Reddit haters are wrong — it can work for customer acquisition

Is reddit a good channel for customer acquisition?

Some folks swear by it. Others say it's a toxic cesspool where self-promoters get torn apart.

Personally, I've found reddit to be hugely helpful. I'd say roughly 75% of my newsletter subscribers came from there. So I know it works well for subscriber growth... but I wanted to know if it works for SaaS and similar types of products. Can it actually help you acquire paying users?

I took a look at what other indie hackers are saying — here's what I've found. 👇

The good

Reddit is a fascinating place. You can learn a ton and have some fun while you're at it. And if done right, you can reach highly-niche markets directly. There is a subreddit for just about everything, after all.

Reddit also has killer domain authority, so posts often wind up at the top of the SERP – that's a big opportunity acquisition-wise if it's your post or if you've got a top comment.

And it goes beyond customer acquisition. People talk about using reddit for the following reasons too:

• Market research
• Validation
• Beta testing
• Content ideation (watch what people are talking and asking about)
• Customer insights/feedback.
• Marketing copy
• Create your own subreddit for your product. Not sure how I feel about it, but bigger companies do it. Probably won't apply to most indie hackers, as you'll need a ton of customers to make it worthwhile

Here are a few key comments I saw on IH about the usefulness of reddit:

@Getflookup: I also prefer Reddit to other popular platforms like Twitter. I'm glad I didn't listen to all those naysayers and scaremongers online - they keep claiming that Reddit is full of rabid users who like nothing more than to tear down other people, especially newcomers... and yet it is actually the opposite.

@Codemonkeykill: My first progress post got me 30 beta users, it was a video demo of how my app works on the simulator… my two posts got about 30k views and 70+ comments combined… I encourage people to use Reddit to find early users and iterate on their feedback.

@Tingle1295: I gathered thousands of users to our app braintingle with zero spending, all through the magic of Reddit.

@Alonsoholmes: I've also found reddit to be super useful - beyond the traffic, I've gotten a lot of really good product feedback. I think the most important thing is to be human, and not write marketing copy :)

The bad

That "cesspool" comment above might be a little extreme, but it's definitely fair to say that redditors are notoriously anti-self-promotion and they see through marketing tactics with x-ray vision. And that's just the redditors — reddit itself is able to filter spam out like it's nobody's business.

Honestly, I don't think that's a bad thing. I appreciate it. But it does make things harder for businesses that are trying to get customers. You can't be lazy about it.

And yes, there will be trolls. But I've found redditors to be largely supportive as long as you aren't taking advantage of the community.

That said, many think otherwise.

@Unemployability: I actually hate reddit, the slightest attempt to promote anything is met with the same reaction a vampire has when exposed to garlic. For some reason, it seems to be dominated by people who would rather die than let you share something you built that you might profit from.

The keys to successful customer acquisition via reddit

If you're still interested despite the fact that you might get raked through the coals a bit, here's how to do it.

Polish your account

Most of us probably already have an account, which is a step in the right direction. As a general rule, redditors are skeptical of posts by new users and users with low karma. And some subreddits don't even let you post unless you have a certain amount of karma. So start contributing. Post, comment, provide value, and generally get your karma up. Not only will this make you look more credible, it's an invaluable way to get the lay of the land. There's a culture and a language to reddit. Know it and speak it.

With that being said, I think it's important to point out that it really depends on the subreddit — some are more accepting than others. And if you're brand new, just nip that in the bud. On my first post, when I had a brand new account and no karma, I commented below the post saying "Btw I realize I have 1 karma and that's probably a red flag for some. I'm late to the reddit party but excited to contribute 🚀". I didn't get any flack for it. Instead, people were joking with me about it and supporting me. My favorite comment was "The bots are becoming self aware! Thanks this is awesome BTW!" So don't freak out about it. Just be a human.

As for your profile. Take the time to create a personalized avatar. Add a bio and link your product(s) there.

Find relevant subreddits

Finding relevant subreddits is fairly easy just by using reddit's search bar. But there are also some really handy tools that make it even easier. I'll list tools below, but in the meantime, I'll say that I've found GummySearch really helpful, and I'm not the only one.

@ExpansiveJohn: If you're struggling with the overwhelm, that is Reddit, take a look at GummySearch. Fed (@thefedoration), an Indie Hacker, created it and it can scour Reddit like you wouldn't believe (I'm a fan, but not affiliated). Create audiences, scan for product improvement ideas and pain points. Great stuff. Don't go to Reddit without it. 😜

Google can do the trick too.

@Amosbastian: A good way to find relevant communities is to simply use Google and use search terms such as "site:reddit.com <competitor 1, value proposition, how to X etc.>". You'll find loads of posts and comments this way (that are also probably relevant to you) and you can simply check which subreddits they were posted in.

Contribute

When it comes to contributing, do it meaningfully. And not just with posts. Comment too. Here's what to do and what not to do.

The Dos

Do these things.

