@caoscompanybr/merlin 3.5.0

package/.merlin-core/skills/domain/marketing-ops/references/acquire/directory-submissions.md

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+---
+source: coreyhaines31/marketingskills (MIT) v2.0.1
+imported: 2026-05-20
+stage: acquire
+upstream_path: skills/directory-submissions/SKILL.md
+---
+
+> **Adjacency:** This skill is part of the [`marketing-ops`](../../SKILL.md) umbrella, organized by funnel stage (acquire). For Brazilian direct-response methodology (3-Document Protocol, Schwartz awareness levels, Anti-AI Copy Detection, ROAS viability, WhatsApp formats), see [`digital-marketing/SKILL.md`](../../../digital-marketing/SKILL.md). For page-level SaaS copy, see [`general/copywriting/SKILL.md`](../../../../general/copywriting/SKILL.md). For email delivery use [`general/resend-email`](../../../../general/resend-email/SKILL.md), for visuals [`general/image-gen`](../../../../general/image-gen/SKILL.md), for decks [`general/blkskrn`](../../../../general/blkskrn/SKILL.md).
+
+---
+
+# 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 `<h1>` 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:
+
+| Surface               | Lead with                 | Why                                                         |
+| --------------------- | ------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
+| Startup directories   | **Outcome**               | Audience is other founders. They care what it does.         |
+| SaaS directories      | **Alternative framing**   | People search "[competitor] alternative" — meet them there. |
+| AI directories        | **AI-first architecture** | TAAFT/Futurepedia audiences explicitly want AI tools.       |
+| Agent/MCP directories | **Agent/MCP angle**       | Niche but high-intent. A real moat.                         |
+| No-code directories   | **Ease + power**          | Audience values speed-to-build over depth.                  |
+| Dev directories       | **Technical depth**       | Dev audiences reward technical substance.                   |
+| B2B review sites      | **ROI + use case**        | Buyers want outcomes and case studies.                      |
+
+---
+
+## 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:
+
+| Tier                                        | When                        | Examples                                                         | Typical count  |
+| ------------------------------------------- | --------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------- |
+| **Tier 1 — Flagship launch**                | Launch week only            | Product Hunt (anchor), BetaList, HN Show HN, Fazier, DevHunt     | ~15            |
+| **Tier 2 — Startup/SaaS**                   | Week 1 + rolling            | AlternativeTo, SaaSHub, G2, Capterra, F6S, SourceForge, Slashdot | ~50            |
+| **Tier 3 — AI directories**                 | Week 1–3                    | TAAFT, Futurepedia, Toolify, Future Tools, aitools.inc, AIStage  | ~40            |
+| **Tier 4 — Agent/MCP registries**           | Week 1–3 (if MCP)           | Glama, APITracker, LF MCP Registry, AI Agents List               | ~10            |
+| **Tier 5 — No-code directories**            | Week 1–3 (if no-code)       | NoCodeFinder, No Code MBA, We Are No Code, MakerPad              | ~8             |
+| **Tier 6 — "Best of" listicles**            | Rolling outreach            | Cold outreach to DR 40+ blog posts                               | ~10 inclusions |
+| **Tier 7 — Integration marketplaces**       | When integrations ship      | Zapier, HubSpot, Slack, Airtable, Notion                         | ~5             |
+| **Tier 8 — Profile & content platforms**    | Rolling                     | GitHub, WordPress.com, Substack, Dev.to, SlideShare, Behance     | ~50            |
+| **Tier 9 — Local business directories**     | Rolling (if applicable)     | Manta, Hotfrog, Locanto, MerchantCircle                          | ~20            |
+| **Tier 10 — Forums & communities**          | Rolling (participate first) | SitePoint, GrowthHackers, Warrior Forum, Designer News           | ~13            |
+| **Tier 11 — Press release & article sites** | Launch + milestones         | PRLog, PR.com, EzineArticles, Feedspot                           | ~25            |
+| **Tier 12 — Social bookmarking**            | Rolling                     | Scoop.it, Diigo, Pearltrees                                      | ~5             |
+| **Tier 13 — Niche vertical directories**    | When vertical fits          | Justia (legal), Porch (home), LandBook (design), etc.            | ~20            |
+
+**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
+
+Every ICP gets a dedicated landing page:
+
+- `/for/[audience]` — coaches, agencies, ecommerce, SaaS, consultants, etc.
+- `/use-cases/[use-case]` — lead qualification, onboarding, product recommendations, etc.
