Sponsor Guidelines

What sponsorship includes

Every slot runs for one week (Monday to Sunday, US Central Time) and is labeled "Sponsored." There are two paid placements on the site:

• AI of the Week. Our top slot: a dedicated page at /ai-of-the-week with your hero image, a 150–400 word feature, up to 3 bullets and a call-to-action button, plus an optional post on X. One sponsor per week. $99/week.
• Discover Spotlight.A sponsored banner at the top of the Discover page with your logo, headline, blurb and link. It's clearly labeled "Sponsored" and kept separate from the organic results below it, which it never reorders. One sponsor per week. $49/week, or $149 for 4 weeks.
• Same-week bundle. Discover Spotlight plus AI of the Week in the same week: $129 (instead of $148).

All prices are in USD.

Coming later:

• Newsletter Sponsor.Not on sale yet. Email us to join the interest list and we'll let you know when it opens.
• Category exclusivity. A future add-on for sponsors who want to be the only tool shown in their category. Not available yet.

Founding sponsor offer

Our first 5 sponsors get 50% off their first booking and any rebookings made within 3 months of it, up to a maximum of 4 weeks of slots per sponsor. A same-week bundle counts as one week. The discount applies to the standard weekly rates ($24.50/week for Discover Spotlight, $49.50/week for AI of the Week) and isn't combined with the 4-week or bundle prices; you always get whichever is lower.

Rate protection

Prices may rise as demand grows. Once you've booked, your price is locked: booked rates and founding rates are honored even if our list prices go up.

Editorial independence

Sponsorship buys visibility. It never buys rankings, reviews or ratings. Rankings, quiz results and workflows are never sold.

• Sponsored tools get no boost in our quiz, Discover ordering, workflow templates, tutorials or "best for" picks.
• Your organic listing, scores and data stay exactly as they are.
• On AI of the Week, we write the "Our honest take" box ourselves. Sponsors can't edit or pre-approve it.
• Sponsors must meet the same standards as every tool in our catalog.

How we disclose sponsorships

Following FTC guidance, every paid placement is labeled "Sponsored", wherever it appears:

• On the site: "Sponsored" sits at the top of every paid unit in readable text, with the line "Paid placement. Sponsors don't affect our rankings, quiz results or reviews" and a link to our How We Make Money page. Sponsored links are marked rel="sponsored".
• In the newsletter:sponsor blocks are headed "Sponsored."
• On X:sponsored posts start with "Sponsored" or "#ad," and we use X's paid-partnership label where available.

We never run an unlabeled placement, and we never use "Partner" or "Featured" alone in place of "Sponsored."

Acceptance policy

We review every sponsor before the slot is confirmed, using the same vetting we apply to the tools listed in our catalog. We accept tools that are real, work as described and would belong in our catalog. Every claim in your copy must be checkable on your official website, and we may edit copy for length, clarity or accuracy.

We decline:

• Misleading or unverifiable claims, including medical, legal or financial-return promises
• Unlawful products or services, including weapons and other illegal goods
• Adult or sexual content, and gambling
• Tools that collect or harvest personal data without clear disclosure and consent
• Deepfake or non-consensual likeness tools
• Malware, or "undetectable" AI-detector bypass tools
• Competitor attack ads and fake urgency
• Tools we've excluded for documented scam, safety or "not actually AI" problems

We may decline or remove any sponsorship at our discretion, including after booking if new information comes to light. If we decline, you get a full refund.

Creative and asset requirements

• Logo: square PNG or SVG, at least 256×256, transparent background, up to 200 KB
• Discover Spotlight image (optional): 1200×630, JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 500 KB
• AI of the Week hero: 1600×900, up to 800 KB, with no text beyond your logo
• Headline: up to 90 characters. Blurb: up to 200 characters.
• AI of the Week feature: 150–400 words, plus up to 3 bullets of up to 80 characters each
• Link: one https URL. UTM tags are fine; no redirects or third-party trackers.
• X handle (optional),if you'd like a tag

Deadline: final assets are due 5 business days before your slot starts, and they go through the same vetting as the tools listed in our catalog. Late assets may move your slot to the next open week.

Booking and scheduling

1. Email us with your tool, the slot you want and your preferred week(s).
2. We check availability and confirm your tool meets these guidelines.
3. We send a confirmation and a Stripe invoice.
4. You send assets by the deadline; we review them and set up the placement.
5. After your week, we send a short post-run summary of available performance data. We promise reach, not results.

Slots are first come, first served, and a booking is confirmed once payment is received.

• Waitlist:if the week you want is full, we'll add you to the waitlist and email you if it opens up.

Payment terms

• Payment is due 100% upfront, by Stripe invoice.
• No slot goes live unpaid.

Cancellation and refunds

• If we decline or cancel your placement: full refund.
• If you cancel 7 or more days before your slot starts: full refund.
• If you cancel within 7 days of your slot: no cash refund; the full amount is credited toward a future slot. Credits are valid for 6 months.
• After your slot starts: no refund.

Make-goods

If your slot is down for more than 24 hours, or starts late or not at all, because of a problem on our side, we extend or reschedule it by the time lost. We promise reach, not results: we don't guarantee impressions, clicks or sales. Make-goods don't cover issues on your side, such as late assets or your own site being down.

Contact us

Questions, bookings, the waitlist or the newsletter interest list: launchpadhq.admin@gmail.com

Launchpad HQ is operated by Lakeside Innovation Labs LLC (Texas).

Prefer the How We Make Money page? How we make money.

Weekly availability

Weeks start Monday, US Central Time. Availability updates as bookings are confirmed. Email launchpadhq.admin@gmail.com to book. There is no checkout on this page.