HARO Is Dead – Here’s What Replaced It

For a decade, Help a Reporter Out was the secret weapon of smart SEOs. You signed up for free, picked a few categories, and every morning you got a list of journalists who needed expert quotes. You sent a quick pitch, and if they used your input, you got an editorial backlink from a real publication. It was fast, it was cheap, and it was one of the few link building tactics that Google could not penalize because the links were genuinely earned. Then, in late 2024, Cision shut it down. HARO's parent company folded the service into a rebranded platform called Featured.com, and the free lunch ended. Many SEOs panicked. They thought their easiest path to high-authority links had vanished. It had not. It just moved.

I have been using journalist-sourcing platforms since before HARO existed, and I have spent the last two years testing every replacement I could find. This article covers the HARO alternatives that actually deliver editorial backlinks. I will walk you through Featured.com, Qwoted, SourceBottle, and a few other methods I use personally. By the end, you will have a new workflow that replicates what HARO gave you, plus a few tricks that work even better in today's search landscape.

Why HARO Shut Down and What It Means for Link Builders

In October 2024, Cision announced that HARO would be merged into Featured.com, a platform that connects journalists with subject matter experts. The reason was business consolidation: Cision had acquired Featured earlier that year and decided to unify its media outreach tools under one brand. For users, the immediate pain was the loss of HARO's free, unlimited queries. Featured.com offers a free tier, but it limits you to three pitches per month. To send more, you need a paid subscription.

The deeper loss was a cultural one. HARO had a massive, diverse journalist base. The queries covered every niche imaginable. Because the barrier to entry was zero, journalists received lots of pitches, which meant they could be picky, and that selectivity rewarded the best pitches. The new platforms are smaller, more curated, and in some cases more expensive. But the fundamental exchange—an expert quote for a media mention with a link—still works. You just need to adjust your approach.

I have built links from HARO for over a decade. When the shutdown hit, I moved my pitch volume to a few key replacements. The links I have earned since then are just as powerful. The difference is that I now pay for some of these tools, and I treat each pitch more carefully because the volume is lower.

The 2026 Tool Stack: Where to Find Journalist Queries Today

I will start with the three platforms I actually use. Then I will cover some alternative methods that do not require any platform at all.

Featured.com — The Official HARO Successor

Featured.com is the platform that absorbed HARO's user base. It works the same way: you create a profile as an expert, select categories, and receive daily email digests with journalist requests. The interface is cleaner, and the journalist vetting is slightly better. The catch is the pricing.

• Free plan: 3 pitches per month. You get access to a limited set of queries.
• Pro plan: $19.99 per month billed annually. You get 15 pitches per month, a more visible profile, and the ability to upload a press kit. This is the plan I recommend if you are serious about earning editorial links. It is far cheaper than buying a single guest post, and the links you can earn are typically from news sites, magazines, and industry blogs with real traffic.
• Business plan: $49.99 per month, 30 pitches, advanced profile features. I use this for my most active clients because the volume justifies the cost.

How I use it: I check the digest every morning. I look for queries that match my niche or my clients' niches. I send a short, helpful pitch in plain language. I never try to sell anything. I never stuff keywords. I give a genuine expert answer and include a brief bio with a link to my money site or a relevant resource page. The pitch must make the journalist's job easier. If you do that, your conversion rate will be between 10% and 30% depending on the niche.

The biggest mistake I see is people sending generic pitches. A journalist can spot a template in three seconds. I customize every pitch. It takes five minutes per query. That is the work. The payoff is a natural editorial backlink from a site with actual readers. I once earned a link from a DR 75 news site because I answered a query about small business tax tips with a specific, quotable statistic. The journalist used my quote, included my brand name, and linked to a related article I had published. That single link was worth more than ten paid guest posts.

Qwoted — The New Powerhouse for High-Authority Links

Qwoted is a platform that connects PR professionals and experts with journalists. It has a more modern interface and a heavier focus on B2B, technology, finance, and professional services. The journalist base includes reporters from major publications, and the platform offers tools to build a media kit and track your mentions.

• Free plan: 3 pitches per month, basic profile.
• Pro plan: $79 per month. Unlimited pitches, profile enhancements, and priority placement in journalists' searches. This is expensive compared to Featured.com, but the pitch volume is unlimited. If you can write ten good pitches a day, the cost per pitch drops to pennies. I have a client in the cybersecurity niche who sends around 30 pitches per month on Qwoted and lands two to three links each cycle. That is a link acquisition cost of under $30 per editorial backlink, which is absurdly good.

