Qwoted, Featured, SourceBottle, ProfNet, and the #JournoRequest hashtag are the HARO alternatives to know in October 2026, and Help a Reporter Out itself is running again under new ownership. Each one puts journalist requests in front of expert sources, and Qwoted advises experts to answer the exact question directly, quickly, and in words a reporter can quote. Sending answers and hearing nothing back can be discouraging, and the two parts you control, your profile and the way you answer, are worth another look.
What Happened to HARO (Help a Reporter Out)
Help a Reporter Out began in 2008, when PR veteran Peter Shankman started a Facebook group to help his journalist contacts find expert sources, according to HARO’s own history page. The group soon became an email list, and that email format is what most people remember. Vocus bought HARO in 2010, and it joined Cision’s portfolio after Cision acquired Vocus in 2014.
The same page says Cision rebranded HARO as Connectively in 2024 and permanently shut the platform down that December. Featured.com acquired HARO in April 2025 and returned it to its original form, a free email newsletter that puts reporters in touch with experts, paid for by newsletter advertising.
As of October 2026, HARO’s site says it is operated by Featured and is free for everyone. A journalist submits a query that names the type of expert needed, the specific question, and a response deadline. Registered sources receive up to three email digests a day, Monday through Friday, and pitch the reporter directly by email.
HARO says it has more than 800,000 registered sources and more than 75,000 journalists and bloggers. Its list of sources includes founders and CEOs, PR professionals pitching on behalf of clients, and academics. The site also lists its safeguards, which include detection of AI-generated content, masked emails, community reporting, and lifetime bans for policy violations.
HARO Alternatives That Connect Journalists with Expert Sources
Each service below connects experts with reporters, and we read its plan details on its own site in October 2026. Prices can change after that, so look at the current plan page before you sign up.
Qwoted is a platform where journalists, editors, podcasters, and other media creators post a call for experts describing what they need. You build a profile, review the opportunities that match it, and send pitches using credits from your plan, and each pitch goes to the journalist or producer who posted the request.
Qwoted’s pricing page lists a free Basic plan with two pitches a month and what it calls a two-hour response delay. The Pro plan is listed at $149 a month for 35 pitches with no delay, and a Teams plan, which adds team functionality and white labeling, has custom pricing. Every plan on that page includes an appearance in the expert database that reporters search, along with real-time alerts and a daily opportunities email.
Featured, the company that now operates HARO, offers an AI-powered PR assistant with a free plan and paid plans. Its pricing page says every plan, including the free one, can respond to journalist queries from HARO, LinkedIn, and other feeds. The page’s feature list also includes podcast, speaking, and award opportunities, plus a tool that tracks your citations in AI search engines. Paid plans add daily AI usage, with Lite listed at $29 a month and Pro at $79 a month, both billed annually.
SourceBottle describes itself as connecting journalists, reporters, bloggers, and writers with expert sources. Its free plan includes an expert profile, a basic listing in its expert directory, and media call outs delivered to your inbox, and you can respond to an unlimited number of those call outs. Paid plans, charged per pitch or by the month, add a pitching service in which SourceBottle’s team pitches your profile to matching call outs, and its Agency plan covers up to five expert profiles for PR professionals.
On ProfNet, journalists sign up for free and submit a query when they need an expert to quote. Experts subscribe and set preferences for the media leads they want. Its FAQ for experts says there is a fee to receive ProfNet queries, depending on the type of institution and the number of subscribers.
On social media, reporters also post journalist requests with a hashtag. The International Journalists’ Network explained in 2022 that journalists use #JournoRequest on Twitter, now X, to post a specific call for experts or for people with a certain experience. These requests cost nothing to answer, though they are spread across posts, so you need to search the hashtag on the platforms you use and check the newest results.
You may also see two older names on lists of HARO alternatives. Source of Sources (SOS) appears on many of those lists, but its site would not load for us in October 2026. Help a B2B Writer, a free service for B2B writers who need expert sources, now redirects to MentionMatch, which says it is the same platform under a new name and is launching soon. Its site says MentionMatch connects B2B writers with expert sources at no cost to sources.
How Journalists Use Expert Requests and Check Sources
HARO lists its journalist users as staff reporters at national outlets, freelance writers, bloggers, podcast hosts, and researchers, while the IJNet article notes that a #JournoRequest post might include the deadline, the publication, and a way to reach the reporter.
Journalists also screen the answers. In that IJNet article, one writer described checking sources on LinkedIn to verify their identities, and another suggested asking whether a source has a good bio.
