HARO request, pitch and result: gift giving and endorphins
HARO (help a reporter out) is one of my favorite tools for getting media exposure for my business and book The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help you Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings (June 2011, New Harbinger).
As stated on the HARO site: “HARO is your exclusive publicity genie, delivering you 3 free email alerts daily, straight from journalists and media companies on a deadline who want your story and expertise!”
In this blog post we’re looking at an example of a request or query, the pitch I sent to the reporter and the end result.
Here is the request or query from the reporter/writer
Summary: Psychology of gift-giving
Name: Yvette De La Garza FreeLance
Category: Lifestyle and Fitness
Email: query-2t42@helpareporter.net
Media Outlet: FreeLance
Deadline: 4:00 PM PST – 7 February
Query:
With Valentine’s around the corner, I’m working on an article
about gift-giving. I’m looking for a source that can speak to
the possible psychology of gifting. Why we do it and what are
the positive psychological effects for the person giving.
Here is the pitch and supporting information I sent to the reporter:
Hi Yvette, Interestingly, acts of generosity, such as doing nice things for others like gift giving (or donating your time or money), can raise endorphin levels. Endorphins are neurotransmitters that reduce physical and emotional pain. You may be familiar with the term “runner’s high,” which refers to the effects of endorphins that are released at a certain level of exertion. If you have sufficient endorphins, you’ll feel pleasure and joy, similar to the feeling you get when someone gives you a big hug. You also won’t be drawn to eating sweet or fatty foods to comfort yourself.
~ Trudy Scott, Certified Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help you Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings (June 2011, New Harbinger) http://www.everywomanover29.com
About me: I am a food mood expert and certified nutritionist and I educate women (and a few good men too) about real whole food and finding natural solutions for anxiety and stress, burnout, poor self-esteem, depression and other mood problems, and the associated sugar and carb cravings.
My first book was recently published: The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help you Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings (June 2011, New Harbinger) www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com. I am immediate past president of National Association of Nutrition Professionals and now Special Advisor to the board of directors. I also present nationally to mental health practitioners on food and mood, sharing all the recent research and how-to steps for implementing changes.
You can find out more about me and my book here: http://www.everywomanover29.com
And here is the end result….a wonderful article called The Psychology of Gift-Giving by Yvette on Proflowers… my book is mentioned and there is also a link to my website.
What if that little gift also delivered some extra, life-enhancing qualities for the giver as well? It’s true. Whenever we give a gift, regardless of the size or value, a powerful blast of neurotransmitters known as endorphins are released into the brain. Yep, the same ones that create the so-called “runner’s high” following exercise, or the euphoric feeling we get when we’re falling in love. Endorphins give us a sense of well-being and joy. Trudy Scott, a food mood expert and author of “The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution,” points out that even a simple act of generosity can trigger a rise in endorphins and have a positive effect on our health and the way we feel.
“If you have sufficient endorphins, you’ll feel pleasure and joy, similar to the feeling you get when someone gives you a big hug,” says Scott. Scott explains that these positive feelings can also prevent us from turning to other things like sugary or fatty foods in search of comfort.
You can go here to read the whole article. This site has an Alexa Traffic Rank of 8,914 so having a link to my site from here is good for my SEO.
In future posts, I’ll be sharing more successful HARO requests, pitches and results, with some of the many tips I’ve discovered as I use HARO on a daily basis to get consistent media exposure. Sometimes your pitch is used as is, other times (as in this example) your message is woven into the article.
If you are an author, aspiring author or just want to increase your media exposure, join me in September for the launch of my “Write That Book – Finally!” program, which includes a whole section on how to successfully use HARO and other no-cost marketing and PR tools.
To get a feel for what I’ll be sharing and to get some on-the-spot hot HARO tips, I invite you to join me August 29th, 5pm PST/6pm MST/7pm CST/ 8pm EST for a content-rich complimentary Call *************************************************************************************
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Great post, Trudy. I look forward to learning more great tips and posts for increasing media exposure and getting my message out. Thank you
Thanks Janice, I’m pleased it was useful for you
A very useful article, thank you. I’ve heard about HARO, but haven’t actually tried it myself. It’s great to have actual examples!
Thank you 🙂
Julia
Julia – it’s so worth investing your time, so I encourage you to try it!
Thank you Trudy, I will 🙂 There is so much out there, that it’s overwhelming, so good to know first hand. Would you say you actually increased your bottom line by doing this?
Julia
Absolutely! I get a steady stream of clients who find me as a result of reading something in the media or seeing me on a show. I’m working with someone right now who read my quote in Glamour magazine and my GaiamTV 1 hour interview earlier this year has led to new clients each month. I also see a bump in book/DVD/audio sales after being featured or quoted. I do track – this is important to do!
