The One Mandate · read this every morning
Be a Redditor first, marketer ~10% of the time. Of your last 100 actions, ≤10 may mention your product. Reddit punishes the impatient and rewards the patient with compounding interest. Write like a 5-year Redditor: useful, specific, slightly self-deprecating, rarely about your product. If a post feels like it needs to “go big now,” it's wrong. Delete it.
THE 90/10 LAW governs everything below. Most of your daily time = pure help with ZERO product mention. That's not a warm-up phase you graduate from — it's the permanent ratio. The 10% only earns its keep because the 90% bought trust.
Phase 0 · one-time setup
Before day 1 — do this once, ~30 min
Phase 0 · one-time setup
Account age check: need 30+ days for r/SaaS, r/SideProject; 30 days + 100 karma for r/Entrepreneur, r/IndieHackers
→ if your account is new, the first ~2–4 weeks below are PURE value (no promo) and that's exactly right anyway
Username is NOT brandy (no "_official", "founder", "marketing" — those auto-trigger AutoMod filters)
Real avatar uploaded (default avatars get auto-filtered in many subs)
Shadowban check: cable.ayra.ch/reddit/ (re-check monthly)
Pick your 5–8 home subreddits (where YOUR buyer actually lives). For a dev tool e.g.:
→ primary niche sub + r/SaaS + r/SideProject + r/IndieHackers + the specific tech community sub
Read the sidebar + rules of each. Note: karma threshold, link-in-body allowed?, self-promo day (e.g. r/SaaS=Saturday)
Open your ONE lead list (the spreadsheet from your GTM OS). Columns ready:
→ username | sub | thread | fit | hot/warm/cold | next step
The daily loop
~90–120 min, same order every day
Read the Room
[no writing yet — just absorb]
Open your 5–8 home subs, sort by New + Rising
Skim for: people stuck on a problem you've solved · "what's the best X for Y" threads · pain your product fixes
Bookmark/open 5–8 threads worth replying to (fresh ones — under ~24h old; never comment on 7+ day threads w/ intent)
Notice the room's mood + vocabulary — you'll mirror it, not marketing-speak
Give Value (the 90%)
[this is the whole job. most days = 0 product mentions.]
Write 5–8 genuinely helpful comments across the threads you found
Each comment: 80–250 words · start mid-thought (NOT "Great question!") · specific numbers/dates · take a stance
Use the right move per thread:
- OP stuck on a problem you solved → "ran into this exact thing, wasted X weeks before I learned Y"
- everyone saying the same thing → contrarian-but-helpful ("most people here say X, but what worked for me...")
- solid plan w/ a blind spot → validation + warning ("watch out for [pitfall], I made that mistake")
- "best X for Y" thread → definitive answer: 3–5 named options (incl. competitors) ranked by use-case
AI-tell kill check on EVERY comment: no "Great question" / no "Hope this helps" / no emoji bullets / no 3 equal paragraphs / mix sentence lengths (short. then longer. then short.) / don't sign your name
ZERO product mention in this block unless a thread is the rare perfect fit AND you're under your 10% ratio
The 10% (only when earned)
[SKIP most days. it's a slot, not a quota.]
Only if: (a) you're under your 90/10 ratio, AND (b) there's a thread where your product genuinely is the answer. If either is false → SKIP this block entirely and spend the time on Block 2. Skipping is the correct default.
If commenting w/ a mention: factual not salesy ("I built X, it does Y") + FTC disclosure IN the comment ("Disclosure: I built this") + name at least one competitor (honest comparison out-converts pure promo 10:1)
If posting (on the sub's self-promo day only): Story-Arc or Free-Resource-Drop format · title 60–80 chars w/ real numbers · link in FIRST COMMENT not body · no "please upvote" ever
DM-bait (high converting, honest): "made a free [resource] for this, DM me" → send link in DM, not comment
First 60 Min / Tend Your Stuff
[if you posted or commented on a hot thread]
Reply to everyone who responded to your comments/post — fast + personal (first hour = 80% of lifetime reach)
If a post flopped in first 15 min → delete it, rewrite the hook, don't leave a dead post in your history
Upvote + genuinely engage with others in threads you're part of (be a participant, not a broadcaster)
Capture + Log
[the part everyone skips — it's where execution becomes pipeline]
Anyone who upvoted hard / replied warmly / DM'd / asked a question → log in your lead list
→ username | which sub | which thread | ICP fit? | hot/warm/cold | next step
Move warm ones forward: a HOT one (clear ICP buyer who engaged) → thoughtful DM today, referencing the exact thread you helped in, lead with THEIR problem, NEVER pitch cold, one question
(read only public history to judge fit — never compile personal data, never creep)
Weekly · Friday + 20 min
The learning loop that turns reps into expertise
Phase 0 · one-time setup
Run every Friday — drop the dead subs, double the working angles.
Which comments got the most upvotes/replies? → do MORE of that angle + those subs
Which subs are dead for you? → drop them, reallocate time
90/10 audit: count your last ~50–100 actions — still under 10% promo? if not, go pure-value next week
Karma trend up? (proves you're building real standing) · any removed comments? (learn the sub's lines)
Lead list review: how many warm conversations started this week? that's your real scoreboard, not upvotes
The 90-day arc
Don't judge Reddit before this plays out
Weeks 1–3
PURE value. 0% promo. Build karma + recognition + learn each sub's culture. Get known as helpful.
Weeks 4–6
Start the rare, earned 10% mentions in perfect-fit threads. Drop 1 genuine value-post on a self-promo day.
Weeks 7–12
Consistent rhythm. Warm DMs flowing. You're a recognized name in 2–3 subs. First conversations → deals.
Scoreboard
Track these, ignore vanity
Daily scoreboard · track these, ignore vanity
- comments written (target 5–8/day)
- warm conversations started this week (the real metric)
- karma trend (proxy for standing)
- leads logged + DMs sent to hot ones
Not a target · upvotes-as-a-goal, post count, "going viral". Those are side effects of being genuinely useful, not targets.
The whole day in one line
Read the room → help 5–8 people for real → (rarely) mention your product where it truly fits → tend your threads → log the warm ones + DM the hot ones. Repeat daily. Judge at 90 days, not 9.