HARO-Style Journalist Matching

Summary#

HARO-Style Journalist Matching is not built yet and is no longer listed in the sidebar. The view still exists, so a saved link reaches an in-development placeholder above a preview of what the tool is intended to do, but nothing in the app points there. There is nothing to run, no input to fill in and no credit cost.

Purpose#

This page records the planned scope so the intent is written down somewhere. Metric Vault used to list planned tools in their eventual sidebar position, and that was changed on 2026-09-10: an entry that leads to a "not available yet" card is a dead end rather than a preview. The entry returns the day the tool ships.

The app states the intended scope in one line: it "Will match your expertise to journalist requests so you can earn coverage and authoritative links."

Overview#

The top of the screen is the standard placeholder: a wrench icon, the title HARO-Style Journalist Matching, that one-line description, a badge reading In development with a pulsing dot, and the note "This tool is not available yet. It is listed here so you can see where it will live."

Below the placeholder sits a full explainer preview describing the planned tool — a hero, a problem statement, a how-it-works sequence, a glossary and an FAQ. It is written in the present tense, which can read as though the tool works. It does not. The two buttons in that preview, Match my expertise and See a live example, scroll to the tool's input; because the placeholder has no input, they do nothing.

There is no sidebar entry to find. Badge meanings for the tools that ARE listed are covered in Tool status badges.

Benefits#

None yet — the tool does not run. What the placeholder gives you is certainty: Metric Vault does not currently connect you to live journalist source requests, so you can stop looking for that feature in the product and keep using whatever service you already use.

Use Cases#

• Checking availability. You read about journalist matching and want to know whether it exists today. It does not.
• Planning a PR workflow. You are deciding whether to keep paying for an external source-request service. You should, until this ships.
• Onboarding a team. New users see the entry and ask what it does; this page is the answer.

Requirements#

None. The placeholder is visible to any signed-in account on any plan, including Free.

Permissions#

No plan gate and no role gate applies, because nothing runs. Every signed-in workspace member sees the same placeholder screen. Signed-out visitors do not reach the dashboard at all.

Cost#

No credits. There is no run action, so nothing can be charged. The tool has no internal id in the credit table. When it ships, its cost will be published in Tool catalog and credit cost and Credit cost table. See How credits work for how credits work generally.

Navigation Path#

Not reachable from the sidebar. The view still exists at /dashboard#/haro for anyone holding an old link.

Inputs#

The screen has no inputs.

Step-by-Step Guide#

1. Open /dashboard#/haro directly; it is not in the sidebar.
2. Read the description and the In development badge.
3. Read the explainer below it if you want the intended scope, keeping in mind that it describes a planned tool.
4. Leave the screen. For work you need to do today, use Press Pitch Assistant to draft outreach and Influencer Analysis to find the people to send it to.

Reading the Results#

There are no results. The screen never changes state — it does not load, fetch or render anything. If you expected a report here, the tool you want is one of these:

Examples#

Screenshots#

Tips#

• Keep a short written description of what you can speak to. It is the input this tool will need, and it improves your pitches meanwhile.
• Watch Release notes rather than re-checking the screen.
• Treat the explainer below the placeholder as a design intent, not a specification.

Best Practices#

• Do not build a PR process that assumes this tool exists. Nothing in the product currently ingests journalist source requests.
• Use Saved Work for the artefacts you generate elsewhere, so the work survives even though the matching layer is missing.
• Treat the placeholder's description as intended scope, not a commitment to a date. No release date is published.

Common Mistakes#

• Looking for it in the sidebar. It is not there, deliberately. The in-development note on the screen is the accurate status.
• Reading the explainer as documentation. It previews a planned tool in the present tense.
• Reporting the empty screen as a bug. It is intentional and is what the app is designed to show.
• Waiting for it before doing PR. Press Pitch Assistant already produces the pitch, the release and the follow-ups.

Limitations#

• The tool does not run. There is no journalist feed, no expertise profile, no match scoring, no reply drafting and no export.
• Nothing on the screen is configurable.
• The explainer buttons do nothing, because there is no input on the view.
• No release date is published.
• The sidebar badge does not reflect build status.

Troubleshooting#

FAQs#

Can I get early access? There is no early-access path. It is not running behind a flag or a plan gate — the functionality has not been built.

Will it cost credits when it launches? That has not been published. When it ships, its cost will appear in Tool catalog and credit cost and Credit cost table like every other tool.

Will it be on my plan? Unknown. No plan gate is announced. What is certain is that the placeholder is visible on every plan today, including Free, because nothing runs.

What is the closest thing available now? Press Pitch Assistant for the pitch itself, and Influencer Analysis for a measured list of who to send it to.

Are there other placeholder tools like this? Yes. Outreach + CRM shows the same in-development screen, and Tool status badges lists the full set.

How will I know when it ships? Through Release notes. The screen itself changes only when the tool is built.