How to get your first users from Reddit without getting banned

I've done this successfully and I've also gotten accounts banned doing it wrong. Here's what actually works.

What gets you banned immediately:

• Posting links in new subreddits with a new account
• Posting the same content across multiple subreddits the same day
• Making promotional posts before building any karma in the community
• Using the same phrasing in every comment (Reddit detects patterns)

What actually works:

Step 1: Identify the right subreddits

Not the startup subreddits. The subreddits where your actual user hangs out and complains about the problem you solve. If you build a video tool, that's r/NewTubers, r/podcasting, r/videography. Not r/SaaS.

Step 2: Comment before you post

Spend the first week just answering questions genuinely. No links, no product mentions. Just be the most helpful person in the thread. This builds karma and credibility in that specific community.

Step 3: When you do mention your product

Make it one sentence at the end of a genuinely helpful comment. Never the first sentence. Never a link in the opening post. Put the link in the first comment after the post goes live, not in the body.

Step 4: Vary your posting patterns

Different subreddits, different times, different phrasing every time. Reddit's spam detection looks for patterns. If every comment ends with the same sentence structure, you get flagged.

Step 5: Give before you take

The ratio that works is roughly 9 helpful contributions for every 1 mention of your product. It sounds slow. It compounds fast.

The accounts that survive long term on Reddit are the ones that genuinely contribute to the communities they're in. The ones that treat it as an ad platform get banned within weeks.

What subreddit are you trying to crack right now?