Mmcp.market

directory-submissions skill

by coreyhaines31·coreyhaines31/marketingskills·52k stars·MIT

When the user wants to submit their product to startup, SaaS, AI, agent, MCP, no-code, or review directories for backlinks, domain rating, and discovery. Also use when the user mentions "directory submissions," "submit to directories," "backlinks from directories," "list my product," "submit to Product Hunt," "BetaList," "TAAFT," "Futurepedia," "G2 listing," "Capterra listing," "AlternativeTo," "SaaSHub," "AI directories," "MCP registry," "agent directory," "dofollow backlinks," "launch directories," or "directory tracker." Use this whenever someone is planning the directory layer of a product launch or an ongoing backlink campaign. For the broader launch moment, see launch. For programmatic SEO pages that should live behind these backlinks, see programmatic-seo. For AI citation optimization, see ai-seo.

A100/100content scan

Is the directory-submissions skill safe?

Clean: nothing in its files matched our rules. We read 5 files in the folder on 2026-09-28.

No findings.

Install the directory-submissions skill

A skill is a folder. Copy it into your agent's skills folder and the agent loads it when the task matches its description. 

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills.git /tmp/marketingskills
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/marketingskills/skills/directory-submissions ~/.claude/skills/directory-submissions
available in every project

In the Claude apps, zip the folder and upload it from the Skills settings. The folder on GitHub

The instructions your agent would load

SKILL.md as published, without the frontmatter. Read it on GitHub

Directory Submissions

You are an expert in directory-driven distribution for software products. Your goal is to help the user build a compounding backlink + discovery foundation by submitting to the right directories, in the right order, with the right positioning — and to make sure that foundation actually produces leads instead of vanity backlinks.

Before Starting

Check for product marketing context first: If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Core Philosophy

Directory submissions are the foundation layer of distribution — never the whole strategy. They do three things well:

  1. Pass dofollow backlinks from high domain-rating sites into your marketing pages. This raises your DR, which makes your entire site easier to rank for competitive keywords.
  2. Create discovery surface area — people browsing AI/SaaS directories are in-market buyers, not random traffic.
  3. Get cited by AI engines — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews all pull heavily from high-DR directories when answering "what's the best [category]?" queries. AI-referred traffic converts 6–27× higher than traditional search traffic.

But directories alone will not generate meaningful leads. They exist to pass link equity into the pages that DO generate leads — template galleries, comparison pages, alternative pages, blog posts. Build the destination pages first, then submit to directories so the link equity has somewhere useful to land.

The full directory catalog lives in references/directory-list.md. The positioning variant library lives in references/positioning-variations.md. The submission tracker template lives in references/submission-tracker-template.csv.

The Three Hard Rules

Rule 1: Foundation before submission

Never submit to a directory until the landing page it will link to is live, indexed, and has:

  • A single and sequential heading hierarchy — pages with clean hierarchy have 2.8× higher AI citation rates, and 87% of ChatGPT-cited pages use a single H1.
  • A real pricing page (even "free while in beta" counts — most Tier 1 directories require one).
  • Privacy policy + terms.
  • Logo assets in PNG + SVG + square 1024×1024 + favicon.
  • 5–8 real product screenshots at 1920×1080 (not marketing mockups).
  • A 60–90 second demo video — products with video on Product Hunt get 2.7× more upvotes.
  • FAQ schema markup (AI engines heavily weight FAQPage JSON-LD for answer extraction).
  • Structured data: Organization, Product, SoftwareApplication.

Rule 2: Destination pages before directories

Directories are the source of link equity. You need destinations that can convert the resulting traffic. Minimum destinations before submitting to anything:

  • 3–5 competitor alternative pages (/alternatives/[competitor]) targeting "[competitor] alternative" keywords. Comparison/alternative pages convert at 5–15% vs 0.5–2% for generic content.
  • 3–5 use-case pages (/for/[audience] or /use-cases/[use-case]).
  • Template gallery with 20+ entries (if applicable — this was Typeform's largest SEO growth driver, generating 30K non-branded signups and $3M/year LTV).
  • 1 "best of" blog post you wrote yourself about your own category, including honest coverage of competitors.

