HARO Launches Self-Serve Advertising in the Journalist-Request Newsletter Read by PR Professionals
Advertise in HARO lets companies book text placements at published rates, starting at $105, with no sales call. Advertising keeps HARO free for journalists and for the sources who answer them.
Scottsdale, AZ (Newsworthy.ai) Thursday Oct 1, 2026 @ 4:26 AM MDT
HARO (Help a Reporter Out), the journalist-request newsletter owned by Featured, today launched Advertise in HARO, a self-serve system for buying text advertising in HARO's three weekday editions. Advertisers pick a placement, choose editions and dates on a calendar that shows the live price for every open slot, write the ad in the browser, and pay through Stripe. HARO staff read every ad before it runs. Booking is open at helpareporter.com/advertise.
HARO does not charge PR professionals to pitch journalists. The newsletter is free to receive and free to answer, and advertising is what pays for it.
"Some platforms in this category charge PR people a monthly subscription for the right to pitch more often. We took the other route," said Brett Farmiloe, founder and CEO of Featured, the company that owns HARO. "HARO stays free for journalists and for the experts who answer them. The companies that pay are the ones that want to reach this audience, and now they can book that reach in a few minutes without a sales call."
HARO sent more than 100 million emails to subscribers over the past year. Its readers are PR professionals, publicists, marketers, founders, and subject matter experts who answer journalist requests in categories including business, technology, health, travel, lifestyle, and entertainment. Advertise in HARO is built for companies that sell to that audience, such as PR and marketing software, agencies, media databases, research publishers, event organizers, course creators, and other newsletters.
How to purchase a HARO ad
Advertisers can book at helpareporter.com/advertise. The process has three steps and a review:
-
Choose a placement, then an edition and date. The calendar shows the price for every open slot, up to 45 days ahead.
-
Write the ad copy and link text, and add one destination URL. Orders with several dates can carry different versions of the ad, assigned date by date.
-
Review the order and pay through Stripe. No HARO account is needed. The receipt and review decision go to the work email on the order.
-
HARO reviews the ad during business hours and confirms the scheduled edition by email.
HARO requires at least one business day between booking and publication for review. Advertisers can request up to two revisions before the deadline stated in their review email. Ads that do not meet HARO's advertising guidelines are declined and refunded in full.
Placement types
HARO ads are text placements in HARO's free journalist-request newsletter, sold self-serve at published rates to companies that want to reach PR professionals, publicists, marketers, founders, and subject matter experts. Every HARO ad is plain text with one link. HARO does not accept images or HTML.
|
Placement |
Position in the edition |
Ad copy |
Link text |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Presenting Sponsor |
Top of the edition, above the journalist query index. Labeled "Sponsored." |
Up to 350 characters |
Up to 30 characters |
|
Spotlight |
Directly below the query index, above the first journalist query. Labeled "Spotlight." |
Up to 350 characters |
Up to 30 characters |
|
Classified |
In the closing Classifieds block after the last query. Up to three listings per edition. |
Up to 140 characters |
Up to 24 characters |
HARO publishes three editions each weekday: Morning at 5:35 a.m. ET, Afternoon at 12:35 p.m. ET, and Evening at 5:35 p.m. ET. Ads run in weekday editions only.
Advertising rates
Rates are published on the booking calendar. They depend on the placement and edition chosen and on the weekday. The table shows Thursday base rates. Monday through Wednesday run above the Thursday rate, and Friday runs below it, which makes Friday the lowest-priced day on the card.
|
Placement |
Morning |
Afternoon |
Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Presenting Sponsor |
$795 |
$625 |
$525 |
|
Spotlight |
$395 |
$315 |
$265 |
|
Classified |
$195 |
$155 |
$125 |
Volume discounts apply automatically to a la carte orders: 10% off four or more placements, 15% off eight or more, 22% off 16 or more, and 28% off 30 or more.
Fixed-price bundles are also available:
|
Bundle |
What it includes |
Price |
|---|---|---|
|
Try HARO |
Four Classified placements, Afternoon edition |
$450 |
|
Spotlight Week |
Five Spotlight placements, Morning edition |
$1,595 |
|
Presenting Week |
Five Presenting Sponsor placements, Morning edition |
$3,195 |
|
Classified Month |
20 Classified placements, any edition |
$2,395 |
|
Full Month Presence |
Four Presenting Sponsor, eight Spotlight, and 20 Classified placements |
$6,450 |
Bundle prices already include the discount and do not stack with volume discounts.
Advertising standards
HARO reviews every advertisement before it runs. Ads may not promise a story or editorial coverage, describe a placement as guaranteed press, sell links, or present a paid placement as news. Ads that do not meet the guidelines are declined and refunded.
"We wanted buying an ad in HARO to feel the way submitting a query feels for a journalist. You see the rate and pick the date, and the ad runs once our team has read it," Farmiloe said. "That is the whole system."
Advertise in HARO is available now at helpareporter.com/advertise. A full guide to placements and advertising guidelines is published at https://blog.helpareporter.com/how-to-advertise-on-haro-a-step-by-step-guide-to-haro-ads/. A launch offer for first-time advertisers is shown on the booking page.
About HARO
HARO (Help a Reporter Out) is a free newsletter that connects journalists with expert sources. Founded in 2008, HARO was shut down by its previous owner in December 2024 and relaunched by Featured in April 2025. HARO delivers journalist requests to subscribers in three weekday editions and sent more than 100 million emails in the past year. The newsletter is free for journalists and for the sources who answer them, and it is supported by advertising. Learn more at helpareporter.com.
About Featured
Featured is the AI co-pilot for PR. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Featured operates as Terkel, Inc. and owns HARO and Connectively. Learn more at featured.com.
Press Inquiries
Brett Farmiloe
Terkel, Inc. (dba Featured)
7014 E Camelback Rd, Suite B100A
Scottsdale, AZ
Frequently Asked Questions
- How can I advertise on HARO and what are the costs and options available?
- HARO offers a self-serve advertising system called Advertise in HARO, where you can book text placements starting at $105. Advertisers can choose from three placement types: Presenting, Spotlight, and Classified, with different rates depending on the edition and weekday. The process involves selecting a placement, choosing dates on a calendar, writing the ad, and paying through Stripe. There are also volume discounts and fixed-price bundles available.
- What happened to HARO between 2024 and 2025, and who owns it now?
- HARO was shut down by its previous owner in December 2024 and subsequently relaunched by Featured in April 2025. The relaunch was part of an effort to maintain HARO's role as a free resource for journalists and sources. Featured, founded by Brett Farmiloe, currently owns HARO.
- How extensive is HARO's reach, and who primarily reads their newsletters?
- HARO sent over 100 million emails to subscribers in the past year. Its audience primarily includes PR professionals, publicists, marketers, founders, and subject matter experts who respond to journalist requests across various categories such as business, technology, health, travel, lifestyle, and entertainment.
