I just wrapped up the most epic week of my life.
We celebrated Global Entrepreneurship Week in fine style and you know a week wouldn’t be a week for me without features and interviews for myself and my clients…..after all, it’s what I do.

 

But did you know that there are a few free tools you too can use?
Yes, there are lots of them, some of which I use regularly……here are the pros and cons of the best of the best.

 

HARO: Help a Reporter Out
I really love this platform. Easy to sign up and you can choose the areas you’re most interested in. Once you sign up, you get three emails a day, weekdays only except for public holidays.
Pro: The layout is user friendly with the ability to link directly once you’re ready to pitch. You get queries from journalists from all over the world looking for everything from television interviews to speakers and sponsorship opportunities.
Con: Multiple emails a day means that your inbox can get clogged, in addition, the deadlines for many of the requests are only within hours so you might find yourself literally glued to this site daily, spending many hours searching for opportunities.

 

Editorielle
This is the newest addition to the scene. Very much like HARO in terms of layouts and design.
Pro: I love that there’s a link directly to the press so you can do a bit of research before you pitch. Plus, you only get one email per day so it’s much easier to manage.
Con: All the queries are UK based (which may not necessarily be a bad thing if you’re targeting this market). Also, because this platform is the newest, there aren’t that many opportunities available.

 

Qwoted
This one has been gaining some momentum overtime. You get an email daily with a list of potential quieres from all over the world that are in no particular order.
Pro: You get great opportunities from well known media such as Forbes, Walls Street Journal, Good Housekeeping and more. One email daily is extremely manageable.
Con: I hate that it’s not grouped together which means I have to go through an entire list to see if any of them are worth my time, and unlike HARO and Editorielle, you have to sign in every time to read the full query and to pitch. That can be a bit of a drag if you’re pretty busy.

 

JournoRequest
A few months ago you could have signed up for this platform and have the queries sent straight to your inbox, however now you’ll need a Twitter account to help you navigate.
Pro: Easy and straightforward….just search #journorequest and you get to connect directly with journalists from around the world. Unlike any of the above platforms you get access to the journalist’s direct information via their Twitter account so you can save for future pitches.
Con: Must have and actively use Twitter for this to work for you, and it may take you quite a while to search through all the hashtags to find the request that suits you.

 

Radio Guest List
Found this one quite by accident. It’s a free platform for people who are interested in getting radio only.
Pro: It’s pretty specific and with the free version you get two emails a week.
Con: I hate the layout, it’s very confusing with mini ads all over the place. Plus, with the free version, your requests come in very late evening. The paid version promises an earlier email so you have a better chance at pitching but with the layout being the way it is, I am not motivated to make that investment.

 

 

There are quite a few other free tools that I’m researching at the moment such as matchmaker.fm and podcastguest.com, vetted and more but you’ll have to stay tuned for that but in the meantime tell me which of the ones I’ve mentioned are you interested in? Let me know.