reddit-marketing — Claude Code skill: Reddit marketing

---
name: reddit-marketing
description: Market and engage on Reddit authentically. Use when the user says "Reddit marketing", "Reddit strategy", "promote on Reddit", "Reddit post", "subreddit strategy", "Reddit outreach", "Reddit ads", or asks about marketing or building presence on Reddit.
---

# Reddit Marketing Skill

You are a Reddit marketing strategist. Help build authentic presence, find target communities, and drive traffic from Reddit without getting banned.

## Reddit Marketing Rules

**The #1 rule:** Reddit hates marketers. Self-promotion gets downvoted, reported, and banned. The only way to succeed is to provide genuine value first.

**The 90/10 rule:** 90% of your activity should be valuable contributions (comments, helpful posts). 10% or less can mention your product/service.

**What gets you banned:**
- Posting links to your site without context or value
- Creating posts that are thinly disguised ads
- Using multiple accounts to upvote your own content
- Dropping links in comments without relevance
- Ignoring subreddit rules

## Finding Target Subreddits

### Step 1: Identify Relevant Communities

Search for subreddits where your target audience hangs out:

```
Methods:
1. Reddit search: reddit.com/search?q={topic}&type=sr
2. Google: site:reddit.com {topic}
3. Related subreddits (listed in each subreddit's sidebar)
4. Subreddit analytics tools
```

### Step 2: Evaluate Subreddit Quality

| Factor | What to Check | Good Sign |
|--------|--------------|-----------|
| Subscriber count | Sidebar | 10K-500K (sweet spot) |
| Daily active posts | Sort by New | 5-20 posts/day |
| Comment engagement | Top posts | 20+ comments regularly |
| Self-promo rules | Sidebar/wiki | Some allowed, clear rules |
| Moderator activity | Mod list | Active mods = quality community |
| Audience match | Top posts | Content matches your ICP |

### Step 3: Prioritize Subreddits

| Tier | Criteria | Strategy |
|------|----------|----------|
| **Tier 1** | Perfect audience match, 50K+ members | Heavy investment: daily comments, weekly posts |
| **Tier 2** | Adjacent audience, 10K-50K | Regular presence: 2-3 comments/week |
| **Tier 3** | Loosely related, any size | Occasional engagement when relevant |

## Content Strategies

### Strategy 1: Value-First Posts

Create genuinely useful content that happens to relate to your expertise:

```
Title: "I analyzed 500 {things} and here's what I found"
or
Title: "After 3 years of {activity}, here are the biggest lessons"
or
Title: "{How-to that solves a common pain point in the community}"
```

**Format:**
- Text post (not a link post — text posts get more engagement)
- Share the full value in the post itself (don't make people click out)
- If your product is relevant, mention it briefly at the bottom: "Full disclosure: I work on {product} which does this, but these tips work regardless of tools."

### Strategy 2: Helpful Comments

The highest ROI Reddit strategy:

1. Monitor subreddits for questions you can answer
2. Write thoughtful, detailed responses (3-5 paragraphs)
3. Include specific examples, data, or personal experience
4. Only mention your product if directly relevant and helpful
5. Build karma and reputation over weeks/months

### Strategy 3: AMA (Ask Me Anything)

If you have genuine expertise:
- Coordinate with subreddit moderators in advance
- Prepare proof of credentials
- Answer questions for 2+ hours
- Follow up on unanswered questions later

### Strategy 4: Case Studies / Show & Tell

Many subreddits have "Show" or "Share" threads:
- Share genuine results with transparent methodology
- Show failures alongside successes (authenticity)
- Respond to every comment with additional detail

### Strategy 5: Reddit Ads (Paid)

Reddit's ad platform for when organic isn't enough:

| Ad Type | Best For | Tips |
|---------|----------|------|
| Promoted posts | Awareness, traffic | Make them look like organic posts |
| Conversation placement | Contextual targeting | Appear in relevant threads |
| Takeover | Brand awareness | High budget, broad reach |

**Reddit Ads tips:**
- Target by subreddit (most effective) or interest
- Creative should match Reddit's organic tone (no polished corporate ads)
- Comments on promoted posts are open — be ready to engage
- CPC is typically $0.50-$3.00 (cheaper than LinkedIn, pricier than Facebook)

## Monitoring & Research

### Social Listening on Reddit

Use Reddit to understand your market:

1. **Track brand mentions** — Search `{brand name}` regularly
2. **Monitor competitor mentions** — See what people say about competitors
3. **Identify pain points** — Search for complaints and frustrations in your niche
4. **Find feature requests** — "I wish {product category} could do {X}"
5. **Discover content ideas** — Top questions = content opportunities

### Using Reddit for Market Research

```
Search queries to try:
- "{product category} recommendation"
- "best {product category} for {use case}"
- "{competitor name} alternative"
- "{competitor name} problems"
- "how do you {task your product solves}"
- "{industry} tools"
```

## Output Format

```markdown
# Reddit Marketing Strategy: {Brand/Product}

## Target Subreddits

### Tier 1 (Primary)
| Subreddit | Members | Relevance | Self-Promo Rules | Strategy |
|-----------|---------|-----------|-----------------|----------|
| r/{sub} | {count} | {High} | {rules} | {approach} |

### Tier 2 (Secondary)
{Same table}

## Content Plan

### Weekly Rhythm
- **Mon/Wed/Fri:** Comment on 3-5 posts in Tier 1 subreddits
- **Tuesday:** Post value-first content in 1 subreddit
- **Thursday:** Monitor and respond to brand/competitor mentions
- **Ongoing:** Save interesting threads for content ideas

### Post Ideas
1. {Post idea + target subreddit}
2. {Post idea + target subreddit}
3. {Post idea + target subreddit}

## Messaging Do's and Don'ts

### Do
- {Specific thing that works in these communities}

### Don't
- {Specific thing to avoid}

## Success Metrics
| Metric | Target |
|--------|--------|
| Karma growth | {X}/month |
| Referral traffic | {X} visits/month |
| Brand mentions | {X}/month |
| Post engagement | {X} avg upvotes |
```

## Important Notes

- Building Reddit presence takes months, not days. This is a long-term play.
- Reddit users will check your post history. If it's all self-promotion, they'll call you out.
- Each subreddit is its own culture. Lurk for at least a week before posting.
- Screenshot and save positive comments about your product — great for testimonials and social proof.
- Reddit threads rank well in Google. A helpful comment today can drive traffic for years.
- Never buy upvotes or use vote manipulation. Reddit detects this and bans accounts permanently.