For the last six or eight months, a friend of mine has told me that she uses Twitter as her RSS feed. She follows everyone she’s interested in and follows the links they provide via Twitter (whether to personal or news blogs). She doesn’t use any other aggregator. Her experience made me stop and think: do all bloggers think to link their blogs to their Twitter account? Depending on where you are in your social media journey, this may be a new idea for you. You may not be aware of the tools available to help you link your accounts so readers, no matter where they are, can find you.

Twitterfeed
Twitterfeed allows you set it and forget it (wow, I really hope that’s not trademarked by the Ronco guy–it’s just so snappy). By associating your blog’s RSS with your Twitterfeed account, any time you publish a new article on your blog, the URL is shortened via bit.ly and fed directly to Twitter via your Twitter account (you can also feed it to Facebook). In addition, the confirmation email I received said, “If you use Feedburner and have authorized their awareness api then you can also see those stats on your dashboard, making it easy to compare your traditional RSS distribution with Twitterfeed’s social distribution.” If you take advantage of that feature, you could find some interesting correlations.

To set up a Twitterfeed account:

1. Go to Twitterfeed.com.
2. Complete the sign-up form with an email address and password.
3. Choose whether you’d like your feed to be sent to Twitter or Facebook.
4. Connect with the appropriate account by clicking either the Authenticate Twitter (to send your feed to Twitter) or Connect with Facebook (to send your feed to Facebook) button.
5. Type in the name of the feed you want to send out.
6. Type in the URL of the feed you want to send out.
7. Click Update Feed.

If you like, you can use the advanced settings to set

• update frequency (every 30 minutes, every hour, on up to every day)
• whether to include the title and/or post description
• which service to use to shorten your links (e.g., bit.ly, SnipURL, TinyURL, etc.)
• post prefixes and suffixes

TypePad
TypePad has recently unveiled some new feature to its software. One of those features allows you to share your newest posts with Twitter, Facebook, and FriendFeed as they are published. To use this feature, though, you’ll need to link your TypePad account with those third-party social media tools. Just go to Settings > Sharing and choose which accounts you want to share your TypePad posts with. Right now you can only share your posts with Twitter, Facebook, or FriendFeed. Once you’ve established a connection between your TypePad account and your other social media accounts, follow these instructions for sharing your posts with Twitter (and/or Facebook and FriendFeed):

1. Write your post as usual.
2. Check the box next to Twitter (and/or Facebook and FriendFeed) under Share This Post in the right sidebar of the New Post page.
3. Save/publish your post as usual. When the post is published, TypePad will send the permalink of the article (shortend via bit.ly) to the accounts you checked.

Do it yourself
You may not want to tweet everything you post. Many people choose to tweet only posts by others or posts they’ve written themselves only if it relates to a specific, current conversation. In those cases, you can simply paste the permalink into your tweet and Twitter will automatically shorten the link via bit.ly.

You’ve probably noticed that the tools I’ve recommended all use bit.ly to shorten your URLs. It’s by far the most popular URL-shortener and I encourage you to try it out. The feature that makes bit.ly so popular, I think, is that it allows you to set up an account with them and track how many click-throughs your bit.ly links receive. If you’re tracking that information, you can really get a good idea of which social media communities are using your information consistently. You can also track which topics are more popular than others. When it comes to data tracking, the possibilities are endless. Bit.ly is just one more tool for your arsenal.

Related interesting reading:

• Twitter’s Chief Talks About Lists, Traffic and Revenue by Claire Cain Miller
• Basics: Grow Your Blog with Twitter’s List Feature by Neicole Crepeau
• Real-Time Google Reader Shares to Twitter–There’s an App for That by Louis Gray
• How to Make Your Blog and Tweets Work Together Like a Charm by Alex Cristache

This article was cross-posted at BlogHer.com.

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Google Alerts is one of the most versatile online tools. It allows you to listen to conversations you may not be aware of. Conversations that involve you or your brand (and maybe even your competitors). As you manage your online presence, it’s important to listen to what people are saying and how they are saying it. You want to know if other sites are linking to you, quoting you, supporting you, or complaining about you. You want to know what your competition is up to and how they are faring. Enter Google Alerts, the free online tool that lets you track keywords and phrases effortlessly so you never miss another important conversation.

What is Google Alerts?

In Get Started with Google Alerts, Rebecca Leaman explains what Google Alerts is: “You can think of Google Alerts as a customized Google Search — on-going — that delivers the search results to you automatically. You can set up any number of Alerts (up to 1000 per email address) to help you monitor online activity for the search terms of your choice.”

