I went #1 on Reddit multiple times.. here's how

Hi IH,

So yesterday I launched my free google chrome extension ReaderMax.com

I posted about it here, here, and here.

I went #1 trending on both subreddit pages which each have over 100,000 members.

Here's how I did it...

Create lead magnet

A couple years ago I took an online course from a guy Josh Snow. He created snow teeth whitening, a high end teeth whitening D2C brand that was endorsed by the Kardashians and other big celebrities.

One thing that always stood out to me in his course was a hack that he used to use to get people to engage with his products.

He would create a Facebook ad that would tap into a common dream that people would have, the dream that resonated the most was one about having your teeth fall out while sleeping. This is apparently a common dream and a bit shocking to be honest. He wrote an article something along the lines of "What it means if you dream about your teeth falling out". There was a shocking image that was included in the ad of teeth falling out. It was a scroll stopper.

Interested people would stop scrolling in shock and read the text, if they related to it (meaning they had that dream or were interested), they clicked the link.

The link took them to the teeth whitening website where they would read an article about what it means to have that dream. At the end it came around to insecurity about teeth and suggested the reader try teeth whitening, then they would be recommended products with lots of testimonials.

This worked for him and I always thought it was genius.

In this case I wrote an article "I built an AI chrome extension to 10x your reading in 2 days... here's how"

The headline was apparently captivating and readers clicked it to hear more.

Be indirect

In the article I described the process of building the chrome extension in practical terms so that anyone can apply the same methods and create their own.

I also included roadblocks encountered so that it wasn't all rainbows and roses, I gave more of a practical reality of the process. For example I had to update files that I didn't know were deprecated.

At the end of the day, I was able to link to the product to show the result but the real point of the story was to give value to the reader; here's how to create an AI chrome extension quickly. They can apply this to their own life.

But if they're interested in the product I built, they can check that out too.

This is important because your Reddit post will get taken down if it's an ad. You must create value through your post.

Scatter your bets

I posted 3x on Reddit. My posts on r/business_ideas and r/artificialinteligence went #1 on trending but I posted in r/startups and the mods took my post down and told me they wanted to ban me. Is what it is, I know next time not to post in r/startups or if I want to, use a different more refined strategy. Live and learn I guess.

Ultimately there's no way to know if posts will do well on Reddit, and the process is filled with uncertainty.

The best way to go about it is to try and create the best/most captivating article possible with good value and a super catchy title. From there it's a dice roll though. I've had posts flop. I've had posts for other products i've made go super viral.

All you can do is try your best and then the rest is up to the internet, which can be super fickle.

Feedback

hopefully this was helpful. If you liked the article please leave a comment or like it so others will see it!

Also, feel free to comment below if you'd like me to dive in deeper on any questions you may have!