Hacking Reddit - My Learnings after 1.5M Views and 10K Upvotes.
Reddit has 800 million users and it's one of the fastest and cheapest ways to generate traffic. For our AI startup Bluedot 🔵 it's been one of best performing traffic source.
Redditors can be brutal. But after 2 months and almost 40+ posts, I learned some fundamentals that can save you time.
To prove my words here are my best performing posts:
Post 1 - 1.3M views and 5K upvotes (it's my masterpiece)
Post 2 - 150K views and 1.2K upvotes
Post 3
Post 4
Here are my 5 tips for successful growth on Reddit:
1. Learn what works for each subreddit
You need to spend at least an hour on each subreddit to learn what works there. Filter by the most popular posts. Try to find a pattern of what is usually getting viral. Subreddits are like subcultures with their own language. You need to look like a local.
I didn't come up with the idea for my 1 Million Views post. I saw a similar post (https://rb.gy/ixozsw) for another product getting 10K upvotes. I saw a pattern that I could replicate. And BOOM it worked out
2. Read the rules of each subreddit carefully.
Moderators can be religious about them and punish you.
Just yesterday I was banned permanently from a subreddit because I violated the rules.
3. Don't try to sell your product
Redditors hate when someone is trying to sell them. You can get an immediate ban, and lots of hate.
Include information about your product in a subtle way using engaging stories, questions, or just pretend like it's not your product.
4. Don't expect people to check out your profile and click the link in the bio.
Unlike Twitter or LinkedIn, there is no pattern for users on Reddit to check out the profile of the person who posted.
One of my posts generated 793 upvotes, but there was no link to Bluedot. Therefore I had zero impact on traffic.
5. Create 2-3 profiles and warm them up with comments/posts.
Since there is a high chance that one of your accounts will be blocked, I recommend having a backup. Reddit is anonymous, so you can easily create multiple profiles and post from them.
Use these accounts to upvote your posts. It will get your visibility in the first 1-2 hours. It's crucial to get viral. But don't upvote from all accounts at the same time. You will get banned for manipulating the voting.
Feel free to ask me anything! Always glad to help.
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Really native posts! You are good at it :)
I'll try to do the same, but I guess it will be hard to think of something like this.
I got 40k views once, bit few upvotes and few installs
Glad you like it! I think you can still come up with some unique ideas.
Not sure what is your product, but there should be at least a few subreddits where this can get some traction. Even 40K is already better than zero.
Thanks short, sweet and full of info. I've been working in a very serious B2B industry for now almost 10yrs so haven't been able to do any marketing like this. My next project this type of tactics will come in handy.
Thank you.
Glad it's helpful!
Great work! Thanks for sharing 🤓
Glad it's helpful!
The antiwork ones are pretty clever 😂😂
and the comments are amazing there :D
So you just made those stories up?
they are based on real stories, but not mine.
Really native posts Russ you're killing it
Thanks a lot 🫶
Good nuance on toeing the line, getting some exposure without getting banned.
Reddit is definitely fertile ground, especially with seo angle of people searching specifically for answers from reddit
Yep SEO angle is getting more important with recent Google changes in ranking on Reddit.
Hey man, thanks a lot for the advice. Trying to gain exposure right now on Reddit and other platforms! Can you drop your email so I can get in contact? Possible?
sure mate! here you go: russ@bluedothq.com
I wonder whether this approach has a better pay-off compared to traditional content marketing and SEO 🤔
For example, you may have a great spike in traffic, but
you are right!
1 month later, i can confess that this traffic wasn't valuable.
almost nothing converted :(
Can you share on the results from the first post? Did the 1.3M views result in spike in brand search? :) Genuinely curious about the impact that had!
yes, that particular post generated a spike in brand search.
other posts just generated clicks on the website link.
Good to know!!
Well done, Thanks for sharing :-)
Hey, Great Tips but I'm looking for more.
what exactly are you looking for? i'm here to answer all of your questions.
Great tips! How has your experience been with DM'ing people on Reddit?
i've never done it on scale. have you tried?
Haven't done it on scale either as the account might get marked as spam but noticed that it's hard to hit up the right person although the reply rate is decent.
Appreciate the share! It's a great marketing asset.
I agree with everything Russ said here. Marc Louvion uses a very similar strategy to launch his boilerplate kits. He also advises not to link directly to your product page. You can read his strategy here.
It is a tricky forum though. Need a thick skin to survive.
Thanks for sharing this! interesting tip he has about using a special URL to hide the pricing...just makes you wonder if the traffic is worth it when there is no possibility for them to buy
Glad you enjoyed it.
I think it just shouldn’t be obvious there is a paid option. You could try something like a premium upgrade?
damn, Marc made 43k in MRR in 2 months.
i'm doing something wrong. need to learn from this guy.
I'm rubber, you're glue! 😆
Very nice feedback! Thanks for sharing it! I just started to post on Reddit to gain visibility and your tips is gold for me. I'll apply them for sure 👌
good luck mate!
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing; I'll try the same as I am also working on a tool and planning to launch soon!
This is a fantastic article! As someone who's wanted to leverage Reddit for a while, I was definitely feeling overwhelmed. Now I have a much better starting point.
