Help A Reporter Out (HARO) Releases 2009 Growth Figures

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - August 18, 2009) - Proving that good deeds can be both rewarding and lucrative, Help A Reporter Out (HARO) today revealed significant growth figures since their 2008 launch.

HARO is a widely-used social media service that enables journalists to connect with the right source, and grants everyone -- from home-based entrepreneurs to large businesses -- access to reporters who may write about them. Entirely free to reporters and sources, HARO is supported by a simple, but powerful advertising business model where small and mid-sized companies promote their brands, products and services through simple, text-based ads at the top of each HARO.

"What a difference a year makes," said Peter Shankman, Founder and CEO of HARO. "What started 21 months ago as a Facebook Groups Page and good karma experiment has turned into what is now a fast growing and profitable social media company. HARO is a classic case of a company doing well by doing good. I see HARO differently today than I did when I founded the company. Over a year ago, we matched reporters and sources. Today, we're powering a PR, marketing and sales eco-system for the engine of our economy -- small and mid-sized businesses."

HARO's Growth Figures Include:
                                           Aug-08   Aug-09
    Journalists Subscribed with HARO        1,500   30,000
    Sources Subscribed with HARO           20,000   80,000
    Monthly Journalist Queries on HARO        650    3,000

The number of advertisers for HARO's free-for-subscribers service skyrocketed 3900% from August 2008 to August 2009. The HARO staff rose 400 percent in the past year. Revenues over the past year have leaped from $15,000 as of August 2008 to just over $1MM as of August 2009 with advertising inventory on HARO already sold out for 2009.

HARO's initial expansion included a break-out email offering gift bag opportunities for public relations professionals (gift bag opportunities were originally included in the main HARO notice.) Future expansion will include additional break-outs with specific HARO notices for specific industry verticals.

"In one of the most troubled economic times in half a century HARO is seeing significant growth," commented Thom Brodeur, COO of HARO. "HARO has helped thousands of small businesses around the world grow their brands, promote themselves and sell their products. In the coming six to twelve months; you will see even more innovation, powerful strategic partnerships and new services from HARO to support the reporters, sources and small businesses we connect every day."

HARO's simple and effective harnessing of social networking improves the process by which Journalists find the best sources for their story and small businesses drive their own growth. To register as a source or a journalist, visit www.HelpAReporter.com.

About HARO

Founded in 2008 by serial entrepreneur Peter Shankman, Help A Reporter Out (HARO) is one of the fastest-growing social media companies in North America. Every day, HARO brings nearly 30,000 bloggers, reporters and journalists, over 80,000 news sources and thousands of small businesses together to tell their stories, promote their brands and sell their products and services. Since its inception, HARO has published more than 60,000 journalist queries; has facilitated nearly 7,000,000 media pitches, and has marketed and promoted over 2,500 brands to the media, small businesses and consumers. HARO is entirely free to sources and journalists and unlike a majority of social media companies, is independently owned and funded and has been profitable since day one. For more, www.helpareporter.com.

Contact Information: CONTACT: Kevin Mercuri 212-901-6914