HARO Alternatives in 2026: Where Journalists Find Expert Sources Now

The best HARO alternatives in 2026 are Source of Sources (free email digests from HARO's founder), Qwoted (profile-based matching with a free tier), Featured (Q&A-style requests with a free plan) and SourceBottle (a free call-out board), plus journalists' own #journorequest posts on social media. HARO itself changed hands twice, so many people are not sure what still works. This guide explains what happened, compares the options for a small site without a PR budget and shows how to write responses journalists actually use.

Published: 2026-10-16 · 7 min read · Satelo

What happened to HARO

Help a Reporter Out (HARO) connected journalists with expert sources through daily emails for years. Its recent history in short, with sources:

• 2008: HARO launched. It later came to Cision through Cision's 2014 merger with Vocus, according to Cision's April 15, 2025 press release.
• 2024: Cision rebranded HARO as Connectively. Press Gazette reported that the service was shut down in December 2024.
• April 15, 2025: Cision announced the sale of HARO to Featured.com and said it no longer offers the HARO or Connectively services.
• April 2025: Press Gazette reported that Featured planned to revive HARO on April 22 in its original email format, free to use and supported by advertising, according to Featured's founder.

We could not open the HARO site itself on the day of writing, so check helpareporter.com for its current format before you rely on it. Either way, HARO is no longer the only game in town, and spreading your effort across two or three services is sensible.

HARO alternatives compared

Prices and limits below were checked on each service's own site on October 16, 2026. They change often, so confirm before you pay.

Other sources of requests worth watching: newsletters in your industry that collect writer requests, podcast guest platforms, and simply following journalists who cover your niche.

Which one should a small site start with?

If you run a small site and have no PR budget, a simple setup works:

1. Subscribe to Source of Sources and skim the digests. It costs nothing and covers a wide range of topics.
2. Create free profiles on Qwoted and SourceBottle. Fill in your expertise carefully so the right requests find you.
3. Try Featured's free plan for quick answers on topics where you have real experience.
4. Save a #journorequest search on the social platform you already use.

Only pay for a plan once you know which service actually brings you requests in your niche. A free Qwoted account with two pitches a month, for example, forces you to pick your best opportunities, which is not a bad habit.

How to write a response journalists actually use

Journalists on these platforms get far more responses than they can read. Most are generic, late or off-topic. A good response is easy to quote and easy to verify.

• Answer the exact question first. Put a quotable two- or three-sentence answer at the top. No greetings paragraph, no company history.
• Bring something only you can say. A specific example, a number from your own work (clearly yours), a mistake you made. Experience beats generic tips.
• Show why you are qualified. One line: your role, how long you have done this, a link to your site or profile.
• Meet the deadline, and the requirements. If the request asks for a specific country, credential or word count, follow it exactly or skip it.
• Make it easy to contact you. Name, title, site, and a way to reach you for follow-up.
• Do not attach files or ask for a link. Journalists decide on links; asking for one is a quick way to be ignored.

Example (for illustration): a request asks "How do small online stores handle returns during the holidays?" A strong reply opens with: "We extend our return window from 30 to 60 days every November, and returns barely change, but sales in the last two weeks of December go up because people stop worrying about gifts that don't fit." Then one line about who you are, and your contact details.

Our guide to getting your first mentions covers more ways to get noticed by writers and editors.

Links from media coverage: often nofollow, and that is fine

Many news sites mark outbound links with rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored", and some mention you without a link at all. Google's guide to qualifying outbound links describes these attributes and when sites should use them.

That does not make the coverage worthless. A quote in a respected publication can bring readers, credibility you can show on your About page, new contacts, and brand mentions that people and AI assistants see. Our articles on brand mentions vs backlinks and nofollow vs sponsored vs ugc explain why. Judge these services by the coverage and relationships they bring, not by link attributes.

How not to drown in AI-written pitches

AI writing tools make it easy to send dozens of generic responses a day, so journalists see more of them than ever. That is an opening for real experts who answer specifically.

• Do not paste an AI answer. Journalists can spot the tone, and services such as Source of Sources warn that off-topic or salesy replies can get a source removed.
• Use AI only as a helper. To check grammar or tighten your own draft, fine. The substance must be yours.
• Be specific and verifiable. Names, places, dates and details from your actual work are what generic responses lack.
• Answer fewer, better. Three strong replies a week beat thirty weak ones, and protect your reputation with the journalists who notice repeat names.

Red flags: services that promise guaranteed placements

Alongside genuine request platforms, you will find offers to "get featured in major publications" for a fee, sometimes with a guaranteed link. Be careful.

• Paid placements are ads. If money buys the mention, the link should carry rel="sponsored" and the content may need an advertising label. It is not earned coverage, and it should not be presented as such.
• Guaranteed links are a warning sign. Buying links to manipulate rankings is listed as link spam in Google's spam policies.
• Check the outlet. Some "publications" in these bundles are sites that publish anything for money. Look at what else they have published and whether real readers would ever see it.

The services in the comparison table above do not sell coverage: journalists choose whom to quote. That is what makes a quote worth having.

Track what you send and what you get

Without tracking, it is hard to know which service is worth your time. A simple spreadsheet is enough:

After a few months you will see which service and which kinds of requests work for your niche, and you can drop the rest. Set up a Google Alert for your name and brand to catch mentions nobody tells you about.

Where this fits in your link building

Expert quotes are one of the most legitimate ways to earn mentions: you give a journalist something useful and they decide whether to credit you. They work best combined with other honest tactics. See our roundup of free link building strategies for the rest.

Partner content is another. Satelo is a network where sites of a similar level and topic publish articles about each other in a circle, with links marked rel="sponsored". It is a public beta with a small network, so it complements, rather than replaces, earning press mentions.

What to do next

When a journalist considers quoting you, they often look at your website first. Check your site's Quality Score to see what they will see: a 0–100 score built mostly from open data, with the evidence behind each number, in about 30 seconds. Then pick two services from the table above, set up your profiles today and reply to your first request this week.

FAQ

Does HARO still exist?

Cision rebranded HARO as Connectively in 2024 and shut it down in December 2024. In April 2025 Cision sold HARO to Featured.com, and Featured announced a free, ad-supported relaunch in the original email format. Check helpareporter.com for its current status.

What is the best free HARO alternative?

Source of Sources is the closest free option: it is run by HARO's founder and sends journalist queries by email up to three times a day. SourceBottle profiles are free, and Qwoted and Featured both have free plans with limits.

Is Qwoted free?

Qwoted has a free Basic plan for experts limited to 2 pitches per month with a 2-hour response delay, according to its pricing page in October 2026. Paid plans remove the delay and allow more pitches.

Do HARO-style links help SEO?

Coverage can bring readers, credibility and brand mentions. Many publications mark outbound links nofollow or sponsored, or mention you without a link, so treat links as a bonus rather than the goal.

How do I get quoted by journalists?

Answer the exact question in the first lines, add a specific example from your own experience, state your qualification in one sentence, meet the deadline and include contact details. Skip requests you are not qualified for.

Can I use AI to answer journalist requests?

Use it only to polish your own draft. Generic AI-written responses are easy to spot, and some services remove sources who send off-topic or salesy replies.

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