4 Free PR tools you should use to grow your business

Update: It’s been six years since I wrote this article and in that time each of these tools has evolved in its own way:

Muck Rack and A News Tip have had almost a complete makeover, the first time I logged in after at least 4 years of inactivity I was almost overwhelmed. Not because the UI was bad or anything, but because I was expecting to see look the same as it did in 2017 (Silly right?). So I gave it a day or two and went back and Wow, these are some pretty powerful features, which I’ll get to in a minute.

HARO and Source Bottle, didn't really change much, and maybe that’s because they didn't really need to, what they offer is essentially a repository of available publishers and journalists actively looking for a source.

With Muck Rack and A News Tip, you don’t really know if a journalist is working on a specific article and needs a source, you’re pitching them so that if they are in fact working on something, they can consider you as a worthwhile source, and if they are NOT currently working on an article with the angle you’re pitching for, then they can keep you in mind when they inevitably do.

What HARO and Source Bottle does is very different from what Muck Rack and A News Tip do, so of course their evolution over the years has been different.

I will say I've personally (ie by myself and not via a publicist) used both tools to get 5 media features within the span of 3 months these were: A guest blog, 2 television interview features, and 2 magazine features. Not bad for someone who is NOT a publicist.

As a non-publicist, I one hundred percent appreciate the work they do because getting those 5 features took A LOT of emails!!! I was pitching like no tomorrow.

So I want you to know that you can in fact use these tools to get free publicity for your business or personal brand.

I’m going to share the changes and updates I’ve noticed in these tools since I originally published this article in 2017, then I’ll share a gem that I just discovered at the beginning of the month (February 2023) a tool that I'm almost convinced is better than Muck Rack and A News Tip. (Just a heads up though it’s not a free tool)

HINT: It uses AI to create the perfect pitch, groups pitch into “campaigns” think: marketing campaigns, lets you track the success of your campaigns and compare their performances by analyzing email opens, clicks, and the number of won PR opportunities per campaign.

Here are the 4 free(ish) PR tools you should be using

UPDATES NOTICED SINCE 2017

Help A Reporter Out (HARO):

To be honest not much has changed apart from their new subscription packages. I did notice, that I stopped getting HARO emails on May 14 2022, I’m not sure why. But it’s probably because I’m not on a paid plan.

That said I’m not sure if HARO qualifies as a free PR tool anymore as there is some contradictory information on their website.

You’ll find this here https://app.helpareporter.com/Users/Account when you signup for the “free account”

You’ll find this here https://www.helpareporter.com/subscriptions/

I’m on the basic plan and I definitely haven't received any email from them in almost a year, at first I wondered if it had unsubscribed because of the influx of emails. 3 emails a day = 18 emails a week and that will drive anyone crazy. But if I did unsubscribe when I logged in there should be an option to re-subscribe and I think I’ll only get the media opportunities email if I subscribe to a paid plan.

Pros:

1. It’s cheaper than hiring a publicist (although, you really should hire an actual PR expert if you can afford it)
2. If you’re going to pay for a PR tool then you should definitely get HARO

Cons:

1. Not really a free PR tool anymore
2. 3 emails a day is a LOT and most of the time those 2 of the 3 emails are pretty much the same, only one is longer.

Source Bottle

Source Bottle like HARO remained almost the same. They have changed their business model, and well that’s understandable. They’re a for-profit business, not an NPO,

However, unlike HARO while they’ve added paid options their core service is still free. You can still receive email alerts from journalists looking for sources, and you can still technically respond to the “call out” placed by journalists.

You’ll find this here https://www.sourcebottle.com/pricing.asp

They’re a for-profit business, not an NPO, unlike HARO while they’ve added paid options their core service is still free. You can still receive email alerts from journalists looking for sources, and you can still technically respond to the “call out” placed by journalists.

Pros

1. Get two email alerts daily on your topic(s) of interest from journalists, bloggers, and podcasters looking for a source.
2. Easy to use

Cons:

1. Limitations in the free plan

Muck Rack

Muck Rack has had such a huge change since 2017, and it’s for the better! Here’s what the dashboard now looks like:

You’ll find all that at https://muckrack.com/search/

Muck Racks search features are a thing of beauty!! Honestly, while it did overwhelm me the first time I logged in after years of inactivity, once I calmed down and really looked at the search options, and tested it out, I couldn't help but smile.

