'Startuping'- Lessons learned from posting on Reddit pt.12
My 12th weekly startup blog
The previous two posts on ‘Startuping’ were more focused on the psychological aspects of running a business, today I would try to give more technical advice. I started using Reddit around 8-9 years ago. Back then I started a small graphic design YouTube channel and got a tip to post some of my content on Reddit communities to get a bit of traction. Apart from the YouTube and Google searches, I got more of my views from posting on Reddit than any other social media platform. Over these years I have learned a few key insights I would like to share with you guys.
Tip#1. A good Ad doesn’t look like an Ad
I know Redditors hate ads, they dislike self-promotion, and often ban you from the subreddit for trying to do so. To be fair, I wouldn’t want to be bombarded with ads while scrolling through trying to have a nice time. So it is important that when you are trying to promote your product or content it doesn’t feel like an ad. Although it is the kind of subject that “feels” like an Ad what doesn’t there are some important things not to do while trying to promote.
Don’t make it sound like a local TV commercial: The title and description should talk about how you solved a problem but should not sound like a local TV commercial which says things like “limited time only”, “be the first to buy”, and “70% off”.
Tell a story: I know many of you would have grown tired of hearing how whenever you’re pitching something it should be a story. The reason you’ve heard it so many times is because it is 100% true. In my experience whenever I told why or how I built or wrote something, told my audience the sequence of things, and built a narrative it always resulted in more clicks, subscribers, and views.
People buy because of emotions: I have a bachelor’s in economics and I have studied how people buy to maximize their utility function. It is a nice theory but I don’t buy it. In my experience, people make purchase decisions based on their emotional needs. You must convey in your message how using the product or reading your content would likely make people feel. If your content is about startups then I would suggest making a story about your experiences and struggles would convey an emotional message to your audience about how it feels to be an entrepreneur.
Tip#2 Reddit can be a mean place but you shouldn’t be
