FAQ
How can I be on your list/website?
Fill out this form.
How long does it take before my startup gets reviewed?
It can take up to a few weeks. If you're in a hurry you can have the review be expedited for a small fee. You'll get more info after submitting.
Why didn't my submission get accepted? aka What are the criteria?
We only publish internet startups that are pre-launch. The way we define 'pre-launch' is when your startup isn't publicly accessible yet. It's either in development or private beta. We don't make exceptions for startups that are live, but are still very new. Sorry. You're still free to submit your startup so we have your info on file, as we might change our policy in the future.
Why such a strict policy?
Beta List differentiates itself from other sites by making sure every startup listed is new and is one our audience likely hasn't seen before. It's impossible to make sure a startup is 'new' without a clear definition of what that means and since we get so many startup submissions we've decided to go with a definition that's easily verifiable: is the startup available to anyone? If yes, we consider it live and not eligible to be posted on Beta List. Unfortunately this strict criterium also means we miss out on some great startups that may only have just launched which is why we're currently reconsidering this policy. We don't have an estimate for when this will be finalized.
Really, can't you make an exception this one time?
Sorry, we can't. As soon as we make one exception everyone's going to wonder why we can't make the same exception for them. Plus, our audience expects the startups not to be live yet. There are plenty of sites out there such as MoMB that don't have this policy.
My startup matches the criteria, but it's still not posted. Why?
Give it time. If after 4 weeks we still haven't posted your startup and it did match the criteria we might feel the quality of your idea or the design of landing page isn't a good fit. We're not too strict when it comes to the idea and design, but some ideas we just don't consider internet startups as we define it (e.g. starting a blog) and if your landing page looks like it was set up in 5 minutes our audience generally doesn't give you much attention anyway. This also means using one of those 'launching soon' templates generally gets your startup rejected or pushed back to the end of the queue. If you're launching soon or want to get posted sooner rather later for another reason there's an 'expedited review' option for a small fee which you can find all about in the email you receive after submitting your startup. The expedited review only speeds up your review and doesn't guarantee publication. If your submission is rejected however we'll refund the fee.
What's the best time to submit my startup?
If you're still developing the product and are planning to actively engage with your subscribers to research their needs, etc. the sooner the better of course. Just make sure you have a decent landing page up. (Our site has plenty of inspiration.) Otherwise anywhere up to a weeks before you launch is advised as it might take a while before your startup gets published. (Unless you choose the expedited review mentioned above which enables you to submit just a few days before you go live.) Some startups decide to wait off submitting their startup in order to have the exposure Beta List provides (somewhat) coincide with their launch. An added benefit of this is your subscribers will still remember what you're about and may not otherwise (e.g. if it has been weeks and you've never emailed them). Just be careful not to wait too long as you'll be disqualified for a post once you're live. If I would be submitting my own startup I'd just submit it as soon as possible as I've plenty of other things to worry about. Better to do things right away then adding it to your to do list and potentially forgetting it. (You'll get more busy when approaching your launch day.)
How many sign ups should I expect when I'm published on Beta List?
This varies a lot from startup to startup. The average post seems to generate over 150 sign ups, but some only get 10 while others might get a couple of hundred. To increase your sign up rate make sure you have a great-looking landing page and post enough information to get people's attention. Providing an invite code or invite link when filling out the submission form drastically increases exposure as well.
How much does it cost?
It's free of charge.
My startup doesn't meet the criteria, but I could still use the exposure!
That's not a question. You might be interested in advertising on Beta List.
How much does advertising cost?
You can find our current rates here: http://betali.st/advertise
We're in stealth mode, can we still get published on Beta List?
You'll need to provide at least some description of your startup as otherwise our audience won't know whether they should be interested and won't sign up. This defeats the whole purpose of being published on our site. So to answer the question it depends on how you define stealth mode and whether you're able to reveal at least some descriptive information.
I have another question. Who should I contact?
If it's a quick question try Twitter (@BetaList). For other questions you can try emailing us, but we can't answer everything. Brevity helps.