And while there are even more powerful features you’d need a paid subscription to unlock, like the ability to send pitches to a journalist once you’ve found one that covered a topic you’re interested in, you’d also need to subscribe to a paid subscription to add journalists to a private media list… But if you’re tech-savvy that really wouldn't be a big issue as there are many ways to get their email addresses and email them directly.

Pros:

1. Crazy powerful search features

Cons:

1. You need a paid subscription to send pitches to a journalist directly from Muck Rack
2. You need a paid subscription to add journalists you like to customizable Media Lists.
3. Muck Rack’s pricing depends on a few factors specific to your team, so you’ll need to get in touch with them via love chat or email to get an accurate estimate tailored to your needs. (AKA it’s going to be hella pricey)

A News Tip

I used to see A News Tip as more of a monitoring platform and while they technically are, they’ve grown into more than that. You can use A News Tip to search for journalists, add them to a media list and even pitch them directly from the platform. Talk about perfection… Or is it!!

The Final Scout pop-up kept driving me nuts though, it comes up every damn time!!!

Like HARO and Muck Rack, while the free version offers decent search features, you’d need a paid subscription to really get anywhere

Unlike HARO and Source Bottle, their paid plans are a bit on the pricey side, but as I mentioned above, it’s probably because what HARO and Source Bottle offer are completely different from what Muck Rack and A News Tip offers.

Pros:

1. Decent advanced search options
2. Powerful monitoring features (Think Google Alert but better)

Cons:

1. You really can’t do much without a paid subscription

Bonus PR Tool (Not Free though)

Since all these tools aren’t really completely free, here’s a paid PR tool that you should consider, especially since it pretty much simplifies the whole process of searching for journalists, writing GOOD pitches, sending pitches to journalists, and tracking the performance of your pitches.

Intelligent Relations

Mihal from IR actually reached out to me a couple of weeks ago because of this article and at first, I was skeptical but given the powerful features of ChatGPT on hearing about how the software uses AI to make PR easier I was sold!

I’m not sure how to explain just how crazy awesome Intelligent Relations is so I’ll let this video do all the talking before I walk you through how I used Intelligent Relations to build a PR campaign in pretty much 30 minutes.

My Business For Her Empire, helps coaches with business, sales, and marketing automation so that they can increase their revenue, scale their business, and get on with their lives, so I decided to use IR to create a PR campaign that I would actually send to journalists.

Here’s what the campaign creation process was like with Intelligent Relations:

You can start your pitch from a URL, Their AI Generator can draft a short pitch based on a company webpage, trending article, press release, or blog entry. To do this just enter the URL.

You’ll find this here https://app.intelligentrelations.com/campaigns/new

Or your can start your pitch with an idea or announcement. In this case, all you’d need to do would be to enter 3–4 sentences about the announcement or what you’d like the journalist to write about.

I chose to start based on an idea to test this out. Here’s what I had, I regenerated the pitch until I got something I was happy with. I still think a publicist would have had a better, tighter pitch but I think if I wrote my idea (on the left) better, then I'd have gotten a better email (on the right).

PS: Here’s the email ChatGPT wrote with the same idea:

Subject: Pitch: How life coaches can increase revenue and save time using sales automation tools

Dear [Journalist’s Name],

I hope this email finds you well. I’m writing to pitch a story on how life coaches can increase their revenue by using sales automation tools to improve their sales processes and sales cycle. As someone who has experienced two failed businesses, I have learned that streamlining sales processes is essential for success.

Sales automation tools have been a game-changer for many businesses, including life coaches. By automating the sales process, life coaches can spend more time focusing on delivering their services and less time on administrative tasks. Moreover, it can increase revenue while decreasing the time and resources spent.

In my research, I have found that many life coaches are unaware of the benefits of sales automation tools, and as a result, they are missing out on potential revenue. With the increasing demand for life coaches, there is a need to optimize sales processes to ensure maximum revenue while reducing costs.

In this story, I would like to cover the following points:

The benefits of sales automation tools for life coaches, including how it can help increase revenue and save time and resources.

Examples of life coaches who have successfully implemented sales automation tools and their results.

Expert insights on how sales automation tools can improve the sales process for life coaches and tips for choosing the right sales automation tools.

I believe that this story will be of interest to your readers who are looking to optimize their sales processes and increase their revenue. I would be happy to provide more information or answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing back from you.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

This felt way too long, so I asked for a much shorter version

Subject: Pitch: Streamlining Sales Processes for Life Coaches

Dear [Journalist’s Name],

As someone who has experienced two failed businesses, I have learned that streamlining sales processes is essential for success, especially for life coaches. By using sales automation tools, life coaches can increase revenue and save time.