+
+### 3. Template / asset gallery (if applicable)
+
+Typeform's template library generated **30,000 non-branded organic signups and $3M/year LTV**. The pattern:
+
+- One indexable page per template at `/templates/[slug]`.
+- H1 with the keyword, 150+ word description, screenshot, "when to use this," "use this template" CTA.
+- Related templates at the bottom of each page (internal linking = SEO compounding).
+- 100 templates by day 30, 300 by day 90 is the realistic target.
+
+### 4. "Best of" listicles you wrote yourself
+
+Write honest roundups of your own category: `/blog/best-[category]-tools-2026`. Include yourself + 10 competitors with real reviews. These rank for category queries AND serve as canonical references AI engines cite.
+
+### 5. Integration pages (when integrations ship)
+
+Every integration = one landing page at `/integrations/[partner]`. Follows the Zapier playbook: Zapier gets **~2.6M monthly organic visits** from programmatic integration pages (~15% of their total organic traffic).
+
+---
+
+## GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
+
+In 2026, 30–50% of "research a tool" queries happen inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews without ever touching a traditional search page. Directories matter here too — AI engines pull heavily from high-DR directories when generating answers. But the _destination pages_ also need to be GEO-optimized.
+
+### Tactics that get pages cited
+
+1. **One H1 per page, sequential heading hierarchy.** 2.8× higher citation rate. 87% of cited pages use a single H1.
+2. **Dense, factual content with citable stats.** AI engines prefer specific numbers ("3× faster than X") over vague claims.
+3. **FAQ schema on every landing page.** AI engines heavily weight `FAQPage` JSON-LD for answer extraction.
+4. **Comparison tables.** Extractable, structured — exactly what an AI answer needs.
+5. **Explicit "what it is" paragraph in the first 100 words.**
+6. **Get cited on Reddit and Hacker News.** Claude and Perplexity index these heavily. Genuine mentions on r/SaaS and HN count as training fuel.
+7. **Publish original research.** "We analyzed 10,000 [things] and found X" becomes the primary citation for anyone writing about that topic.
+8. **Claim Crunchbase, LinkedIn company page, and Wikidata entries.** All three feed AI training corpora.
+9. **If applicable, list on MCP registries with A/B grades** (Glama in particular). LLMs pull from these when answering MCP questions.
+
+### Measurement
+
+Manually check monthly: ask ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity "what are the best [category] tools?" and log where the product appears. Free GEO tracking tools (GeoTracker, llmrefs) automate this.
+
+---
+
+## Community & Ongoing Distribution
+
+Directories are one-shot. Community is ongoing. Both feed the same funnel.
+
+### Reddit (90/10 rule)
+
+90% of activity must be genuinely helpful; only 10% promotional. Violating this gets shadowbanned.
+
+**High-value subs (ranked):**
+
+- **r/SideProject** (200K+) — friendly to promo, launch announcements welcome.
+- **r/SaaS** (300K+) — "Share Your SaaS" threads are explicit promo windows.
+- **r/startups** (1.7M) — Feedback Friday thread.
+- **r/Entrepreneur** (3.5M) — weekly promo thread.
+- **r/nocode**, **r/IndieHackers**, **r/alphaandbetausers** — friendly.
+- **r/webdev**, **r/artificial**, **r/LocalLLaMA** — strict, technical only.
+
+**What wins:** real numbers (MRR, signups, churn), screenshots, "what I tried / what happened / what I'd do differently" structure, mini case studies with a clear lesson. **What fails:** hype, vague claims, "check out my new tool" posts, asking for upvotes.
+
+### LinkedIn (B2B primary channel)
+
+80% of B2B social leads come from LinkedIn. Cadence: **3–5 posts/week** — fewer loses momentum, more causes fatigue.
+
+Content types ranked by 2026 engagement:
+
+1. Personal stories with business lessons (1.5–2× avg engagement)
+2. Original data / research (1.3–1.5×)
+3. Contrarian industry takes (1.2–1.5×)
+4. Document carousels with 8–12 slides (1.3–1.8×)
+
+### Twitter/X (indie hacker + dev channel)
+
+Build-in-public threads on architecture, revenue, decisions. Technical deep-dives get indexed by Google + Claude + Perplexity → indirect GEO.
+
+### Indie Hackers
+
+- Launch a build-in-public thread on PH launch day.
+- Post weekly updates: revenue, ships, lessons. Zero-revenue posts work if the lesson is honest.
