. It's amazing how few editors/marketing people/human resources personnel and others have any kind of training in effective communications. The authors I worked with at a nonprofit hated the writing/editorial process until I did a two-hour seminar correcting some misperceptions that even those designated as editors had. Articles/books/brochures and donor letters became far more engaging as a result. It's well-worth the cost.

• Ledes (leads) should hook the reader into the material. Using a story, an outrageous or little known fact, or other compelling approaches will help readers take time to read the rest.

• Writing is a team sport. It takes good communication and working together to get high-quality documents. Too many times authors and editors do not explain problems, they just try to fix them in isolation. That does not work well.

• The worst problem I see, even with experienced writers, is passive or boring verbs—were, was, are, have, is. Verbs should be powerful, action words. That's fine for a first draft, but then substitute action words.

• Another problem is over-using the word "I" in your writing. The article/missive/web piece is not about "you." Keep it focused on the audience, even when describing how you feel about it.

• That said, when you're writing—just write. Let the words flow. Then go back and edit. The two processes use opposite sides of the brain, and trying to edit as you go makes a writer miserable. That was the number one reason the authors I worked with hated the process. They were trying to be creative and analytical at the same time.

Great information, right? These are smart, successful women who know their stuff. Take my advice: take their advice! These writing mistakes may be common, but they're easy to fix. Make these changes, and pretty soon, you'll be a more powerful writer who can help others rally around your cause.

And let us know in the comments which tips were most helpful for you!

Read the other posts in this series:

• Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Company's Social Media

• 5+ Reasons Why No One is Reading Your Blog

• 7 Tips You Need to Know to Write a Better Website

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PIN THIS POST FOR LATER:

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I'm Kristi Porter, and I started Signify to provide writing, consulting and strategy services to nonprofits and for-profit organizations with a social mission, primarily through copywriting, marketing, and business communications. I believe that cause-focused organizations like yours are the future of business. You're proof that companies can both make money and do good. And I'm here to help you get noticed and grow. When you succeed, we all win.

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How to Write Press Releases and Gain Exposure

As we’ve been learning lately, public relations is pretty essential for your business, especially if it’s a small business. People need to know what you’re doing and why they should care. And they can’t know until you tell them! So, how can you get your message out simply, effectively, and widely? Press releases.

Press releases are powerful marketing tools. If done correctly and distributed well, they can make a huge difference and boost your business tremendously. They are a way to get your name out to potential donors, partners, sponsors, and customers. They add to the credibility of your social enterprise or nonprofit and raise awareness for what you are doing.

Of course, writing press releases may be something you never thought to do, let alone how to do it. Don’t be intimidated! Follow these step-by-step guidelines and tips and you’ll be ready to showcase whatever you have to offer to the public—which is a lot!

First off, let’s talk about how to structure these babies. This is important, so take note!

Your headline should be short, sweet, to the point, and grab your audience’s attention immediately.

This is pretty much true for any headline out there, as you probably know. No one is going to choose to read something that has a weak, boring, or vague headline. This is arguably the most important part of your press release, because not only does this have to grab the public, it has to grab the journalist or the publication you want to help you distribute the release. If it doesn’t, it’s going straight into their trash. So make it good!

Think about who you’re trying to appeal to and cater it to them. You want to make it stand out and be captivating, but also capture the point of your release. Choose your words wisely and sparingly. Use strong words. Emotional words are beneficial to draw someone in and make them want to read more. Here’s a list of different emotional words you can use in your headline to evoke whatever action or feeling you need to. 

Kristi also showed me an amazing tool that analyzes and grades your headline. It shows you exactly what you need to adjust to make it better and more effective. It’s fantastic. I find it’s much easier to write the entire thing first and then develop the headline, but it’s all preference! You can also add a sub-header with a bit more details if you think it’s absolutely necessary.

Now let’s move onto the juicy stuff…

 

Your first paragraph should contain your most important information and every detail your audience needs to know.

