Okay so here's the thing.

I burned through $2,400 on Google Ads last quarter. Got 127 clicks. Three signups. One of them was my mom testing the product.

Not exactly the growth story you tell at demo day.

Then I tried Reddit. Not because I'm smart. Because I was desperate and broke. Spent exactly $0 on ads. Found 47 genuine conversations with people who actually needed what I built. Twelve turned into demo calls. Four became paying customers.

Yeah. The math doesn't make sense until you understand how Reddit actually works.

Why Most People Fail at Reddit Marketing

Let me save you three months of mistakes.

Reddit has a word for people who show up and immediately start selling: spammers. And Reddit has a special punishment for spammers: shadowban. Your posts become invisible. You think you're contributing but nobody sees anything.

I watched a founder spend two weeks writing detailed posts in r/SaaS. Fifty posts. Zero engagement. Turns out he was shadowbanned on day three. Nobody told him. Reddit just made him invisible.

The platform is designed to punish promotional content. But here's the weird part - it rewards helpful content that happens to mention products. The line between "helpful" and "promotional" is razor thin and constantly moving.

The Real Way to Find Customers on Reddit

Forget posting. Start with listening.

Your future customers are already on Reddit right now. They're asking questions. Complaining about existing solutions. Describing exactly what they need. You just need to find these conversations before your competitors do.

Here's what actually works:

Step 1: Find Where Your Customers Hang Out

Not all subreddits are created equal. r/entrepreneur has 3.2 million members but most posts get 5 upvotes. r/SaaS has 100K members and posts regularly hit 200+ upvotes.

Smaller, focused communities beat massive generic ones every time.

For B2B SaaS, start here:

r/SaaS (100K members, high engagement)
r/startups (1.5M members, mixed quality)
r/Entrepreneur (3.2M members, lower engagement)
Industry-specific subreddits (usually 10K-50K members, best conversion)

The real gold is in niche subreddits. If you're building project management software, r/projectmanagement (50K members) will convert better than r/productivity (500K members).

Step 2: Search for Pain Points, Not Keywords

Most people search for their product name. Wrong move.

Search for the problem your product solves. Use Reddit's search with these filters:

Sort by: New (catch conversations early)
Time: Past month (recent = still active)
Comments: 5+ (shows real engagement)

Real search queries that work:

"struggling with [problem]"
"alternative to [competitor]"
"how do you [task]"
"frustrated with [pain point]"

I found my best customers by searching "reddit lead generation manual" and "finding customers reddit time consuming". These people were literally describing my product without knowing it existed.

Step 3: Add Value First, Mention Product Second

This is where 90% of people mess up.

Bad approach: "Check out my tool! It solves this problem. Here's the link."

Good approach: "I had the same issue last month. Tried three different methods. Method A worked okay but took forever. Method B was faster but expensive. Ended up building a simple tool that does X. Not perfect but gets the job done. Happy to share if useful."

Notice the difference? The second one:

Acknowledges the problem
Shows you tried other solutions
Admits limitations
Offers help instead of selling

Reddit users can smell a sales pitch from a mile away. But they love when someone shares a genuine solution to their exact problem.

The Tool That Changed Everything

Look, I'm not going to pretend I did all this manually.

After spending three hours a day searching Reddit for two weeks, I realized I needed a better system. The manual approach works but it doesn't scale. You miss conversations. You burn out. You start cutting corners.

I built Wappkit Reddit to solve this exact problem. It's a desktop tool that searches multiple subreddits simultaneously, filters by engagement metrics, and exports everything to CSV. The UI could use work but it saves me about 8 hours a week.

Not trying to sell you on it. Just being honest about what actually works when you're trying to find 100 customers without a marketing budget. The 3-day trial lets you test everything before deciding.

Advanced Tactics That Actually Work

Once you've got the basics down, here's what separates good from great:

Monitor Competitor Mentions

Set up searches for your competitors' names. When someone complains about Competitor X, you can offer a genuine alternative. Not in a sleazy way - in a "hey I switched from X to Y because of this exact issue" way.

This works insanely well because the person is already in buying mode. They're not researching. They're actively looking for something better.

Track Specific Keywords Over Time

Reddit conversations have a lifecycle. A post from 6 hours ago with 3 comments might explode to 200 comments by tomorrow. Getting in early means your comment stays near the top.

I check my target subreddits every 4-6 hours. Sounds obsessive but it's 5 minutes each time. The ROI is ridiculous compared to any other channel.

Build Genuine Relationships

This sounds soft but it's the most important part.

I spent a month just helping people in r/SaaS. Answered questions. Shared what worked for me. Didn't mention my product once. Built up karma and credibility.

Then when I did share my tool in context, people actually listened. Some even asked "why didn't you mention this earlier?"

Reddit rewards patience. It punishes shortcuts.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Posting the same comment everywhere: Reddit's spam filters catch this instantly. Customize every response.

Using a brand new account: Accounts under 30 days old get filtered automatically in most subreddits. Build karma first.

Ignoring subreddit rules: Every community has different rules. Read them. Follow them. Mods have zero tolerance for rule breakers.

Being too promotional: If more than 10% of your comments mention your product, you're doing it wrong.

Giving up too early: It takes 2-3 weeks to see results. Most people quit after 3 days.

The Numbers That Matter

After 90 days of consistent Reddit engagement:

47 genuine conversations with potential customers
12 demo calls booked
4 paying customers ($9.99/month each)
$0 spent on ads
~10 hours per week time investment

Compare that to Google Ads:

$2,400 spent
127 clicks
3 signups (one was my mom)
Constant optimization needed
Stressful budget management

The Reddit approach takes more time upfront but the quality of leads is incomparably better. These people actually need what you built. They're not just clicking an ad.

Getting Started Today

Don't overthink this.

Pick three subreddits where your customers hang out. Spend 30 minutes reading the top posts from this month. Notice what gets upvoted. Notice what gets ignored.

Then search for one pain point your product solves. Find 3-5 recent posts. Write genuine, helpful responses. Don't mention your product yet.

Do this for two weeks. Build karma. Build credibility. Then start naturally mentioning your solution when it's genuinely relevant.

The founders who succeed on Reddit aren't the ones with the best products. They're the ones who show up consistently, add value first, and build real relationships.

Reddit isn't a growth hack. It's a long game. But if you're willing to play it right, it's one of the highest ROI channels available in 2025.

Just don't burn $2,400 on Google Ads first like I did.

How to Find Your Next 100 Customers on Reddit in 2025 (Without Getting Banned)