In this story, I would like to cover the benefits of sales automation tools for life coaches, examples of successful implementation, and expert insights on how sales automation tools can improve the sales process.

I believe that this story will be of interest to your readers who are looking to optimize their sales processes and increase their revenue. Please let me know if you would be interested in exploring this story further.

Thank you for your time.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

I think both emails look good. Now back to testing out Intelligent Relations:

For my IR pitch, I decided to use the subject line “The Future of Automation in the Coaching Industry” (I admit it feels almost clickbait-y so I’ll do another campaign later using the email from ChatGPT, to compare the performance of both)

The next step in the campaign creation process is targeting

Since I was targeting journalists and publications in the US this is what I had.

I should mention that apart from the options given you can type manually type any other keywords that come to mind into any of the 3 options: Most relevant, relevant, and least relevant.

Next, it’s time to select the Journalists that I’d be sending the pitch to.

There were a lot of Journalists listed, but since I was dipping my toes, I only selected five journalists.

And that’s all it really took! When the email goes out John Smith | PR Associate will be replaced by my full name and title.

For final approval before sending the email, I went to the email tab to approve each email and then sent it!

And that was how I created a PR campaign in less than 30 minutes:

Pros:

1. Ridiculously easy to use

Cons:

1. Not a free tool. Here are their subscription packages

And that’s my update on popular PR tools in the market!

-Original Article-

I’m currently working on a PR Strategy Template, while researching PR tools I came across some wonderful PR tools- It was love at first sight… no seriously. I assure you my feelings are requited!

I’ve been using them, and while I could do without the numerous emails (Who can guess which tool does this?) I suppose if I upgraded to one of the paid plans, the number of emails would be significantly reduced.

To avoid clogging your inbox, I recommend creating a folder for each tool and having the emails go there rather than to your inbox. You’ll thank me later. Opening my inbox after Easter and finding 20 emails from them was NOT fun!

So Let’s get into it.

1. Muck Rack:

According to their website: Muck Rack is a journalist database, media monitoring and coverage reporting platform, that is trusted by top-tier journalists, entrepreneurs, PR agencies and Fortune 500 companies.

Journalists use Muck Rack to:

• Build their portfolio
• Get verified in Muck Rack’s authoritative directory
• Track the impact of their work
• Keep up with news about their colleagues
• Find career opportunities

PR pros, marketers and companies use Muck Rack to:

• Effectively pitch story ideas to the right journalists
• Monitor what’s being said about their company, client or competitors in real-time
• Receive alerts when there are new PR opportunities or crises
• Track how successful their campaigns have been and generate reports to share with colleagues and clients

Interested in their features, I signed up, (Because hey they offer some free features why not?) I didn’t understand it as much as I understood the other PR tools, so I gave up.

The Business Development Coordinators at Muck Rack- Hana Muasher and Emma Haddad contacted me a week or so later, to schedule a call on how I’ve been using their tool, Blah Blah Blah… long story short, She sent me the link to Demo videos to help me understand Muck Rack, and how to use their database.

PS: They sometimes send up to 4 emails weekly, and this might happen:

Signup for Muck Rack at https://muckrack.com

2. Source Bottle

Next on the list is Source Bottle.

According to their website: SourceBottle is a free and easy-to-use connection platform that enables journalists and bloggers to efficiently find knowledgeable sources.

So How does SourceBottle work?

Journalists and Bloggers:

• Post an online call out for sources to be provided for interview subjects or expert commentary. (It’s free.)
• Nominate your deadline. (The call out will be removed 24 hours after the deadline expires.)
• Select your topics and source countries and method of distribution (incorporating social media or not).
• Decide on how you wish to be contacted. (We forward any/all responses directly to you. We don’t receive or store any responses.)
• Sit back and wait.

Businesses and PR’s:

• Subscribe to ‘Find Giveaways’.
• Post an online request for Giveaways.
• Nominate your deadline. (The request will be removed 24 hours after the deadline expires.)
• Select your source countries and method of distribution (incorporating social media or not).
• Decide on how you wish to be contacted. (We forward any/all responses directly to you. We don’t receive or store any responses.)
• Sit back and wait.

OR

• Subscribe to ‘Find a Case Study’.
• Post an online call out for case studies for a media pitch.
• Nominate your deadline. (The call out will be removed 24 hours after the deadline expires.)
• Select your topics and source countries and method of distribution (incorporating social media or not).
• Decide on how you wish to be contacted.
• Sit back and wait.

