A founder thought getting his first 100 users would be easy.
He'd built a TikTok following, so Reddit should be simple, right?
He posted dozens of promotional posts in hours.
His notifications exploded—but not with signups. He got banned from major subreddits, mass downvoted, and called a scam. Instead of quitting, he pivoted to a completely different approach: finding people actively seeking solutions and DMing them individually.
The result?
📍 What It Is
The Individual Outreach Method: Abandoning promotional posts entirely, finding Reddit threads where people are actively seeking solutions your product provides, and reaching out via DM to ask about their problems (not pitch your product) to determine genuine fit.
🎯 Why It Works
High-intent prospects - People posting "looking for a solution" are ready to try something
Bypasses subreddit promotion rules - DMs don't violate community guidelines
Personal connection - 1-on-1 conversations build trust that posts can't
Immediate feedback - You learn what people actually need, not what you think they need
Scalable in early stages - Unscalable for 10,000 users, perfect for your first 100
Algorithm-independent - Doesn't rely on posts trending or getting upvotes
When you have zero users, doing things that don't scale is exactly what you need. Manual, time-intensive outreach beats waiting for viral posts.
⚙️ How It Works
Phase 1: The Wrong Way (Learn From These Mistakes)
What NOT to do:
❌ Writing "heartfelt posts" about why you built your product
❌ Posting features and benefits across dozens of subreddits
❌ Replying to comments to "build buzz"
❌ Assuming your vision is so great people will just "get it"
❌ Mass posting in hours
What happens:
Banned from major subreddits
Mass downvotes
Called a scam
Reddit notifications blow up with criticism, not signups
Hundreds of people actively rejecting you
The realization: On Reddit, being an advertiser = death. The platform actively punishes promotional behavior.
Phase 2: The Pivot (What Actually Works)
Step 1: Change Your Mindset Completely
Stop advertising, start helping - Your goal isn't to promote your product. Your goal is to find people with problems you can solve and understand their specific situation.
Accept the unscalable work - "Every post, every person — I reached out to them all." This isn't efficient. It's necessary. You're at zero users, not optimizing conversions.
Step 2: Find High-Intent Prospects
Search for solution-seeking posts - Type every relevant keyword into Reddit search:
"looking for [your solution]"
"need help with [problem you solve]"
"recommendations for [your category]"
"struggling with [pain point]"
Join every relevant subreddit - Don't be picky. If it's even tangentially related to your product space, join it. Monitor new posts daily.
Create a tracking system - Keep links to every post and every person you DM. The founder still has "hundreds of post links and the people I DM'd back then."
Step 3: Write Value-Added Posts (When Appropriate)
Focus on education, not promotion - Write about solving problems, not about your product. Share insights, frameworks, or lessons learned.
Let people discover your product organically - Mention it only when directly relevant, and frame it as "this is what I built to solve this exact problem" not "check out my product."
Step 4: The DM Strategy (The Real Breakthrough)
DM people actively seeking solutions - When someone posts "looking for a note-taking app that does X," that's your signal to reach out.
Ask about their problems first - Don't lead with your product. Message: "Hey, I saw your post about [problem]. What specifically are you struggling with?" or "What solutions have you tried so far?"
Determine relevancy before pitching - Only mention your product if it genuinely fits their needs. If it doesn't, don't waste their time. This builds trust for when you do have something relevant.
Be relentless - "Every single one." You're not waiting for perfect targeting. You're manually reaching everyone who might benefit.
Pro Tips:
Don't explicitly advertise unless a subreddit explicitly permits it
Relevancy is crucial—wrong audience = wasted effort
DMs work because they're personal conversations, not public promotions
Track everyone you contact—you'll learn patterns about who converts
This approach isn't scalable, and that's fine—it's for getting to 100 users, not 10,000
The Hard Truth: You will get downvoted. You will get banned. You will be called a scam. Hundreds of people might reject you. This is normal. The question is: will you quit or will you learn what actually works?
🏆 Real Example
Founder: Austin (note-taking app)
Starting point: 4 users (his high school friends)
Phase 1 - The Failure:
Posted dozens of promotional posts in hours
Got banned from biggest relevant subreddits
Received mass downvotes
Called a scam
Considered giving up: "Is it even worth it when you receive so much criticism?"
The Pivot: Instead of quitting, he analyzed what resonated on Reddit vs. what didn't. Realized the fundamental error: being an advertiser.
Phase 2 - The Manual Grind:
Stopped promotional posting
Found posts where people sought note-taking solutions
DMed every single person asking about their problems first
Wrote value-added posts (no explicit promotion)
Stayed relentless - tracked hundreds of posts and people
The approach:
Searched every relevant keyword
Joined every related subreddit
Reached out to literally everyone seeking solutions
Asked about problems before mentioning product
Focused on relevancy above all else
Results:
Hundreds of thousands of views accumulated over time
First 100+ users acquired through individual outreach
Consistent daily referrals from Reddit ongoing
Love-hate relationship turned into reliable channel
Key insights:
Getting banned taught him what NOT to do (promotional posts)
Manual, unscalable work is exactly what early-stage needs
DMs bypass community rules while building personal connections
Asking about problems first creates trust before mentioning product
Relevancy matters more than volume—wrong audience = waste
What made it work:
Willingness to pivot after massive failure
Accepting unscalable manual work
Prioritizing helping over selling
Relentless individual outreach
Learning from hundreds of rejections
The mindset shift: From "How do I get people to see my product?" to "How do I find people who need help and actually help them?"
💡 Your Turn Search Reddit for one post where someone is actively seeking a solution your product provides. DM them asking about their problem (without mentioning your product yet). Reply with what you learned from that conversation—best insight gets featured Friday!