To get a short editorial write-up of your indie product, you need a page that opens hard: who it is, what it is, who it is for, then one product link in a real sentence. Hed Press publishes exactly that format. Community coverage is free with a reciprocal site credit, or free with a nofollow product link and no credit. Five free stories go live each day at 08:00 UTC. A $29 story goes live the day it is ready and adds the full editorial and distribution package. This IndieHunt guide is about getting that short write-up published, not about rewriting your homepage lede for its own sake.
Plans were checked on 6 November 2026. Disclosure: Hed Press is run by the same team as IndieHunt and the other Hunt / Aura++ sites.
Last checked: Nov 6, 2026
What is a Hed Press product story?
Hed Press is named for the headline. It publishes opener-first product stories: the first lines state who it is, what it is and who it is for, so a reader knows whether to keep going. A product link sits in a real sentence later in the piece. That is different from a directory row, a multi-product shortlist, a long decision explainer, or a daily edition feature with more story scaffolding.
On Free and $29 plans the product link is dofollow (no rel nofollow, sponsored or ugc). On the Nofollow plan it uses rel=nofollow. Hed's pricing page states the domain rating is 0 and that the page does not promise a ranking, a traffic number or a change in that rating. Open the live URL and inspect the anchor after publish.
When is a short editorial write-up the right format?
You want | Better desk | Why |
|---|---|---|
A sharp public page that answers who/what/for-whom fast | Hed Press | Opener-first is the product |
A news-style feature in a daily edition | Lede Press | Edition index + fuller story |
A place inside a criteria-led shortlist | Listed Press | Comparers already scanning options |
A long explainer around one buyer decision | Piece Press | Depth and tradeoffs |
A row in a logo directory | Not these desks | Use directories instead |
If you are still deciding between articles and directories, read EarlyHunt on editorial vs directory backlinks. If you need the wider options list (pitches, guest posts, agencies, press networks), MakerHunt covers how to get editorial backlinks as an indie maker.
What does Hed Press cost?
Free reciprocal: one opener-first story per project, dofollow product link, site credit to hedpress.com required (badge optional), shares five daily free slots at 08:00 UTC.
Free nofollow: one story per project, product link uses rel=nofollow, no site credit, same free pool.
$29 editorial: unlimited stories per project, dofollow product link, same-day publish, SEO/AEO/GEO pass, FAQ schema, Article and product structured data, llms.txt and Markdown twin, custom featured image, Pinterest pin, IndexNow, up to three tomorrow relaunches.
Projects are free. A $29 page does not take a free slot. Hed's pricing copy notes that agencies commonly charge $500 to $1,000 for coverage on a site you do not run; here the publisher is Hed Press and the URL is public the day it goes live.
How do you get a short write-up published?
Create a free project on Hed Press.
Pick reciprocal free, nofollow free, or $29.
Submit the product URL and a clear who / what / for whom in plain language.
If reciprocal free, put a credit to hedpress.com on your site and leave it up while the story is live.
When the story is public, open it, read the opener, and inspect the product link.
Add the URL, plan and checked-on date to your backlink sheet.
Hed Press writes the page. You are not waiting for a blogger to reply to a cold email.
What facts make a keepable Hed submission?
Send facts an opener can use without fluff:
Product name and exact URL.
One sentence: who it is for.
One sentence: what it does in concrete terms.
One limit or non-goal so the page stays honest.
Category tags that match how a buyer searches.
This post is not a writing workshop on ledes. If you want a separate craft note on opening lines for pitches, that lives on Medium; here the job is shipping a Hed Press page. Keep the submission short enough that an editor can trust it.
How do you check the live story?
Open the public Hed Press URL. Confirm:
The opener states who, what and for whom before you have to scroll for the pitch.
There is one product link in the article body.
The rel attribute matches your plan (dofollow on Free reciprocal and $29; nofollow on the Nofollow plan).
Aura++ explains the inspection steps in how to check if a backlink is dofollow. Date the row in your sheet.
Hed Press vs pitching "best tools" lists
Pitching third-party roundups is a different motion: you find lists, qualify publishers, send a specific ask, and often wait. IndieHunt already owns that playbook in how to get your SaaS into best tools lists. Hed Press is not a roundup desk. It is a short editorial write-up of your product on hedpress.com. Use Listed Press when the job is a shortlist; use Hed when the job is a sharp single-product story.
A made-up example: Nibstack ships a Hed story
Nibstack is a made-up habit tracker for people who journal on paper and want a weekly review without another social feed. The founder creates a Hed project, chooses free reciprocal, adds a footer credit to hedpress.com, and submits: "Nibstack is a weekly review app for paper journalers who want prompts without a social feed." The story goes live in the free pool. They open the URL, confirm the opener and the dofollow product link, and share it once in their launch thread. No ranking claim. Just a public short write-up they can point to.
How should an indie maker use a Hed story in launch week?
A short write-up is easy to overshare and easy to underuse. A simple pattern that works for small launches:
One primary share: your launch post or launch email links the Hed story once, with descriptive anchor text.
One durable home: add the story URL to a Press or As featured on section on your site, not to every footer.
One follow-up check: seven days later, re-open the live page and confirm the product link still matches the plan.
Do not paste the same Hed URL into twenty directories and call it a campaign. If you still need free followed directory links, IndieHunt already covers free startup directories that give a followed link as a separate job.
What if Hed's free slots are full today?
Reciprocal and nofollow pages share five slots each day at 08:00 UTC. If those five are filled, a ready free page waits in the free queue and goes live on a later day in the order it joined. A $29 page does not enter that queue. So if timing matters for a launch email, either submit early enough for the free pool or use the $29 same-day path. Do not invent a scarcity story beyond what the pricing page states.
Mistakes that waste a Hed submission
Sending a slogan with no buyer.
Submitting a coming-soon page with nothing to try.
Choosing reciprocal free and removing the credit the next day.
Expecting Hed to behave like a multi-product roundup.
Counting the link before inspecting rel on the live page.
Short editorial write-up FAQ
Can I get a short editorial write-up of my indie product for free?
Yes on Hed Press: free reciprocal (dofollow, site credit required) or free nofollow. Both share five daily slots at 08:00 UTC. $29 skips the free queue and adds the distribution pass.
Is the Hed Press link dofollow?
On Free reciprocal and $29, yes. On Free nofollow, the product link uses rel=nofollow. Inspect the live page.
Will Hed Press guarantee a ranking or an AI citation?
No. Hed states that a ranking is a separate decision and a citation is not promised. The $29 plan builds cite-ready surfaces; it does not buy a citation.
Do I need a polished homepage first?
You need a product URL a stranger can understand. If your homepage cannot say who it is for in two lines, fix that before you submit, because the Hed opener will need the same clarity.
Ship one opener-first story
If a short editorial write-up is the asset you want, open the Hed Press get-published page, compare Hed Press pricing, submit one clear product, and verify the live link before you add it to any launch checklist.
