Pick a niche, build a real business directory with TurnKey Directories, and post one update a month. Finish the 12 months and your Pro license becomes lifetime.
Pro license worth $329 a year. Lifetime Pro worth $899. You pay your own domain, hosting and listing data.
A 5-minute walkthrough: what you get, what you commit to, the application form and the monthly update.
Pro, free for 12 months. 50,000 imported listings, Outscraper import, IndexNow, the keyword tracker with the advanced tabs, the Network Hub, claims, ad zones and the Reading Toolbar Pro.
Lifetime Pro when you finish. Same license key. Nothing to reinstall.
A public case study at turnkeydirectories.com/open-build/your-directory, updated every month. Useful for your own portfolio.
Direct help. Pro includes direct Discord messages with the team, plus the builders' channel.
A network on day one. Join the Network Hub and get partner links from niche-matched directories.
The license is free. The rest is yours, and it's the reason builders who start tend to finish.
| Typical | |
|---|---|
| Domain | $10 to $15 a year |
| Hosting | $5 to $40 a month |
| Listing data | about $60 per 10,000 listings (Outscraper) |
If you stop before month 12, your Pro license ends and your site continues on the free plugin.
Points for building:
Levels (Starter to Founder-grade) and badges on your case-study page; a leaderboard on this page (you can leave it any time) and a Builder of the month.
The leaderboard opens once 3 builders have posted.
Points are for recognition. They have no cash value and don't change what you need for lifetime Pro.
10 minutes. I read every application myself and reply within 7 days. No account is created yet. — Alpi T.
People who want to run a directory business and will stick with one niche for 12 months. You don't need to be a developer. You do need to put in a few hours a week.
A directory of businesses, for example EV-charger installers in Texas. Not events, jobs, properties or link lists.
Your domain, your hosting and your listing data. Typical totals are in the costs section above. The Pro license is free for 12 months.
No. You bring your own. Most builders use Outscraper, which the plugin imports directly.
When you activate your license from the portal. There are no fixed start dates.
No. The checkout total is $0.
No. You pay $0: we issue the one-time (lifetime) Pro license with an expiry date set to the end of your program. When you complete the program, we remove the expiry. Same key, nothing to reinstall.
Keep the free TurnKey Directories plugin active. Download the Pro plugin zip from your Lemon Squeezy receipt, upload it under Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, then paste your license key in TurnKey Directories → License.
Both are in the Lemon Squeezy receipt sent to the email you used at checkout, and on Lemon Squeezy's My Orders page. We never store your full key.
One update a month: a 3 to 5 minute video (an unlisted YouTube, Loom or Google Drive link works), a Search Console screenshot, a GA4 screenshot and a short written summary. The guide in your portal shows exactly what to film and what to crop.
You get one grace month over the 12. A second missed month puts your lifetime license at risk, and we'll get in touch. If something serious happens, tell us before the deadline and we can excuse the month.
Your case-study page shows your name (full, or first name and last initial), niche, directory, videos, screenshots, notes and the stats you choose to share. Your email, application answers, private plugin feedback, win-clip and source-file links, and revenue (unless you choose to show it) are never public.
Yes, anytime from your portal. Your license ends 14 days later, or at its planned expiry if that's sooner. If you tick "also remove my page", it goes offline straight away and its files are deleted.
Your Pro license ends after month 12 (plus a short buffer) and your site keeps running on the free plugin. Your listings stay, and you can keep adding listings one at a time. Pro features such as bulk import, Outscraper, IndexNow, the keyword tracker, claims, on-site reviews, ads and the Network Hub switch off. If you sell listing plans, the business-owner portal and plan checkout switch off too; subscriptions you already sold keep billing in your own Stripe account.
No. Nothing in the program depends on a review: no points, no rewards, no conditions. If you like the plugin, an honest review on WordPress.org helps other builders find it. If you write one, please mention that you got Pro free through Open Build.
You earn points for monthly updates on time, weekly check-ins, milestones and streaks. They unlock levels and badges on your page, and they put you on the program page's leaderboard and in the running for Builder of the month (you can leave the leaderboard in your profile). Points have no cash value and don't change what you need for lifetime.
At least 5,000 published listings. Pick a niche and geography with at least that many businesses; if yours is smaller, widen the area (for example a state instead of a city).
They run from a one-page strategy and a live site with 5,000 listings, through a growth channel of your choice, to your first claimed listing, real traffic and first revenue. The full list is in your portal.
Yes, up to two active builders per niche. We introduce them as Network Hub partners.
Yours. You pick it on the application, and every due date in your portal and emails is shown in your time.
We confirm completion within 21 days of your final due date.
It covers the Open Build Program pages and TurnKey Directories marketing on our website, YouTube, social media, newsletter and blog. You confirm you have the rights to everything you submit and that it contains no one else's personal data without permission.
7a. Q&A calls. If you accept a recorded Q&A call, you agree we may record it, and edit, clip, caption and publish the recording and a transcript under the license in item 7. We confirm the recording at the start of the call.
11a. Points. Your page and your portal show points, a level and badges based on your updates and milestones, and the program page may show you on a leaderboard or as Builder of the month. Points have no cash value, can't be exchanged, and don't change what you need for lifetime (item 6). You can leave the leaderboard and the spotlight in your portal profile.
Videos you link stay with YouTube, Loom or Google.