Since HARO's shutdown and relaunch under Cision's Connectively (and its subsequent closure), the journalist-request space has fragmented into a dozen platforms — and the links are as valuable as ever: genuine editorial citations from news and industry sites, free except for your time. Here are the 11 platforms worth monitoring in 2026 and the response formula that gets you quoted.
The platforms
- Qwoted — the closest full HARO replacement; strong in business, finance, and tech. Free tier available.
- Featured (formerly Terkel) — question-based; answers become attributed quotes on publisher sites.
- Help a B2B Writer — B2B-focused requests from content writers; high acceptance rates for specific, data-backed answers.
- SourceBottle — strong in AU/UK media, lifestyle and business verticals.
- PressPlugs — UK-centric press request service.
- ResponseSource — established UK journalist enquiry service (paid).
- Muck Rack — journalist database + monitoring; pitch proactively rather than reactively (paid).
- JournoRequests on X — follow #journorequest; fastest-moving free source, first-come advantage.
- Reddit/LinkedIn journalist callouts — reporters increasingly source from niche communities directly.
- Editorielle — curated women-in-business and lifestyle requests.
- Your own inbound — a "press/experts" page on your site with response-time promises turns you into the source journalists bookmark.
The response formula that wins quotes
Journalists pick the answer they can paste. Structure every response as:
- Credential line: who you are and why you're qualified — one sentence.
- The quotable: 2–3 sentences of direct, specific, opinionated answer. No wind-up.
- One supporting fact or number they can verify.
- Availability line: offer follow-up within their deadline.
Speed matters enormously — most requests close within hours. Respond inside 60 minutes when possible.
Realistic expectations
| Metric | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Response-to-quote rate | 5–15% (higher with tight niche fit) |
| Quotes that include a link | 50–80% (some mention without linking) |
| Time cost per placement | 2–5 hours of responses |
| Link quality | Often DR 60–90 news/industry domains |
That time cost is the real price. Journalist platforms are "free" the way fishing is free — which is why most teams pair them with the predictable channel: scheduled placements on niche sites via the GuestPostOn marketplace, keeping PR-grade wins as upside rather than the plan. The strategic split is covered in digital PR vs guest posting.
Getting cited beyond journalists
The same quotable-expert positioning feeds AI answers: assistants cite named experts with consistent topical footprints. Every journalist quote adds to the entity signal described in our E-E-A-T guide — same name, same niche, everywhere.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to HARO?
Cision folded HARO into Connectively in 2023–24, then shut the platform down; the audience scattered to Qwoted, Featured, SourceBottle, and social channels. No single successor owns the space, so monitoring 2–3 platforms is now the norm.
Are journalist request links worth the time?
For domain-level authority, they're among the best value available — genuine news citations you cannot reliably buy. For ranking specific pages, they're inefficient; use targeted placements for that.
Do nofollow journalist links help?
Yes — news sites often nofollow, but the brand mention, referral traffic, and trust-by-association still count, including for AI answer engines.
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