What does/doesn't work on Reddit

One of the things I've noticed about indie hackers is that A LOT of them are intimidated by Reddit.

Often times they have had a bad experience for being called out for self-promotion, or just took someone else's word that Reddit isn't a good place to promote your startup.

Hearing this disappoints me a bit, as I know how powerful Reddit can be for early stage founders. There are so many success stories of startups getting ideas, validation, and early customers just by participating in the niche communities found on the platform.

People talk about their pain points & problems all of the time, and often times they are begging for your business, they just don't know you exist yet.

I've personally been tapping into this concept for a while and it works great for me, so I decided to write up some tips on how to engage with people on Reddit when you are (respectfully) promoting your own website/product/service.