Distribution + sales, getting your server found
Marketplaces, discovery standards, community. The step 90% forget.
The post-launch problem
You finished your MCP server. It runs live. On your dev machine you use it every day. You post on Twitter "MCP server for X is live".
Two weeks later: 3 downloads, all from yourself. Nobody else found it.
The marketplaces 2026
As of April 2026 there are about 30 platforms listing MCP servers. The most important:
Anthropic MCP Connector Directory, the official Anthropic register. Classic listing, submissions via pull request.
MCPize Marketplace, tightly coupled with MCPize deploys. Deploy there, you're listed automatically.
Claude Desktop Custom Integrations, in the desktop app. Users see a list of recommended servers.
GitHub Awesome lists, awesome-mcp-servers, awesome-mcp-clients. Not official but well-trafficked by devs.
Smithery, Composio, Zapier MCP, commercial aggregators. Relevant depending on your positioning.
Reddit r/mcp, r/ClaudeAI, not directly a marketplace but a discovery channel.
Hacker News Show HN, one-time launch but a strong 24h traffic boost.
What you have to submit
Each platform has its own submission requirements. The common ones:
- Package name (unique on npm)
- Short description (under 150 characters)
- Long description (1 paragraph, what + for whom)
- Demo GIF / video (very helpful, not always required)
- Category (Productivity, Development, Data, etc.)
- Open-source or closed (source link if OSS)
Take a day for it. You write the copy once and use it for all submissions.
Discovery standards (technical)
There are new open standards that help your server get found:
/.well-known/mcp, a JSON file your HTTP server hosts at a standard URL. Describes your tools, auth, contact. Crawlers can read that automatically.
mcp.json in GitHub repos. Meta file describing your server repo. GitHub search uses that.
Tag-based discovery, certain GitHub topics (mcp-server, mcp-tool) make your repo discoverable.
Implement as many as makes sense. Each extra tag is a small traffic trail.
Launch strategy, realistic
Week 1: submit to 5-10 platforms. Write a short blog post about "why I built this".
Week 2: post on Twitter/X (simple, no link in main tweet, link as first reply), LinkedIn (document post or text, no link), dev.to (long article with tutorial).
Week 3: Hacker News "Show HN" (Tuesday 09 Pacific Time), Reddit threads in relevant subs.
Week 4: see what worked. Iterate.
Realistic, not hype
Most MCP servers see 50-500 downloads in the first month. Only a few hit 5000+. That's OK. The value isn't the number, it's that the right users find you.
Monetization
If you want to make money, address it early. Two patterns that work in 2026:
OSS + Hosted Pro: code on GitHub, self-installation free. But you host a central service with Pro features. Free tier as marketing, Pro tier pays.
Open core: base server free, premium features (enterprise security, SSO, custom domain) paid. Works if your server has team features.
One-time purchase: less popular today, but if you build a specialty tool for a specific profession, that can be 49-99 EUR per license.
Closing Level 6 + Academy
You've come full circle. From "what is an LLM" in Level 1 to "how do I sell my own MCP server" in Level 6. If you finish all six levels, you're not someone who uses AI anymore. You're someone who builds AI systems.
That's the real difference in the 2026+ job market. Not who "can use AI", but who can build AI infrastructure. The graduates of this academy go in the second group.
If you've built something and want to bring it into the world, write to us. We're happy to support with distribution, feedback, connections to the right audience. That's the part that makes "Talent Pool" really valuable, we're your first network.