Contents
How to market on Reddit
I went on a bit of a rabbit hole that ended up with me reading through a bunch of resources and discussions, compiling learnings, and adding a few of my favorite examples. Click out to the original resources or jump to my takeaways at the bottom.
But here is the story.
Ok, so I saw this post/video by Tim Davidson:
Which led to me reading comments from Tas Bober:
and Rich Simmonds:
And someone mentioning Maddie Wang:
So I followed that thread:
And found another comment and article on it which I also read through.
Which pushed me to watch the interview with Paul Xue:
And after combining learnings from all of that here are my takeaways:
Pick your subreddits
- Start with places like r/devops, r/programming, r/kubernetes, or anything tied to your tool’s stack.
- Use research tools (GummySearch, HiveSight) or manual keyword searches (“API observability,” “microservices hosting”).
Do your research
- Sort posts by Top (last year) to see which threads get traction. Look for patterns—tech reviews, personal ‘war stories,’ rants about pricing, etc.
- Create a swipe file of headlines and conversation styles. Notice how the community communicates (they can be blunt).
Set up a legit account
- Use a personal account at least 6 months old. New accounts arouse suspicion.
- Build some karma before pushing your product. Comment on general dev topics, post in r/ProgrammerHumor for fun, be authentic.
Disclose and engage
- Be transparent: “I’m an engineer/founder building X.” but keep it casual and towards the end of the post
- Answer real questions: Offer solutions, code snippets, or relevant experiences from your own stack. Go into details, and actually share something net-new.
- Mention competitors if they fit. Showing honesty wins trust among devs.
How to comment
- Case studies and war stories
- Detail how you or a customer cut build times, tackled scaling, or fixed a memory leak.
- Include specifics (languages, frameworks, metrics).
- Doing that in a bulleted format works great
- Subtle CTA
- End posts with: “I’m building a tool that does X—DM me if you’re curious.”
- Don’t open with a pitch. Redditors hate it.
- Ask for input
- “Anyone else tried solving this? What worked for you?”
- Encourage discussion and show you’re there to learn, too.
Craft high-performing posts
- Try punchy titles: “we cut docker build times by 70% with these 3 changes.” But more generally use a similar format to what performs in a given Subreddit.
- 90:10 rule: 90% useful tips, <10% mention of your tool.
- Engage quickly: Reply to comments within hours. Devs expect prompt back-and-forth.
Mind the moderators
- Read subreddit rules: Some allow links on certain days or pinned threads only.
- When in doubt, DM a mod for permission. A quick ask can save you from a ban.
Get Google/AI SEO through Reddit
- Bottom-of-funnel keywords often rank via Reddit. “best error monitoring tool for python” might land your post high on Google.
- Optimize titles: Use those keywords in the post or comment title, but keep them human-friendly.
Iterate and track
- Measure results: Use unique links or simply ask new signups, “How did you hear about us?”
- Improve if you get downvoted. Adjust your tone, or pick a different topic next time.
Stay consistent
- Post or comment weekly: Don’t spam; just show up to relevant threads.
- Respond to DMs: You’ll get private messages → answer them thoroughly. They can turn into real leads.
More Reddit Examples from my gallery
To add to that story I have a bunch more examples of Reddit posts, comments, and promoted ads in my example gallery.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Post and comments from Convex devrel
If you need help with this stuff -> let me know, I'd love to help.