Don’t make people search for the point because they won’t. You need to make the point very clear and right off the bat. This is the time to give the who, what, when, where, why, and how. All details need to be clear and concise. What are you doing? Why is it important? Why should we care?

Set the scene for whatever it is you’re announcing. Don’t add any extra fluff. People can tell if you’re going around in circles or explaining something in five sentences when it could’ve been explained in one.

It’s also a good idea to have someone read this for you before you release it (really, they should read the entire thing, but especially this and the headline). If they can’t answer those questions when they’re done, you have more work to do.  

In your next few paragraphs, you can include relevant and important quotes from relevant and important people only.

The body of your press release after your first paragraph should all just be support, but don’t get fluffy. Still keep it all short, sweet, and relevant to your main point. You don’t need quotes necessarily, but a one or two good ones can strengthen your narrative and make it interesting and credible. So use reliable sources!

I’m talking experts here—actual knowledgeable people. Don’t use a quote from your friend who’s only social media knowledge comes from her own personal Instagram use. Get a quote from a social media manager or specialist at a major company. They need to be powerful.

Focus these quotes around whatever message you’re trying to convey, too. It all needs to lead and connect to the same place. Don’t lead your audience on a wild goose chase for the point.

Remember these are still optional. Only use quotes if they strengthen your release and message. If you do use quotes, I would advise to only use one to three max in your press release. We’re going for quality over quantity here, so don’t get caught up in worrying about the length. Two pages maximum for this entire thing, preferably one.

If you don't use quotes or following your quotes, continue to expand on your first paragraph with supporting material. Start with what's most important or interesting, and work your way down. You only need a couple of paragraphs here.

In your last paragraph, you can provide some background information on your company and whatever it is you’re trying to spread the word about.

The least important information goes here, obviously. These are just some additional details that could be useful to people, but that won’t kill them to miss. You still want to only add what will strengthen your release.

You can include how the product/website/fundraiser/etc. was developed and how it will impact the future, if relevant. You can highlight additional resources you may have used or a website for purchases or more information. Just make sure you’re (say it with me now!) not adding fluff just to fill up the page.

 

Last but not least, your boilerplate is the very last component of your press release.

What is a boilerplate? In press releases, it’s a small, short paragraph that summarizes and tells the readers about your business. Think of it as a bio for your company. This should be the same for every press release. You will write this once and just tack it on the end of every one. Sounds easy, but don’t take it too lightly. It’s still important.

Keep this clear and straightforward, just a few sentences. Tell your readers who you are and what you do. It supports your credibility and can also boost your visibility on the web if you use key phrases, so make it count.

You also want to link to your website or other important platform in your boilerplate. For example, your last sentence could be, “For more information, visit: (insert your link here).” You should also include your contact information.

That’s the meat of your press release. Here are the other details you should include in formatting:

• Your company letterhead and logo at the very top of the page

• Underneath that, you should write “NEWS RELEASE” in bold on the left side of the page, the date under that, and “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” underneath that

• On the right side of the page you should include your information. Name, title, phone number, and email

• The headline should come next on it’s own line, then the sub-header if you have one, then a space before the body of your release

• In the first line before you start your first paragraph you should include a dateline in AP format. You can find how to correctly write a dateline here

• If your release extends past one page, write “- more -” at the end of the first page

• Use pound signs # # # # (yes, I said pound signs not hashtags! Am I really a Millennial?) to indicate the end of your press release.

Here’s a good, simple visual on all of that information:

So, now that you know how to format and write your press release, how do you distribute it and when? There’s no real rule here, but...

 

You should only try to distribute a press release when you have something actually important and newsworthy to share!

Some examples of things that are legitimately newsworthy are events, fundraisers, new product launches, product updates, website launches, or awards. It has to be meaningful, and not just to you but to the public.

In terms of how you should release it, you should start by posting it on your website, blog, and all social media platforms. You should also email it to local news publications and specific journalists. Do some research to find these. You want to send it to people and publications who cover your specific industry. Relevance is key!

Here are a few online press release distribution sites to help you get started.