On a bigger level it solidifies your expert status leading to more opportunities and of course, if you’re an aspiring author your publisher wants to know your media history. All of this going to be fabulous for my second book – yes, I’m working on book #2!
There is so much more…I’ll have to do a whole blog post on this.
Of course, we’ll be digging in even further during the training program in Sept
Judy:
Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us how you pitch to the media. Your example will definitely give me fuel for thought next time I see something requested on HARO or another service for something I’m an expert in.
Have a fabulous day,
Takara
http://www.MagnificentU.com
Get a free gift of 7 Secrets to Dancing Through Life EmPOWERed, EnRICHed, and EnJOY when you visit the site
Trudy – no idea why I called you Judy in the above post. Must have seen Julia’s post and got the wires in my brain crossed.
no problem! 🙂
You’re welcome and happy pitching! do keep me posted on your success and be sure to share your featured link here!
Trudy
Trudy I am glad you met with such success with HARO. I only ever gave it one try because the three times per day emails drove me crazy and one time I had an exact perfect fit and didn’t hear back. Maybe I need to re-try as you’ve certainly done well with it. Best of luck with your book launch!
Hi Mary Ellen
It does require dedication and checking the 3 emails on a daily basis and responding in a timely manner. So it has to be something you want to do and have time to do. I LOVE it and have a nice system in place and it works – but I do work at it and I am consistent. As a result I’ve seen great results – quoted in Glamour, AARP, Chatelaine magazine and will be in Women’s Health in October if all goes well. You never know until it’s a done deal!
BTW, it’s not my book launch but rather the launch of my “Write Your Book” coaching program for aspiring authors – where I share what I have learned in the process of writing my book
Trudy
I had just heard about HARO this week! This is a great article showing clearly how it works and has inspired me to check it out further. Cool 🙂
Jen – glad to be an inspiration! and yes, do check it out!
Hi Trudy,
Thanks for this! I am in the same boat as Mary Ellen. I used to get the HARO emails and spent so much time perusing and rarely found anything I was good for. I didn’t really have the time available, so it dropped off. I’m curious what your system is for making this fit into your day. You certainly have some inspiring and impressive results from your efforts!
Hi Miranda,
Thanks! I just have 3x 15 minutes in my day where I respond. It’s on my calendar and I make it happen. It’s one of the marketing/PR efforts that works for me so I work it AND enjoy doing it!
I find plenty of relevant requests and I can pitch from 1 to 5 stories/quotes for each of the three daily emails.
Trudy
Great post Trudy!! And I so appreciate all of the HARO help, it’s been great to have your support and guidance as I learn how to tap into this valuable resource.
thanks Mira! and you’re welcome – I’m excited for you and the exposure you’re getting for your wonderful book “The Pantry Principle”
Love your new site, Trudy. And I also love the step by step of showing how to successfully respond to a HARO request.
thanks Sue!
I read HARO and have not been successful. It is great to see an example of one that worked. Thanks for sharing.
Amazing, Trudy! I’ve always looked at the obvious requests on HARO, the ones that specifically speak to my business and book, but you really showed how to tie in your expertise to an unexpected subject. I look forward to reading more articles on how you do this!
Jessica
Yes, once you start thinking outside the box you’ll be surprised at how many HARO requests you can actually respond to!
Trudy
Thanks Trudy, this is all great to know and use.
Trudy – What a helpful way to showcase a professional, well-written response and the positive results it generated!
Great post, Trudy,
You model the query response beautifully. So many people don’t take the time to provide all the vital info a media source might need. It’s important to remember that it’s our job to make their job easier.
You have definitely mastered the skill of getting media exposure.
WAY to go!~
Write on!~
Lisa Manyon
thanks Lisa, this means a lot coming from you! and I agree it must be easy for the media!
Hi Trudy, Thanks for sharing your success and your expertise! What a wonderful thing to see the before and after.
You’re welcome Jennifer – glad it was helpful!
Wow, this is really encouraging!! Thanks for sharing it.
You’re welcome Anna – are you using HARO yet? seen success?
Great post Trudy. I get the HARO emails daily. I respond when I think appropriate and did get one article out of it. But I like what you said about thinking outside the box. So many times I think the queries don’t fit my specialty, but I need to look beyond the obvious. Would love more examples like this. Thanks!
Thanks Bonnie – please so share a link to your article. And yes, thinking outside the box works so well! There’ll more more examples coming – be sure to sign up to stay connected
Hi Trudy! Thank you so much for this post! I have been signed up for HARO for a while, but never quite knew how to respond to the queries. I have since responded to a few! I appreciate this so much! 🙂
Mercedes – you’re welcome – please keep me posted as to how the next few go and do post a link when you get featured