+- Comment 10× more than you post to build karma before your own links.
+
+### Dev.to + Hashnode
+
+Every substantial technical post = dofollow backlink + dev audience reach. Cross-post with canonical URL back to main blog.
+
+---
+
+## KPIs & Tracking
+
+Track weekly. If a number isn't moving, investigate — don't just submit more directories.
+
+| Metric                           | Day 0 | Day 30 target | Day 90 target |
+| -------------------------------- | ----- | ------------- | ------------- |
+| Domain Rating (DR)               | 0     | 20            | 30+           |
+| Referring domains                | 0     | 30            | 80+           |
+| Indexed pages                    | —     | 50            | 200+          |
+| Organic clicks/day               | 0     | 30            | 200+          |
+| Directory listings live          | 0     | 50            | 70+           |
+| G2 reviews                       | 0     | 10            | 25            |
+| Capterra reviews                 | 0     | 5             | 15            |
+| AI citations (manual check)      | 0     | 3             | 15+           |
+| Signups from directory referrals | 0     | 50            | 300           |
+| Signups from alt/use-case pages  | 0     | 20            | 300           |
+
+---
+
+## What NOT to Do
+
+1. **Don't pay for directory submission services** ($60–$200 packages). The whole point is these are free. It's an afternoon of copy-paste.
+2. **Don't submit to spam directories** (DR under 10, no traffic, no editorial quality). They dilute your backlink profile and Google's spam detection can penalize you.
+3. **Don't submit with the wrong positioning.** Re-read the positioning table per tier. Generic descriptions waste the listing.
+4. **Don't treat directories as your entire GTM.** They're the foundation. Content + community + reviews are what actually convert.
+5. **Don't skip reviews on G2/Capterra.** Zero-review listings are dead. Run the 10-in-30 protocol or don't submit.
+6. **Don't ask for upvotes on Product Hunt.** The 2026 algorithm penalizes it. Ask for **feedback**.
+7. **Don't amend old directory listings every week.** Submit once, check quarterly.
+8. **Don't submit before the destination page exists.** Link equity needs a destination.
+9. **Don't duplicate descriptions across directories.** AI engines penalize duplicate content.
+10. **Don't lie on comparison pages.** AI engines cross-reference and de-rank lies.
+11. **Don't over-index on launch-day spike.** The flywheel is templates + alternatives + reviews + ongoing content — not one day of PH.
+12. **Don't forget Crunchbase, LinkedIn company page, and Wikidata.** These feed AI training corpora and matter for GEO.
+
+---
+
+## Task-Specific Questions
+
+1. **What are you launching?** (Category changes tier mix — AI vs traditional SaaS vs no-code vs dev tool.)
+2. **When is launch day?** (Phase 0 assets need 7 days of prep.)
+3. **Do you have destination pages built?** (Alternatives, use cases, templates — if not, build first.)
+4. **Product Hunt hunter lined up?** (Optional but adds ~15% day-one lift. 3-week warm-up required regardless.)
+5. **How many beta users can you ask for reviews?** (Need 20 to hit 10.)
+6. **Do you have an MCP or agent angle?** (If yes, Tier 4 registries are a real moat.)
+7. **Existing integrations?** (If yes, Tier 7 marketplaces are the highest-DR backlinks available.)
+8. **Email list size?** (Needed for PH launch day warm traffic — 100+ is the minimum.)
+9. **Current DR and referring domain count?** (Baseline for measuring the compounding effect.)
+
+---
+
+## Output Format
+
+When the user asks for a directory plan, return:
+
+1. **Readiness assessment** — which Phase 0 items are missing, which block submission
+2. **Tier selection** — which tiers apply, which to skip, why
+3. **Submission order** — week 1 / week 2 / week 3 batches
+4. **Destination page list** — what to build first if missing
+5. **Positioning variants** — the actual copy per tier (from `references/positioning-variations.md`)
+6. **PH 3-week prep timeline** — mapped to calendar dates if launch day known
+7. **Reviews 10-in-30 plan** — who to ask, when, how
+8. **Weekly targets** — directories submitted, reviews, DR movement
+9. **Tracker** — link to or include the CSV from `references/submission-tracker-template.csv`
+
+Keep the plan actionable. Every item should be something the user can do today.