• PRLog.org - I use this one.

• Atlanta Daybook - I use this one.

• PR.com

• 24-7pressrelease.com/

• clickpress.com/releases/index.shtml

• Press-Base.com

• PRUrgent.com

• newswire.com

• onlineprnews.com

• PRWeb.com

See, not too scary, right? You got this! I promise you, once you get it down, you’ll have it down forever, and you’ll gain so much more exposure for your business. Come back next week to learn more about how to build and form relationships with the media—more super important tips to grow your business and spread your mission!

Read all the posts in this PR series:

• How To Improve Public Relations Through Social Media

• How to Make the Media Come to You

• How to Max Out Meaningful Media Relationships

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Megan Westbrook holds a B.A. in journalism with a focus in public relations and a minor in Spanish from Georgia State University. An aspiring writer, her interests reside in blogging, social media, content creation, design, and photography. She is also a passionate social justice advocate and interested in nonprofit or cause-focused work. Megan is currently a receptionist at Servcorp in Atlanta, Georgia. 

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I'm Kristi Porter, and I started Signify to provide writing, consulting and strategy services to nonprofits and for-profit organizations with a social mission, primarily through copywriting, marketing, and business communications. I believe that cause-focused organizations like yours are the future of business. You're proof that companies can both make money and do good. And I'm here to help you get noticed and grow. When you succeed, we all win.

How to Make the Media Come to You

Yes, it's true. There is a very simple way to make the media come to you, and all it requires is your email address. Too good to be true? Not at all!

I've been using this method for well over a decade, way back when I was a young pup at a boutique PR firm that focused on restaurants and hospitality clients. (We ate really well.)

What is this magic you ask? It's called HelpAReporterOut.com, or known to us in the public relations biz as HARO. And it's just about the easiest way to get press for yourself or your organization.

Why HARO?

HARO is a way for journalists and bloggers to find sources for their articles. Literally three times per day Monday through Friday, you can receive emails that state the journalist's name, media outlet, and what information they need from a potential source.

Seriously, could it get any better? Oh, wait—did I mention that it's FREE?

I used this service for clients when I was in public relations, and then later when I was running the communications department at an eco-organization, and also at my last job as an event marketing director. 

So, when I started Signify, it was a no-brainer to use HARO to initially help get my name out. This is a large reason why you'll see media logos on my About page. I launched my website last February, and within a couple of months, I had half a dozen media mentions.

Why Do You Need Publicity?

Well, no one needs publicity for their nonprofit or social enterprise, but it sure is nice!

Being mentioned by the media can:

• Give you credibility or "social proof," showing that others are endorsing you or your work.

• Look impressive to potential partners, donors, customers, and sponsors.

• Get links back to your website which increases your SEO.

• Attract more fans and followers to your social media.

• Help get your name out if your organization is small, in a growth phase, or just getting started.

Responding to HARO Inquiries

These are the most important tips to keep in mind when you respond to a HARO inquiry:

• First of all, notice the deadline. Let me repeat that: note the deadline! Many of them only give you a day or two notice, and some may even only give you a few hours if they're on a tight deadline. (FYI, if you respond past the listed date and time, it's likely the email address will be dead anyway because they look more like Craigslist's generate emails than name@company.com.)

• Make sure you're a good fit for the article. Do not waste a journalist's time, or yours.

• Be short and to the point. Answer their questions or query well, but don't be too wordy. You'll often see them note the word or sentence count that they're looking for in responses. Stick to that, or you're likely to just get deleted.

• Read all their requirements. Be sure to hit every point in your response. And, for example, if they say to include your name, email, and website link, I like to list those in a list or with bullets rather than in a sentence.

• Be as helpful as possible. You can include links if that further supports your response, but they do not like attachments. For this reason, if they ask for a head shot, it's best to have yours stored on Dropbox or Google Drive and just include the link.

• I also like to use humor when possible to stand out, or try to come at the article with a different perspective or angle than I think they'll receive from everyone else.

