Reddit hates blatant marketing. I did an experiment anyways, here are my results

SUMMARY: I ran an experiment to determine the effectiveness of marketing (authentically & ethically) on reddit to gain email subscribers. As a result, in one month, I gained ~770 subscribers by spending a few minutes each day commenting on posts.

BRIEF INTRODUCTION:
Alright, unlike the purpose of the experiment, my goal here is not to self promote. This is me just sharing with you what I’ve learned, and the results of my experiment to determine the effectiveness of Reddit as an acquisition channel.

This might not apply to your business, however, I hope you still takeaway one method of running marketing experiments to determine the most effective acquisition channels. [Recommended Reading: Brian Balfours blog post http://www.coelevate.com/essays/growth-process-first-tactics-second]

Below is the exact experimental design I created to test this channel out. I’ll give you the exact steps, numbers, results, and findings.

Let’s begin…

OBJECTIVE:

1. Increase traffic to my landing page and email subscribers from reddit
   
   
2. Set up an automatic system so I get notified whenever someone replies to me, and when a post has been created with certain keywords

BACKGROUND:
Based on a previous experiment where I sent PMs to redditors who replied in a relevant post (sent 40 messages in 1 hour which resulted in 16 signups, or a conversion rate of 40%), I realized /r/entrepreneur is a good opportunity to reach out to my target demographic.

Supporting Picture: https://i.imgur.com/KDs926R.jpg

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN:

Step 1) Create a list of relevant topics that I’ll reply to
I only want to comment on posts that are relevant to my business. To create this list, I went through a lot of the old posts and made note of the type of posts that seem to recur. The type of posts that are relevant are:

• Ideas for side businesses
  
  
• Entrepreneur doesn’t know where to start
  
  
• Local businesses (e.g. pressure washing, landscaping, etc…)
  
  
• Business ideas while in school
  
  
• Low cost businesses

Step 2) Create a system that will allow me to comment on “new” posts
I need to comment on posts while they are still “new” in order to gain early traction to ensure it’s near the top of the comments.

To accomplish this, I’ve used two methods:

Method 1 - Automated notifications by TrackReddit on Keywords
Based on the list in Step 1, I created keywords that would be relevant for those posts. For example:

Supporting Picture: http://imgur.com/NwWMXzj

I would then get an email notification whenever a post is created that has that keyword…

Supporting Picture: http://imgur.com/1QAebsH

Method 2 - Twice a Day Notification Reminders to Check the “New” Tab

From what I’ve read, the best time to post on Reddit is around 8 to 10AM, and also 8 to 10PM (see: https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/3nkwwa/the_best_time_to_post_to_reddit_east_coast_early/)

Therefore, I set two daily notifications at 9AM and 9PM where I will click the “new” tab on Reddit, and scour the list for relevant posts that weren’t picked up by TrackReddit

Step 3) - Create a message template
Blatant self-promotion on Reddit is considered a major faux-pas and would result in getting downvoted to oblivion (personal opinion: even if the content is valuable, self-promotion is still looked down upon. I think it’s one of the main problems with /r/entrepreneur compared to other forums)

For each post, I’ll try to customize my comment to make it as relevant as possible. At the end of each comment, I’ll add a template description of my business and a call-to-action.

The main thing is to follow permission marketing techniques and NOT to include the link to my landing page. Instead, I’ll explicity ask for permission to include my link. Once someone replies to my comment asking for more info, I’ll reply to their comment with the link of my website. When enough people PM or comment me, I’ll add an EDIT to my original comment with the link to my website.

For example, here’s the template I prepared first... https://i.imgur.com/bvHjyaU.jpg

Step 4) - Reply to PMs/Comments Immediately and Attempt to Initiate Discussion
To get an email notification everytime someone PMs or replies to my comment, I used Changemon, here’s a guide on how to set it up: https://www.reddit.com/r/ChangeMon/comments/32zmji/get_email_notifications_when_someone_replies_to/

Supporting Picture: https://i.imgur.com/AFqTltO.jpg

My two main goals whenever someone publicly replies to my comment are: 1) provide a link to my landing page (so both the OP and other people will see it), and 2) obtain a testimonial/social from the OP to gain the trust of other redditors.

