Today marks the one-year anniversary of HARO, a free, three-times-a-day (I hate the word thrice) email service that empowers everyone to be their own publicist.
Peter Shankman started by sending simple emails to friends containing queries from reporters, authors, bloggers, producers and bookers–all of whom were looking for expert sources. It caught on; the service now reaches more than 70,000 people daily–some of whom learned about it from me.

A few months ago I did a “Good Morning America” segment on how to start a business on a shoe-string. I named HARO on-air as a great resource to help get you and your business known.
I got more than a few nasty emails from publicists chastising me for promoting the service. They argued that by doing so I was making it harder for them to get their clients noticed amid the growing competition.

That was precisely the point! While I wasn’t looking to cause anyone trouble, I wanted those small business owners and entrepreneurs without the means or desire to hire a PR firm to have access to the same queries as the big guns.

And that’s Peter’s mission too.

In this economy, everyone should tap into their inner publicist to promote their own expertise. If you want to be successful, you can’t afford not to.

Just yesterday in Boston, Carol Fishman Cohen stopped by my Women For Hire event to say hello. She founded iRelaunch.com and thanked me for recommending HARO to her. (She’s a GMA viewer!)

If you have a business and/or an area of expertise, and you haven’t already done so, sign up today for HARO.

Go ahead….Get Sourced. Get Quoted. Get Famous.
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