mcp-newsletter-sponsor-tracker
LocalAbout mcp-newsletter-sponsor-tracker
An MCP server for tracking newsletter sponsorships from public archives, for marketers and sponsorship researchers. It can find sponsors in newsletters or identify newsletters carrying a brand’s placements.
Key features
- 01Finds sponsors in newsletter issues
- 02Finds newsletters sponsored by a brand
- 03Reports placement frequency and dates
- 04Reads archives, sitemaps, and RSS
Use cases
- 01Check sponsors across recent issues
- 02Find newsletters carrying a brand’s ads
- 03Compare sponsor frequency across newsletters
MCP support
Exposes the `track_newsletter_sponsors` tool to MCP clients. It starts the Apify actor, waits for completion, and returns dataset rows.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
npx -y @mambalabsdev/mcp-newsletter-sponsor-trackerAPIFY_TOKENSecretApify API token from https://console.apify.com/account/integrationsLocal servers need a runtime on your machine (e.g. Node.js 18+). Config file locations differ by client; see your client’s docs.
Tools
1Saved tool list · updated 3d ago
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| mode | enum | No | newsletter (default): newsletter links in, sponsors out. brand: a brand in, the newsletters that ran its placements out.newsletter | brand |
| brand_name | string | No | Brand mode. The sponsor name as newsletters print it, for example Attio. |
| since_days | string | No | Stop at issues older than this many days. 0: no limit. Default 365. |
| brand_domain | string | No | Brand mode. The sponsor domain, for example attio.com. |
| issues_to_scan | string | No | Newest issues read per newsletter, 1 to 200; at most 20 in brand mode. Default 20. |
| max_charge_usd | string | No | Optional. The run stops before any row that would take its charges over this amount. |
| newsletter_urls | array | No | Newsletter mode. Home page links or domains, up to 100, for example notboring.co. |
| newsletters_to_check | string | No | Brand mode. Candidate newsletters to confirm, 1 to 10. Default 10. |
Details
From the project READMENewsletter Sponsor Tracker MCP Server
An MCP server for the Mamba Labs Newsletter Sponsor Tracker actor on Apify. Give it newsletter links to see who sponsors them, or a brand to see which newsletters it sponsors.
What's Inside
- What it does
- Quick start
- Prerequisites
- Example prompts
- Tool
- Inputs
- Pricing
- Your keys
- Full actor documentation
- License
What it does
Two modes:
- newsletter: give
newsletter_urls. You get one row per sponsor found in the newest issues: sponsor name, domain, link without tracking, placements, share of issues, first and last issue seen, and issue links, plus one free summary row per newsletter. - brand: give
brand_nameandbrand_domain. You get the newsletters whose recent issues carry a sponsor placement for the brand, found through Google results and confirmed in each newsletter's own issues.
Archives are read from Substack archive JSON, beehiiv and other sitemaps, or RSS. A placement is a short block with a sponsor label and the first outside link beside it.
All of the work runs on Apify. This package is a thin client that starts the actor run, waits for it, and hands back the dataset rows.
Quick start
You need Node.js 18 or newer and an Apify account with an API token.
Add this to your Claude Desktop config (claude_desktop_config.json), Cursor, or any MCP client:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mamba-newsletter-sponsor-tracker": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@mambalabsdev/mcp-newsletter-sponsor-tracker"
],
"env": {
"APIFY_TOKEN": "your-apify-token"
}
}
}
}
Restart the client. The track_newsletter_sponsors tool appears.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 18 or newer.
- An Apify API token from console.apify.com/account/integrations, set as
APIFY_TOKEN. The server lists its tool without a token; a call needs one.
Example prompts
- "Who sponsored Not Boring and Superhuman AI in the last 20 issues?"
- "Which newsletters has Attio sponsored recently?"
- "List the sponsors of these five AI newsletters with how often each appeared."
Tool
track_newsletter_sponsors. One tool. Example arguments:
{
"mode": "newsletter",
"newsletter_urls": [
"https://www.notboring.co"
],
"issues_to_scan": "20"
}
Inputs
Every buyer facing input of the actor, unchanged. Omitted inputs take the actor's own defaults. Numbers and booleans are sent as strings.
| Input | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
mode | string | newsletter (default) or brand |
newsletter_urls | array | Newsletter mode. Home page links or domains, up to 100 |
brand_name | string | Brand mode. The sponsor name |
brand_domain | string | Brand mode. The sponsor domain |
newsletters_to_check | string | Brand mode. 1 to 10. Default 10 |
issues_to_scan | string | 1 to 200; at most 20 in brand mode. Default 20 |
since_days | string | Date window in days. Default 365 |
max_charge_usd | string | Optional cost cap for the run |
Pricing
Pay per event on Apify, billed to your Apify account. Prices in USD.
| Event | Free plan | Bronze | Silver | Gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
sponsor-row, per sponsor of one newsletter | $0.004 | $0.0038 | $0.0036 | $0.0034 |
brand-search, brand mode only, once per run | $0.065 | $0.06175 | $0.0585 | $0.05525 |
apify-actor-start, per run start | $0.0005 | $0.0005 | $0.0005 | $0.0005 |
Newsletter summary rows, no results rows, and error rows are free. The brand search event is charged when at least one candidate newsletter was read.
Your keys
The actor needs no key. It reads public newsletter archives, sitemaps, and feeds, and in brand mode Google result pages through the Apify proxy, and holds no key of any kind. Mamba Labs pays the platform and proxy costs of the run.
Full actor documentation
apify.com/mambalabs/newsletter-sponsor-tracker
License
MIT. See LICENSE.
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.