To get your product into an editorial roundup or shortlist, you need a page that states clear criteria, names products, and puts your product link inside a sentence a comparer is already reading. Listed Press publishes that format: criteria-led shortlists and roundups on listedpress.com, with one product link in the article for the product you submitted. Community coverage is free with a reciprocal site credit, or free with a nofollow product link. Five free shortlists go live each day at 08:00 UTC. A $29 page goes live the day it is ready. This MakerHunt guide is about the Listed Press route, not about cold-pitching third-party "best tools" blogs.
Plans were checked on 6 November 2026. Disclosure: Listed Press is run by the same team as MakerHunt and the other Hunt / Aura++ sites.
Last checked: Nov 6, 2026
What is a Listed Press shortlist page?
Listed Press publishes structured roundups with named products and clear criteria, written for readers who are already comparing options. A directory is a grid of logos. A Listed Press page is a shortlist someone can scan: criteria first, products named, your link inside a sentence.
On Free and $29 plans the product link is dofollow (no rel nofollow, sponsored or ugc). On the Nofollow plan it uses rel=nofollow. Listed's pricing page states the domain rating is 0 and that the page does not promise a ranking, a traffic number or a movement in that rating. The live page is the record: open it and inspect the anchor.
How is this different from pitching third-party best-tools lists?
IndieHunt already owns the outreach playbook for third-party roundups in how to get your SaaS into best tools lists: find lists, qualify publishers, send a specific pitch, follow up once. That path depends on someone else's editorial calendar.
Listed Press is a desk you submit to. It writes the shortlist page on its own domain. Same end shape (a comparison page with your product named), different workflow (no cold pitch loop). Use both if you want; do not confuse them.
When should a maker choose a shortlist over a feature story?
Situation | Prefer Listed Press | Prefer another desk |
|---|---|---|
Buyers compare three to seven options by criteria | Yes | |
You mainly need a who/what/for-whom opener | Hed Press | |
You want a daily-edition product story | Lede Press | |
One buyer question needs a long explainer | Piece Press | |
You only want a logo row | A directory, not Listed |
MakerHunt's broader guide on getting editorial backlinks as an indie maker still covers pitches, guest posts and agencies. This post stays on the shortlist desk.
What does Listed Press cost?
Plan | Price | Link type | Goes live | Extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Free reciprocal | $0 | Dofollow | Shared 5 / day at 08:00 UTC | Site credit required |
Free nofollow | $0 | Nofollow | Same free pool | No site credit |
Editorial | $29 | Dofollow | Same day | SEO/AEO/GEO pass, FAQ schema, Article + product schema, llms.txt, Markdown twin, featured image, Pinterest pin, IndexNow, up to 3 relaunches |
Per project: one reciprocal free page, one nofollow free page, unlimited $29 pages. Projects are free. Paid pages do not consume free slots. Agencies commonly quote $500 to $1,000 for coverage on a site you do not operate; Listed Press publishes the shortlist on listedpress.com.
How do you submit for a shortlist?
Create a free project on Listed Press.
Choose reciprocal free, nofollow free, or $29.
Submit the product URL plus the comparison criteria you honestly fit (and the ones you do not).
If reciprocal free, credit listedpress.com on your site while the page is live (badge optional).
When the shortlist is public, open it, read the criteria, and inspect your product link.
Log the URL, plan and checked-on date.
Listed Press writes the page. You are not emailing a list author and hoping for a reply.
What criteria should you send?
Helpful submissions look like this:
Job to be done: "teams of 2 to 10 that need shared meeting notes without another chat tool".
Hard constraints: price ceiling, must self-host / must be SaaS, must work offline, must have SSO.
Honest non-fits: "not for enterprises that need a data processing agreement this quarter".
Proof a comparer can check: a public docs page, a free trial, a changelog.
Vague superlatives ("the best AI notes app") waste the shortlist. Criteria a stranger can test keep the page useful.
What does a useful shortlist page contain?
From Listed's own positioning, expect:
Clear criteria up front.
Named products, not anonymous blurbs.
Your product link inside the article for the product you submitted.
On $29: a direct-answer opening, FAQ schema, and the rest of the distribution pass.
As of 6 November 2026, Listed Press showed empty today / yesterday / last week / last month sections when checked. The desk and plans are live; sample shortlists will appear as submissions publish. Until then, judge the product by the pricing and get-published pages, not by invented traffic claims.
How do you verify the link after publish?
Open the live shortlist URL. Find your product link in the body. Confirm the rel attribute matches the plan. Aura++ documents the inspection method in how to check if a backlink is dofollow. EarlyHunt's editorial vs directory backlinks post is useful if a teammate still thinks a shortlist is "just another directory".
A made-up example: Cordlane lands on a shortlist
Cordlane is a made-up invoicing tool for freelance audio engineers who bill by session. Buyers compare it with general freelance invoicing apps. The founder submits to Listed Press on the $29 plan with criteria: session-based line items, split payment with a studio, exports that accountants accept, no social feed. The shortlist page goes live the same day. They inspect the product link, add the URL to their sheet, and point comparison-shopping leads at the shortlist instead of pasting a feature matrix into every sales email. No ranking promise. A readable comparison page with a followed link under the plan they chose.
How do you reuse a shortlist without spamming it?
A shortlist page is most useful when a buyer is already comparing. Practical reuse:
Link it from a comparison FAQ on your docs or help center.
Send it when a lead asks "how are you different from X?" instead of pasting a feature matrix.
Include it once in a launch roundup email aimed at people evaluating options.
Avoid blasting the shortlist URL into unrelated communities. The page is for comparers. If you also want third-party lists you do not control, keep using the IndieHunt best-tools outreach guide linked above rather than forcing Listed Press to pretend it is someone else's blog.
What if you need both a shortlist and a feature story?
That is normal. Publish the Listed shortlist for comparison intent, then a Lede edition story or Hed opener for people who are not comparing yet. Plans are per project on each desk, so you are not locked into one format forever. Just keep the briefs different: criteria for Listed, story or opener for the others. Repeating the same paragraph on every desk wastes the format.
Measuring a shortlist without fake metrics
Track only what you can see:
Live URL still public.
Product link rel still matches the plan.
Referral visits from listedpress.com, if any.
Sales or support mentions of the shortlist.
Skip Domain Rating theatre. Listed states DR 0 on the pricing page. The asset is a readable comparison URL.
Mistakes that waste a Listed submission
Sending "we are the best" without criteria.
Hiding non-fits that a comparer will discover anyway.
Treating Listed like a logo directory and expecting a grid slot.
Reusing a third-party list pitch email as the submission brief.
Forgetting to re-check the live link a week later.
Editorial roundup FAQ
How do I get my product into an editorial roundup without pitching bloggers?
One path is Listed Press: submit the product, get a criteria-led shortlist page on listedpress.com with one product link in the article. Free reciprocal, free nofollow and $29 plans are on the pricing page. Pitching third-party lists remains a separate path covered on IndieHunt.
Are Listed Press links dofollow?
On Free reciprocal and $29, yes. On Free nofollow, the product link uses rel=nofollow. Inspect the live page.
Does Listed Press guarantee rankings or citations?
No. The pricing and get-published pages say a ranking is a separate decision and a citation is not promised.
Can I publish more than one shortlist?
Per project: one reciprocal free, one nofollow free, unlimited $29 shortlists.
Submit one shortlist this week
If a criteria-led roundup is the asset you want, open the Listed Press get-published page, compare Listed Press pricing, send honest criteria, and verify the live product link before you count it in any SEO sheet.