Which marketplace should I list on first?

**Whichever one has the highest ICP overlap, not the biggest ecosystem.** Match by platform gravity: e-commerce goes Shopify, sales/RevOps goes Salesforce or HubSpot, team/collab goes Slack or Atlassian, horizontal workflow tools start with Zapier and Make. If you're unsure, run the one-question survey in Step 2 before deciding anything.

Should I just build the Zapier integration and skip the native app?

**Start with Zapier or Make regardless, then decide.** It costs engineering time only, no revenue share, no security review, and is the standard cheap test for demand. If Zapier connection volume stays flat for a month, a native marketplace app on the same idea usually won't perform either. Zapier can also be a permanent channel on its own, not just a stepping stone.

What if the platform builds my feature natively and Sherlocks us?

**It's a real risk, not a hypothetical one.** Platforms can add your core feature natively, change ranking rules, raise revenue share, or delist you with little notice. Mitigate it by not betting your entire roadmap on being a thin layer over one platform's API, keep genuine differentiation (data across multiple platforms, a workflow the native feature doesn't cover) so you survive if the platform moves into your space.

How much revenue share do these marketplaces actually take?

**It varies and changes, model it before committing.** As of 2025, Salesforce charges new partners 15% of net revenue on paid AppExchange apps (down from 25%). Shopify's share ranges 0-15% depending on tier. Atlassian is in a similar range. None of this applies to free apps, but if you're monetising through the marketplace, run the net economics before you commit engineering time.

We have almost no reviews yet, how do we get unstuck from page five of search?

**Seed it manually before expecting organic growth.** Personally ask your first 10-20 happy customers for a review right after a genuine success moment (see Step 5). Combine that with external traffic: link to the listing from your own site, your docs, and a launch post. Ranking then compounds from install velocity and retention, but you have to prime the first batch yourself.

Is this worth it if we're pre-PMF or a small team?

**Usually not yet.** This tactic assumes a working product, an API, OAuth capability, and enough customers to already know 30-40% of them sit on the target platform. Pre-PMF teams should validate the integration idea through direct customer conversations first; building a marketplace listing before that is committing 4-12 engineering weeks against a guess.

🔌 Marketplace & App-Store Listings

Integration & App-Marketplace Listings

Build a native integration or embed via an existing one, then get it discovered inside Shopify App Store, Salesforce AppExchange, HubSpot App Marketplace, Slack App Directory, Zapier, Make, Atlassian Marketplace, monday.com or Notion. The listing itself becomes a self-serve acquisition surface, ranked by the platform's own search algorithm rather than by a human co-selling on your behalf.

15 min read

Last updated: Jul 26, 2026

🔌

"We stopped hiding our Zapier integration in a settings menu and put it inside onboarding instead. Signups went up 40% that same quarter, active usage climbed 20% on top of that, and none of it needed a sales conversation."

tl;dv, documented in the Zapier Partner Program case study

📅 From First Test to a Working Channel

Setup Warm-up Outreach

Week 1-2

Validate demand: overlap survey, support tickets, competitor listings

⏱ ~1 week

Week 3-4

Ship a Zapier/Make listing as the cheapest possible test

⏱ ~1-2 weeks

Month 2-3

Build and submit the native app for your one flagship marketplace

⏱ 4-12 eng weeks

Month 3-4

Clear certification/security review, launch the listing as a landing page

⏱ 4-8 weeks (Salesforce)

Month 4+

Run the review engine, instrument activation, pitch platform co-marketing

⏱ ongoing

Week 1-2

Validate demand: overlap survey, support tickets, competitor listings

⏱ ~1 week

Week 3-4

Ship a Zapier/Make listing as the cheapest possible test

⏱ ~1-2 weeks

Month 2-3

Build and submit the native app for your one flagship marketplace

⏱ 4-12 eng weeks

Month 3-4

Clear certification/security review, launch the listing as a landing page

⏱ 4-8 weeks (Salesforce)

Month 4+

Run the review engine, instrument activation, pitch platform co-marketing

⏱ ongoing

Is this for you?

Great fit if...

At least 30-40% of your current users already run the platform you want to list on
You're post-PMF with a working API, OAuth capability, and support capacity to handle another platform's users
You can commit engineering time for 4-12 weeks plus permanent maintenance, not just a launch sprint
The integration solves a top request already sitting in your support tickets
You're willing to start with Zapier or Make before committing to a native app on the same idea

Try something else if...

You're pre-product or pre-PMF and have no customer base to validate overlap against
You want passive traffic: a brand-new listing with no reviews ranks nowhere in marketplace search
You can't absorb the revenue share (0-15%+ depending on platform) or the security review cost on AppExchange
You don't have engineering bandwidth to maintain the integration through the platform's API version bumps
You're trying to replace human relationship-building with a listing; mature partnerships still need a person

Need a human relationship instead of a self-serve listing? Try strategic partnerships →

Not the right fit?

