reddit_community_playbook v1.0.0

name: "reddit_community_playbook" description: "Plan a founder-grade Reddit presence: pick the right subreddits, hold the 9:1 participation ratio, prep and run an AMA, and ride out downvote waves without making them worse. Triggers when someone wants to promote on Reddit, run an AMA, or handle Reddit backlash."

Reddit Community Playbook

Purpose

Give an agent everything needed to use Reddit the way successful builders do: earn trust first, promote sparingly and transparently, run a well-planned AMA, and handle criticism without deleting or fighting. Reddit rewards genuine participation and punishes accounts that exist mainly to promote. This skill encodes that culture into an operating plan.

Workflow

1. Pick the subreddits

• Read each target subreddit's rules live (sidebar) before first posting. Subreddit rules outrank everything below; some subs ban self-promotion outright.
• Tier your targets:
• Tier 1 (promo-friendly, start here): r/SideProject, r/shamelessplug, r/IMadeThis, r/alphaandbetausers. These welcome project sharing.
• Tier 2 (high-value, strict): r/programming, r/webdev, r/Entrepreneur, r/SaaS. Spend weeks commenting helpfully before any self-reference; when you do post, make it a technical deep-dive, not a pitch.
• Tier 3 (niche): topic-specific subs. Small niche subs beat big general ones for real conversations and first users.
• New accounts: comment helpfully for 2 to 4 weeks before any promotion. Space self-posts in one subreddit by weeks, not days.

2. Hold the 9:1 ratio

• Roughly nine ordinary, helpful contributions for every one that mentions your own project. This is folk guidance, not a site rule; mods check your history.
• Before any promo touch: disclose affiliation every single time ("I built this, so I'm biased").
• Write comments that stand alone. Give the full answer in the comment; add the link only when it is natural and allowed. A comment whose only payload is a link reads as bait.
• Never create a second account to upvote yourself (permanent ban), never post the same link twice in 24 hours.

3. Run an AMA

• Pick the venue: r/IAmA for general topics, or the most relevant niche sub. Mods require pre-approval and proof of identity (photo with a handwritten note, a tweet from an established account, or mod verification).
• Contact mods first: ask about scheduling, proof requirements, and their AMA format rules.
• Announce: 14-21 days out a teaser in relevant subs; 7-10 days out a detailed post collecting early questions; a few days out a reminder with logistics; one hour before a "going live soon" note.
• Prepare: 15-25 core questions with crisp, honest answers; short versions for quick replies; fallback lines for questions you cannot answer ("I can't speak to that yet, happy to follow up"); supporting links, visuals, or stats ready.
• Run it: respond within 5-10 minutes at launch; stay available roughly 24 hours (that's a post's lifespan). Edit the OP to mark breaks ("Edit: back in 2 hours") and to sign off with thanks plus resource links. Answer tough questions directly: acknowledge uncertainty, concede errors plainly, never dodge.
• After: thank participants, keep the OP updated with links, check the thread the next morning and again a week later, and publish the takeaways on your own site or blog.

4. Survive downvote waves

• Never delete a downvoted comment. Deletion reads as guilt and looks worse than the votes.
• Reply once to substantive criticism, honestly and briefly: concede the fair point, answer the substance, ignore the bait. Then stop. No arguing in public; use modmail if a moderator is involved.
• Respond to criticism with data, not adjectives. "Here is what we measured" beats "our amazing product".
• Log what happened: subreddit, thread URL, what you posted, what the criticism was, and what you will change. Feed that into your next pass.

Output Contract

When asked to plan Reddit work, produce:

1. The tiered subreddit list with each sub's self-promo rules noted (from live sidebar reads).
2. A 9:1 participation plan: account warm-up timeline, what the nine non-promo contributions look like, and exactly what the one promo touch says.
3. For an AMA: venue, mod-contact status, proof method, announcement timeline, the 15-25 prepared Q&As, and the run-day schedule.
4. For backlash: the reply draft (one pass, no arguing), what stays up, and what changes next time.

Operating Rules

1. Subreddit rules outrank this skill. Always read them live before posting anywhere new.
2. Disclose affiliation on every self-mention. Hidden promotion is the fastest way to get banned and screenshotted.
3. Never delete downvoted comments. Never argue with Redditors.
4. Do not manufacture testimonials, buy upvotes, or organize voting. One exposed sockpuppet undoes a year of real work.
5. Answers stand alone; the link is a bonus, not the payload.
6. Every fact used in planning (rules, karma minimums, AMA requirements) must come from a live read of that subreddit, not memory.