The Qwoted difference: Journalists on Qwoted often post more detailed queries. They are looking for expert commentary on breaking news, industry trends, or data-driven insights. If you have genuine subject matter expertise, you will thrive here. If you are faking it, you will be ignored. I like Qwoted because the quality of the publications tends to be higher. I have earned links from sites like TechCrunch and industry-specific journals through Qwoted pitches. That kind of link is a trust signal that Google's E‑E‑A‑T evaluation rewards.

My workflow: I keep a few bullet points ready for each client's core topics. When a query comes in, I adapt those talking points into a fresh, specific answer. I always include a link to a relevant asset: a blog post, a case study, or a data report. Journalists appreciate being able to cite a source. It increases the chance they will include the link.

SourceBottle — The Free, Underrated Workhorse

SourceBottle is a free platform that has been around for years. It works like HARO: sign up, select categories, and receive query emails. The journalist base is smaller, and the volume of queries is lower, but it is completely free. I use SourceBottle as a supplement to Featured.com and Qwoted. On any given week, I might find one or two queries that are perfect for my clients. Because fewer experts use SourceBottle, the competition is lighter. I have landed links from niche blogs and regional publications that I would not have found elsewhere.

The catch: The queries can be less professional. Some are from small bloggers who may not provide a dofollow link or may remove the link later. I always check the publication's domain metrics before I spend time on a pitch. A link from a TF 12 blog with genuine traffic is still valuable. A link from a blogspot subdomain with no audience is not. I use the same vetting process I apply to PBN domains: TF/CF ratio, organic traffic, and topical relevance.

Other Replacement Methods (No Platform Required)

If you do not want to pay for a platform, you can still build editorial links the old-fashioned way. I do this for a few clients in niches where journalist queries are rare.

• Direct outreach via social media. Twitter/X is still a valuable tool for connecting with journalists. Search for phrases like "looking for an expert" or "need a source" in your niche. Respond with a helpful answer and a link to your content. It is less structured than a platform, but the response is often faster. I have earned links from reporters within hours of a tweet.
• Build a media list. Identify 20 publications in your niche. Find the email addresses of writers who cover your topics. Send them a polite, non-salesy email introducing yourself as an available expert. Do not ask for a link. Offer your knowledge. When a relevant story breaks, follow up with a specific comment. This method takes more upfront work but creates long-term relationships.
• Create linkable assets. Publish original data, surveys, or industry reports. Journalists love statistics. If your site is the source of a unique statistic, reporters will link to you without you ever pitching. I have a client who published a simple salary survey in their niche. It earned over 50 editorial backlinks in a year. Not a single pitch was sent. The asset did the work.

Which Alternative Should You Choose?

It depends on your budget, your niche, and how much time you can devote to pitching. For a balanced link building strategy, I combine editorial links from these platforms with niche edits and PBN links. I detailed the niche edit approach in my complete buyer's guide and the guest post quality guide. Editorial links build brand authority and diversify your anchor text with natural, branded mentions. Niche edits provide faster equity from aged pages. PBN links give you control and scale. The mix is what works.

I recommend starting with Featured.com's free tier to learn the pitching process. If you get results, upgrade to the Pro plan. If your niche aligns with Qwoted's journalist base, invest in the Pro plan there. Use SourceBottle and direct outreach as ongoing supplements.

How I Use Journalist Platforms as a PBN Builder

Even as someone who builds and sells PBN links, I value editorial backlinks highly. A strong backlink profile cannot rely on a single link type. Google's SpamBrain looks for diversity. A money site with only PBN links and guest posts looks manipulated. A site with a mix of editorial mentions, niche edits, PBN links, and organic earned links looks like a real brand that people talk about.

I use Featured.com and Qwoted to build editorial links for my own money sites and for clients who want a full-service approach. The time investment is real. I spend about thirty minutes each morning on pitches. That time yields two to three solid links per month across my projects. The ROI, measured in equivalent guest post costs, is massive. A single editorial link from a major publication would cost $500 to $1,500 if you bought a guest post on that same site. Earning it through a pitch costs me $79 per month for the platform and five minutes of writing. The math is compelling. For more on building a diverse link profile, read the PBN building mistakes guide.

A Final Word on Pitches and SpamBrain

Journalist-sourcing platforms are not immune to abuse. Some SEOs have started spamming queries with AI-generated pitches that sound robotic and offer no real value. Journalists are wise to it. They delete those pitches on sight. Worse, Google's SpamBrain may eventually devalue links from platforms that become overrun with spam. The best defense is to send pitches that are genuinely helpful, well-written, and human. The same way we treat PBN content, we treat editorial pitches: quality first, scale second.

I do not use AI to write pitches. I use it to research the journalist's recent articles and understand their angle. Then I write the pitch myself. It makes a difference.

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