| name | sales-altern |
| description | Altern platform help — curated AI tools and agents directory (10,000+ tools, 100+ categories, ~5-28K monthly visits). Covers tool submissions (free + featured tiers: Gold/Silver/Bronze), listing optimization, category selection, newsletter inclusion (weekly AI tools + agents digest), alternatives pages, and dofollow backlinks. Use when your AI tool isn't listed on Altern, listing isn't getting visibility, not sure if a featured tier is worth it, or wondering how Altern compares to other AI directories. Do NOT use for multi-directory launch coordination (use /sales-launch-directory). Do NOT use for non-AI product directories (use the platform-specific skill). |
| argument-hint | [describe what you need help with on Altern] |
| license | MIT |
| version | 1.0.1 |
| tags | ["sales","product-launch","startup","directory","platform"] |
| github | https://github.com/alternbits |
Altern Platform Help
Helps with everything related to using Altern — a curated directory of 10,000+ AI tools and agents across 100+ categories, with dofollow backlinks, editorial content, and a weekly newsletter. Founded by Dariush Abbasi.
Step 1 — Gather context
If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated knowledge.
Ask the user:
-
What are you trying to do on Altern?
- A) Submit my AI tool / get listed
- B) Get featured (Gold/Silver/Bronze placement)
- C) Understand the backlink and SEO value
- D) Compare Altern with other AI directories
- E) Get included in the newsletter
- F) Something else — describe it
-
What's your product?
- A) AI coding tool / IDE assistant
- B) AI agent / automation
- C) AI API / developer tool
- D) AI SaaS / web app
- E) AI content tool (writing, image, video)
- F) Other AI tool — describe it
-
What stage are you at?
- A) Pre-launch — building, no users yet
- B) Just launched — looking for first users
- C) Growing — have some traction, want more
- D) Established — looking for directory presence and backlinks
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 another skill, route:
- Multi-directory launch planning →
/sales-launch-directory
- Product Hunt launch →
/sales-producthunt
- Futurepedia-specific questions →
/sales-futurepedia
- TAAFT-specific questions →
/sales-theresanaiforthat
- Other AI directories (Toolify) →
/sales-launch-directory for comparison
- SEO strategy →
/sales-semrush
- Landing page optimization →
/sales-checkout
Otherwise, answer directly from the Altern knowledge below.
Step 3 — Altern platform reference
Read references/platform-guide.md for the full reference — the AI-only curated-directory overview, core modules (tool listings, 100+ categories, alternatives pages, weekly newsletter, featured tiers), the submission process, backlink/SEO value (dofollow, JSON-LD schema, UTM tracking), the Altern vs TAAFT/Futurepedia/Toolify comparison, and pricing (free Standard + Bronze/Silver/Gold featured tiers). Pull only the section the question needs.