That screening has grown stricter. In June 2025, Press Gazette reported that journalists and PR teams had changed how they verify sources after its investigation found that one of the UK’s most widely quoted psychologists did not exist. A freelance journalist said one query brought her three near-identical responses with identical headshots, and she now insists on phoning experts to verify them. The founder of a PR agency said she now supplies a biography, a photo, and a LinkedIn or website bio link for every source.
Expect a reporter to look you up before quoting you, and be ready for a short phone call before the deadline.
How to Set Up a Strong Expert Profile
You build a profile once on most of these services, and it shapes which media opportunities reach you and what a reporter sees with your answer.
Qwoted says source profiles are how journalists get to know you before they ever read your pitch, and that a complete, focused profile helps its system match you with relevant calls for experts. SourceBottle’s free plan includes an Expert Profile, a directory listing, and up to 10 keywords, and its paid plans raise that limit to 20 keywords or an unlimited number. HARO’s page says Featured offers tools that help experts build a public portfolio of expertise.
A few habits make any of these profiles easier for a reporter to trust:
- Add the short bio, recent headshot, and list of past coverage you keep in your press kit, trimmed to fit each service’s profile fields.
- Choose topics or keywords that match questions you can answer well, and leave out the rest.
- Link your LinkedIn profile and your website, since a reporter in the IJNet article checked sources on LinkedIn and the PR agency founder in Press Gazette now sends a LinkedIn or website bio link with every source.
Use the same name, title, and company on every service and on your website, so a reporter can confirm who you are quickly.
Free Plan or Paid Plans: How to Choose
Start with the free plan on each service, because every one we checked except ProfNet lets an expert answer requests at no cost. HARO is free in full, and SourceBottle lets you reply to its call outs on the free plan. Qwoted’s Basic plan includes two pitches a month along with real-time alerts, so you can see which requests reach you before you pay anything.
A few weeks of free digests will show you which service sends requests in your field. A founder in consumer goods may see more lifestyle editors, while a founder who sells to other companies may want requests from a B2B writer at a trade publication. Count how many requests you could answer well each week, and let that number guide any upgrade.
Paid plans mostly buy volume or time. Qwoted’s Pro plan adds pitches and removes the response delay, and its Teams plan lists unlimited pitches at custom pricing. SourceBottle’s No Pitch, No Pay option costs $25 per pitch, with its team pitching your profile to up to three relevant call outs a month, while its Unlimited Pitches plan costs $65 a month or $650 a year. A free plan is also different from a free trial, which ends after a set period, so read the terms before you enter a card.
If you often run out of free pitches for requests that suit you, a paid plan gives you more chances to answer. If most requests on a service fall outside your field, extra pitches are unlikely to change that, and another service on this list may suit you better.
These services handle one kind of press, the quote in someone else’s story. Pitching your own story ideas to editors is a separate kind of outreach, and Mariya sets out how to do it in her guide on how to get press coverage.
How to Answer Journalist Requests in a Way Reporters Can Use
Sending your name and expertise to a stranger takes some nerve. A journalist request gives you a head start, because the reporter has already said what they need, and your answer only has to fit it closely. Qwoted’s tips for experts give a clear structure, and the advice below follows them.
Answer the exact question first. According to Qwoted, a successful pitch answers the journalist’s query directly and upfront. Read the whole request, note the deadline and any requirements, and put your direct answer in the opening line. If the reporter asks for three tips, send three tips.
Include your credentials in one or two sentences. Qwoted suggests stating your accomplishments, credibility, and experience in your introduction, along with any prior media mentions. Give your full name, title, company, and website, so the reporter can cite you correctly without a follow-up email.
Respond quickly. Even when the deadline is a few days away, Qwoted advises sending your pitch within 12 hours.
Offer a short quotable line. Qwoted asks experts to make their answer easy to lift in snippets, so a reporter can use it without spending time on edits. Write one or two plain sentences that state your point in your own voice, then add supporting detail below. On its own platform, the company reports, pitches of seven to 12 sentences get a higher response rate.
Keep the pitch about the reporter’s story. Qwoted tells experts to avoid using a pitch to sell a product, and to tailor each pitch to its recipient. A short note that answers the question and offers a phone call if the reporter needs more is enough.