Rule 3: Positioning varies by directory type

Never copy-paste the same description everywhere. AI engines penalize duplicate content, and each directory audience responds to different framing. See references/positioning-variations.md for the full variant library. Short version:

Workflow

Step 1: Readiness assessment (Phase 0)

Ask the user these 9 questions. If any are "no", they're not ready — help them build the missing piece first.

  1. Is the product publicly accessible (no password wall)?
  2. Is there a pricing page (even "free while in beta")?
  3. Are privacy policy + terms live?
  4. Logo assets in PNG + SVG + square + favicon?
  5. 5–8 real screenshots + 60–90s demo video?
  6. Landing pages GEO-ready (single H1, sequential hierarchy, FAQ schema, structured data)?
  7. At least 3 alternative pages and 3 use-case pages live and indexed?
  8. Template gallery or lead magnet asset (if applicable to category)?
  9. At least 20 beta/early users who could leave a review on G2?

A "no" on any of 1–7 is a hard block. A "no" on 8–9 is a soft block: you can launch but will lose Tier 2 review value and Typeform-style compounding.

Step 2: Choose the tiers

Full catalog in references/directory-list.md. Summary:

Triage rule: Only submit where the product is a genuine fit. Forcing a listing into the wrong category burns the first-submission advantage and gets rejected by moderators.

Step 3: Prepare asset variations

For each tier, prep a distinct description variant (pulled from references/positioning-variations.md):

  • Tagline under 10 words
  • Short description at 60 chars
  • Long description at 150 words
  • 5–8 category tags
  • Logo assets
  • Screenshots + demo video URL
  • Founder story (2–3 sentences)

Critical: Don't copy-paste the same long description into every directory. Vary the opening sentence, the feature emphasis, and the audience framing per tier. AI engines cross-reference and down-weight duplicate content.

Step 4: Batch submit

Set up the tracker spreadsheet (references/submission-tracker-template.csv). Work left-to-right through it. 2–3 hours per batch is realistic.

Per submission:

  1. Copy the tier-appropriate positioning variant.
  2. Fill in the form.
  3. Upload assets.
  4. Submit.
  5. Log: date, URL, status, moderator notes.
  6. Once live, verify the backlink exists and is dofollow: curl -sIL https://directory.com/your-listing | grep -i rel=. If absent, the link is dofollow.

Product Hunt Deep Dive (The Anchor Event)

Product Hunt is the single highest-leverage submission but also the most easily wasted. The 2026 PH algorithm weights comment quality more than upvote count — a post with 50 upvotes + 30 genuine comments ranks above one with 200 upvotes + 5 comments. 80% of failed launches fail because they launched without a warm audience OR asked for upvotes instead of feedback.

3-week prep timeline

  • Day -21 to -14: Warm up hunter account. Upvote + thoughtfully comment on 3 launches/day. Follow 100+ active makers. Build history so your account looks real to the algorithm.
  • Day -14: Create "Upcoming" page on PH. Drive traffic to it to collect "notify on launch" subscribers.
  • Day -10: (Optional) book a hunter. Don't pay cash — trade a feature, shoutout, or intro. A known hunter adds ~15% to day-one momentum but isn't required.
  • Day -7: Draft launch-day assets: gallery images (1270×760), tagline, 260-char description, first comment from you, first comment from a customer.
  • Day -3: Email list warm-up. "We're launching Tuesday. Here's what to expect. Reply if you want a heads up."
  • Day -1: Final check — product works in incognito, video autoplays, CTA goes to signup, PH listing preview looks right.

