A Guide to Connectively: Cision/HARO’s New Platform

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The digital landscape is always evolving, and so are our strategies for navigating it. Cision, the company behind HARO, recently launched a new platform – Connectively.us – a game-changer for SEO enthusiasts and digital marketers alike.

You already understand the importance of building backlinks, and I recently wrote an article about leveraging platforms like HARO (Help a Reporter Out) to build your site’s backlink profile. Here’s a guide to using Connectively.

What is Connectively.us?

Connectively.us is an innovative tool that streamlines the way users find and respond to relevant queries. Rather than sifting through a cluttered email inbox, Connectively offers a searchable database that can be filtered by keyword, news outlet, deadline, topic, and date posted. This user-friendly approach significantly enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of your backlink building strategies.

You now have the capability to navigate and explore a continually updated stream of journalist queries. It’s real-time and always fresh.

The platform allows you to apply various filters to this query feed, enabling you to hone in on the opportunities most relevant to you.

Connectively includes an integrated pitch form, a useful tool to keep track of your history of pitches, ensuring you stay well-coordinated and efficient.

Why Use Connectively?

For anyone accustomed to HARO’s old system, the arrival of Connectively is a breath of fresh air. The platform’s searchable database provides a seamless, organized, and targeted approach to finding the right opportunities. This refines your SEO efforts, making it easier than ever to get your website noticed.

Connectively delivers the kind of targeted exposure you need. By selecting specific keywords and topics, you can increase your chances of finding relevant queries that can lead to authoritative backlinks – the kind that Google’s algorithm loves.

For years, I’ve been subscribed to the email list but rarely took the time to thoroughly search each email for requests that I would’ve been a good fit to respond. Life gets busy when you’re actively creating content, managing websites, staying up-to-date on the latest technology, and doing alllll the things!

How to Use Connectively

Getting started with Connectively is a breeze. After setting up an account, you can dive right into the database. Use the filter options to zero in on opportunities relevant to your website. By narrowing down your search through keywords, news outlets, topics, and deadlines, you can find the perfect matches.

Don’t forget to check the ‘date posted’ filter, too. Responding promptly to new queries can give you a competitive edge.

Here’s an example. If you’re a travel blogger, you can simply type in Travel into the keyword search and it will pull up all the travel-related queries. Then you can hover over the titles to see if any seem like a good fit.

When you’ve found a query that you know you’ll be a good fit to respond to, click the pitch button and a window opens up for you to respond directly through their interface. It’s so easy!

Tips for Maximizing Your Experience with Connectively

To get the most out of Connectively (and other similar platforms), consider these best practices:

Create a compelling profile – Write a short bio highlighting your expertise, background, and media experience. Include links to your website, social media profiles, and published articles/interviews.

Respond promptly – Media queries often have short deadlines. Respond as soon as possible, ideally within the first few hours after you see the query.

Customize pitches – Don’t use a generic template. Personalize your pitch to the reporter’s specific query and outlet. Accurately, thoroughly demonstrate your expertise on their topic.

Provide value – This is the most important part! Always add value that provides unique perspective while addressing the reporter’s request. Don’t veer off into a tangent; keep it extremely relevant!

Check it on a regular schedule – Search regularly to respond to relevant queries in a timely manner. Just don’t make it your primary focus and stress yourself out, as there’s no guarantee that even if your pitch is selected, it will result in a backlink.

Comparison with Other Platforms

While there are other platforms available for building backlinks, I like the interface of Connectively, even fresh off it’s release! The specific filtering options are so.much.easier than sorting through the traditional email multiple times a day. Plus, when you use the same email you used on HARO, it gives you access to the free version, which is always a great benefit!

Give Connectively a try and share your experiences in the comments. And if you found this article useful, feel free to share it with others who may benefit from it, and join my Facebook group for more tips on buying, growing, and selling niche websites! The world of SEO is constantly evolving, and together, we can navigate it more successfully.

Happy link-building!