sales-openhunts

What this skill does

# OpenHunts Platform Help

Helps the user with OpenHunts platform questions — from submitting a product and understanding the weekly launch cycle through premium tiers, backlink strategy, and community engagement.

## Step 1 — Gather context


If `references/learnings.md` exists, read it first for accumulated knowledge.

Ask the user:

1. **What do you need help with?**
   - A) Launching a product — submitting, writing a listing
   - B) Getting a backlink — understanding free vs paid backlink conditions
   - C) Premium/Highlight tiers — evaluating paid options
   - D) Comparing OpenHunts with other launch directories
   - E) Something else — describe it

2. **What stage is your product?**
   - A) Idea stage — haven't built anything yet
   - B) MVP / prototype — working but early
   - C) Launched — live product with users
   - D) Growing — looking for more visibility

3. **What's your goal?**
   - A) First users and feedback
   - B) SEO backlinks (DR50 dofollow)
   - C) Long-term discovery via weekly rankings
   - D) All of the above

**If the user's request already provides most of this context, skip directly to the relevant step.** Lead with your best-effort answer using reasonable assumptions (stated explicitly), then ask only the most critical 1-2 clarifying questions at the end.

## Step 2 — Route or answer directly

If the request maps to a specialized skill, route:
- Launch strategy across multiple directories → `/sales-launch-directory`
- Product launch strategy and funnels → `/sales-funnel`
- Email list building / audience growth → `/sales-audience-growth`
- Email marketing to subscribers → `/sales-email-marketing`
- Landing page / checkout optimization → `/sales-checkout`
- Open Launch-specific questions → `/sales-openlaunch`
- Firsto-specific questions → `/sales-firsto`
- CtrlAlt.cc-specific questions → `/sales-ctrlaltcc`
- ProductBurst-specific questions → `/sales-productburst`
- MicroLaunch-specific questions → `/sales-microlaunch`
- LaunchingNext-specific questions → `/sales-launchingnext`
- SoloPush-specific questions → `/sales-solopush`
- SideProjectors buy/sell questions → `/sales-sideprojectors`
- Huzzler-specific questions → `/sales-huzzler`

Otherwise, answer directly from platform knowledge below.

## Step 3 — OpenHunts platform reference

**Read `references/platform-guide.md`** for detailed module documentation, pricing, integrations, and data model.

*You no longer need the platform guide details — focus on the user's specific situation.*

## Step 4 — Actionable guidance

### Submission checklist

| Step | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Prepare your listing | Clear name, problem-focused description, screenshots | First impression + weekly ranking position |
| 2. Choose your tier | Free (patient), Premium ($9.90), or Highlight ($20) | Determines backlink guarantee and visibility |
| 3. Time your submission | Launches go live on Mondays | Coordinate your community push for Monday |
| 4. Rally your network | Share your OpenHunts listing on launch day | Early votes drive weekly ranking position |
| 5. Engage the community | Comment on other products, respond to feedback | Community engagement improves visibility |
| 6. Share externally | Post your listing link on Twitter, communities | External traffic drives ranking |

### Which tier to choose

**Free ($0) when:**
- Budget is zero AND you can wait ~89 weeks (1.7 years)
- You're confident you can reach Top 3 weekly
- You want to submit and forget — it'll go live eventually

**Premium ($9.90) when:**
- You want a guaranteed dofollow backlink — no conditions
- You need to launch next Monday
- Best value for a guaranteed backlink among launch directories

**Highlight ($20/week) when:**
- You want maximum visibility — pinned at top of the page
- Guaranteed Twitter and newsletter shoutout matters for your launch
- You're coordinating a broader launch and want OpenHunts to be a high-impact moment

### Multi-platform launch strategy

OpenHunts works best as one platform in a broader launch:

1. **SoloPush + ProductBurst** — instant listings (Day 1)
2. **Huzzler Launch Arena** — submit Monday for weekly competition
3. **Open Launch Premium ($12)** — next-day launch with DR65 backlink (highest DR for the price)
4. **OpenHunts Premium ($9.90)** — next-Monday launch with DR50 backlink + full week voting
5. **Firsto Premium ($19.90)** — 24-hour launch with DR57+ backlink + permanent SEO page
6. **MicroLaunch** — 30-day leaderboard cycle
7. **CtrlAlt.cc + LaunchingNext** — curated directories (queue or pay to skip)
8. **Product Hunt** — save for main launch event

## Gotchas

*Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about plan-gated features and integration gotchas that may be outdated.*

- **~89 week free queue is extremely long.** This is one of the longest free queues of any launch directory — nearly 2 years. If timing matters at all, the $9.90 Premium is effectively mandatory.
- **Free backlink requires Top 3.** Regular free listings do not get a dofollow backlink. You must finish in the Top 3 weekly ranking to earn one.
- **Weekly cycle means slower results.** Your launch competes for a full week, which is good for accumulating votes but means you wait longer for your ranking result compared to daily-cycle platforms.
- **DR 50 is mid-range.** Higher than CtrlAlt.cc (DA30), ProductBurst (DR46), and SoloPush (DR46-47), but lower than Firsto (DR57), Open Launch (DR65), or Product Hunt (DR91).
- **No public API.** Everything is manual through the web interface.
- **No SEO Growth/article option.** Unlike Firsto ($149) and Open Launch ($59), OpenHunts doesn't offer editorial review articles for additional SEO value.
- **Small platform.** ~11K monthly visitors is modest. Don't expect significant direct traffic — the value is the backlink and category discovery.

- **Self-improving**: If you discover something not covered here, append it to `references/learnings.md` with today's date.

## Related skills

- `/sales-launch-directory` — Launch strategy across multiple startup directories
- `/sales-openlaunch` — Open Launch platform help (open-source PH alternative, DR65 backlinks)
- `/sales-firsto` — Firsto platform help (fair launch platform, sustained SEO discovery)
- `/sales-huzzler` — Huzzler platform help (founder community, weekly Launch Arena competition)
- `/sales-ctrlaltcc` — CtrlAlt.cc platform help (curated tool directory)
- `/sales-productburst` — ProductBurst platform help (daily/weekly rankings, badges)
- `/sales-microlaunch` — MicroLaunch platform help (30-day leaderboard, deals marketplace)
- `/sales-launchingnext` — LaunchingNext platform help (curated startup directory)
- `/sales-solopush` — SoloPush platform help (indie maker community, no-pressure launch)
- `/sales-sideprojectors` — SideProjectors platform help (buy/sell side projects)
- `/sales-funnel` — Build and optimize sales funnels for conversion
- `/sales-audience-growth` — Grow your email list and subscriber base
- `/sales-checkout` — Optimize landing pages and checkout for conversion
- `/sales-do` — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install:
  `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do`

## Examples

### Example 1: Launch a product on OpenHunts for a backlink
**User says**: "I want to launch my SaaS tool on OpenHunts to get a dofollow backlink"
**Skill does**:
1. Recommends Premium tier ($9.90) since free backlinks require Top 3 weekly finish
2. Walks through submission checklist: name, description, screenshots
3. Explains the weekly Monday launch cycle and how to time community push
4. Compares $9.90 Premium value to Open Launch Premium ($12 for DR65) and Firsto Premium ($19.90 for DR57)
5. Suggests submitting to both OpenHunts and Open Launch for two backlinks under $22
**Result**: Tier recommendation with cost comparison and multi-platform suggestion

### Example 2: OpenHunts vs other directories — which to choose
**Use