Fill out this form.
How long does it take before my startup gets reviewed?
It can take up to a few weeks. If you're in a hurry you can have the review be expedited for a small fee. You'll get more info after submitting.
Why didn't my submission get accepted? aka What are the criteria?
We only publish internet startups that are pre-launch. The way we define 'pre-launch' is when your startup isn't publicly accessible yet. It's either in development or private beta. We don't make exceptions for startups that are live, but are still very new. Sorry. You're still free to submit your startup so we have your info on file, as we might change our policy in the future.
Why such a strict policy?
Beta List differentiates itself from other sites by making sure every startup listed is new and is one our audience likely hasn't seen before. It's impossible to make sure a startup is 'new' without a clear definition of what that means and since we get so many startup submissions we've decided to go with a definition that's easily verifiable: is the startup available to anyone? If yes, we consider it live and not eligible to be posted on Beta List. Unfortunately this strict criterium also means we miss out on some great startups that may only have just launched which is why we're currently reconsidering this policy. We don't have an estimate for when this will be finalized.
Really, can't you make an exception this one time?
Sorry, we can't. As soon as we make one exception everyone's going to wonder why we can't make the same exception for them. Plus, our audience expects the startups not to be live yet. There are plenty of sites out there such as MoMB that don't have this policy.
My startup matches the criteria, but it's still not posted. Why?
Give it time. If after 4 weeks we still haven't posted your startup and it did match the criteria we might feel the quality of your idea or the design of landing page isn't a good fit. We're not too strict when it comes to the idea and design, but some ideas we just don't consider internet startups as we define it (e.g. starting a blog) and if your landing page looks like it was set up in 5 minutes our audience generally doesn't give you much attention anyway. This also means using one of those 'launching soon' templates generally gets your startup rejected or pushed back to the end of the queue. If you're launching soon or want to get posted sooner rather later for another reason there's an 'expedited review' option for a small fee which you can find all about in the email you receive after submitting your startup. The expedited review only speeds up your review and doesn't guarantee publication. If your submission is rejected however we'll refund the fee.
What's the best time to submit my startup?
If you're still developing the product and are planning to actively engage with your subscribers to research their needs, etc. the sooner the better of course. Just make sure you have a decent landing page up. (Our site has plenty of inspiration.) Otherwise anywhere up to a weeks before you launch is advised as it might take a while before your startup gets published. (Unless you choose the expedited review mentioned above which enables you to submit just a few days before you go live.) Some startups decide to wait off submitting their startup in order to have the exposure Beta List provides (somewhat) coincide with their launch. An added benefit of this is your subscribers will still remember what you're about and may not otherwise (e.g. if it has been weeks and you've never emailed them). Just be careful not to wait too long as you'll be disqualified for a post once you're live. If I would be submitting my own startup I'd just submit it as soon as possible as I've plenty of other things to worry about. Better to do things right away then adding it to your to do list and potentially forgetting it. (You'll get more busy when approaching your launch day.)
How many sign ups should I expect when I'm published on Beta List?
This varies a lot from startup to startup. The average post seems to generate over 150 sign ups, but some only get 10 while others might get a couple of hundred. To increase your sign up rate make sure you have a great-looking landing page and post enough information to get people's attention. Providing an invite code or invite link when filling out the submission form drastically increases exposure as well.
How much does it cost?
It's free of charge.
My startup doesn't meet the criteria, but I could still use the exposure!
That's not a question. You might be interested in advertising on Beta List.
How much does advertising cost?
You can find our current rates here: http://betali.st/advertise
We're in stealth mode, can we still get published on Beta List?
You'll need to provide at least some description of your startup as otherwise our audience won't know whether they should be interested and won't sign up. This defeats the whole purpose of being published on our site. So to answer the question it depends on how you define stealth mode and whether you're able to reveal at least some descriptive information.
I have another question. Who should I contact?
If it's a quick question try Twitter (@BetaList). For other questions you can try emailing us, but we can't answer everything. Brevity helps.