How to Improve Your Connectively (HARO) Pitch Conversion Rate

When it comes to landing high-quality backlinks, Connectively (HARO) can be an incredible PR tool. That is, of course, if you know how to use it.

Contrary to popular belief, pitch success hinges more on attention to detail than luck. You also need to send lots of them. Simple strategies can do the trick, as long as you don’t compromise on creativity. Securing a winning response and frequently grabbing the reporter’s attention is possible if you do it right.

This post elaborates on the following questions: What goes into getting successful coverage from media outlets and reporters? And how can you improve your Connectively pitch conversion rate for the long haul?

Before you continue reading, we urge you to consider the source. After earning thousands of whitehat backlinks for our clients via Connectively, the SE Ranking team has learned its lessons the hard way. As proven experts, our goal with this post is to show you how to shorten that learning curve and quicken the process of landing links.

But before delving into the do’s and don’ts of Connectively, let’s go over the basics.

Key takeaways

Connectively (formerly HARO) is a platform that connects journalists and bloggers with expert sources for their articles. It also provides experts with opportunities to gain backlinks to their websites. Connectively offers four subscription plans: Lite, Core, Pro, Premier. Each plan has a limited number of pitches. If you need more than your pricing plan allows, you will need to pay $1 per additional pitch. These limits, which went into effect in 2024, aim to tackle spam challenges, particularly from AI-generated responses. Additionally, the daily HARO queries email newsletter has been replaced with a new, searchable query feed.
Here are some proven pitching tips:
• Respond promptly to queries to stand out.
• Use straightforward subject lines that reflect the query’s purpose.
• Avoid fluff; be concise and to the point.
• Make a strong, relevant introduction that highlights your expertise.
• Ensure your pitch is well-formatted and easy to read.
• Stick to what the journalist is asking for. Don’t give extraneous info.
• Provide valuable, unique insights backed by practical examples.
• Think beyond your primary role to find additional relevant queries to respond to.
• Use a conversational and personal tone to make your pitch more engaging.
• Always check for spelling and grammar errors before sending your pitch.

What is Connectively (HARO)? Some basics you need to know

Connectively (formely HARO) is an online platform that connects reporters and journalists with the right sources for their articles and publications. 

In exchange for expert quotes on various industry topics, the reporters give the sources highly-coveted backlinks in return. It’s a win-win situation for both parties.

By the way, to find all the backlinks of any domain and analyze each of them against over 15 parameters, you can use SE Ranking’s SEO Backlink Checker tool.

Also, do not miss the chance to go through the guide to learn more about backlinks and their role in SEO.

Subscription plans

With thousands of experts flocking to this highly-coveted platform, you’re probably wondering — is Connectively free?

The good news is that you don’t need to pay to use the service as long as you send 10 or fewer pitches per month. That said, Connectively does have paid models too — Core, Pro, and Premier, each with their own features.

• The Lite Connectively plan is free. You can access the HARO queries feed, create one saved search, send 10 pitches per month, and receive email support.
• The Core plan costs $19 per month and includes all the features of the Lite plan. Additionally, it allows you to set up two alerts for specific keywords and view the public profiles of other Connectively users. You can also send 25 pitches per month and save up to two keyword searches.
• The Pro plan costs $49 per month and includes everything the Core plan provides, with the following extra features: Create up to three profiles and see certain requests before other users. This subscription offers 50 pitches per month. You can also save up to six keyword searches and configure email alerts for them.
• Finally, the Premier plan is $149 per month. Instead of the limitations of the Pro plan, you can send 150 pitches per month, create 20 saved searches, schedule alerts for 20 keywords, and create 10 profiles. This plan is useful for larger organizations.

You can buy more pitches at any time throughout your monthly plan. Pitches are available for purchase in quantities of 5, 25, or 50, at a rate of $1 per pitch. These limits aim to tackle spam issues, especially from responses generated by AI tools.

Signing up

Signing up for Connectively is easy. Go to their website and scroll down until you reach the “Sign Up” button. To respond to journalists’ requests, you’ll need to sign up as a source.

Once you click on the signup button, you’ll see a form that asks you to fill in your details. After completing the form, you will be taken to a page to confirm your email address. Confirm to finish the signup process. You can use your Connectively login credentials to submit pitches directly through the platform or via your email inbox.

Categories and topics

Before searching for relevant HARO queries, you will need to specify the topics you’d like to contribute to.

There are several categories here (and you can change them as you see fit), including:

• Technology
• Energy and Power
• Sports
• Government 
• Consumer General Interest
• Travel
• Business
• Healthcare
• Lifestyle
• Entertainment
• Education
• Giftbag

Successful pitching 101: expert tips

Journalists are busy people. Assume that they are speed-reading your text for highly specific information.

