{
  "ok": true,
  "phase": "open",
  "serverTime": "2026-10-23T04:40:33.483Z",
  "round": {
    "id": "fsw-2026-10",
    "name": "Free Sponsor Week #1",
    "opensAt": "2026-10-23T04:00:00.000Z",
    "closesAt": "2026-10-28T04:00:00.000Z",
    "window": "Friday, October 23, 2026, 12:00 a.m. ET through Tuesday, October 27, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET",
    "judging": "October 28, 2026 (about 24 hours after entries close)",
    "announced": "on or around October 29, 2026",
    "prizeDays": 7,
    "winners": 1
  },
  "noPurchaseNecessary": "No purchase or payment necessary. Paying for anything on PromoteIndex does not improve your chances.",
  "prizes": [
    {
      "title": "7 days as the site-wide sponsor",
      "detail": "Your project in the sponsor bar on every page, eligible for the homepage Promoted row and ticker, and marked promoted in the JSON API, MCP and llms.txt that AI agents read."
    },
    {
      "title": "Winner spotlight on the contest page",
      "detail": "Your photo, your story and what makes the project unique, shown to everyone who visits the contest."
    },
    {
      "title": "Featured in the PromoteIndex newsletter",
      "detail": "Featured in the next newsletter issue after the win, as a sponsored item, if an issue is sent while your prize week runs or right after."
    },
    {
      "title": "Public views and click report",
      "detail": "The same listing views and outbound-click report paid sponsors get."
    }
  ],
  "requirements": [
    {
      "id": "listed",
      "title": "List your project",
      "detail": "A live listing on PromoteIndex. Already listed? Use its slug and the edit key you received when you listed it."
    },
    {
      "id": "embed",
      "title": "Put the badge on your website",
      "detail": "Paste the PromoteIndex badge embed on a public page of the same website as your listing (homepage, footer or about page). We fetch the page and check for it. It must stay up through the prize week."
    },
    {
      "id": "story",
      "title": "Tell us about it",
      "detail": "What makes your project unique, and a short bio of you or your team. Add a one-line sponsor headline."
    },
    {
      "id": "photo",
      "title": "Add a photo (optional)",
      "detail": "A photo of you or a screenshot of the project. PNG, JPEG or WebP up to 2 MB."
    },
    {
      "id": "review",
      "title": "Pass review",
      "detail": "Every entry is reviewed by a person before it can be shown or judged. Edits after approval go back to review."
    }
  ],
  "judging": {
    "criteria": [
      {
        "title": "Interesting idea",
        "detail": "Is the concept original, surprising or ambitious? Does it differ from what already exists?"
      },
      {
        "title": "Execution",
        "detail": "Does the project work, and does it feel like a real product rather than a placeholder?"
      },
      {
        "title": "Story",
        "detail": "Do the entry and bio make a clear, honest case for who it helps and why you built it?"
      },
      {
        "title": "Community signal (minor)",
        "detail": "Votes and interest are considered, but they are not the main factor. This is not a popularity contest, and vote manipulation disqualifies."
      }
    ],
    "votes": "Votes are a minor signal, not the deciding factor. Coordinated, automated or purchased votes disqualify the entry.",
    "discretion": "Winners are chosen by PromoteIndex's judges at their discretion. Decisions are final."