How can I use Google Alerts?

Using Google Alerts for Blogging Ideas suggests using Google Alerts as a sort of writing prompt: “By using Google Alerts for your keywords and key phrases, you can find a lot of ideas for future blog posts. You’ll be led to other websites and blogs with ideas you can continue on with. And you’ll receive news and press releases on brand new items coming out that you can alert your readers to.”

How do I set up Google Alerts?

Setting up Google Alerts is a simple process–you don’t even have to have a Gmail account to use Google Alerts.

1. Go to http://www.google.com/alerts/ where you’ll see this page:
   
2. Sign in if you have a Gmail account. If you don’t have a Gmail account, you can just start filling out the Google Alert form.
3. Enter the search terms you want to track, separated by commas. You can edit this later if you find you have too many or too few terms. If you’re not sure what to track, start with your name and your blog’s name. You may also want to include keywords related to your brand and your niche.
4. Choose the Type of search you want Google Alerts to create. Rebecca Leaman’s article on setting up Google Alerts explains each type of search and what you can expect:
   • News (includes the latest news articles that mention your terms and “appear in the top ten results of your Google News search.”)
   • Blogs (includes blog articles that mention your terms and “appear in the top ten results of your Google Blog search.”)
   • Web (includes web pages that mention your terms and “appear in the top twenty results of your Google Web search.”)
   • Comprehensive (includes results from News, Blogs, and Web, etc. that mention your terms. It’s, um, comprehensive.)
   • Video (includes videos that mention your terms and “appear in the top ten results of your Google Video search.”)
   • Groups (includes posts that mention your search terms and “appear in the top fifty results of your Google Groups search.”)
5. Choose how often you’d like to receive your Google Alerts. I like to receive mine once a day simply because I’m trying to cut down on the time I spend checking e-mail. However, if you’re tracking a timely project or news story, you may want to choose as-it-happens. Likewise, if you’re just keeping tabs on something that mildly interests you, but isn’t critical, you can choose once a week.
6. Choose where you’d like the Google Alerts delivered. If you have a Gmail account, you can receive them via gmail. If you’d rather, you can receive them via RSS or another e-mail account.
7. Click the Create Alert button and finish.

That’s it. Easy and free. Honestly, does it get better than that?

This article is cross-posted at BlogHer.com.

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Facebook is a great way to share information with your community. Most of us use it regularly to provide quick updates about what we’re doing, where we’re going, or a news story that interests us. Most of us also regularly upload pictures to share with our communities. You know what I’ve noticed, though? Not many people are using Facebook’s video features. I’m not sure if that’s because not many people use video (really? I find that hard to believe–where are the vloggers?) or people just don’t know how (which I think is more likely). If the lack of video stems from the former reason, I can’t help; if it stems from the latter, read on! I’m going to explain how you can upload video to your Facebook account or create a completely new video on the fly on your Facebook profile.

Upload video from your computer

1. Go to your Facebook profile. On your wall is the text box where you usually update your status. Below that box is the word Attach with a line of icons next to it.
2. Click the icon that looks like a video camera. You’ll see two choices: Record a video and Upload a video.
3. Click Upload a video.
4. Click Browse, find your video on your hard drive, and upload it to your profile.

Record a new video on your Facebook profile

1. Go to your Facebook profile. On your wall is the text box where you usually update your status. Below that box is the word Attach with a line of icons next to it.
2. Click the icon that looks like a video camera. You’ll see two choices: Record a video and Upload a video.
3. Click the Record a video. You’ll see a box asking if Facebook has your permission to access your computer’s camera and microphone. If the answer is yes, click the radio button (the circle) next to Allow.
4. Click the “Close” button in that box. You’ll see a picture of yourself in that box. Position your screen in a way that centers you in the box.
5. Click the red button with the dot in the middle to start recording. To stop recording, click the button again (it’s a square now).
6. You’ll have the option to play the video, save the video, or reset the video. To see how the video came out, push the play button (the triangle). If you’re happy with it, click Save. If you want a do-over, click Reset and re-record your video.

Once you’ve saved your video you will have the opportunity to tag people in the video, give the video a title and description, and choose the thumbnail that will accompany the video (these are stills from the video).

Finally, you have the option to Save (publish to the group), Delete (delete the video permanently), or Skip for now (which means you want to publish the video, but haven’t actually given it a title, description, or chosen a thumbnail).