+
+---
+
+## Related Skills
+
+- **launch** — broader launch moment, ORB framework, five-phase approach
+- **programmatic-seo** — destination pages (alternatives, integrations, templates) that backlinks should flow into
+- **competitors** — `/alternatives/[tool]` page pattern
+- **ai-seo** — GEO optimization for AI citation
+- **content-strategy** — editorial content that attracts "best of" listicle inclusions
+- **free-tools** — lead magnets for destination pages
+- **community-marketing** — Reddit, Indie Hackers, Slack community mechanics
+- **schema** — FAQ + Product + Organization JSON-LD for GEO

package/.merlin-core/skills/domain/marketing-ops/references/acquire/free-tools/references/tool-types.md

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+---
+source: coreyhaines31/marketingskills (MIT) v2.0.1
+imported: 2026-05-20 (stub) — full body deferred to follow-up cleanup
+stage: acquire
+skill: free-tools
+upstream_path: skills/free-tools/references/tool-types.md
+---
+
+# tool-types — reference stub
+
+This is a thin pointer to an upstream reference. The full verbatim body is **deferred** to a future cleanup phase to manage context budget.
+
+**Upstream URL (canonical body):** https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/skills/free-tools/references/tool-types.md
+
+**Raw fetch URL:** https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/main/skills/free-tools/references/tool-types.md
+
+**Parent skill:** [`../free-tools.md`](../free-tools.md) (stage: acquire)
+
+**To import the full body** (future task): `curl -sSL <raw URL> -o references/acquire/free-tools/references/tool-types.md`, then prepend the standard Adjacency header.

package/.merlin-core/skills/domain/marketing-ops/references/acquire/free-tools.md

@@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
+---
+source: coreyhaines31/marketingskills (MIT) v2.0.1
+imported: 2026-05-20
+stage: acquire
+upstream_path: skills/free-tools/SKILL.md
+---
+
+> **Adjacency:** This skill is part of the [`marketing-ops`](../../SKILL.md) umbrella, organized by funnel stage (acquire). For Brazilian direct-response methodology (3-Document Protocol, Schwartz awareness levels, Anti-AI Copy Detection, ROAS viability, WhatsApp formats), see [`digital-marketing/SKILL.md`](../../../digital-marketing/SKILL.md). For page-level SaaS copy, see [`general/copywriting/SKILL.md`](../../../../general/copywriting/SKILL.md). For email delivery use [`general/resend-email`](../../../../general/resend-email/SKILL.md), for visuals [`general/image-gen`](../../../../general/image-gen/SKILL.md), for decks [`general/blkskrn`](../../../../general/blkskrn/SKILL.md).
+
+---
+
+# Free Tool Strategy (Engineering as Marketing)
+
+You are an expert in engineering-as-marketing strategy. Your goal is to help plan and evaluate free tools that generate leads, attract organic traffic, and build brand awareness.
+
+## Initial Assessment
+
+**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.
+
+Before designing a tool strategy, understand:
+
+1. **Business Context** - What's the core product? Who is the target audience? What problems do they have?
+
+2. **Goals** - Lead generation? SEO/traffic? Brand awareness? Product education?
+
+3. **Resources** - Technical capacity to build? Ongoing maintenance bandwidth? Budget for promotion?
+
+---
+
+## Core Principles
+
+### 1. Solve a Real Problem
+
+- Tool must provide genuine value
+- Solves a problem your audience actually has
+- Useful even without your main product
+
+### 2. Adjacent to Core Product
+
+- Related to what you sell
+- Natural path from tool to product
+- Educates on problem you solve
+
+### 3. Simple and Focused
+
+- Does one thing well
+- Low friction to use
+- Immediate value
+
+### 4. Worth the Investment
+
+- Lead value × expected leads > build cost + maintenance
+
+---
+
+## Tool Types Overview
+
+| Type        | Examples                         | Best For                    |
+| ----------- | -------------------------------- | --------------------------- |
+| Calculators | ROI, savings, pricing estimators | Decisions involving numbers |
+| Generators  | Templates, policies, names       | Creating something quickly  |
+| Analyzers   | Website graders, SEO auditors    | Evaluating existing work    |
+| Testers     | Meta tag preview, speed tests    | Checking if something works |
+| Libraries   | Icon sets, templates, snippets   | Reference material          |
+| Interactive | Tutorials, playgrounds, quizzes  | Learning/understanding      |
+
+**For detailed tool types and examples**: See [references/tool-types.md](references/tool-types.md)
+
+---
+
+## Ideation Framework
+
+### Start with Pain Points
+
+1. **What problems does your audience Google?** - Search query research, common questions
+
+2. **What manual processes are tedious?** - Spreadsheet tasks, repetitive calculations
+
+3. **What do they need before buying your product?** - Assessments, planning, comparisons
+
+4. **What information do they wish they had?** - Data they can't easily access, benchmarks
+
+### Validate the Idea
+
+- **Search demand**: Is there search volume? How competitive?
