How to connect with experts

HARO (then Connectively) was shut down permanently on December 9, 2024. It’s a bittersweet moment for thousands of journalists who, for the past decade, have been using HARO to connect with expert sources.

And that includes me. As a writer at Traffixr, I’m not a subject matter expert in anything other than—you guessed it—writing. But thanks to HARO, I was able to write extensive guides on topics like affiliate marketing, Instagram monetization, and WordPress SEO with zero firsthand experience.

But as important as HARO was, it was merely a tool. There are other methods you can use to get insights from industry leaders.

Why talking to experts is more important than ever

Creating SEO content used to require minimal expertise. For any given topic, you could easily compile existing information from top-ranking articles, rewrite it using your own words, and hit the publish button.

For years, that has been the reality of content marketing. Most blog posts simply say the same thing in a million different ways, leading to what Wil Reynolds called “the sea of sameness problem in content marketing and SEO.”

But now, Google is actively looking to punish low-quality content made solely for search engines and reward authentic, unique, and helpful content from people who actually know their thing.

If you want to rank high on Google, you can’t simply move around existing information and common knowledge anymore—your content has to genuinely offer something new. And to do that, there are only two ways: write from your own experience, or ask people who have that experience.

3 HARO alternatives to get expert insights

With HARO gone, I’ll show you how I connect with experts to create original, unique, and helpful content.

1. Use direct HARO alternatives

When Cision introduced Connectively as HARO’s replacement earlier this year, the public reception wasn’t great. Many journalists felt that the quality of the responses were just plain worse compared to the old HARO.

I felt the same way: a lot of the answers seemed automated, like everyone was just there to get backlinks. It’s possible the timing with the rise of generative AI isn’t coincidental, but whatever the reason, I wasn’t seeing quality insights.

As an example, here’s one of the responses I got when I asked for tips on how to start affiliate marketing.

Did they even bother to read what the request was? I’m guessing they just copy/pasted the same answer to every request. After reading enough similarly dull responses, I began looking for other platforms. 

During my research, I found this Ahrefs survey.

Help a B2B Writer, Featured, and Qwoted dominated the list.

I decided to give Help a B2B Writer a try—it’s free to submit up to three requests per week, and you don’t even have to create an account.

I loved it. Sure, there were still some backlink hunters that ended up in my inbox, but a lot of the answers were gems. I even got a personal DM on LinkedIn from the Head of SEO at Backlinko. He saw my request and was willing to contribute to my article. How cool is that?

When creating a new request, make sure to provide a clear and detailed description—it’s your first filter to get the right answers from the right experts. Here’s how I wrote mine:

Once submitted, you’ll start receiving dozens of responses every day. I suggest dedicating time to read each pitch carefully and toss out the duds.

From there, you have two options. 

• If you’re just looking for expert quotes, you can simply choose the most relevant ones and sprinkle them throughout your article. 

• But if you want to gain deeper insights into a certain topic, you can also invite those experts to a short call. I send folks my Calendly to schedule the interviews.

2. Use #journorequest on X

I’ve only tried this method once, but the result wasn’t bad at all for something that only took a few minutes of my time. My post reached almost 600 views, even though I only have 100ish followers.

From this short campaign, I got an Instagram content creator who actually replied and offered to contribute. Unless you have a big reach on X, you won’t get as many responses as you will with a direct HARO alternative, but it’s certainly worth trying, considering how low-effort it is. 

To boost your post’s visibility and reach, you can also ask the @journo_request account to repost your tweet and include other hashtags like:

• #PRrequest 

• #BloggerRequest

• #Helpareporter

3. Reach out to experts personally

This is probably the hardest and most time-consuming method to pull off. But if you’re willing to go the extra mile, it’s also the most rewarding one.

PR platforms like HARO and Help a B2B Writer are full of SEO experts who just want to build backlinks for their own brand or their clients. Don’t get me wrong—they still work. I’ve met a lot of amazing founders and experts from reputable brands that way. But the chance of you encountering low-quality, AI-generated pitches from spammers is much, much higher.

The truth is, most successful founders and industry leaders don’t spend their time replying to HARO-type requests. And if you want their insights, there’s only one thing you can do: reach out to them personally. Here’s how.

Attend conferences in your industry

As great as written interviews and online meetings are, nothing beats human interaction. When you attend an in-person event, you get the rare opportunity to build personal connections and engage in deep conversations with bona fide experts.

If you plan to attend a conference, here’s my advice: prepare your questions, and don’t wait for the perfect moment to introduce yourself (it won’t ever come). Hundreds of other attendees are also determined to talk to the same speakers. Instead, grab a seat up front and make a move as soon as the speaker ends their speech and walks offstage. Give an honest compliment on the presentation (they’ll love it!), and then ask your follow-up questions.

Conclude the conversation by politely asking to connect on LinkedIn. This way, if you want their insights again for future content, you can simply shoot a DM.

Send personal messages to experts

Not everyone has the luxury of attending conferences, but you can still connect with world-class experts without meeting them face-to-face.

If you’re not familiar with any experts in the industry, connecting with event speakers is a safe bet. If they’re invited to talk on the big stage, these people must be really good at what they’re doing, right? Here’s how you can find event speakers on LinkedIn:

1. Research the top events in your niche. A quick Google search will give you all the information you need.

   

2. Follow the official LinkedIn account of your target conference. Weeks before the scheduled date, keep an eye out for the event’s official speaker lineup.

   

3. Visit the profile of each expert and send a connection request, ideally with a note introducing yourself. Once accepted, shoot a DM introducing yourself and asking them to contribute to your article.

To boost the response rate, start the message by establishing a common ground. Maybe you went to the same school? Or maybe you’ve been reading their blog or newsletter? Also, explain what’s in it for them. In my case, I simply mentioned that I would feature them in a blog that generates over 500,000 visitors per month.

Here’s what my outreach message looks like (feel free to modify it):

Source experts internally

If you’re running your own business or working for a company, you can also get expert quotes from your own colleagues and clients. Since these people already know you, they’re much more likely to reply.

For example, a client from my previous organization is a successful travel vlogger with 50,000+ followers. When I was writing an article about earning money from Instagram, I simply searched for her email address in the company’s database and sent a message asking her to contribute to my article.

And she was quick to reply to my pitch.

Coincidentally, one of my former teammates also had quite a big following on Instagram. Since we know each other personally, securing an interview with her was a breeze.

Make your content stand out with expert insights

In the sea of generic, AI-written blog posts, the only way to stand out is to produce original content.

Of course, originality can be obtained through something you do yourself, like testing software, conducting user surveys, or talking about something you have lots of experience with. But some topics (like how to grow a six-figure business) will take years to complete if you decide to write based on your own experience.

In that case, you can “borrow” other people’s experiences through expert interviews.

While HARO is dead, its concept lives on through platforms like Help a B2B Writer, Featured, and Qwoted. You can also try the #journorequest hashtag on X. And if you want to connect with true industry leaders, there’s no other way than reaching out to them personally.

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