So, if there’s one principle that encompasses everything we’re about to discuss, it’s this: Do everything you can to make the journalist’s job easy. You’ll be rewarded with not only a valuable backlink but also an opportunity to build good rapport with reporters. This cements your credibility and increases the likeliness of being selected again and again.

Now, let’s look at everything this entails.

By the way, to find all the backlinks of any domain and analyze each one against over 15 parameters, you can use SE Ranking’s SEO Backlink Checker tool.

Now, let’s take a look at everything this entails.

#1: Be quick

Time is of the essence when it comes to responding to HARO queries. Like you, hundreds if not thousands of industry experts are waiting to grab the next opportunity to send in their unique quotes.

The only way you’re going to get noticed in a journalist’s overcrowded inbox is if you act fast.

Moreover, reporters will stop sifting through emails once they have all the insights they need, so don’t wait unitl the last hour to get your quotes sent in.

Every query comes with a deadline. This should give you an idea of the time crunch the reporter is in. Use this information to determine how brief or detailed you should be.

Reporters also don’t have time for back-and-forth communication.  Either give them the information they are looking for right away or risk losing your chance to be quoted.

Typically, the closer the deadline, the thinner the competition. Use this opportunity to get yourself featured as a source.

#2: Don’t overthink the subject line

Your subject line does not need to be complicated or out-of-the-box to catch the reporter’s attention. Journalists receive thousands of replies every day, which means they are looking for a simple subject line with a clearly stated purpose. Their inbox often gets filled with obscure messages like this:

Writing in response to your query about the ways in which the marketing manager of a startup website can get some initial traction in search engines

Contrary to what you might think, a fancy subject line doesn’t make you more credible. Instead, it makes you look like someone who can’t get straight to the point. Journalists won’t even bother to read your pitch if it’s wordy.

So, avoid long subject lines and keep your sentences quick and straightforward. Save your words for compelling pitches that close the deal for you.

How startups can rank their site on Google, fast!

You can oftentimes use the journalist’s query as the subject line. This helps them sift between responses more effectively.

It’s also recommended to fall back on your expertise or title to catch their attention. This works especially well if you’re the exact person they’re looking for. 

Mortgage expert on best home improvement projects to boost home’s value

#3: Skip the niceties

Working with tight deadlines can be stressful for reporters, so try to make your job (and theirs) as easy as possible.

Sending a long email filled with greetings, casual banter, and unnecessary niceties is counterproductive and can waste journalists’ precious time.

Instead, go with a short greeting and introduce yourself briefly to show journalists that you’re an expert on the subject. For example, see the screenshot below .

#4 Is your intro compelling enough?

Your intro is the most crucial element of your Connectively pitch, perhaps even more important than the actual pitch (yep, you read that right). Think of it as an elevator pitch. How good it is will determine whether the Connectively journalist even reads your pitch or not.

It’s your opportunity to tell the journalist “Here’s why I’m the best person to talk about this topic.” You must be convincing and specific. If your Connectively pitch is the slightest bit ambiguous, you will lose them. So, have you worked with big names in the industry? Then add them to your intro. Created an award-winning product that went viral on the internet? That’s also worth mentioning!

If you’ve been running a company for the past 25 years, mention the numbers. Also, make sure it’s consistent with your social profiles. Journalists always do their due diligence!

Your main goal should be to seamlessly connect your expertise back to the query itself. But remember, you don’t want to come off as overly-promotional or arrogant. Showing journalists your true worth is the name of the game here.

#5: Good formatting goes a long way

You’ve written a winning response that you’re proud of, but is it well-formatted and easy to read at a glance?

Readability is pivotal to the success of Connectively pitches. If a journalist can’t scan through your response to figure out what you’re talking about, it’s an instant deal-breaker.

After all, there’s nothing more off-putting than reading a large wall of text. So, save yourself (and the journalist) the frustration of dissecting your response by using ideal formatting practices.

For example, if you’re answering multiple questions, ensure that you’ve numbered your responses correctly. Aside from this, you can use bullets and lists to highlight important sentences. Breaking down your quotes into paragraphs with short sentences is another useful tip to improve the readability of your work.

That said, keep your formatting simple. Most HTML doesn’t pass through the Connectively email system to the journalist. Too much styling can also lead to a very confusing email.

It’s best to work with a template that you can keep tweaking. This prevents you from missing out on important details. A good template should include:

• A casual greeting
• A sentence stating the purpose of your email
• Your pitch
• A winning bio
• Your job role
• Relevant links to your website or social media handles
• A link to a clear headshot image

For the longest time, Gmail’s Canned Responses feature was the go-to tool to use. However, Google has officially added the Templates feature to Gmail and Google Workspaces. This can be a huge time saver, so it’s worthwhile to set up.

