version: "1.0.0" name: app-store-publisher-leads description: Build a lead list of app and plugin publishers from app stores and platform marketplaces, qualified by install counts, ratings and update cadence. Use when the user wants to sell to app developers, mobile app publishers, game studios, SaaS integration builders, Shopify or WordPress or Chrome extension developers, or platform ecosystem partners.

App and Marketplace Publisher Lead Generation

App stores and platform marketplaces are public directories of software businesses, each listing install counts, review volume, pricing, update history and a support contact. Very few B2B verticals publish this much.

Every listing tells you whether the publisher is a real business or an abandoned side project, which is the only filter that matters here.

What a listing gives you

Last-updated date is the single most important field. A plugin with 50,000 installs last updated three years ago is not a business. One updated last month is.

Where these leads live

Open plugin directories that publish active-install counts are the best of these, because active installs is a genuine usage measure rather than a cumulative download total.

Qualifying signals

Disqualifiers

• Apps not updated in over a year
• Free apps with no monetisation and no company behind them
• Platform-owned first-party apps
• Clones and low-effort reskins
• Individual hobbyist developers, unless the product is priced for them
• Agencies listing a client's app as their own

The ManyPI brief

Update recency is the go/no-go. Ask for it explicitly with the date, and for install counts as the ranking field.

{
  "description": "Independent app publishers on ecommerce platform marketplaces with a paid or freemium pricing model, at least 500 installs, updated within the last 90 days, and their own company website with documentation. Prefer publishers with two or more apps listed. I want the founder or head of product. Skip apps not updated in over a year, free apps with no monetisation, platform first-party apps, clones and agencies listing client work.",
  "count": 200,
  "locations": ["any"],
  "industries": ["software", "SaaS", "app development", "ecommerce apps"],
  "company_size": "2-40 people, independent publisher",
  "titles": ["Founder", "Co-founder", "CEO", "Head of Product", "CTO"],
  "keywords": ["paid or freemium app", "updated recently", "multiple apps listed", "own documentation site", "500+ installs"],
  "exclusions": ["apps not updated in 12 months", "free apps with no company", "platform first-party apps", "clones and reskins", "agency portfolio listings"],
  "required_fields": ["email", "full_name"],
  "extra_columns": [
    "How many installs and reviews does the main app have, and what is its rating? Include the listing URL.",
    "When was the app last updated? Give the date.",
    "How many apps does this publisher have listed?",
    "What is the pricing model and the entry price?",
    "What do the most recent negative reviews complain about? Leave empty if none."
  ],
  "sources": ["ecommerce platform app marketplaces", "CMS plugin directories", "platform partner directories", "publisher documentation sites"],
  "notes": "Last-updated date is the go/no-go filter - an app with high installs and no updates in a year is abandonware, not a business. Install count is the ranking field."
}

claude mcp add --transport http manypi https://mcp.manypi.com/mcp -s user

Finding the contact

Very easy. Platform rules usually require a working support contact, and developers are publicly reachable.

1. The listing's support or developer contact, often required by the platform
2. The company website's team or about page
3. Documentation sites, which frequently name maintainers
4. Changelog and release notes, signed by name
5. Public repositories, where the product is partly open source
6. Developer community profiles and forums

Address formats are usually first@ at small publishers. Deliverability is generally good — these are technical teams with well-configured domains.

The angle that works

You shipped 1.9.2 last week and three of the recent reviews are about the bulk import timing out on large catalogues. That's usually a queueing problem rather than a code problem.

Technical, specific, references their actual release and their actual reviews. This audience responds to evidence that you looked at the product.

What falls flat here specifically: marketing language of any kind, and anything vague. App publishers are technical, they evaluate quickly, and a single imprecise technical claim ends the conversation. If you're pitching a technical product, be precise or don't send.

Timing

• Shortly after a release, when the team is already in the codebase.
• Avoid platform peak seasons — Q4 for ecommerce apps, launch windows for mobile.
• After a platform policy change, when every publisher has to adapt.
• Mid-week, and timezone matters — this audience is globally distributed.

Don't

• Don't email publishers of abandoned apps. Check the update date.
• Don't use marketing language with a technical audience.
• Don't treat cumulative downloads as active users. They're very different numbers.
• Don't reference a negative review tactlessly. Frame it as a technical observation, not a criticism.
• Don't scrape store listings in ways the platform's terms prohibit.

Related playbooks

saas-b2b-leads, github-oss-maintainer-leads, dtc-ecommerce-brands, marketplace-seller-leads, competitor-customer-leads