Launch day execution

  • Launch at 12:01 AM Pacific Time. Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday only — weekend launches get 60–70% less traffic. The 12:01 AM PT start maximizes your 24-hour window.
  • First 2 hours are everything. Need 50+ supporters in the first 2 hours to trigger algorithmic distribution.
  • Post the first comment yourself with the story: why you built it, what's different, what to try first.
  • Reply to every comment in under 30 minutes. PH measures maker responsiveness.
  • Share the link to: Twitter/X thread, LinkedIn long-form post, personal Slack/Discord communities, your email list, Indie Hackers, every power user via DM.
  • Never ask for upvotes. Ask for feedback. "Would love your honest take on the positioning" converts 3× better than "support us!" and doesn't trigger the algorithm's anti-manipulation filters.
  • Don't message strangers. The community flags this and moderators will hide your post.

Post-launch

  • Write a launch recap blog post with numbers + lessons. Honest, not bragging. Publish on day 2.
  • Cross-post the recap to Indie Hackers and r/SaaS (where promotion is allowed).
  • Only submit to Show HN if you have a technical angle to share (architecture, DSL, novel approach). A generic "we launched a SaaS" post will get flagged to death.

Reviews Playbook (G2 / Capterra / TrustRadius)

G2 and Capterra (now owned by G2 as of Feb 2026) listings are worthless without reviews. 10 reviews is the magic threshold for Grid appearance. Run the 10-in-30 protocol during launch month.

The 10-in-30 protocol

  1. Day 1 post-launch: Identify 20 users who have completed a meaningful action with the product.
  2. Send each a personal email with a direct review URL (reduces friction by ~70%). No forms, no landing pages — direct link.
  3. Offer a modest thank-you. G2 and TrustRadius explicitly allow small incentives like a $25 Amazon gift card.
  4. Follow up once after 5 days. Don't follow up twice — it becomes annoying and damages the relationship.
  5. Target: 50% conversion → 10 reviews from 20 asks.

Critical deadlines

  • G2 Summer reports: cut off ~April 28. Plan review drives to land before this.
  • G2 Fall reports: cut off ~July 28.
  • Missing a cutoff means waiting 3 months for the next grid update.

Badges and paid plans

  • "Users Love Us" badge is still free: requires 20 reviews at 4.0+ average.
  • Grid, Momentum, Index, and Award badges require a paid G2 plan ($2,999+/year starting Summer 2025).
  • Do not spend on paid G2 in year one. The free listing + Users Love Us badge is sufficient.

Cross-platform

  • TrustRadius follows similar mechanics but smaller volume.
  • Capterra auto-syncs from Gartner Digital Markets in some categories — may populate without direct action.

Destination Pages Strategy (What the Backlinks Point At)

Directories are useless if the backlinks land on a generic homepage. Build these destination pages before submitting:

1. Alternative pages (highest ROI)

Competitor alternative pages convert at 5–15%, often hitting 15–30% for bottom-of-funnel queries. One page per top competitor:

  • /alternatives/[competitor-1]
  • /alternatives/[competitor-2]
  • /alternatives/[competitor-3]
  • /alternatives/[competitor-4]

Each page needs: honest feature comparison table, "when to choose X over us," "when to choose us over X," pricing comparison, 3–5 use-case examples, strong FAQ with schema.

Critical: Be honest. AI engines cross-reference competitor feature claims and de-rank pages that lie.

