to get your first 100 app users from Reddit, spend 30 days being genuinely useful in about ten subreddits where your users already describe their problem. answer questions fully, say you built the app every time you mention it, post one disclosed “i built this” thread where the rules allow it, and track every signup with its own link.
this is the day by day version. if you want the thinking behind it first, read Reddit marketing for apps without getting banned. everything below costs zero dollars and roughly 30 to 45 minutes a day.
The two sets of rules you are playing by
two layers of rules apply on Reddit. the sitewide Reddit Rules ask you to “participate authentically in communities where you have a personal interest” and not to spam or manipulate content. each subreddit then adds its own rules on links and self promotion, which are often stricter. break either layer and the post or the account goes.
Reddit’s help center page on what counts as spam makes the same point from the other side: an account that mostly posts links to things it owns looks like a spammer, whatever the intent. i learned both layers the hard way. my SAFE Reddit playbook came out of 40+ banned accounts, and the ratio that held up was roughly ten useful comments for every one product mention.
Days 1 to 3: find your 10 subreddits
pick ten subreddits where people describe the problem your app solves, in their own words, without being asked. mid sized, specific communities usually beat huge general ones, because questions get real answers and mods write clear rules. spend about an hour a day for three days reading before you write anything at all.
how to build the list:
- search Reddit for the problem, not your app category. “cant focus while studying” beats “productivity app”.
- search Google for the same phrase plus “reddit” and note which subreddits show up.
- open each candidate, read the rules and the wiki, and sort by top of the past month.
- write each one into a sheet with one line on its self promotion rule.
| column | illustrative example |
|---|---|
| subreddit | r/[your niche] |
| promo rule | no links in posts, disclosed mentions ok in comments |
| typical question | “how do you stay focused for 3 hours” |
| weekly threads | yes, feedback thread on sundays |
keep three backups. some subreddits will turn out to ban any mention of your own product, and that is fine. you can still help there.
Days 1 to 14: warm up your account honestly
warming an account honestly means using it the way a normal member would: reading, voting on what you like, and leaving useful comments with no links, for about two weeks. you are not tricking a filter. you are building a history that shows mods you are a real person who belongs in the community.
a daily routine, about 30 minutes:
- answer two or three questions in your subreddits where you actually know something
- no links, no app name, no hints
- use one account, your own, with a profile that says who you are, for example “founder of a small study app”
- never ask friends to upvote you and never use a second account to agree with yourself
that last rule is not optional. Reddit’s rules ask you to be authentic and not to mislead others, and vote games are the fastest way to lose everything you built.
The answer-first comment
an answer-first comment solves the person’s problem completely before your app appears, so it would still be useful if you deleted the last line. the mention comes at the end, says plainly that you built the app, and only appears when the question is really asking for a tool. most comments should never mention it.
great question. what worked for me was three things: (1) short 25 minute blocks with the phone in another room, (2) writing the one task for the block on paper first, (3) stopping mid sentence so starting again is easy. the second one matters most.
full disclosure, i built a small app around this after struggling with it myself: [link]. but the three steps work fine with a paper timer too.
check before you post: does it answer the question on its own? is the disclosure in plain words? does it break any rule of this subreddit?
Days 15 to 21: the disclosed “i built this” post
a disclosed “i built this” post tells the community you made something, why, and what you want from them, which is usually honest feedback. only post it in subreddits whose rules allow it, or inside the weekly self promotion or feedback thread many subreddits run. one good post beats ten copied ones.
title: i built a free app to help me study for 3 hours without my phone. looking for honest feedback
hi all, i am the founder. i struggled with this for two years, so i built [app] to [one sentence on what it does].
what i would love feedback on: (1) is the first screen clear? (2) what would stop you using it daily?
link is here if you want to try it: [link]. happy to answer anything, including “this already exists”.
stay in the comments for the first few hours and reply to everyone, including critics. write down every phrase people use to describe the problem. those words are your next ad hooks, and they slot straight into a creative testing loop later.
Using old threads that rank in Google
older Reddit threads often rank on page one of Google for problem searches, and they keep sending readers for months. a helpful, disclosed comment on one of those threads, if it is still open for replies, can bring steady signups long after a new post would sink. check the subreddit’s rules still apply.
- search Google for your problem phrases plus “reddit”.
- open threads from your ten subreddits that are still open for new comments.
- add an answer-first comment that improves on what is there, with disclosure.
- log it in your sheet so you can see which old threads keep sending people.
Tracking signups from Reddit
tracking means giving every Reddit mention its own link, so you know which subreddit and which comment sent each signup. use UTM tags on web links, store campaign links for app installs, and one simple sheet. without it, you will guess, and you will keep doing the things that feel busy instead of the things that work.
- web or landing page: add
?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=comment&utm_campaign=subreddit_nameand change the campaign per subreddit. - App Store: use App Store Connect campaign links with a different campaign token per subreddit. Apple only shows a campaign once at least five people download through it, so small numbers may not appear.
- Google Play: UTM tagged links show up as tracked channels in the Play Console acquisition reports.
- backup: one optional onboarding question, “where did you hear about us?”, with Reddit as an option.
your sheet needs only these columns: date, subreddit, thread link, comment or post, link used, upvotes, clicks, signups, notes.
What to do when a post is removed
when a post is removed, stop, read the removal reason, and find the exact rule it broke. do not repost it, do not post it somewhere else in the next hour, and do not argue in public. if you honestly think it followed the rules, send the mods one short, polite message and accept their answer.
hi mods, my post “[title]” was removed. i read rule [x] and thought feedback posts from founders were ok if disclosed, but i may have misread it. could you tell me what to change, or whether there is a better thread for it? thanks for running the sub.
if you get banned from a subreddit, take it off your list. never create a new account to get around it. that is exactly the misleading behavior the rules ask you to avoid, and it puts your main account at risk.
Your 30 day plan and what to measure
the whole month is simple: read first, help second, mention third, post fourth, then do more of whatever sent signups. the main things to measure are signups per subreddit, signups per hour spent, and which comments keep bringing people weeks later. clicks and upvotes are signals, not the goal.
| days | focus | daily time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | find and rank 10 subreddits, set up the sheet and links | 60 minutes |
| 4 to 14 | two or three useful comments a day, no links | 30 minutes |
| 15 to 21 | answer-first mentions where asked, one “i built this” post | 45 minutes |
| 22 to 30 | old threads that rank in Google, double down on the top three subreddits | 45 minutes |
if Reddit gives you 30 users, not 100, that is still a good month. mix it with the other channels in how to get your first 100 app users, including Discord and other communities, and keep the comments going. they compound.
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Frequently asked questions
Can you really get 100 app users from Reddit for free?
often, yes, if your app solves a problem people already ask about on Reddit. it costs time, not money: roughly 30 to 45 minutes a day for a month. the users come from answering real questions well and saying you built the app, not from dropping links. apps nobody asks about will struggle here.
How old does a Reddit account need to be before I mention my app?
there is no single number, because each subreddit sets its own karma and account age limits, and many do not publish them. the safer test is history: two weeks of useful comments with no links, in the same subreddits where you plan to mention the app. if a mod read your profile, would it look like a real member?
What should I do if a subreddit bans me for promoting my app?
accept it, read which rule you broke, and send the mods one short, polite message if you think it was a mistake. do not argue, do not repost, and never come back with a second account. put your effort into the other subreddits on your list and fix the pattern that caused the ban.