Stopped Chasing Hot Threads, Started Getting 4x Better Results (Reddit B2B Strategy)

Sharing some results from a Reddit marketing test I ran over the past couple months. Based on a strategy I saw discussed across a few SaaS founder communities, figured it was worth a real test.

Quick Background

Saw a few posts from founders talking about Reddit as an acquisition channel. The numbers people were claiming seemed almost too good:

• One guy claimed $20k MRR with zero ads, just Reddit engagement
• A case study mentioned 4x lower customer acquisition cost compared to paid ads
• Another reported 20:1 ROI after systematizing the process
• Someone claimed $2,000-$5,000 MRR bump per month from Reddit alone

Sounded worth testing. Even if half of it was exaggerated, still better than Facebook ads burning cash.

The Core Insight (That Took Me Too Long To Get)

Most people waste time on popular threads. Including me, for the first month.

A post with 200 comments means you're competing with 199 other people for attention. The original poster probably stopped reading after the first 20 replies. Your brilliant, helpful comment sits at the bottom where nobody scrolls.

The strategy these founders mentioned: focus on threads with under 10 comments. Less competition. Your reply actually gets seen. The person who asked the question might actually respond.

Simple logic. Took me a while to implement it properly though.

Week 1-2 Results (The Manual Approach)

Started by doing this manually. Spent about 90 minutes daily just finding decent threads. Opened each subreddit, sorted by new, scrolled through looking for low-comment posts, checked if they were relevant.

Commented on maybe 15-20 threads per week. All focused on threads under 10 comments in niche subreddits.

Results:

• 5-6 meaningful responses (people replying, asking follow-up questions)
• 2 DMs asking for more info
• 0 conversions yet
• Time investment way too high to sustain

The strategy worked. People were actually seeing my comments. But the manual search process was killing me. 90 minutes of scrolling before I could even start engaging. Not sustainable.

Week 3-4 (Adding Filtering Tools)

Started using a tool to filter by comment count across multiple subreddits at once. Cut search time from 90 minutes to about 20 minutes.

There's a few desktop apps that do this - gummysearch, wappkit, somiibo, and probably others. Basically just filter reddit posts by engagement metrics. Tried a couple, all work similarly. The specific tool matters less than having SOME way to filter.

Results after adding filtering:

• Same engagement quality as before
• 1/4 of the time investment
• Could actually keep this up long-term
• Started seeing more consistent patterns

Week 5-8 (Finding The Patterns)

This is where it got interesting. Started noticing what actually converts vs what just gets upvotes.

Thread types that convert well:

• "Is there a tool that does X?" (actively seeking solution)
• "How do you handle [specific problem]?" (looking for process)
• "Struggling with Y, any tips?" (pain point + open to suggestions)
• "I'm switching from Z, need alternatives" (ready to buy)

Thread types that waste time:

• "What do you think of [product]?" (just wants opinions)
• Rant posts (want sympathy, not solutions)
• "I did X and it worked great" (sharing, not asking)
• "What's the best tool for..." (usually writing a listicle)

The difference in conversion rate between these categories is massive. Like 10x difference.

The 90/10 Rule

Something else I picked up from these discussions - the "90/10 rule" for Reddit content:

• 90% of comments should be pure value, no mention of anything you sell
• 10% can subtly reference your product when genuinely relevant

This matches what I've seen in practice. The promotional comments get ignored or downvoted. The genuinely helpful ones lead to DMs. People asking YOU what tools you use, instead of you trying to pitch them.

It feels slow. It is slow. But the conversion quality is way higher than cold outreach.

What The Data Actually Shows

According to that case study I mentioned (was on Medium, can't find the exact link now), someone doing systematic Reddit outreach over 6 months reported:

• 4x lower customer acquisition cost vs paid ads
• Around 20:1 ROI
• $2,000-$5,000 MRR bump per month
• Only 2 hours of work per week once systematized

My numbers aren't that good yet, but I can see how you'd get there with consistency over 6-12 months.

Specific Tactics That Seem To Work

Thread selection criteria:

• Under 10 comments (ideally under 5)
• Posted in last 6-24 hours
• Question phrased as a problem (not just curiosity)
• Poster has actual post history (not a throwaway)

The post history check is important. Throwaway accounts rarely convert. If someone's using their real account that shows diverse activity (gaming, hobbies, local subs - not just business stuff), they're more likely to be a real person with a real need.

Response timing matters too. First 2-3 hours after a post goes up is the sweet spot. After 6 hours in an active subreddit, you're already competing with too many replies.

What Didn't Work

Documenting the failures too:

• Big subreddits main feeds (r/marketing, r/entrepreneur hot posts). Too crowded.
• Posts older than 24 hours. Person usually moved on.
• Threads where someone already gave a complete answer. Adding noise.
• Generic "what's the best tool" questions. Usually research, not buying.
• Commenting too frequently in the same subreddit. Seemed to trigger rate limiting.

Still Testing

DM follow-ups after engagement. Works sometimes but can feel spammy if overdone. Haven't found the right balance yet.

Also testing different subreddit sizes. Really small subs (under 10k members) seem to have higher quality but lower volume. Mid-size (50k-200k) might be the sweet spot.

Not saying this is the ultimate method. But the underlying logic (low competition = more visibility = better conversations) seems sound. The early results are promising enough to keep going.

Questions welcome. Curious what others are seeing.