#6: Pay attention to what they’re asking for

One common reason for journalists to turn down pitches is that the source is overly promotional and fails to deliver valuable insights.

Again,  journalists don’t have the time to read anything that doesn’t give exact answers to what they’re looking for. So, as tempting as it may be to add more information, leave it out. Only focus on what they do need.

If they do need more details, they will follow up.

Reporters also like to collaborate with sources who mean business. A good pitch sticks to the details specified in their query. It doesn’t stray off-topic. 

Similarly, pay close attention to the details the journalist is requesting of each respondent.

Do they want general advice or anecdotes backed by personal experience? Have they mentioned a specific word or character limit they need you to follow? Do they want you to answer ALL the questions or just a few? 

Sticking to the details shows that you respect the journalist’s time. It’s also the secret to standing out in their oftentimes cluttered inbox.

#7: The star of the show: your unique Connectively pitch

As an expert in your field, you’ll have plenty of real-life experiences to draw from as you craft your pitch. But don’t resort to some run-of-the-mill idea used by countless others.

Reporters are very good at doing research. This means they don’t like sources that point them to information they can find easily or on their own. Dig a little deeper and identify rare and unique insights to offer more value to the reporter. 

This includes following up your insights with actionable examples. Explain to the reader what your idea looks like in practice and how they can implement it through steps and processes.

So, if you typically rely on AI-writing tools for research and content creation, be careful. Don’t copy/paste AI-generated responses to journalists. Instead, do research the old fashioned way and write in your own style.

Journalists are quick to catch on and are known to scan for AI-generated responses. And once you get flagged by a journalist for plagiarizing content or simply wasting their time, there’s no going back. Remember, your bad actions can reflect poorly on them.

Always do your research and stay true to your personal experiences. If you’re making bold assumptions or claims about something that can’t be backed by concrete evidence, journalists will consider your pitch inaccurate.

#8: Expertise is relative

When commenting as a representative of your company, remember that you wear many hats in and out of the office. You aren’t just a company representative.

If you’re the owner of a marketing agency, then you’re obviously qualified to respond to marketing queries, but try thinking outside the box.

For example, let’s say you ride your bike to the office each day. This might qualifiy you to comment on topics such as:

• How to maintain a bicycle during winter
• Being more productive at work
• Ways to be more frugal
• How to find the time to exercise when you have a busy routine.

It’s easy to check the Connectively daily digest and think, “There’s nothing in here for me today.” But if you think beyond that you’ll realize there are ways to tie many topics together.

The key point is this: you can still be genuine and speak from experience. Just because it’s not what you do for money doesn’t mean you aren’t an expert.

This also extends to choosing the most appropriate title to introduce yourself with. For example, as an entrepreneur, you could also be a small business owner, team manager, and recruiter. This gives you the opportunity to both reply to more queries and highlight the most relevant information in your introduction.

#9 Are you being conversational and sharing your point of view?

Not a lot of people talk about the importance of your “tone” when crafting a winning pitch.

But think about it — when you read an interview, it’s not just a bland exchange of information. It’s a conversation between two people, where ideas are shared, opinions are expressed, and a genuine connection is made. 

By adopting a conversational tone in your pitch, you’re creating that same dynamic, making it easier for journalists to quote you. It’s like they’re chatting with you over a cup of coffee, rather than just reading a dry statement.

They can pull out your quotes, sprinkle them into their article, and back their data with words from the voice of an expert — which is exactly why sounding the part makes all the difference.

#10: Always, always, always proofread

You may be incredibly confident about your pitch, but that’s no excuse to skimp out on proofreading your response.

Even the best of us make simple spelling mistakes. While reporters can be accommodating and overlook small errors, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Why lower the odds of success by missing out on important details or overlooking careless mistakes?

To save yourself the embarrassment, or worse, a lost opportunity for a backlink, use your browser’s spell-checker frequently. There are several spelling and grammar checking tools that you can use if you don’t have a team member to proofread for you.

Thoroughly screen your responses before sending them out. Also, read them aloud to catch any errors you may have otherwise missed.

Closing thoughts

Connectively can be an invaluable tool for gaining targeted, relevant exposure. If you know your way around the site and respect its often unspoken rules and guidelines, you’re golden.

Unfortunately, there’s no secret technique for winning white-hat backlinks, not even through this platform. Just a bunch of proven strategies that can simplify both your life and the reporter’s.

Follow the strategies outlined above and you’ll be well on your way to achieving high success rates with this incredible platform.