2. Use-case / ICP pages

More skills from coreyhaines31/marketingskills

  • Aab-testingWhen the user wants to plan, design, or implement an A/B test or experiment, or build a growth experimentation program. Also use when the user mentions "A/B test," "split test," "experiment," "test this change," "variant copy," "multivariate test," "hypothesis," "should I test this," "which version is better," "test two versions," "statistical significance," "how long should I run this test," "growth experiments," "experiment velocity," "experiment backlog," "ICE score," "experimentation program," or "experiment playbook." Use this whenever someone is comparing two approaches and wants to measure which performs better, or when they want to build a systematic experimentation practice. For tracking implementation, see analytics. For page-level conversion optimization, see cro.
  • Aad-creativeWhen the user wants to generate, iterate, or scale ad creative — headlines, descriptions, primary text, or full ad variations — for any paid advertising platform. Also use when the user mentions 'ad copy variations,' 'ad creative,' 'generate headlines,' 'RSA headlines,' 'bulk ad copy,' 'ad iterations,' 'creative testing,' 'write me some ads,' 'Facebook ad copy,' 'Google ad headlines,' 'LinkedIn ad text,' 'static ads,' 'ad templates,' 'iMessage ad,' 'chat reveal ad,' 'ChatGPT ad,' 'Apple Notes ad,' 'AirDrop ad,' 'creative strategy,' 'creative roadmap,' 'creative retro,' 'hook writing,' 'creative review page,' 'present ad creative for approval,' 'motion video ad,' 'faceless video ad,' 'UGC ad,' 'greenscreen ad,' 'TikTok/Reels ad format,' 'which ad format to make,' 'Meta ad format tier list,' or 'creative format taxonomy.' Use this whenever someone needs to produce ad copy at scale or iterate on existing ads. For campaign strategy and targeting, see ads. For landing page copy, see copywriting.
  • CadsWhen the user wants help with paid advertising campaigns on Google Ads, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or other ad platforms. Also use when the user mentions 'PPC,' 'paid media,' 'ROAS,' 'CPA,' 'ad campaign,' 'retargeting,' 'audience targeting,' 'Google Ads,' 'Facebook ads,' 'LinkedIn ads,' 'ad budget,' 'cost per click,' 'ad spend,' 'should I run ads,' 'ABM,' 'account-based marketing,' 'B2B ads,' 'lead quality,' 'negative keywords,' 'Performance Max,' 'thought leader ads,' or 'when should I kill an ad.' Use this for campaign strategy, audience targeting, bidding, and optimization. For bulk ad creative generation and iteration, see ad-creative. For landing page optimization, see cro.
  • Aai-seoWhen the user wants to optimize content for AI search engines, get cited by LLMs, or appear in AI-generated answers. Also use when the user mentions 'AI SEO,' 'AEO,' 'GEO,' 'LLMO,' 'answer engine optimization,' 'generative engine optimization,' 'LLM optimization,' 'AI Overviews,' 'optimize for ChatGPT,' 'optimize for Perplexity,' 'AI citations,' 'AI visibility,' 'zero-click search,' 'how do I show up in AI answers,' 'LLM mentions,' 'optimize for Claude/Gemini,' 'llms.txt,' 'llms-full.txt,' 'OKF,' 'Open Knowledge Format,' 'knowledge bundle,' 'agent-readable site,' 'agent readiness,' 'is my site agent-ready,' 'WebMCP,' 'do listicles still work for AI,' 'ChatGPT stopped citing comparison pages,' or 'AI citation format shift.' Use this whenever someone wants their content to be cited or surfaced by AI assistants and AI search engines. For traditional technical and on-page SEO audits, see seo-audit. For structured data implementation, see schema.
  • AanalyticsWhen the user wants to set up, improve, or audit analytics tracking and measurement. Also use when the user mentions "set up tracking," "GA4," "Google Analytics," "conversion tracking," "event tracking," "UTM parameters," "tag manager," "GTM," "analytics implementation," "tracking plan," "how do I measure this," "track conversions," "Mixpanel," "Segment," "are my events firing," or "analytics isn't working." Use this whenever someone asks how to know if something is working or wants to measure marketing results. For choosing attribution models, comparing multi-touch/MMM/incrementality, or reconciling conflicting numbers across tools, see attribution. For A/B test measurement, see ab-testing.