About Pitching

There are a lot of formulas for pitching, and a quick Google search will give you thousands of results. But since you guys aren't publicists or freelance writers, let's just keep it simple, shall we?

Here are the basic components, but depending on what's asked for, this could shift a little:

• Greeting

• I start most every pitch with what I do in a nutshell. This is only one sentence, and you'll find it below.

• Get to answering their query as quickly and simply as possible. Try for just a few sentences, unless they say it can be several paragraphs.

• Include any other info they've asked for like a headshot or website link.

• Depending on the request, you may want to include availability for when you can chat if they said they'll follow up with the right people by phone. Again, read the listing carefully, and if they need to talk by phone, don't forget your time zone!

• I always end with something about hoping they have a good day, or get the responses they need, etc. It's just a well wish for them, and recognizing there is a person on the other end.

More Best Practices

Keep in mind that these people are from all kinds of media outlets and are writing all kinds of stories. So, you'll have to wade through 99% of them to find stories that you might be a good fit for. And that means 99% of ALL emails you get from them, not each email. Most of the time, unless you have a really broad topic or just want practice replying, it will be irrelevant to you. But there are opportunities that are certainly worth the wait!

And until you get used to the frequency, it can get overwhelming on busy days when you receive three emails per day from them. If you let HARO emails pile up, which I've done many times, just delete them and start over because most of the deadlines have already passed anyway.

If you're really active on social media, you might also consider following HARO there. This is one of the best ways to find last-minute stories. And if those are a good fit, you're more likely to make the cut due to the quick deadline and other people just not seeing it.

Oh, and if you do get chosen, be kind and promote the blog or article. For one thing, it's just polite, and you'd want the same courtesy. Additionally, it again looks good for your audience to see that you've received some publicity. And finally, it can lead to repeat opportunities with that media outlet, journalist, or blogger.

Final Tips

First of all, you won't get picked every time you respond to a query. Yep, it's just like fifth grade kickball. Each listing receive get dozens or even hundreds of responses, so sometimes it just comes down to if the journalist or blogger thinks that you're the right fit. The other half of the equation is, of course, making sure your pitch is carefully thought out and well-executed. Do your part!

Additionally, don't disregard media outlets that you've never heard of or those listed as "anonymous." You must have a fairly good-sized web presence to even create a HARO listing. So, people are still going to see your name out there online, and you just never know what that might do. It could be as small as new social media followers, or as large as you can imagine.

And when you're getting started, I recommend answering every inquiry you can. Of course, you must be a good fit! Again, you don't want to waste the journalist's time. However, just the practice of responding and honing your pitch will be terrific practice for when you see opportunities that you really want.

It was through this process that I refined my elevator pitch for Signify. (In case you're wondering, it's "I'm a copywriter and consultant who helps nonprofits and social enterprises get noticed and grow through effective marketing and communications." <-- That went through a lot of drafts before it ended up here, and HARO really helped me.)

One final note: hopefully, you'll hear back from the journalist or blogger if they use your information, but that's not always the case. That's why it's important to set up alerts for when your name, nonprofit, or social enterprise is mentioned online. Google Alerts has become really unreliable over the past few years, so I've turned to TalkWalker. I know this doesn't catch all media mentions either, but it is free, and I'm not ready to pay for a service yet. :)

And if using HARO works for you, I'd love to hear about it! See you out there!

By the way, this is the second week of our March PR series. Be sure to sign up to receive blog posts so you don't miss parts three and four! Catch up on using public relations in social media right here.

Read all posts in this PR series:

• How To Improve Public Relations Through Social Media

• How to Write Press Releases and Gain Exposure

• How to Max Out Meaningful Media Relationships

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I'm Kristi Porter, and I started Signify to provide writing, consulting and strategy services to nonprofits and for-profit organizations with a social mission, primarily through copywriting, marketing, and business communications. I believe that cause-focused organizations like yours are the future of business. You're proof that companies can both make money and do good. And I'm here to help you get noticed and grow. When you succeed, we all win.

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