SmallBizResource Blog -- Marketing

Help a Reporter, Help Yourself

Posted by Gayle Kesten Monday, Sep 1, 2008, 07:25 AM ET

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's Peter Shankman!

Shankman is an avid skydiver who has logged more than 200 jumps. He also likes to run marathons. Long story short, Shankman, founder and CEO of Manhattan-based public relations firm The Geek Factory, exudes energy. "I do things that challenge myself, things that make my creativity explode and pump up the dopamine," he says.

Among Shankman's endeavors is a very worthwhile newsletter that I recommend you taking two seconds to subscribe to: Help a Reporter Out (HARO). HARO is an up-to-thrice-daily compilation of queries from writers who need sources for their articles, blogs and books. For example, a newsletter from last week solicited feedback on the different ways people are using Twitter, successful online marketing campaigns and tips on how executives reduce their stress.

Talk about a no-brainer way to find out what reporters are working on. In fact, many of HARO's 23,000-plus subscribers are small businesses, says Shankman, who launched the newsletter in March. "Everyone wants an expert in the industry -- no question about that," he says. "It's more likely that companies and clients will turn to you if you're quoted somewhere. There's also the karma aspect of it. And if you pass along a query, it's good for you as well."

Karma aside -- and believe me, that's something I subscribe to as well -- having your name published, be it in print or online, is a bona fide way to bolster your brand and inexpensively level the proverbial playing field. According to Marketme.com blogger Brandi Cummings, the benefits of "article marketing" also include "link backs to your site, possible viral marketing opportunity for a well-received article, [and] the ability to market to a number of niches that may benefit from your product or service." (Ironically, Cummings also has something to say about karma; scroll down to Reader Comments.)

If you'd like to see a recent HARO newsletter before signing up for your own subscription, send me an e-mail and I'll forward one along. From the writer end of it, I recently submitted a query for my Wednesday's Woman series and received a MULTITUDE (read: 200-plus) of responses from fascinating female entrepreneurs.

As for jumping out of planes, I once made my exit down an emergency slide on the tarmac at LAX. Twelve years later, I'm still working off that dopamine.

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