name: reddit
description: Reddit organic marketing skill for placing helpful brand mentions in high-intent threads. Use when running Reddit placement campaigns, finding buyer-intent threads, crafting authentic comments, or scaling Reddit presence with anti-detection rules.

Reddit Skill

Systematic approach to placing helpful brand mentions in high-intent Reddit threads that rank in Google. Focus on being genuinely useful while staying undetected.

Quick Start

To run a Reddit placement campaign, I need:
1. Offer - product/service/brand being mentioned
2. Target keywords - buyer intent queries (recommendations, comparisons, reviews)
3. Vertical - niche category (local services, SaaS, ecom, etc.)
4. Constraints - forbidden claims, disallowed links, brand safety notes

Optional:
- Geo targeting (city subreddits)
- Competitor list (to reference neutrally)
- Subreddit allowlist/blocklist

⚠️ CRITICAL: Anti-Detection Rules

Red Flags That Get Accounts Burned (AVOID)

1. Aged account + Low karma - 1yr old with 2 karma = obvious bot
2. AI-sounding content - Hallucinations, robotic phrasing, overly perfect grammar
3. Only posts in low-moderation subs - GEO platforming subs are watched
4. Removed posts in moderated subs - Pattern of removals = flagged
5. Zero contribution diversity - Only promotional comments
6. Pattern posting - Same times, same subs, same writing style

Account Health Requirements (Before ANY Strategic Posts)

Cadence Rules

• 1 comment per account per week MAXIMUM
• 10 accounts = 10 placements/week max
• Spread across different days and times
• 80/20 rule: 80% genuine engagement, 20% strategic placements
• Never batch posts in same subreddit from multiple accounts

Workflow

1) Opportunity Discovery

Google patterns:

best [category] site:reddit.com
[product] vs [competitor] reddit
is [brand] worth it reddit
[service] [city] reddit

Reddit search patterns:
- "best", "recommend", "worth it", "alternatives", "vs"
- Filter by last year, sort by relevance/top

Thread Selection Criteria:
| Factor | Prefer | Avoid |
|--------|--------|-------|
| Intent | Buyer intent ("choosing soon") | Venting, complaints |
| Engagement | Active comments | Dead threads |
| Age | Evergreen OR new | Locked/archived |
| Moderation | Well-moderated subs | Low-mod GEO subs |
| Google ranking | Already ranks for keywords | No search visibility |

Output: opportunity_list.md with:
- Thread URL, Subreddit, Intent strength, Risk level, Recommended action

2) Subreddit Mapping

Before posting in any sub, document:
- Rules - Read sidebar, stickies
- Tone - casual / analytical / supportive / blunt
- Link policy - none / limited / ok
- Promo sensitivity - low / medium / high
- Risk - low / medium / high

Output: subreddit_tone_maps.md

3) Comment Crafting

5-Part Template:
1. Empathy hook - Mirror OP's situation
2. Context - What you tried/decided between
3. Helpful breakdown - Pros/cons, tradeoffs, what to watch for
4. Soft recommendation - Mention brand naturally (NO sales voice)
5. Exit line - Offer to answer questions, mention constraints

Style Rules:
- ❌ No marketing language or exaggerated outcomes
- ❌ No certainty ("this is the best") → ✅ Use "in my experience", "might be worth"
- ✅ Include specific details (constraints, tradeoffs)
- ✅ Add casual language, minor typos acceptable
- ✅ Mentions over links (unless sub is link-tolerant)
- ✅ Sound like a real person sharing experience

Output: 1 main comment (3-10 sentences) + 1-2 optional replies

4) Posting Execution

Pre-flight checklist:
- [ ] Account has 100+ karma
- [ ] Account has diverse post history
- [ ] Haven't posted from this account this week
- [ ] Comment sounds human (read aloud test)
- [ ] No links (unless sub allows)
- [ ] Subreddit tone matched

Post-posting:
- Screenshot comment with timestamp
- Log in placement tracker
- Check visibility in incognito after 1 hour

5) Monitoring

Status checks (incognito/logged out):
- Live - Visible, track position
- Removed - Mod deleted, note reason
- Filtered - Shadowbanned in thread, move on

Response to issues:
- Removed → Adjust tone, remove links, try different thread
- Filtered → Don't fight it, improve subreddit fit
- Hostile replies → Disengage politely, never escalate

Check cadence:
- Day 1, 3, 7 post-comment
- Then weekly for evergreen threads

6) Scaling

Weekly cadence (with 10 accounts):
- Discover 10-20 new threads
- Select best 10 (one per account)
- Place 10 comments (1 per account)
- Monitor all placements
- Maintain winners (reply to follow-ups)

Monthly:
- Expand keyword clusters
- Build "thread library" of evergreen winners
- Retire underperforming accounts, warm new ones
- Document what comment styles work

Output Structure

~/clawd/projects/reddit/
├── opportunity_list.md      # Threads to target
├── placement_log.md         # What we posted, status, performance
├── subreddit_tone_maps.md   # Notes per community
├── comment_templates.md     # Reusable patterns (with variation)
└── account_health.md        # Karma, activity, last post date

Measurement

Leading indicators:
- Survival rate (% live vs removed)
- Top-section presence (% near top)
- Thread library growth

Lagging indicators:
- Branded search lift
- Referral traffic
- Assisted conversions

Failure Modes & Fixes

Full Knowledge Base

See: ./KNOWLEDGE-BASE.md for complete methodology and examples.