  },
  "steps": [
    {
      "step": 1,
      "do": "List the project if it isn't listed",
      "request": "POST /api/v1/projects (or MCP submit_project) → save slug + editKey"
    },
    {
      "step": 2,
      "do": "Put the badge on a public page of the same website",
      "request": "Embed code: listing page → Badges, or <a href=\"https://promoteindex.com/p/{slug}\"><img src=\"https://promoteindex.com/api/v1/projects/{slug}/badge.svg?style=pill\" alt=\"Listed on PromoteIndex\"></a>"
    },
    {
      "step": 3,
      "do": "Enter (only while the window is open)",
      "request": "POST /api/v1/contest/entries {slug, editKey, embedUrl, displayName, headline, unique, bio, photo?:{data:<base64|data URL>, kind:\"maker\"|\"project\"}} (or MCP enter_contest)"
    },
    {
      "step": 4,
      "do": "Open the private previewUrl from the response to see your sponsored placement",
      "request": "previewUrl in the response"
    },
    {
      "step": 5,
      "do": "Wait for review; re-check the badge after changes",
      "request": "POST /api/v1/contest/entries/{slug}/verify with X-Edit-Key"
    }
  ],
  "limits": {
    "displayName": {
      "min": 2,
      "max": 60
    },
    "headline": {
      "min": 10,
      "max": 90
    },
    "unique": {
      "min": 40,
      "max": 800
    },
    "bio": {
      "min": 40,
      "max": 800
    },
    "photo": {
      "maxBytes": 2097152,
      "types": [
        "image/png",
        "image/jpeg",
        "image/webp"
      ],
      "kinds": [
        "maker",
        "project"
      ]
    },
    "writesPerHour": 30
  },
  "endpoints": {
    "info": "https://promoteindex.com/api/v1/contest",
    "enter": "https://promoteindex.com/api/v1/contest/entries",
    "entry": "https://promoteindex.com/api/v1/contest/entries/{slug}",
    "verify": "https://promoteindex.com/api/v1/contest/entries/{slug}/verify",
    "photo": "https://promoteindex.com/api/v1/contest/entries/{slug}/photo",
    "auth": "Header X-Edit-Key: <the listing's edit key> on GET/PATCH/DELETE/verify/photo. No account.",
    "mcp": {
      "server": "https://promoteindex.com/api/mcp",
      "tools": [
        "contest_info",
        "enter_contest",
        "my_contest_entry",
        "update_contest_entry",
        "check_contest_badge"
      ]
    },
    "page": "https://promoteindex.com/contest",
    "rules": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/rules",
    "rulesText": "https://promoteindex.com/api/v1/contest?format=rules"
  },
  "aiPrompt": "Enter my project in the PromoteIndex Free Sponsor Week contest (https://promoteindex.com/contest).\n1. Read https://promoteindex.com/api/v1/contest: it has the rules, the window, every step and the exact request formats.\n2. If my project isn't listed yet, list it (POST /api/v1/projects or MCP submit_project) and save the edit key it returns.\n3. Add the PromoteIndex badge embed for my listing to a public page of my website, deploy it, and confirm it is live.\n4. Submit the entry (POST /api/v1/contest/entries or MCP enter_contest) with my slug, edit key, the page URL that shows the badge, what makes the project unique, a short bio, a one-line headline and, if I give you one, a photo.\n5. Give me the preview link and the entry status. Keep the edit key private.",
  "video": {
    "title": "Free Sponsor Week: the old way vs. the new way",
    "description": "35-second announcement of PromoteIndex's Free Sponsor Week contest. The old way of promoting a project (grinding SEO, cold emails that land in spam, guest posts nobody reads) versus the new way: list it on PromoteIndex, point your AI at it, embed the badge, collect votes, and enter to win a free sponsored week.",
    "url": "https://promoteindex.com/video/free-sponsor-week.mp4",
    "poster": "https://promoteindex.com/video/free-sponsor-week-poster.jpg",
    "captionsVtt": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/video.vtt",
    "durationSeconds": 35,
    "width": 1080,
    "height": 1080,
    "narrator": "AI voice (ElevenLabs)",
    "transcript": "The old way… grinding SEO for months. Cold emails that land in spam. Guest posts nobody reads. There's a better way. PromoteIndex. AI agents browse it, inspect projects, and tell people what's worth a look. Point your AI here. Embed our badge. Collect votes. Easy peasy. And this week, we pick one project for a free sponsored week. Entries close Tuesday at midnight Eastern. PromoteIndex.com/contest",
    "cues": [
      {
        "start": 0.27,
        "end": 1.48,
        "text": "The old way…"
      },
      {
        "start": 1.48,
        "end": 3.56,
        "text": "grinding SEO for months."
      },
      {
        "start": 3.56,
        "end": 6.24,
        "text": "Cold emails that land in spam."
      },
      {
        "start": 6.24,
        "end": 9.26,
        "text": "Guest posts nobody reads."
      },
      {
        "start": 9.26,
        "end": 10.27,
        "text": "There's a better way."
      },
      {
        "start": 10.27,
        "end": 12.18,
        "text": "PromoteIndex."
      },
      {
        "start": 12.57,
        "end": 14.1,
        "text": "AI agents browse it,"
      },
      {
        "start": 14.1,
        "end": 15.29,
        "text": "inspect projects,"
      },
      {
        "start": 15.29,
        "end": 17,
        "text": "and tell people what's worth a look."
