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3 ways to promote your product on Reddit without getting banned (with examples)

Miha Mlakar

•

Jun 28, 2025

Reddit’s mascot Snoo in a business suit holding a briefcase and speaking into a megaphone, illustrated in a vintage cartoon style.

In 2021 I started an app that turned Notion pages into fully functional websites. It all started with a Reddit post. I posted to r/Notion what I was working on and the post got 328 upvotes overnight. Here’s the post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Notion/comments/nq76im/weve_built_a_tool_to_turn_notion_pages_into/

At the time I thought, wow how cool is that. All I need to do is post here every week and r/Notion will deliver me the users lol. I did manage to get another post in, but then I was banned from participating in r/Notion ever again 😬

I think that summarizes the dilemma of Reddit marketing. It has great potential, but its anti self-promotion policies make it really difficult to make use of it. What can you do?

Popsy AI analyzes hundreds of thousands of Reddit posts daily. I decided to dug into our data to find out what techniques people use to promote their product on Reddit without getting banned. I uncovered 3 main approaches that seem to outperform all the others + some general tips how to do them right.


Make your product part of the story

One of the best ways to mention your product without triggering self-promo alarms is to make it a natural part of a story. Instead of saying “check out my app,” you say “here’s something that happened while building it.” This is probably the most sustainable Reddit strategy long-term since there’s a ton of sharable things that happen to you while building your product.


Real examples:


More ideas:

  • You hit a milestone like getting first users or reaching some MRR goal

  • You solved a problem using your own tool

  • A customer did something unexpected or funny

  • You made an important life decision

  • You learned a lesson while building the product

  • You launched a feature and saw surprising results

  • You’re sharing how your tech stack, funnel, pricing, or design evolved


Tips:

  • Keep the focus on the story, not your product

  • Create curiosity with a hook

  • Mention your credentials

  • Share numbers, screenshots, or lessons to add credibility.

  • Only drop your product name if the subreddit allows it or let your profile and comments do the work.


Drop Value Bombs

Another way to get attention is to write in-depth posts that teach something valuable: a growth tactic, SEO breakdown, sales strategy, or case study. If you’re consistently sharing useful stuff readers will want to know more about you and your product. This works especially well if your product solves the type of problem you’re writing about.


Real examples:


Tips:

  • Mention your credentials

  • Focus on actionable, specific advice. Bonus points for frameworks or templates.

  • Should be related to your product.

  • The more niche and detailed, the better.


Offer Free help

I’m sure you’ve seen posts that follow this format: “Drop your X, I’ll do Y for you.” They can be annoying but they work. You get to showcase your expertise, build relationships, and start conversations, all while leading curious users to check out your profile.


Real Examples:


Tips:

  • Establish your expertise and credentials (it’s a good place to mention your product too)

  • Be specific about what you’re offering (audit, optimization, feedback)

  • The offer should be aligned with your product

  • Cap it if needed (one free audit per user, first 10 users, replies within 48h, etc.).

  • Include a call-to-action that involves commenting since that drives engagement (“Drop your link in the comments”).


Why it works:

  • Low friction: “Free” is hard to resist.

  • Demonstrates expertise up front.

  • Drives engagement in the comments where you can follow up.


How to Mention Your Product Without Getting Banned)?

In any of those posts you’ll want to mention your product somehow. First questions to answer are:

  • Can I mention my product in the post?

  • Can I link to my website?

The answer depends on the subreddit. Each subreddit has its own rules and you should definitely read them before posting. Most of them limit self-promotion but the wording differs. I separate them in 2 groups:

  • Strict subreddits - direct self promotion is not allowed

  • Very strict subreddits - anything smelling of self promotion is off limits

Important thing to remember is you can still promote even in the strictest ones but it requires more subtle approaches.


How to promote in strict subreddits

These subreddits usually have rules that say something vague like “no self-promotion”. But they often allow it indirectly if it’s part of a story, if you’re providing value, or if the promo happens in the comments.

The safest approach here is:

  • Mention your product by name in the post, but don’t be salesy. Make it part of a story or insight.

  • Avoid dropping a link directly in the post unless the rules clearly allow it.

  • Wait for someone to ask about it in the comments, then you can share your link.


How to promote in VERY strict subreddits

These are the “no exceptions” subreddits. Anything that even smells like self-promotion can get you banned. You won’t be able to mention your product by name, let alone post a link.

But you can still get attention, you just have to be subtle:

  • Hint at what you're working on, but don’t name it. Talk about the space you're in, the problem you're solving, or the kind of results you're seeing (e.g. “grew my SEO tool to 5k users” without naming it). The aim is to pique reader’s interest and hope that they get curious enough to check your profile and find out for themselves.

  • Make your profile do the work. Curious users will check who you are. And that’s why your profile should link to your product.

  • Share your product in the comments. If someone asks “what’s the tool?” you can mention it by name and even link to it (unless the mods are really strict - check the rules). If no one asks… you can always have a “friend” ask 👀

The key in very strict subs is to offer value first and make people want to know more.


In both cases, optimize your profile

No matter how subtle your post is, curious users will click your profile so make sure your profile does the selling for you.

Here’s what to do:

  • Use your real name as the display name (your username can’t be changed, but your display name can)

  • Add a real profile photo

  • Write a short, clear bio that says what you’re building

    Example: “Building AcmeSEO - AI-powered keyword research tool”

  • Add a link to your product in the bio

  • Include your product link in the banner image

  • Add social links to your site, Twitter, etc.

Here’s my Reddit profile for example:

Final Thoughts

In short, Reddit marketing works best when you help or entertain first and mention your product in a natural way. It might cost you a few bans to get this right but it can be extremely rewarding long term.

I analyzed 10k top posts on r/SaaS subreddit - 5 post types that get you on top ›