  • AasoWhen the user wants to audit or optimize an App Store or Google Play listing. Also use when the user mentions 'ASO audit,' 'app store optimization,' 'optimize my app listing,' 'improve app visibility,' 'app store ranking,' 'audit my listing,' 'why aren't people downloading my app,' 'improve my app conversion,' 'keyword optimization for app,' or 'compare my app to competitors.' Use when the user shares an App Store or Google Play URL and wants to improve it.
  • AattributionWhen the user wants to figure out which marketing actually drives conversions and revenue, choose or interpret an attribution model, or reconcile conflicting numbers across tools. Also use when the user mentions "attribution," "attribution model," "first-touch vs last-touch," "multi-touch," "which channel drives revenue," "what's my real CAC," "my dashboards disagree," "Google/Meta says X but GA says Y," "media mix model," "MMM," "incrementality," "geo lift," "holdout test," "how did you hear about us," "self-reported attribution," "dark social," or wants to instrument attribution themselves — "stitch my bookings to their source," "SavvyCal/Calendly attribution," "close the identify gap," "track conversions on a third-party domain," "first-party / self-hosted attribution." For event tracking setup and UTMs, see analytics. For ad-platform pixels/CAPI, see ads. For pipeline and CRM revenue reporting, see revops. For the AI-search attribution blind spot, see ai-seo.
  • Achurn-preventionWhen the user wants to reduce churn, build cancellation flows, set up save offers, recover failed payments, or implement retention strategies. Also use when the user mentions 'churn,' 'cancel flow,' 'offboarding,' 'save offer,' 'dunning,' 'failed payment recovery,' 'win-back,' 'retention,' 'exit survey,' 'pause subscription,' 'involuntary churn,' 'people keep canceling,' 'churn rate is too high,' 'how do I keep users,' or 'customers are leaving.' Use this whenever someone is losing subscribers or wants to build systems to prevent it. For post-cancel win-back email sequences, see emails. For in-app upgrade paywalls, see paywalls.
  • Aco-marketingWhen the user wants to find co-marketing partners, plan joint campaigns, or brainstorm partnership opportunities. Use when the user says 'co-marketing,' 'partner marketing,' 'joint campaign,' 'who should we partner with,' 'integration marketing,' 'cross-promotion,' 'collaborate with another company,' 'partnership ideas,' or 'co-brand.' For customer referral programs, see referrals. For launch-specific partnerships, see launch.
  • Acold-emailWrite B2B cold emails and follow-up sequences that get replies. Use when the user wants to write cold outreach emails, prospecting emails, cold email campaigns, sales development emails, or SDR emails. Also use when the user mentions "cold outreach," "prospecting email," "outbound email," "email to leads," "reach out to prospects," "sales email," "follow-up email sequence," "nobody's replying to my emails," or "how do I write a cold email." Covers subject lines, opening lines, body copy, CTAs, personalization, and multi-touch follow-up sequences. For warm/lifecycle email sequences, see emails. For sales collateral beyond emails, see sales-enablement.
  • Acommunity-marketingBuild and leverage online communities to drive product growth and brand loyalty. Use when the user wants to create a community strategy, grow a Discord or Slack community, manage a forum or subreddit, build brand advocates, increase word-of-mouth, drive community-led growth, engage users post-signup, or turn customers into evangelists. Trigger phrases: \"build a community,\" \"community strategy,\" \"Discord community,\" \"Slack community,\" \"community-led growth,\" \"brand advocates,\" \"user community,\" \"forum strategy,\" \"community engagement,\" \"grow our community,\" \"ambassador program,\" \"community flywheel.\"
  • Acompetitor-profilingWhen the user wants to research, profile, or analyze competitors from their URLs. Also use when the user mentions 'competitor profile,' 'competitor research,' 'competitor analysis,' 'profile this competitor,' 'analyze competitor,' 'competitive intelligence,' 'competitor deep dive,' 'who are my competitors,' 'competitor landscape,' 'competitor dossier,' 'competitive audit,' or 'research these competitors.' Input is a list of competitor URLs. Output is structured competitor profile markdown files. For creating comparison/alternative pages from profiles, see competitors. For sales-specific battle cards, see sales-enablement.

All agent skills → · MCP servers