I'm curious – how much traffic did your 1.3M view post drive to your site? It would be great to have an idea of the potential. I saw 30-40 signups, but traffic can give me more insight.
Also, love the idea of creating multiple profiles, I was stuck to edit my profile.
honestly we got around 400 visits from it. all of that from branded search.
the post doesn't have direct link so ppl had to look at screenshot and go search the tool.
Thank you.
Amazing tips. I wrote several viral posts on Reddit. I also shared how to do that in IH.
Wondering, how many subscriptions you got from Reddit?
honestly not many :D
so fast around 30-40 signups, but they don't use it much.
a few more attempts, and if we see the same results I'll stop focusing on it.
our product requires you to instal the extension, and most of the traffic is coming from mobile.
Yes that's the issue with Reddit. The quality of the leads is not many. I'll try a couple of more times.
This post is 🔥
Thank you so much!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on using Reddit to drive traffic! Your helpful tips give clear guidance for using the platform well. I'm grateful for the reminder to follow subreddit rules and not to be too promotional. Your experience shows how being genuine and getting the community vibe is key. I'll definitely remember these tips as I dive into Reddit for my startup. Thanks!
Some crazy results you got there!
Thanks for sharing tips - post is bookmarked and will be implementing it myself for my next Reddit launch!
Thanks a lot my friend! And good luck with your Reddit launch :)
Amazing tips! Now i understand where i should not make a mistake.
Thanks, for your tips and some insights.
Great tips ! what is your conversion rate from reddit traffic ? reddit users may click more out of curiosity ,than with the intent to become user.
Hey Russ, I just saw your landing page and i have to say i had a similar idea maybe 2-3 years ago, did some dev but dropped it in between due to many other things, thought I'd get back on it and continue. Seeing this has made me relive that and I'm wondering now if you guys are still looking for any late co-founders per se, around marketing analysis and growth?
I guess this is not something new as many also get banned, however if you genuinely have been a active member and make genuine engagement over time, you can bypass this..
It feels like a partner is really giving you a state secret. Thank you so much
Reddit CAN be brutal. And is 90% of the time. It can also be difficult to spark interest without coming off as spammy. The key - I've found - is to offer value that is incredibly unique and that doesn't come across as too polished. Plain text posts work the best in my opinion (regarding business niche). "Authentic" isn't the word, because posting on Reddit is more of an art form mixed with luck when gaining traction. Users like finding the "diamond in the rough," which adds a level of discoverability which is hard to plan for. So, I like your mention of posting 40+ times because it takes a lot of whoppers before the 1M Views post. For me, it's always the post I never expected that pans out best with the community.
i second this. anything exciting you working on, bobanks?
Just closed up shop on a newsletter company that ultimately resulted in failure. Not enough traction after a year, and really hard to find paying subscribers. Now I am looking for something new to start / acquire. Hard to find the right fit right now.
new to start? Im also lurking around the indie community to find something as a side thing, are you a technical person?
This is great insight. I will use this to change my view on how to make successful posts in specific reddit communities!
Thanks for sharing this! Very clever ideas. Cheers for the heads up, pity that you got banned though.
it's ok! Just part of the journey :)
Thanks, this is interesting. Been wondering how I can utilise reddit for a while
Reddit is all about experiments and not being sensitive to haters.
At the beginning I got lots of hate, and took it personally. Now I don't give a fuck :)
I got a micro saas idea. How should I go about marketing it on reddit?
think which subreddits have your ICP. based on that experiment with different type of posts.
Yo this is gold, thanks a lot mate :)
With pleasure!
How did it affect your business? Did you notice an uptick in traffic and trials/sales?
You can see on screenshot the spike in search. This is from Reddit.
We got around 2K clicks in total from all the posts.
Awesome, and it led to more business too?
Forgive me for my scepticism. I'm a marketer by profession, and I'd probably estimate that most people in anti-work are not going to be your target customers. I'm happy to be proven wrong though.
You can check out our tool - it's a general software that can be used by anyone who has video meetings.
I assume from 1M views and 2K clicks there should be people who have video meetings, and might have had issues with taking notes.
We had a spike of 35 signups after that post, so I would say it was ok. Not as good as I expected, but look - it's free signups.
Thanks for the transparency. I think you'll have more success in subreddits like entrepreneur etc where you take the bosses perspective. Flip it on its and say. I used this to record my employee to make sure I couldn't get sued later or something.
Thanks for the idea!
and to give you some proof, here are the stats that show how many ppl installed the extension in certain period: https://chrome-stats.com/d/aeeninnnlhgaojlolnbpljadhbionlal/trends
It doesn't count all the signups but only who installed the extension. But it gives you some visibility.
those are paid 35 sign ups? and how is it going as of today?
we have a freemium model for up to 5 recordings.
usually it takes 2 weeks to see how many ppl converted.
will update you guys!
great, thanks!
This is all really helpful, thanks for sharing!
You are very welcome my friend!
Thanks for sharing. Good marketing tool.
Yeesh, #2 for sure.
I got banned from r/travel INSTANTLY for a free giveaway (in exchange for feedback). Some mods are ruthless.
yes, i feel you.
Btw, I checked out triangl.io, i'd like to know hows it going if thats alright with you to share?
Yes, every possible hint on sales/marketing in your post and it's ban :(