+- **Uniqueness**: What exists? How can you be 10x better?
+- **Lead quality**: Does this audience match buyers?
+- **Build feasibility**: How complex? Can you scope an MVP?
+
+---
+
+## Lead Capture Strategy
+
+### Gating Options
+
+| Approach           | Pros            | Cons            |
+| ------------------ | --------------- | --------------- |
+| Fully gated        | Maximum capture | Lower usage     |
+| Partially gated    | Balance of both | Common pattern  |
+| Ungated + optional | Maximum reach   | Lower capture   |
+| Ungated entirely   | Pure SEO/brand  | No direct leads |
+
+### Lead Capture Best Practices
+
+- Value exchange clear: "Get your full report"
+- Minimal friction: Email only
+- Show preview of what they'll get
+- Optional: Segment by asking one qualifying question
+
+---
+
+## SEO Considerations
+
+### Keyword Strategy
+
+**Tool landing page**: "[thing] calculator", "[thing] generator", "free [tool type]"
+
+**Supporting content**: "How to [use case]", "What is [concept]"
+
+### Link Building
+
+Free tools attract links because:
+
+- Genuinely useful (people reference them)
+- Unique (can't link to just any page)
+- Shareable (social amplification)
+
+---
+
+## Build vs. Buy
+
+### Build Custom
+
+When: Unique concept, core to brand, high strategic value, have dev capacity
+
+### Use No-Code Tools
+
+Options: Outgrow, Involve.me, Typeform, Tally, Bubble, Webflow
+When: Speed to market, limited dev resources, testing concept
+
+### Embed Existing
+
+When: Something good exists, white-label available, not core differentiator
+
+---
+
+## MVP Scope
+
+### Minimum Viable Tool
+
+1. Core functionality only—does the one thing, works reliably
+2. Essential UX—clear input, obvious output, mobile works
+3. Basic lead capture—email collection, leads go somewhere useful
+
+### What to Skip Initially
+
+Account creation, saving results, advanced features, perfect design, every edge case
+
+---
+
+## Evaluation Scorecard
+
+Rate each factor 1-5:
+
+| Factor                       | Score  |
+| ---------------------------- | ------ |
+| Search demand exists         | \_\_\_ |
+| Audience match to buyers     | \_\_\_ |
+| Uniqueness vs. existing      | \_\_\_ |
+| Natural path to product      | \_\_\_ |
+| Build feasibility            | \_\_\_ |
+| Maintenance burden (inverse) | \_\_\_ |
+| Link-building potential      | \_\_\_ |
+| Share-worthiness             | \_\_\_ |
+
+**25+**: Strong candidate | **15-24**: Promising | **<15**: Reconsider
+
+---
+
+## Task-Specific Questions
+
+1. What existing tools does your audience use for workarounds?
+2. How do you currently generate leads?
+3. What technical resources are available?
+4. What's the timeline and budget?
+
+---
+
+## Related Skills
+
+- **lead-magnets**: For downloadable content lead magnets (ebooks, checklists, templates)
+- **cro**: For optimizing the tool's landing page
+- **seo-audit**: For SEO-optimizing the tool
+- **analytics**: For measuring tool usage
+- **emails**: For nurturing leads from the tool

package/.merlin-core/skills/domain/marketing-ops/references/acquire/image/references/ai-image-prompting.md

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+---
+source: coreyhaines31/marketingskills (MIT) v2.0.1
+imported: 2026-05-20 (stub) — full body deferred to follow-up cleanup
+stage: acquire
+skill: image
+upstream_path: skills/image/references/ai-image-prompting.md
+---
+
+# ai-image-prompting — reference stub
+
+This is a thin pointer to an upstream reference. The full verbatim body is **deferred** to a future cleanup phase to manage context budget.
+
+**Upstream URL (canonical body):** https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/skills/image/references/ai-image-prompting.md
+
+**Raw fetch URL:** https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/main/skills/image/references/ai-image-prompting.md
+
+**Parent skill:** [`../image.md`](../image.md) (stage: acquire)
+
+**To import the full body** (future task): `curl -sSL <raw URL> -o references/acquire/image/references/ai-image-prompting.md`, then prepend the standard Adjacency header.