Here are a few examples of my replies to accomplish this…




Once I receive enough PMs or replies, I’ll edit my main comment… for example...



RESULTS:
To date, I have only used Reddit and Twitter (to a small degree) to advertise my website. Therefore, the majority of my web stats are derived from Reddit.

Here are some of the stats:

• Total Days: 38 (Dec 5 - Jan 11)
  
  
• Total Posts: 39
  
  
• Total Unique Sessions from Reddit: 1837
  
  
• Total Email Signups from Reddit: 768
  
  
• Conversion Rate: 42%

LEARNINGS:

1. Do not include link in the original site

I only did one test but it was enough for me to stop trying. For one of the posts, I included the link to my original comment and got downvoted immediately.



Instead, the best way is to ask for permission to include the link and editing my original comment after getting some replies…



2) Commenting on Frequent Recurring Posts is Ineffective

Of the 39 posts I commented on, 11 of them were very similar and had the theme of “what are some small business ideas?” These were very ineffective and only resulted in 8% of the email subscribers. This is probably because people tend to get bored with these type of posts resulting in less upvotes.

Action: Remove certain TrackReddit keyword posts to focus on the more effective topics… see below

3) Posts about “Unsexy businesses” and “Young Entrepreneurs Looking for Advice” are Most Effective
There were a total of three posts related to “unsexy/dirty business ideas”. Each of these three posts generated at least 165 upvotes and 225 comments, all making it to the front page.

Unfortunately, I was too late to comment on one of them and missed my chance. However, I was able to comment early on 2 of these 3 posts which resulted in 55% of my email subscribers.

Furthermore, 8 of the 39 posts were young entrepreneurs asking for some sort of advice. These 8 posts resulted in 17% of my email subscribers.

Action: Add TrackReddit keywords that target posts with the theme “unsexy businesses” and “young entrepreneurs”

Three posts accounted for 55% of the email signups. For these posts, I was able to comment on it while it was only a few hours old before it gained traction and made it to the front page.

Two of the three posts were about “unsexy business ideas”, and the other one being “small business ideas with low barrier to entry”.

CONCLUSION:
Commenting on posts relevant to your business in subreddits with our target demographic is an effective early-on marketing channel. The most effective method is to follow permission marketing techniques.

NEXT STEPS:
1. Confirmed that /r/entrepreneur is a good platform for my website. Will follow this up with creating posts with valuable content, instead of just commenting on posts. I'll post the experiment/results of this once it's complete.

2. Create experiment with a similar "commenting" approach on another platform, Quora. Stay tuned for the experiment for this one too!

DON'T BE A STRANGER
Have any questions? Reply to this post.

Have any advice/suggestions or anything at all? I’m still a noob, please reply and let’s discuss!

You can also email me at or send me a message

 

Great..

 

I don't do any advertising where I have to wait hoping my post isn't reported and deleted. To me it's childish. Most importantly, there's no guarantee that that type traffic will ever convert. So what's the point?

 

It's a good case study and shows hard work can pay off.

 

I never had good luck with Reddit. But I am thinking of trying them out again.

 

Interesting. Im flat out stunned at the conversion rate.

 

I like your methodical approach to the matter, a statistical and marketer combined. Thanks for the threat buddy.

 

Thanks! If you want to get updated on my other experiments, feel free to signup to my newsletter --> http://founderorigins.com

 

Oh absolutely, I love experiments like this.

 

In Reddit, this active online community is for engaging people for the respected field and not for direct promotions. Its a matter of strategy to target your audience effectively in the discussion.

 

Hi Wilson7wgh thanks for sharing all that information which I value so much since I've been thinking about using reddit for my marketing strategies and I wasn't sure of using it. Now I feel I can give it a try.

Thanks again