UpPeek field notes · 6 min
How to find customers on Reddit and Hacker News without spamming
Look for people already asking for a product like yours, reply helpfully, and follow each community's rules.
By Neha, founder of UpPeek ·
Look for questions, not keywords
The best leads are people asking “what do you use for…?” or complaining about a tool you could replace. Search for the problem in the words your customers use, not your product name.
Reply to help first
A good reply answers the person's question even if they never click your link. Mention your product only where it genuinely fits, and say you built it.
- ✓Answer the actual question first
- ✓Disclose that you are the maker
- ✓Add a link only when it is allowed and relevant
- ✓Never paste the same reply in many threads
- ✓Do not send unsolicited private messages
Follow each community's rules
Read the rules of every subreddit before posting, and remember that Hacker News has its own norms. Rules differ widely and breaking them gets accounts banned and products remembered for the wrong reason.
A simple weekly routine
Set aside an hour a week. Search for questions you could genuinely help with, reply to the best few, and keep notes on which topics keep coming up. Free tools such as F5Bot send keyword alerts, and UpPeek's customer finder returns ranked posts with a drafted reply you edit and post yourself.
Questions people ask
Is it allowed to promote my product on Reddit?
It depends on the subreddit. Many restrict self-promotion, so read the rules and focus on being useful. UpPeek never posts for you; you decide what to say and where.