How I Got My First 100 Users From Reddit (Step-by-Step)

Week 1: 0 users. Week 2: 3 users from friends. Week 3: I posted on Product Hunt and got... 7 users. By week 4, I was desperate.

Then I stopped doing what everyone told me to do and started doing what actually worked. Reddit gave me my first 100 users in 30 days. Here's exactly how.

• Found 10 subreddits where my target users hung out (searched for problems I solve)
• Created a dedicated account for founder presence (not my personal account)
• Read 50+ top posts in each subreddit to understand the culture
• Started commenting helpfully on relevant threads (5-10 comments/day)

Zero promotion. Just building karma and understanding the communities.

• Hit 100 karma from helpful comments alone
• Answered 20+ questions related to my product's domain
• Built relationships with a few regular commenters
• Identified pain point threads where people complained about the problem I solve

Still no promotion. But now I was a recognized name in key threads.

• Posted my first value post: 'I spent 3 months researching X,here's what I learned'
• Zero product mention in the post itself
• In comments, when asked: 'Yeah, I actually built a tool to automate this'
• Result: 47 upvotes, 8 signups, 3 people asking for demos

• Posted similar value content to 4 other subreddits (different angles)
• Started answering 'what tool do you use for X' threads directly
• Posted a 'I built this, would love feedback' in r/SaaS
• Did a soft AMA in a small niche subreddit

Day 30 total: 127 users. All organic. All from Reddit.

• Start building karma earlier: Should have been week -2, not week 1
• Offer something exclusive: 'Reddit users get 60 days free' performs well
• Screenshot everything: User testimonials from comments are gold for later
• Track subreddit performance: Some subs converted 10x better than others

Not all subreddits are equal for early traction. In my 30-day experiment, 3 subreddits drove 78% of total signups while 7 others produced almost nothing. r/SaaS was the single highest converter, accounting for 42 of the 127 total signups. The reason is audience intent: people in r/SaaS are founders and operators who actively evaluate new tools and are comfortable paying for software. They are the decision-makers, not gatekeepers. A genuine post there reaches the exact person who can become a paying customer within 24 hours.

r/SideProject was the second most effective community, driving 31 signups. This subreddit is specifically built for people sharing what they are building, which means a genuine 'I built this' post is welcomed rather than flagged as spam. The community ethos is supportive and curious. Members want to try new tools and give feedback. The downside is that r/SideProject skews toward bootstrapped indie hackers rather than enterprise buyers, so conversion to paid plans was lower, but the raw signup volume was high. r/Entrepreneur came third with 19 signups, with lower conversion rates but higher quality discussions and more genuine feedback on the product.

• Start with r/SaaS for highest-intent B2B buyers who are ready to evaluate tools
• Use r/SideProject for your 'I built this' launch post to get early signups and genuine feedback
• Post in r/Entrepreneur for longer-form journey posts that build founder credibility
• Try r/startups for posts about lessons learned rather than product launches
• Avoid large general subreddits like r/technology or r/InternetIsBeautiful for early traction since conversion rates are under 0.5%

Hitting 100 users in 30 days is a milestone, not a destination. The founders who turn that initial traction into 1,000 users by month 6 are the ones who systemize their Reddit activity rather than treating it as a one-time launch event. After day 30, shift from daily posting back to a sustainable cadence: 2 to 3 substantive posts per week across your top 3 subreddits, with 15 to 20 minutes of commenting on relevant threads every morning. This takes roughly 60 to 90 minutes per day and keeps your profile active, your karma growing, and your presence visible in community search results.

The second phase of Reddit growth comes from other users mentioning your product unprompted. This typically starts around day 45 to 60 for founders who engaged genuinely during the first 30 days. Someone asks 'what tool do you use for X' and a community member you never met answers with your product name. These organic mentions are worth 5 to 10 times more than self-promotional posts because they come with third-party credibility. You can accelerate this by continuing to be helpful in comment threads, by responding to every mention of your product with gratitude and a useful resource, and by quietly connecting with users who had positive experiences and asking if they would share their feedback publicly.

• Set a post-launch cadence of 3 posts per week plus 15 minutes of daily commenting
• Create a saved search in Reddit for your product name to catch every mention within hours
• Respond to every organic mention within 30 minutes with a helpful reply and a resource link
• Set up a Google Alert for your product name plus 'Reddit' to track mentions in search results
• At the 60-day mark, identify your 10 most engaged Reddit users and offer them a founder-level tier or early access to new features

Want to replicate this? MediaFast shows you the right subreddits and posting times. Or read the full playbook.