Each service has its own rules, and some are strict. HARO lists lifetime bans for policy violations and detection of AI-generated content, and Qwoted advises experts to skip AI because even a quick grammar fix can trigger AI detection. It helps to answer only requests that match your expertise, write in your own words, and read each service’s guidelines before your first pitch.
What a Strong Response Looks Like: A Template
The template below follows the advice above. Replace each bracketed part with your own facts, and leave out anything you cannot confirm.
> Subject line: [Your answer in a few words] from [your title] at [your company] > > [One or two plain sentences that answer the exact question the reporter asked, in your own voice.] > > [Two or three sentences of supporting detail: what you did, what changed, and a figure from your own records if you have permission to share it.] > > [One closing sentence a reporter could quote on its own.] > > [Full name], [title], [company], [website]. I am available for a short phone call before [the reporter’s deadline].
The opening answers the question directly, so the reporter does not have to search for it. The supporting detail shows that you have firsthand experience, and the closing line can stand alone as a quote, which saves the reporter time on edits. Nothing in the reply sells a product, and the contact line gives the reporter everything needed to verify who you are.
What to Expect from Links and Domain Authority
Some sources answer journalist requests mainly for link building, because they hope a mention will include a link to their website from a news site with high domain authority. HARO’s own page lists link building among its related terms and says a published source is credited, often with a link back to their website. A mention may or may not include a link, though, because each publication decides how to credit its sources.
The Press Gazette reporting shows where a link-first approach can lead. It described sites that placed quotes from fake experts in real publications to build “off-site” SEO and higher search rankings, and stories quoting the psychologist who did not exist were later taken down and amended.
For a founder, the goal is credible coverage, which means an accurate quote under your real name in a publication your customers already read. If a link comes with it, treat that as a welcome extra.
How to Track Which Answers Turned into Coverage
Reporters do not always tell a source when a story runs, so a simple spreadsheet with one row per answer fills the gap.
- Record the date, service, outlet, reporter’s name, and the question you answered.
- Note whether the reporter replied or asked for a call.
- A week or two after the deadline, search the outlet’s site for your name and company.
- Save the link and a PDF copy when a story runs, because articles are sometimes edited or moved.
Featured’s pricing page also lists media monitoring on every plan, which it says alerts you when you are quoted, featured, or linked anywhere.
After a few months, the sheet shows your conversion rates by service, which is the share of answers on each one that turned into published coverage. Put more of your weekly reading time where answers most often become stories, and when coverage appears, add it to your website and your press kit.
Why Getting Quoted as an Expert Matters for Women Founders
Women are still quoted as experts far less often than men, and our post on the representation of women in media gathers the research behind that gap. Journalist requests open part of the sourcing process to anyone who answers well, so women business owners have a direct way into the media outlets that cover their field.
Each quote also adds to the public record about you. A named quote in an article is a source a reader can find, and over time those sources describe your expertise in other people’s words.
A quote gives you a sentence or two in someone else’s story, and an interview on Pink Fins Media would make the whole conversation yours. Once Season One is recorded, each woman we feature will receive the full interview on YouTube and short clips cut for Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn, ready to post wherever she shares her work. If you have more to say than a quote allows, or you can think of a woman who does, use the Nominate a Woman button at the top of this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is HARO Still Running in 2026?
Yes. Cision shut down Connectively, the 2024 rebrand of HARO, in December 2024, and Featured.com acquired HARO in April 2025. As of October 2026, HARO’s site describes a free email service for journalists and sources, with up to three digests each weekday.
Which HARO Alternatives Have a Free Plan?
HARO is free for journalists and sources. Qwoted has a free Basic plan with two pitches a month, Featured has a free plan that includes journalist request matching, and SourceBottle’s free plan lets you respond to its call outs. ProfNet charges experts a fee to receive its queries.
How Fast Should I Answer a Journalist Request?
Answer as soon as you can, within the stated deadline. Qwoted advises experts to pitch within 12 hours, even when the deadline is a few days away. Reading the digests at the same time each day makes that pace easier to keep.
Can I Use AI to Write My Response to a Journalist?
Check each service’s rules first. HARO lists detection of AI-generated content among its safeguards, and Qwoted advises experts to skip AI because even a quick grammar fix can trigger AI detection. Write your answer in your own words, from your own experience.
Do I Need a Publicist to Get Quoted in the Media?
No. HARO lists founders and CEOs among its sources, and Qwoted and SourceBottle both let experts create their own profiles. A publicist can save you time, though you can answer journalist requests yourself on any of these services.
Get each new Pink Fins Media interview by email at no cost.