Promotions & Sponsors
Two ways to monetize your directory beyond premium listings.
The two systems
| System | Who buys | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Promotions | Project owners wanting extra visibility | Monthly subscription |
| Sponsors | Companies/brands wanting a permanent slot | Monthly subscription |
Both live in the admin panel. Pricing comes from advertising.config.ts.
Promotions
Three placement types, each independent:
| Placement | Where it appears | Default price |
|---|---|---|
| Banner | Horizontal ad below the site header, every page | $69/mo |
| Catalog Card | Promoted card mixed into the project grid | $39/mo |
| Detail Card | Sidebar card on project detail pages | $19/mo |
Buyers at /promote can pick one, two, or all three. Picking all three triggers a 30% discount (via a Stripe coupon — see Advertising Config).
Promotion admin
Admins can:
- Approve new purchases (if manual review is required)
- Edit start / end dates
- Revoke a placement
- See which projects are currently running ads
Sponsors
Sponsors get logo placement in a sponsor section (sidebar, footer, or dedicated partners page — depending on your layout). Recurring monthly subscription.
maxSponsors: 8 in advertising.config.ts caps how many run simultaneously. Excess buyers go on a waitlist.
Stripe setup
Each placement and the sponsor plan needs a recurring monthly Price in Stripe:
STRIPE_PRICE_ID_PROMO_BANNER=price_...
STRIPE_PRICE_ID_PROMO_CATALOG=price_...
STRIPE_PRICE_ID_PROMO_DETAIL=price_...
STRIPE_PRICE_ID_PARTNER_SUBSCRIPTION=price_...
STRIPE_COUPON_ID_PROMO_ALL_THREE= # optional 30% off bundleSee Payments for full Stripe flow.
Feature flags
Turn the whole system off with:
promotions: false, // /promote page → 404, admin section gone
partners: false, // sponsor slots → hiddenWhen to use which
- Premium listings — the starter revenue stream. User pays once, gets upgrade for one listing.
- Promotions — recurring revenue for projects that already paid premium and want more visibility.
- Sponsors — unrelated-to-directory brands who want to reach your audience (e.g. an IDE sponsoring a "developer tools" directory).