Once you get over the initial horror of seeing and hearing yourself on video, it’s actually quite fun to make a daily Facebook vlog and share a moment or two of you with your community. Why not give it a try? It couldn’t be easier.

Before you go, leave me a comment about whether you use Facebook’s video feature or not. If you’re one of the many who don’t, why not? Is it because it never occurred to you? Or because you don’t want to see yourself up there? Or because you weren’t sure how? Now that you know how easy it is, will you try it? How do you see the video helping you promote your brand? Thanks for reading; I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.

A version of this article was cross-posted at BlogHer.com.

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I have been a collector my entire life. I think I come by it naturally since my mother’s side of the family tends to “collect” things in the form of never throwing anything away on the off chance it might be valuable or hold the key to the family’s history. From reality television, I now know they are hoarders, not collectors. Me? I tend to deny my problem because what I mostly collect are links. That is, when I read an article online that I think may come in handy some day, I save the link. I have a folder on my computer’s desktop called mhl, (short for Mighty Helpful Links). Within that folder are sub-folders for specific categories for things like SEO, vlogging, analytics, etc. Oh, yes. Make no mistake: I hoard links. Today, though, that may work in your favor–especially if you’re at all interested in learning the basics of HTML or CSS or have a WordPress blog you’d like to tweak. That’s right, folks, I’m sharing some of my links to tutorials.

HTML

• HTML Tutorial Series via Beep the Geek. HTML is the most basic part of structuring web pages. You’ll need to understand a little HTML and the logic behind it if you want to move up to CSS and PHP and some other stuff I don’t pretend to know a lot about. You’ll be surprised by how much you can fake it if you know a little HTML.
• Web Basics via Web Monkey. Rather than point you to a specific article at this site, I’m pointing you to the main page for the Web Basics category. Here you’ll find tutorials for HTML, CSS, and XML.

CSS

• 20 Websites To Help You Learn and Master CSS via Six Revisions. If you aren’t currently following Six Revisions, you should be. I noticed that many of my hoarded links are from this site. I learn a lot there. And they use the word “grok”, so, you know, I love them and stuff. This particular article lists and describes 20 sites with tutorials. You’re sure to find at least a few that can help you get started with CSS.
• 30 Exceptional CSS Navigation Techniques via Six Revisions. Are you fairly comfortable with CSS and want to try your hand at a nav bar? This is the article for you. It provides sample nav bars and, when you click on the title of the nav bar, you’re taken to a page with instructions on how to build that nav bar.
• Custom Styling for Posts via Blogging Tips. As the author, Sarah, points out, customizing the style of individual posts can be handy if you’re using a platform like WordPress as a content management system (CMS). This article shows you how to customize a single post, all posts in a specific category, or all posts in a sub-category.
• CSS Builder via MetaTitan. This is a simple tool to help you build CSS on the fly. There you go. Done.
• Resetting Your Styles with CSS Reset via Six Revisions. I told you I learn a lot here. This article shows you how to set the styles of your page elements “to a baseline value so that you avoid cross-browser differences due to their built-in default style settings. By resetting your styles, you avoid defaulting to the browser’s built-in styles, which differs from browser to browser.”

WordPress

• WordPress.tv. The tagline says it all: WordPress.tv is your visual resource for all things WordPress. If you are at all interested in learning about WordPress, this should be your first stop. The web site is categorized so you can find what you’re looking for easily. On the home page you’ll see options that offer Latest Videos, WordCamp Videos (WordCamps are mini conferences where WP fans congregate to share their knowledge; all levels welcome), and Popular Videos.
• 100+ WordPress Video Tutorials, from Basic to Advanced via SpeckyBoy. This article provides a list of tutorials grouped by web site. The tutorials listed cover everything from installing WP to configuring your Google site map to inserting an image in PHP list.
• 25+ Essential Articles for Every WordPress Beginner via Elite by Design. This list points you to information about the WP Codex, using SEO with WordPress, choosing plug-ins and widgets, using your admin settings, and more.
• How to Create a WordPress Theme via ThemeShaper. Are you ready to make your own theme? Perfect it and sell it? I applaud your tenacity and drive. Start here.

Miscellaneous

• A List of Essential Web Design Skills via Hub Pages. Liz is one of my favorite tech gals. In this article she explains what you need to know if you want to design web sites or, at least what you should be looking for if you’re hiring it out.
• Web 2.0 in just under 5 minutes. An interesting visual overview of Web 2.0, how we got here, and where we’re going.

This article was cross-posted at BlogHer.com.

