# A3M Router — 40 Free Promotion Channels

Ranked by Domain Rating (DR). One action per day = launched in 40 days.

## Tier 1: Must-Do (DR 85+) [5 sites]

### 1. Product Hunt (DR 91)
- **Submit:** https://www.producthunt.com/posts/new
- **Hook:** "Same answer as GPT-5. 200× cheaper. Open source."
- **Best time:** Tue-Thu, 12:01am PT
- **Tips:** Post maker comment within 1hr. Reply to every comment. Have 5 friends ready to upvote.
- **❌** Don't beg for upvotes. Don't launch Friday-Sunday.

### 2. Hacker News (DR 91)
- **Submit:** https://news.ycombinator.com/submit
- **Hook:** "Show HN: A3M Router – Open-source LLM router, #1 on RouterArena"
- **Best time:** Tue-Thu, 8:30-10am ET
- **Tips:** Title must be factual. Be in comments within 30min. Pre-write your first comment explaining the project.
- **❌** No marketing speak, no $ figures in title, no cherry-picked numbers.

### 3. Buy Me a Coffee (DR 91)
- **Create:** https://buymeacoffee.com
- **Hook:** "Support open-source AI routing infrastructure"
- **Tips:** Link from GitHub repo README. Offer "Sponsor" badge for backers.

### 4. Crunchbase (DR 90)
- **Submit:** https://www.crunchbase.com/#/home/index
- **Hook:** Create company profile for the project
- **Tips:** Add GitHub link, description, and team. Good for SEO backlinks.

### 5. GitHub Trending
- **Optimize:** Add relevant topics: `llm`, `router`, `ai-gateway`, `open-source`, `model-routing`
- **Hook:** Good README + active commits = trending chance
- **Tips:** Star history matters. Consistent commits = algorithmic boost.

## Tier 2: High Impact (DR 70-84) [10 sites]

### 6. DevTo (DR 85)
- **Submit:** https://dev.to/new
- **Hook:** "I built an open-source LLM router that saved me $800/month"
- **Tags:** `#opensource` `#ai` `#llm` `#nodejs` `#javascript`
- **❌** No direct product pitches. Share the story, mention the tool.

### 7. Reddit — r/programming (DR 84)
- **Submit:** https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/submit
- **Hook:** "Show HN-style with technical details"
- **❌** No self-promo. Frame as "I built this, here's how it works technically."

### 8. Reddit — r/MachineLearning (DR 84)
- **Hook:** Focus on routing algorithms, not the tool
- **Tips:** Share benchmark methodology. Reference RouterArena.

### 9. Reddit — r/commandline (DR 84)
- **Hook:** "CLI tool to route queries across 47 LLM providers"
- **Tips:** Show asciinema demo gif.

### 10. Reddit — r/node (DR 84)
- **Hook:** "npm package for intelligent LLM routing — A3M Router"
- **Tips:** Show the npm install + code example.

### 11. Reddit — r/opensource (DR 84)
- **Hook:** "MIT-licensed open-source LLM router"
- **Tips:** Emphasize transparency, no vendor lock-in.

### 12. LinkedIn (DR 86)
- **Post:** Write article about the $800/month → $5 story
- **Tips:** Tag people in the routing space. Use the benchmark chart.

### 13. Twitter/X (DR 86)
- **Thread:** Cost comparison + benchmark + code example
- **Best time:** 8-10am ET
- **Tips:** Include a screenshot of the CLI in action.

### 14. StackShare (DR 80)
- **Submit:** https://stackshare.io/add-tool
- **Hook:** "Intelligent LLM routing for your stack"
- **Tips:** Compare with LiteLLM, Portkey, OpenRouter.

### 15. AlternativeTo (DR 79)
- **Submit:** https://alternativeto.net/software/new/
- **Hook:** Alternative to LiteLLM, Portkey, OpenRouter
- **Tips:** List accurate features and pricing (free/open source).