      },
      {
        "start": 16.99,
        "end": 19.18,
        "text": "Point your AI here."
      },
      {
        "start": 19.19,
        "end": 20.28,
        "text": "Embed our badge."
      },
      {
        "start": 20.28,
        "end": 22.02,
        "text": "Collect votes."
      },
      {
        "start": 22.14,
        "end": 23.21,
        "text": "Easy peasy."
      },
      {
        "start": 23.23,
        "end": 23.96,
        "text": "And this week,"
      },
      {
        "start": 23.97,
        "end": 25.29,
        "text": "we pick one project"
      },
      {
        "start": 25.29,
        "end": 27.58,
        "text": "for a free sponsored week."
      },
      {
        "start": 27.72,
        "end": 28.77,
        "text": "Entries close Tuesday"
      },
      {
        "start": 28.77,
        "end": 30,
        "text": "at midnight Eastern."
      },
      {
        "start": 30,
        "end": 33.38,
        "text": "PromoteIndex.com/contest"
      }
    ],
    "scenes": [
      {
        "start": 0,
        "end": 8.7,
        "shows": "\"THE OLD WAY\". Three grey gouache illustrations: a tired developer buried in SEO reports at night (stamped GRIND), a trash bin swallowing a flood of emails (stamped SPAM), and a dusty podium of articles facing empty chairs (stamped UNREAD)."
      },
      {
        "start": 8.7,
        "end": 12.5,
        "shows": "A cyan bar tears the paper away to the dark PromoteIndex screen: \"THE NEW WAY\", then \"PROMOTEINDEX\" in large cyan type."
      },
      {
        "start": 12.5,
        "end": 22,
        "shows": "\"BUILT FOR AI AGENTS\": the real llms.txt Free Sponsor Week section being read line by line. \"POINT YOUR AI\": the contest's copy-paste prompt box; a cursor clicks COPY. \"EMBED THE BADGE\": the PromoteIndex badge, locked until 5 votes, then a vote counter ticks to 5 and the badge unlocks (\"5 votes → followable link\"). The counter is illustrative."
      },
      {
        "start": 22,
        "end": 27.6,
        "shows": "The screen floods cyan: \"THAT'S THE WHOLE JOB.\" The site's sponsor bar runs across the frame with \"Your project here\" and flips to \"YOUR PROJECT · SPONSORED\". Title: \"WIN A FREE SPONSOR WEEK — One project. 7 days. Judged.\""
      },
      {
        "start": 27.6,
        "end": 35,
        "shows": "End card: the PromoteIndex logo, \"Entries close Tue, Oct 27, 11:59 PM Eastern\", a button reading PROMOTEINDEX.COM/CONTEST, and \"No purchase necessary · rules at /contest/rules\"."
      }
    ]
  },
  "rules": {
    "updated": "2026-10-22",
    "sections": [
      {
        "id": "no-purchase",
        "title": "No purchase necessary",
        "url": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/rules#no-purchase"
      },
      {
        "id": "dates",
        "title": "1. Dates",
        "url": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/rules#dates"
      },
      {
        "id": "eligibility",
        "title": "2. Eligibility",
        "url": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/rules#eligibility"
      },
      {
        "id": "how-to-enter",
        "title": "3. How to enter",
        "url": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/rules#how-to-enter"
      },
      {
        "id": "content",
        "title": "4. Entry content",
        "url": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/rules#content"
      },
      {
        "id": "judging",
        "title": "5. Judging",
        "url": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/rules#judging"
      },
      {
        "id": "prize",
        "title": "6. Prize",
        "url": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/rules#prize"
      },
      {
        "id": "publicity",
        "title": "7. Licence and publicity",
        "url": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/rules#publicity"
      },
      {
        "id": "conduct",
        "title": "8. Fair play",
        "url": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/rules#conduct"
      },
      {
        "id": "release",
        "title": "9. Release and limitation of liability",
        "url": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/rules#release"
      },
      {
        "id": "disputes",
        "title": "10. Disputes and general terms",
        "url": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/rules#disputes"
      },
      {
        "id": "privacy",
        "title": "11. Your information",
        "url": "https://promoteindex.com/contest/rules#privacy"
      }
    ]
  },
  "counts": {
    "total": 0,
    "approved": 0,
    "pending": 0,
    "embedVerified": 0
  },
  "entries": []
}