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I’m attending Blog World & New Media Expo again this week. Attending any sort of conference is hard for an introvert like me, but attending a large non-female-centric conference (e.g., Blissdom or BlogHer) with the rock stars of blogging can intimidate me right into the fetal position. I’m here to tell you that attending a blogging conference is a lot of fun, you meet some great people, and you should go if you have the opportunity. To help you out, I’ve rounded up some links to help you (and me) get ready for the conference.

Get Your Head in the Game

• The Introvert’s Guide to Conference Networking by Lisa Barone
• Advice for People Attending Conferences by Chris Brogan
• 27 Things To Do Before a Conference by Chris Brogan

I found these articles last year before my trip to BWE and they helped me immensely. In fact, I felt so at ease, I went right up to Chis Brogan and introduced myself. He’s one of the most genuine people out there. I also met Darren Rowse and he, too, was kind, soft-spoken, and accommodating. My normal behavior is to stand outside a circle and listen. These guys brought me into the circle, gave me advice, and listened to what I had to say. If you’re an introvert like me, I encourage you to leave your comfort zone for a few days (you can always head back to the hotel if it’s too intense) and meet some people you wouldn’t otherwise approach. You’ll be happy you did.

Consider Finding a Sponsor

I’ve been lucky enough to secure sponsors for past conferences, but this year I decided to forgo sponsorship and make the investment myself. Why? Well, because I’m busy right now. It’s a lot of work to attend a conference, take notes, network, vlog, and share information with y’all. I love it, but it’s a lot of work. If I add a sponsor into the mix, I also have the added responsibility of promoting that sponsor at the event as well as in my posts for you. Right now, it’s just one more thing on my plate. Now, having said that, there are many bloggers who wouldn’t be able to attend a blogging conference without some sponsorship help. To that end, here are some links to help you put together a proposal for potential sponsors.

Blog World & New Media Expo has a three-part series on securing sponsorship:

1. Blogger Sponsorship for Conferences: Part I: What Do You Have to Offer?
2. Blogger Sponsorship for Conferences Part II: Finding a Sponsor
3. Blogger Sponsorship for Conferences Part III: Your Proposal

A few more links to help you craft your sponsorship proposal:

• Companies…What Mom Will You Sponsor at a Conference This Year? by Jessica Smith. This article is written to the companies who may consider sponsoring a blogger. I think you can use that to your advantage. Look at what Jessica is telling those companies to consider, then figure out how you fit that criteria. Pitch yourself to a company that’s a good fit.
• BlogHer (and other conference) Sponsorship by Jodi Grundig. Jodi asks other bloggers to share their strategies on finding and securing a conference sponsor.
• How to Get a Blog Conference Sponsorship by Tara Kuczykowski. Tara explains how creating a media kit can help you sell your brand to a company and convince them to invest in you via a conference sponsorship.

You’re There. Now What?

When I attend a conference, I usually attend because I want to learn something or become better at something. Then I want to share that information you so you can learn too. The problem is how to do that efficiently and still be part of the conference. You’ll be networking and attending panels. You need to pay attention. You’re also going to need to multitask. A few things you may already be doing:

• Use Twitter. Use the hashtag for the conference and update your Twitter stream. You can also follow what others are tweeting about the event by subscribing to the event’s hashtag.
• Use an offline blog editor. There are times when you won’t have internet access (yes! even at a blogging conference!) and you just have to get a blog post down. In those instances, it’s helpful to have a third-party application installed on your computer so you can write the post and upload it later. Webhost Checklist and Six Revisions have reviewed many apps you might be interested in looking at.
• Record your interactions. You’re talking to interesting people all weekend, why not share those conversations with your readers? Invest in a small video camera and interview the people you meet. Have them talk about what they do, how they help people, what their blogging goals are. My Flip Mino allows me to take a few hours of video and upload it easily to my computer. I can share it instantly if I have an internet connection.
• Live blog. Aliza Sherman’s article, Preparing to Live Blog an Event will help you put together a live-blogging game plan.

That’s a lot of information, I know. You may want to bookmark this page so you can refer to it as needed. Maybe you’re not headed to a conference any time soon, but it’s never too early to start planning. Blissdom (in February) is right around the corner and so is SxSW (in March). If you’re considering finding sponsorship for those conferences, you should start now!

Are you attending Blog World next week? Please let me know! I would absolutely love to meet you and talk about what you’re doing. I mean it. Come say hi, OK?

A version of this article is cross-posted at BlogHer.com.