If Integration & App-Marketplace Listings doesn't match your situation, consider these alternative tactics that achieve similar goals:

Strategic Partnerships

Build integration and co-marketing partnerships with complementary products.

advanced•medium•medium term

Affiliate Programs

Create a commission-based program where partners earn for driving customers.

intermediate•medium•medium term

What to expect

30-40%

ICP overlap on the platform you need before building pays off

2-4 weeks

Time to ship a Zapier/Make listing as your demand test

~20%

Lower churn among customers using an integration (Clearbit data)

Quick math: An install is not a user. Most of the value shows up 3-6 months in, once reviews accumulate, ranking compounds, and your install-to-activation funnel is tuned. Teams that expect a listing to send traffic on day one without reviews or a setup flow usually give up before the channel starts working.

Match your business to the marketplace, don't chase all of them. Each listing needs its own build, its own versioning, and its own support SLA. Listing on five marketplaces at once with a two-person team is how integrations rot and start collecting one-star reviews for being broken.

Why this surface matters when you pick right:

📊 91% of Salesforce customers run at least one AppExchange app📊 HubSpot customers install 7 apps on average, over a quarter install 10+

Match your product type to platform gravity

Your ICP already clusters around a handful of platforms. List where they already are, not where you wish they were.

E-commerce tools: Shopify App Store is the default first stop
Sales and RevOps tools: Salesforce AppExchange or HubSpot App Marketplace
Team and collaboration tools: Slack App Directory or Atlassian Marketplace
Horizontal workflow tools (anything that moves data between apps): Zapier and Make first
PM and ops tools: monday.com or the Notion integrations gallery
If your product genuinely fits two platforms, still pick the one with higher ICP overlap and ship that first

Start cheap: treat Zapier and Make as your canary

This is the standard, cheap test for 2026. If nobody connects you there, a native marketplace app will not save you.

List a public Zap or Make scenario before building anything native
This costs engineering time only, no revenue share, no security review
Watch connection volume for 3-4 weeks before deciding to go native
Don't treat Zapier as beneath you: embedding it in onboarding drove a 40% signup lift for tl;dv and Adalo

💡 One marketplace, done properly

Pick the single marketplace with the highest ICP overlap and commit to it fully (listing, reviews, support, roadmap) before you even scope a second one. A half-maintained listing on five marketplaces converts worse than a fully maintained one on a single platform.

Conversation Flow

The platform's partner team reaches out after you gain traction

Respond promptly and treat this as the start of the co-marketing phase, not a cold pitch you have to chase.

“Thanks for reaching out! We'd love to explore [newsletter feature / co-webinar / partner tier]. Here's our current install and review numbers: [stats]. What's the best next step on your end?”

A customer leaves a negative review about a broken sync

Respond publicly, specifically, and fast. Silence on a negative review is worse than the review itself.

“Hi [Name], sorry about this, you're right that [specific issue] shouldn't happen. We've pushed a fix as of [date]. Would you mind updating your review once you've had a chance to retest? Happy to jump on a call if it's still not working.”

The platform announces a native feature that overlaps with your integration

This is Sherlocking risk showing up. Don't panic-react publicly, assess what's actually left of your differentiation first.

“We're reviewing the announcement and will share an update on how this affects [Product Name] within [timeframe]. In the meantime, [specific thing you do that the native feature does not cover] remains our focus.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Tools you'll need

⚡

Zapier Developer Platform

Free no-code/CLI platform to build and publicly list an integration in Zapier's app directory, the cheapest way to test marketplace demand.

Free

🔗

Paragon

Embedded iPaaS for shipping native, in-product SaaS integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack and 130+ connectors) without building each API client in-house.

🧩

Prismatic

Embedded integration platform with a visual workflow builder and an embeddable in-app integration marketplace for B2B SaaS.

🗂️

Pandium

Integration marketplace platform that builds and hosts your public integrations page plus the underlying integrations, focused on turning listings into a channel.

📈

App Store Analytics

Shopify App Store ASO tracker for keyword rankings, category positions, and competitor listing changes.

🔀

Merge

Unified API that gives you dozens of CRM, HRIS, and ticketing integrations through one endpoint, useful when marketplace breadth matters more than depth.

Freemium

What's Next?

Complete this tactic, then continue your GTM journey with these recommended next steps.

Current

Integration & App-Marketplace Listings

Suggested Next

Strategic Partnerships

Pairs well with:

Strategic Partnerships Review Site Strategy Directory Listings

Back to Library

Integration & App-Marketplace Listings

📅 From First Test to a Working Channel

Is this for you?

Not the right fit?

What to expect

Pick the one marketplace your ICP already lives on

Validate demand before you write a line of integration code

Build the integration to the platform's actual 2026 requirements

Turn the listing into a landing page (marketplace ASO)

Run the review engine from day one

Instrument install-to-activation, then graduate to co-marketing

Conversation Flow

Frequently Asked Questions

Tools you'll need

Zapier Developer Platform

Paragon

Prismatic

Pandium

App Store Analytics

Merge

What's Next?