## Tier 3: Niche Communities (DR 50-69) [15 sites]

### 16. Lobsters (DR 55)
- **Submit:** https://lobste.rs
- **Hook:** Technical discussion about routing algorithms
- **❌** Tech-heavy crowd. Focus on engineering, not marketing.

### 17. Terminal Trove (DR ~65)
- **Submit:** https://terminaltrove.com
- **Hook:** CLI tool directory

### 18. Awesome LLM Routing (GitHub)
- **Submit:** PR to add A3M Router
- **Search:** `awesome-llm` `awesome-ai` `awesome-router`

### 19. Show HN on Lobsters
- **Submit:** https://lobste.rs/stories/new
- **Hook:** Same as HN but more technical audience

### 20. BetaList (DR 58)
- **Submit:** https://betalist.com/submit
- **Hook:** "AI-powered LLM router — same answers, 200× cheaper"

### 21. BetaPage (DR 52)
- **Submit:** https://betapage.co/submit-startup

### 22. LaunchingNext (DR 60)
- **Submit:** https://launchingnext.com/submit

### 23. SaaSHub (DR 69)
- **Submit:** https://www.saashub.com/submit
- **Hook:** Alternative to expensive LLM gateways

### 24. FutureTools (DR 62)
- **Submit:** https://futuretools.io/submit

### 25. There's An AI For That (DR 66)
- **Submit:** https://theresanaiforthat.com/submit/

### 26. AI Directory
- **Search and submit** to top AI directories

### 27. npm — Optimize listing
- **Keywords:** `llm-router`, `ai-gateway`, `model-routing`, `openai-alternative`
- **Description:** "Intelligent LLM routing across 47 providers. Same answers, 200× cheaper."
- **Tips:** Good README = higher npm install conversion

### 28. GitHub Topics
- Add ALL relevant topics: `llm`, `router`, `ai`, `gateway`, `open-source`, `nodejs`, `routing`, `llm-routing`, `model-router`

### 29. LibHunt (DR 68)
- **Submit:** https://www.libhunt.com
- **Tips:** Compare with similar libraries

### 30. Openbase (DR 65)
- **Submit:** https://openbase.com

## Tier 4: Long Tail (DR < 50) [10 sites]

### 31. Makerlog (DR 45)
- **Submit:** https://getmakerlog.com

### 32. WIP.chat (DR 40)
- **Submit:** https://wip.chat

### 33. Failory (DR 48)
- **Submit:** https://failory.com/submit
- **Hook:** "What I learned building an open-source LLM router"

### 34. StarterStory (DR 49)
- **Submit:** https://starterstory.com
- **Hook:** "From $800/month API bill to $5 — the A3M story"

### 35. IndieHackers (DR 56)
- **Post:** Write a maker story
- **Hook:** "$800/month → $5 by routing smart. Here's how."

### 36. SideProjectors (DR 35)
- **Submit:** https://sideprojectors.com

### 37. Geekflare (DR 54)
- **Submit:** https://geekflare.com/tools/

### 38. YourStory (DR 44)
- **Submit:** https://yourstory.com/submit

### 39. TechCrunch Tip Line
- **Submit:** tips@techcrunch.com
- **Hook:** "Open source project beats GPT-4 at 0.5% of the cost"

### 40. HackerNoon (DR 53)
- **Write:** Article as guest writer
- **Hook:** "I built an open-source LLM router. Here's why you need one."

---

## Automation

For daily monitoring, set up:
```
# Google Alerts
"LLM routing" "model router" "AI gateway alternative" "LiteLLM alternative"

# F5bot — HN keyword monitoring (free tier)
https://f5bot.com

# ReplyGuy — automated reply system
https://replyguy.com
```

## Tracking

| # | Site | Submitted | Date | Result |
|---|------|-----------|------|--------|
| 1 | Product Hunt | | | |
| 2 | Hacker News | | | |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