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If you’re blogging professionally or even semi-seriously you’ve likely heard about the new FTC guidelines regarding bloggers and how we disclose any relationships with companies who have paid us to endorse or review products. As is usually the case when something changes, rumors and misinformation are swirling. This article seeks to give you a basic understanding of what’s changing with the FTC regulations and how it may affect you as a blogger. I’ll try to lay to rest the inaccurate rumors you may have heard.

What do the new FTC guidelines expect from bloggers?

The newest FTC guidelines require bloggers to disclose any relationship with an advertiser and to make “verifiable” claims. Relationships with advertisers include any compensation received in exchange for a review–including receiving a free product. As BlogHer.com’s own Liz Gumbinner has said, “The intent of the FTC guidelines is to protect consumers from deceptive marketing practices.”

Richard Cleland is Assistant Director of Advertising Practices at the FTC. He’s been providing interviews around the country and clarifying the FTC’s expectations for bloggers and disclosure. In a phone interview with Ed Champion of Reluctant Habits, Cleland told Champion that “the FTC’s main criteria is the degree of relationship between the advertiser and the blogger. . .If there’s an expectation that you’re going to write a positive review, then there should be a disclosure.”

However, the FTC does acknowledge that some cases are different from others. In an interview with Virginia Prescott at New Hampshire Public Radio, Cleland had this to say about receiving sample products versus being paid for a review:

“That’s going to depend on the circumstances. If we’re talking about getting one free product or something sent to you and you happen to write about it on your blog, that’s not the type of relationship that has to be disclosed. But if you’re part of a network and you’re consistently receiving products to test and blog about, then that raises the implication that these gifts are quid pro quo and that’s why you’re writing the positive reviews.”

In answer to Ms. Prescott’s question about how the FTC will hold bloggers accountable for false claims, Cleland said, “It’s going to be on a case-by-case basis. It’s going to have to be a situation where it’s actually justified, the extent of the injury is such that it justifies using our resources to look at the possibility of an enforcement action.”

It’s worth noting that those of us with Amazon Affiliate links are expected to disclose those as well. Champion says Cleland “didn’t see any particular problem with a book review appearing on a blog, but only if there wasn’t a corresponding Amazon Affiliates link or an advertisement for the book.” Though that example is specific to books, it could apply to any product linked to an affiliate.

Do the new guidelines include Facebook and Twitter?

Yes. Many bloggers type paid tweets and/or become Facebook fans of certain products, then share those tweets and fan pages with their friends. Just because the advertising relationship is outside a blog, it’s still a relationship and the blogger is still compensated–the rule for disclosure and true testimonials applies. Caroline McCarthy at Cnet gives this example of how the FTC guidelines apply to a blogger (or, in this example, a celebrity) on Facebook:

“[A] celebrity or other prominent figure with loads of friends on Facebook receives free hotel stays from Hotel Chain X in exchange for running Hotel Chain X ads on his or her blog. If that person then signs up as a Facebook fan of Hotel Chain X–which, remember, could mean that the person’s name can show up for his or her Facebook friends alongside Hotel Chain X display ads on the social network–he or she could be held liable by the FTC.”

As for Twitter, the FTC expects you to fit in a disclosure regardless of the 140 character limit. Cleland told McCarthy, “There are ways to abbreviate a disclosure that fit within 140 characters. You may have to say a little bit of something else, but if you can’t make the disclosure, you can’t make the ad.”

How can the FTC monitor every blog out there?

As Richard Cleland made the rounds of interviews, this question often came up. Cleland’s answer was that the FTC’s goal right now is to educate people on what is expected of them. He also indicated that the FTC would be “looking primarily at the advertisers to determine how the relationships exist” (from Ed Champion’s interview).

In an article on CNN, Eric Kuhn reports that “Richard Cleland . . . admits there will be no new team to monitor all the blogs, and that enforcing these guidelines would be a ‘game of whack-a-mole’ given the numbers involved.” Kuhn goes on to say that, “The new guidelines are viewed as more of an educational tool than any kind of requirement, and geared at advertisers more than bloggers. If numerous complaints are filed regarding a blog, the FTC is likely to investigate that the advertiser has properly advised the blogger of these guidelines.”

In his interview with Caroline McCarthy at Cnet, Cleland said, “…in the bigger picture, we think that we have a reason to believe that if bloggers understand the circumstances under which a disclosure should be made, that they’ll be able to make the disclosure. Right now we’re trying to focus on education.”

What about the $11,000 fine for bloggers who don’t disclose payment?

