# Citation Harvesting

> >-

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-leadmagic-gtm-skills-citation-harvesting`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [LeadMagic](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/leadmagic)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Communication](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/communication)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [LeadMagic](https://github.com/LeadMagic)
- **Source:** https://github.com/LeadMagic/gtm-skills/tree/main/skills/content-seo/citation-harvesting
- **Website:** https://github.com/LeadMagic/gtm-skills

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-leadmagic-gtm-skills-citation-harvesting
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Citation Harvesting & Link Building

## Overview
Citation harvesting is the most efficient link building strategy for B2B SaaS:
respond to journalist and blogger source requests with expert commentary, and
earn backlinks from high-authority publications. This skill covers the full
citation harvesting motion.

## Authoritative Foundations

- **Digital PR Framework** — Named methodology governing recommendations in this skill's process.
- **Moz Link Building Guide** — Named methodology governing recommendations in this skill's process.
- **Google Search Central — SEO Starter Guide** — SEO Starter Guide

## When to Use
- "Build backlinks"
- "Citation harvesting"
- "Get featured in publications"
- "HARO strategy"
- "Digital PR for links"

## Step-by-Step Process

### Phase 1: Source Request Monitoring
Monitor these platforms for source requests in your domain:

- **Qwoted:** Modern HARO alternative, better UI, higher quality requests
- **Connectively (formerly HARO):** The original, still high volume
- **Help a B2B Writer:** Slack community for B2B writers seeking sources
- **Twitter/X:** Search "[your topic] + seeking sources" or "journo request"
- **LinkedIn:** Follow journalists and editors in your industry
- **Subreddit:** r/Journalism, r/PR, r/HARO

### Phase 2: Response Strategy
Respond within 2-4 hours of request posting. Journalists work on deadlines.

**Response template:**
```
Subject: Re: [Their subject line]

Hi [Name],

[Direct answer to their question in 2-3 sentences — lead with the quote]

[A bit more context or data to support your answer — 1-2 sentences]

About me: [Full name], [Title] at [Company]. [One sentence on why you're
qualified to speak on this topic — relevant experience, data, or perspective].

Happy to provide more detail or data if helpful.

[Your name]
[Your title + company]
[Link to your website or LinkedIn]
```

**Rules:**
- Lead with the answer. They don't care about you — they care about the quote.
- Be specific. "According to our data, 67% of..." > "I think it's important..."
- Be concise. 3-5 sentences total. They're skimming 50 responses.
- Include credentials. Why should they quote you?
- Never pitch your product. This is about being a source, not a vendor.

### Phase 3: Data-Driven PR
Create original data that journalists want to cite:
- **Industry surveys:** "2026 State of [Industry] — Survey of 500 [ICP]"
- **Data studies:** "We analyzed 10,000 [X] and found..."
- **Benchmark reports:** "Average [metric] by [segment]"
- **Trend analysis:** "The 3 trends shaping [industry] in 2026"

Publish the data on your site. Then proactively pitch it to journalists covering
your industry. "I have data on [topic] — would it be useful for your piece?"

### Phase 4: Expert Commentary Database
Build a database of your internal experts and their topics:
- **CEO/Founder:** Industry trends, startup/scale-up, fundraising
- **CTO/VP Engineering:** Technical architecture, engineering culture, scaling
- **CRO/VP Sales:** Sales methodology, GTM strategy, pipeline metrics
- **Product leader:** Product development, UX, customer feedback
- **Customer success:** Retention, onboarding, customer health

When a request comes in that matches an expert, route it to them with a
pre-written response draft they can customize in 5 minutes.

### Phase 5: Measurement & ROI
- **Citations earned:** Total mentions and backlinks per month
- **Domain authority of linking sites:** Weighted by DA/DR
- **Referral traffic:** Visitors from earned links
- **SEO impact:** Keyword ranking improvements from new backlinks
- **Pipeline:** Deals influenced by PR mentions (ask: "How did you hear about us?")
- **Cost:** Time spent (5-10 hours/week) + any tools (Qwoted, monitoring)

## Output Format
Citation harvesting playbook with: source monitoring setup, response templates,
data-driven PR calendar, expert database, and measurement dashboard.

## Quality Check

Before delivering, verify:
- [ ] All required sections are complete
- [ ] Output matches the user's stated need
- [ ] Named frameworks are cited for key recommendations
- [ ] No vague claims — every recommendation has a specific action
- [ ] Deliverable is ready for operational use, not just conceptual

## Common Pitfalls

1. **Writing for search engines, not humans.** Keyword-stuffed content that reads like a robot wrote it. Fix: write for your ICP first, optimize for search second.
2. **Publishing and praying.** Creating content without a distribution plan. Fix: every piece gets a 30-day promotion calendar across email, social, and paid.
3. **Ignoring content freshness.** 2-year-old content with outdated data and examples still ranking. Fix: quarterly content audit — update or retire stale pieces.

## Execution Artifacts

- `references/framework-notes.md` — B2B link tactics, HARO ops, data PR, Pattern 25 routing
- `templates/output-template.md` — Deliverable shell for agent output
- `scripts/check-output.py` — Lightweight deliverable validator
- `references/seo-strategy-playbook.md` — Repo root: §6 link building, §8 LLM citations
- `skills/foundation/using-gtm-skills/SKILL.md` — Pattern 25: B2B SEO Stack (step 5)

## Related Skills
- seo-strategy, content-marketing, social-media-strategy, founder-brand, podcast-gtm

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [LeadMagic](https://github.com/LeadMagic)
- **Source:** [LeadMagic/gtm-skills](https://github.com/LeadMagic/gtm-skills)
- **License:** MIT
- **Homepage:** https://github.com/LeadMagic/gtm-skills

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-leadmagic-gtm-skills-citation-harvesting
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/leadmagic
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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