Sources:

• Sign up and select your call out topics and source countries. (It’s free.)
• Sit back and wait.
• Start receiving Drink Up! email alerts with a summary of all current call outs for sources on your topics of interest.
• Click on the link for the full details of the call out.
• Respond online.

I signed up to SourceBottle 2–3 weeks ago, and I’ve used it both as a source and as a Blogger (For an upcoming post on Customer Acquisition)

When you signup to SourceBottle, you can select your topics of interests you want to receive email alerts in. Here’s a screenshot of my selection

Once you’ve selected your topic of interest you’ll receive email alerts once a day (on weekdays only).

Interestingly, as a journalist or blogger, after posting an online post for sources and your call is approved, Sources would only see your call in an email alert once.

All things considered, this is one of the easiest PR tool to use as it is pretty straightforward, odds are you won’t need to watch a demo video to use it.

Signup for SourceBottle at http://www.sourcebottle.com/

3. Help A Reporter Out (HARO)

HARO is one of the most popular PR tools in the market. According to their website.

According to their website: Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is the most popular sourcing service in the English-speaking world, connecting journalists with relevant expert sources to meet journalists’ demanding deadlines and enable brands to tell their stories.

How it works for Sources:

1. Register

Join the 475,000 + HARO users already using our service to connect with journalists. Registering is simple and only takes a minute out of your busy schedule!

2. Monitor Source Requests

Check your inbox three times a day (5:35 a.m., 12:35 p.m. and 5:35 p.m. ET), Monday through Friday. Look out for source requests relevant to you or your client’s industry, expertise or personal experience.

3. Send the Perfect Pitch

Pitch the masked email address listed in the source request. Include answers to the journalist’s questions, any specified requirements and a bio with you or your client’s contact information. If the journalist is interested, they’ll reach out!

How it works for Journalists:

1. Tell Us About Yourself

Join the 35,000 + journalists already using HARO to find sources! Provide your name, contact information and media outlet(s). (Don’t worry — we’ll mask your email address for privacy purposes.)

2. Submit a Free Source Request

Ensure your source request meets our guidelines, then submit it to the HARO editorial team for review. Include a brief synopsis of your story, required qualifications for the perfect source and a pitching deadline.

3. Select The Perfect Pitch

Sit back as HARO sends relevant pitches straight to your inbox and HARO account. Once you’ve chosen a source, reach out for additional information to include in your story.

I signed up to HARO’s free plan and as promised they sent 3 emails every weekday, since I’m on the free plan I get alerts from ALL categories and not the ones I’m interested in. Three emails might not sound like much until this happened.

It’s sad that they’re starting to go to my Junk folder as well.

To avoid inbox overload, create folders for each PR tool, so that email alerts go there rather than your inbox. You’ll thank me for that later.

Signup for HARO at https://www.helpareporter.com/

4. A News Tip

Fair warning, I just found out about this tool, and I’ve not fully explored all it’s features, although the Demo video was super helpful.

According to their website: Anewstip helps entrepreneurs, PR professionals and marketers connect with relevant media influentials.

Interestingly, A News Tip is somewhat similar to MuckRack; their search feature is similar.

How it works:

1. Find relevant media contacts from the world’s largest database

Anewstip Search allows you to search for relevant media contacts by what they have written or tweeted. Anewstip Database indexes more than 200 million news articles and 1 billion tweets from more than 1 million media contacts.

2. Monitor news articles & tweets from global media influentials

Anewstip Alerts is the one-stop solution for monitoring news articles & tweets from global media influentials on what’s happening to your brand, competitors, or any other keywords. Email alerts are delivered to your inbox whenever there are new results.

3. Build media lists to organize all your media contacts

Use Anewstip Search to find relevant media contacts for your campaign and then organize them in separate Media Lists. All media contacts in a list are automatically updated with latest contact information. You can also export a list if you prefer.

4. Reach out to relevant journalists with personalized pitches

Anewstip Pitch fully utilizes the detailed contact information from Anewstip database and Media Lists. You can send highly targeted pitches to different Media Lists and understand the performance by monitoring opens and clicks.

Watch the demo video:

There you have it, 4 free PR tools you should use.

I’m working on a PR strategy template to help you create and implement your PR Strategy, while it’s a paid template, I’ll be providing a coupon code so that my readers can get it for free. I’ll update this post once it’s ready <(￣︶￣)>