r/appsumo rules, stats, and what to post

This is a community of sumo-lings, meaning entrepreneurs who hunt for great deals on SaaS products and services on Appsumo. People come here to discuss the deals they bought, get feedback, and trade detailed insights. The description says this is a place for free and open discussion and exchange related to Appsumo and its offerings. So the room is mostly buyers and deal hunters, plus some founders whose products are listed on Appsumo. If you are a founder with a deal live on Appsumo, you are not banned from talking about it, but the rules are very clear about how you do it.

The rule that decides everything for a founder is “NO SPAMMING LINKS”, because it says a link to your own Appsumo deal without effort will be removed, while a case study, the story of how you made the product, or an AMA is fine and welcome. “No self promotion” backs that up by saying this is not a place to run your ad. “No custom links” bans affiliate links, shortlinks, and custom links of any kind, and any link you post gets reviewed by moderators who decide if it is organic. “NO SELLING DEALS” bans selling your Appsumo licenses here. “No Harassment” sets the tone, be civil even when people disagree with you. “Please add post flair if applicable!” asks you to tag your post so the community stays organized.

If your product has a deal on Appsumo, the rules tell you the winning shape directly. Write a real case study about how you built the product, or host an AMA. That means a post about the journey, the numbers you can share, the decisions you made, and honest lessons, with your deal link as context rather than the whole point. If you are a buyer instead, share detailed feedback on deals you have used, ask for opinions before you buy, and discuss what is worth it. Either way, add post flair when one fits, and keep any link organic because every link gets reviewed.

The fastest way to get removed is posting a link to your own deal with no effort behind it, because “NO SPAMMING LINKS” says exactly that gets taken down. Any affiliate link, shortlink, or custom link breaks “No custom links”, and even an organic link goes through moderator review. Running your ad here breaks “No self promotion”. Trying to sell your licenses breaks “NO SELLING DEALS”. Being a jerk to someone who disagrees with you breaks “No Harassment”. And skipping flair when it applies ignores “Please add post flair if applicable!”.

What stands out to me is that rule 5 does not just ban lazy deal links, it tells you exactly what the community wants instead, a case study or an AMA. That is rare and generous, because most subreddits only tell you what not to do. If you built something on Appsumo, the door is genuinely open here, you just have to walk through it with a story, not a link.