Mashable.com, TechCrunch, CNN, and several other trusted news sources were reporting early Monday that bloggers who don’t disclose payment will be fined $11,000 per violation. In fact, the updated FTC regulations (link downloads a pdf) don’t mention an $11,000 fine at all. Eric Kuhn of CNN tweeted Monday night, “I just spoke with an FTC spokeswoman. She said there is NOT a $11,000 fine for breaking the new guidelines re endorsements.” Unfortunately, none of the original articles with erroneous information have been updated to reflect that there is not currently a fine for violations.

Do I need to go back to my old posts and disclose for previous gifts or payments?

Lisa Stone, one of BlogHer.com’s founders, gave this advice:

“Since we started this network in 2006, BlogHer’s editorial guidelines have prohibited putting advertising in editorial space on blogs. So if you’re talking about posts you’ve made on BlogHer.com or in your blog IF it’s in the BlogHer publishing network, this question should not apply — it’s against the rules!

If you’re not in the BlogHer Network, we recommend that you update your “About” page with your blog policy about payments and review your blog for the current year and disclose any gifts or payments. For previous years, I think you can disclose on your “About” page the date on which you began your disclosure practices. We are not your lawyer, but as a a general practice we recommend that bloggers disclose any kind of payment at the top of every post written because of a payment of cash, goods, or services.”

Most of us are already doing the right thing and we’re not who the FTC is after. To be sure you’re in the know, download the current FTC guidelines. Then write up a disclosure policy and post it clearly on your blog. Not sure exactly how to write your policy? DisclosurePolicy.org can generate one for you.

This post was cross-posted at BlogHer.com.

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Finding sources for a news article is hard when you don’t know where to look or if you don’t have contacts within an industry. It’s also hard to contribute your knowledge on a given subject when you don’t know who needs your help. Enter HARO, which stands for Help A Reporter Out and is a source for news people (traditional and new media) to find sources for their stories quickly.

If you’re chosen as a source, you have the opportunity to ask the reporter to include information about you and your blog. As you can imagine, it’s a popular site both for reporters and would-be sources because everyone is winning in that formula. The one rule of HARO is that you must not waste people’s time; if you aren’t an expert in a field, you should never respond to a query (not that any of you would, but it’s an integral part of the site and worth mentioning to be clear).

When you respond to a request from HARO or any other news source, you have to convince them that you’re the best person to ask for answers to their questions. The way to do that is to knock their socks off when you query back with your bio.

You can subscribe to HARO via their web site and you’ll receive three e-mails every day with requests for sources in specific areas (e.g., travel, tech, general). If you see something you can speak to, you respond directly to the reporter making the query.

Here are some tips for writing a successful response to queries:

1. Keep it short, two paragraphs is sufficient. Introduce yourself, address the necessary information the reporter asked for (e.g., any questions from the query), and why you’d be a good source. This is where it gets tricky–you should be short and to the point, but not so much so that the reporter doesn’t really know why she should work with you. To help make your point, give a short overview of your expertise and links to back it up. Be sure to tell the reporter how you can help them.
2. Answer the questions, if any, in the original query. You’re more
   apt to be chosen if you’re responding to the reporter’s actual request rather than something close, but not quite the same. She’s under a deadline and is asking for what she needs–don’t give her something else. Speaking of which…
3. Pay attention to the deadline. Most of the HARO queries have a deadline for submitting yourself as a source. Be mindful of those.

More advice on writing responses to HARO (and other other) queries:

• How to Respond to ProfNet, PRLeads, and Helpareporter.com Queries, Part 1:
  Provides actual responses to queries and discusses why they don’t work or weren’t chosen as sources. Excellent information here.
• How to Respond to ProfNet, PRLeads, and Helpareporter.com Queries, Part 2:
  More info on responding to queries. This woman knows her stuff and
  she’s sharing it. Love that. Youcan learn a lot from these two articles.
• 6 Tips to Responding to HARO Queries: These are similar to the ones I mention above, but she builds on them and offers a few more.
• Ten Essential Tips For Getting The Most Out Of HARO & ProfNet : This article offers excellent advice on how to be chosen as a source (e.g., be quotable, help them help themselves).
• Help a Reporter (and Yourself) Out: A great explanation of why you’d even want to be involved with HARO.
• Interview with Peter Shankman at SmallBiz Marketing Tips:
  Love the quote from Peter Shankman (founder of HARO) from this story: “Word. Of. Mouth. End of story. Create something beneficial to people, and they’ll tell everyone about it for you.”

This article was cross-posted at BlogHer.com.

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