Resource page outreach is the one place where you can drop the polite fiction. The curator built a list of links on purpose. They expect suggestions. What they do not expect — and what almost every pitch delivers — is a suggestion that duplicates something already on the list.
The template
Subject: Suggestion for your [topic] resources page
"Hi [name] — your [page title] list is one of the few that includes [specific entry], which is usually left off. Worth a look for it: [your page title] — [URL].
It covers [the specific thing the existing entries don't]: [one concrete detail]. Closest thing on your list is [named existing entry], which handles [what it does] but stops before [the gap].
No worries if it is not a fit. — [name]"
The line that decides the answer
It is the third one: naming an existing entry and saying exactly where it stops. That single sentence does three jobs at once. It proves you read the list rather than finding it in a search operator. It tells the curator where your page would sit. And it answers the only question they actually have, which is whether adding you would create a duplicate.
Pitches without that sentence get ignored not because they are rude but because answering them requires the curator to do the comparison themselves.
Finding pages worth pitching
Search for your topic alongside the words curators actually use — resources, tools, reading list, useful links, further reading. Then filter hard, because most of what comes back is abandoned.
| Check | Pitch it | Skip it |
|---|---|---|
| Last updated | Within two years | Undated or clearly stale |
| Dead links on it | A couple | A third of the list |
| Who maintains it | Named person or team | No byline, no contact |
| List length | 10–60 entries | 300+ (nobody reads it) |
| Your genuine gap | Nameable in one clause | "Ours is also good" |
A resource page with a couple of dead links is a bonus, not a problem — mention them and you have combined two pitches into one, which is the highest-converting version of this email. The broken link template covers how to phrase that half.
Two variants
When the list has dead entries. Lead with the dead link, not your suggestion. "Two of the links in [section] are 404ing — [names]. Separately, if you are replacing them, [your page] covers [gap]." The favour comes first and the suggestion reads as incidental, which is how it should feel.
When it is a university or institutional page. Be plainer and more formal, name the course or department page you are writing about, and expect a slower reply. These convert well and take months.
What not to send
Do not send a list of five of your pages. Do not describe your page with adjectives — "comprehensive," "ultimate," "in-depth" are the tells that a curator has seen a thousand times. Do not offer a reciprocal link; on a curated list it reads as a transaction and disqualifies you.
And do not follow up more than twice. Curators update lists in batches, often quarterly, so a no-reply frequently means "queued" rather than "no" — which is also why it is worth checking back in six months on the ones that went quiet.
Where it fits
Resource page outreach suits genuine reference material: guides, tools, datasets. It does not work for commercial pages, and pitching one is the fastest way to be filed as spam by someone who curates for a living. For which pages deserve which tactic see the strategy guide; for the other pitch structures, the templates guide. Our link prospecting tool handles finding and qualifying the lists.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find resource pages in my niche?
Search your topic together with the words curators use — resources, tools, useful links, further reading, reading list — and then filter for pages updated within about two years that have a named maintainer and fewer than sixty entries. Most search results for these queries are abandoned pages, so the filtering matters more than the finding.
What should I say in a resource page outreach email?
Name one specific entry already on the list, say what it covers and where it stops, and position your page as filling that gap. That comparison is the whole email — it proves you read the list and answers the curator's only real question, which is whether you would be a duplicate.
Do resource page links still count?
Links from genuinely maintained, curated lists on relevant sites are ordinary editorial links and count as such. What does not count is the category of pages built purely to host links — long undated lists with hundreds of entries and no readers. The maintenance signals are what separate the two, and they are easy to check before pitching.
Should I offer a reciprocal link?
No. On a curated resource page, offering an exchange reframes an editorial decision as a transaction and usually ends the conversation. It also creates a pattern that is easy to detect at scale. If your page genuinely belongs on the list, say why; if it does not, a reciprocal offer will not change that.