• Niche down on your subreddit. Generally, the more niche, the better… but not so niche that there's nobody there. I saw folks recommending 10k+ members.
• Hang out in your subreddit(s) for a while before posting. Comment, discuss, and generally get the lay of the land.
• Read the rules of each subreddit first. Don't break them.
• Analyze the top posts in the subreddit to see what topics and content types get the most engagement.
• When possible, make posts and comments that are likely to lead to organic moments where you can mention your product.
• When posting, original content is generally best. Write it specifically for redditors (or at least adapt what you've already written). And of course, add a ton of value.
• Include an image or gif where applicable.
• Reply to comments. It's fun, good for building relationships (and karma), and it'll help get more eyes on the post.
• Gradually lean into self-promotion. Don't include it in your posts at all. Then include it in a comment. And if people still seem ok with it, test it in your posts. If you're not getting any engagement, open an incognito tab and see if you got shadow-banned.
• Link your product only if the subreddit allows it.
• Talk to the mods! I've been rejected before, had a conversation to find out what I did wrong, fixed it, and posted it successfully. They're people too.
• Monitor reddit for questions that you can answer. You can do this manually or use a tool that notifies you when keywords are used (see the list of tools below).
• Monitor reddit for people looking for product recommendations. This is more common in some subreddits than others, so look for those.
• And don't just post to niche subreddits, post in subreddits designed for founders to share their products too. This is a great way to get early adopters and beta testers. I'll list some below.

Here a couple of quotes that support niching down:

@Michaelforrest: One day, I found out that the self-promotion wasn't the problem. What is spam in one subreddit is gold in another (usually more niche) subreddit. If you are solving somebody's problem, they don't care that you're promoting yourself. In fact, they are thrilled to have a direct line to the creator… Choose more specific subject matter: The more specific your content, the more people are likely to care.

@Jonathan_adly: Posting on smallish subreddits, meant it stayed on top for weeks! P.S. It didn't do too great on the bigger subs, where the noise made it harder to stick around.

The Don'ts

Don't do these things.

• When it comes to titles, stay away from clickbait. Write it like you speak naturally.
• Don't promote your product immediately. Start contributing until you get a feel for the subreddit, then give it a shot once there's an organic moment to promote (and only in ways that abide by their rules).
• Don't promote your product too much. You need to contribute in other ways, even in unrelated subreddits.
• Don't post in multiple subreddits simultaneously. People will notice and it's spammy. But you can crosspost it to other subreddits later if it does well.
• Don't link your product. This depends on the subreddit, to be honest — I often link mine. But it's safest to say "link in bio" so that you don't get shadow-banned. Like I said above, test things gradually.
• When promoting your product, don't pretend it isn't yours. People get ripped apart for this all the time, and it isn't pretty. Be real.
• Don't be formal or salesey. Just be human.

What it all boils down to

What it boils down to is this: Don't use reddit to get customers; just be a redditor. Have fun. Contribute. Learn. And when it makes sense, promote. If you're really just trying to be a part of the community, people will respond positively.

A lot of indie hackers have seen a lot of success with it — including SaaS founders.

Subreddits to know

Here are a few general subreddits to check out:

• r/Entrepreneur
• r/startups
• r/smallbusiness
• r/EntrepreneurRideAlong
• r/sideproject
• r/indiebiz
• r/imadethis
• r/design_critiques
• r/growmybusiness
• r/shamelessplug
• r/AlphaandBetausers
• r/coupons
• r/AppHookup
• r/ladybusiness
• r/RoastMyStartup

Ads

I think it's worth quickly mentioning reddit ads. I've never used them personally, but after looking into them, I've decided I'll give them a whirl.

There are two types of ads that you can buy: Premium Takeovers and Promoted Posts. To use the former, you have to commit to spending $10k/quarter, so let's skip that one for now. Promoted posts are just like normal posts, but they'll stay at the top of your target subreddit(s). Prices vary, but they're relatively cheap.

You can find out more at r/redditads, but here are a few helpful quotes from indie hackers:

@Andreboso: Average CPC was around $0.10 and CTR 0.3%. But what really stood out was the CPL: I was able to acquire new email subscribers from Tier 1 countries for around $2 each… let’s say that I create a product and that 1/20 buy it. That would mean a $40 CPA. Any LTV higher than that would work.

@Anasupereasy: Reddit ads are the best. Low cost per impression. Among the best targeting I've used. You'd have to cater the ads to the audience though, doesn't work like on FB or Instagram.

Not everyone is a fan, though.

@Johnt2021: My take is that reddit ads are THE WORST. Sure you get low cost per impression, and the "advantage" stops right there. Whenever I would measure people coming from reddit and the actual "Download" click - it's pretty close to 10 times worse than Google Ads. So if you do the math, you end up way worse than Google Ads.

Tools

And here are a few must-use tools

• Gummysearch: Super handy for finding communities that you've never heard of. This is a lifesaver. By @thefedoration
• Olwi: Helps with market research on reddit. By @v8ever
• F5bot: Emails you when your keywords are mentioned on reddit, HN, etc.
• SubredditStats: Tells you how many times a certain keyword has been said in a subreddit.
• And I'd recommend looking at IH's product page and searching "reddit" as there are a ton of products there that might be of help.

What did I miss?

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