How to write a great submission

Every featured listing is meant to be read by a person, not stuffed for a search box. The closer a submission follows this guide, the less an editor has to rewrite it. For eligibility, see submission criteria. A markdown copy of this guide lives at /help/submitting.md.

On this page: Product name, Pitch, Description, Website URL, Icon, Gallery images, Topics, Promotion.

Product name

Just the name as it appears on the homepage — nothing else.

Aim for

The name customers already use.

Common pitfalls

Tacking a tagline or keywords onto the name. Adding .com or .io unless that is truly the brand. Emoji or decorative unicode.

Pitch

One plain sentence that makes it obvious what the product does. The pitch sits next to the name, and a visitor decides in a moment.

Aim for

A single concrete sentence. A hint at what is different, if you can say it simply.

Common pitfalls

Two sentences smuggled in with a dash or a semicolon. Repeating the product name. A slogan. Empty words such as innovative or revolutionary. A pitch so abstract that a reader cannot tell what you made.

Description

One or two short paragraphs of plain prose: what it is, who it is for, and why they should spend a minute on it. Write like a person.

Aim for

Short paragraphs. Starting with the product name is a good default, not a law.

Common pitfalls

Bullet lists. A stack of one-line paragraphs. A wall of text. Markdown or HTML. Extra URLs — only the website field should link out. Emoji or decorative unicode.

Website URL

Link to your own home page. When the live site is wired, LaunchNest will send visitors through a redirect so you can see the referral, with credit still belonging to your domain.

Aim for

Your home page on a domain you control. Your own tracking parameters, if the URL still works.

Common pitfalls

Links that 404, wander off, or break when parameters are added. Direct links to an app store, a crowdfunding page, or a social profile as a substitute for a product site.

Icon

A simple logomark, the sort of thing you would use as an avatar.

Aim for

A symbol or mark on a solid, circular, or rounded square background.

Common pitfalls

The full wordmark baked into a wide image. A fully transparent background that disappears in light or dark theme. A screenshot used as an icon.

Gallery images

Pictures of the actual product.

Aim for

Roughly 4:3, sharp, landscape for most tools. Portrait is fine for a phone app.

Common pitfalls

Extremely tall or wide canvases. Tiny or blurry shots.

Topics

Specific almost always beats generic. A narrow topic has fewer neighbors and is easier for the right visitor to find.

Aim for

Up to five topics, ordered by relevance, that a real user might search for.

Common pitfalls

Padding the list with loosely related topics, or only picking the largest category.

Promotion (optional)

Only if you have a real offer — a code or a redeemable gift — not a vague promise of “benefits.”

Aim for

A short, honest offer a visitor can actually use.

Common pitfalls

Invented coupons, or packing the field with sales language.