reddit_demand_discovery v1.0.0

name: reddit_demand_discovery description: Finds buying-intent Reddit threads and drafts disclosed, helpful replies for human review. Use when a product team wants to surface "looking for recommendations", "alternative to X", or comparison threads in their niche, rank them by purchase intent, and get honest, disclosure-first reply drafts a human approves before anything is posted.

Purpose

Turn Reddit into a listening post for real purchase intent. This skill finds threads where people are actively shopping for a solution, scores how strong the buying signal is, and drafts replies that answer the actual question while disclosing affiliation up front. It never posts anything. Every draft goes to a human for review and approval first.

This is the strategy layer, not an automation tool. Keyword alerts alone catch mentions; this skill catches the structure of a thread that says "I am ready to buy."

Workflow

1. Pin the honest fit. Before searching, get one sentence each: what the product does, who it is wrong for, its price tier, and its two or three closest competitors. If the fit can't be stated plainly, stop here. A vague product produces vague outreach.

1. Build the intent query set. Translate the product into search queries using the pattern families in references/intent_patterns.md (direct requests, validation-seeking, switching, comparison, frustration, urgency). Turn each into a Reddit search string with the operators in references/search_cheat_sheet.md. Example: subreddit:webdev (alternative OR replacement) "analytics" self:yes.

1. Search and collect candidates. Run the queries through Reddit search (sort by New for live threads you can still help in, Top / past month to learn recurring pains and the language people actually use). Supplement with a site:reddit.com web search for older threads that rank. For each candidate record: thread URL, subreddit, post age, comment count, and activity.

1. Score intent and vet the subreddit. Score each thread 0-10 on the buying signals (see references/intent_patterns.md): decision-stage language and specific requirements score highest, venting without a question scores lowest. Then check the subreddit's rules before drafting anything. If the sub bans vendor replies, the options are value-only or skip.

1. Draft, don't post. For the threads worth touching, write a reply draft in the packet template at assets/reply_packet.md. The draft answers the person's actual question first. Affiliation is disclosed in the first two lines in plain words. Name one real limitation of the product. If a competitor is honestly the better fit, say so. Keep it short, conversational, and specific to that thread. Never copy-paste the same reply across threads.

1. Deliver the packet. Output per the Output Contract below. Then stop. No posting, no scheduling, no submitting drafts to Reddit under any account.

Output Contract

The deliverable is a review packet, one file or message, containing:

• Shortlist table: thread URL, subreddit, age/activity, intent score (0-10), pattern badge (e.g. alternative-seeking, pricing-rage), and a call: draft / value-only / skip.
• Reply drafts using assets/reply_packet.md: one per draft thread, with disclosure placement visible and the exact words a human would paste.
• Fit-and-risk notes: subreddit self-promo policy quoted or summarized, the account's promotional-ratio exposure if known, and any thread-specific landmines (OP already bought something, locked thread, OP explicitly rejecting vendors).
• What was NOT done: a line confirming nothing was posted or submitted anywhere.

Operating Rules

1. Disclosure first, always. Every draft states affiliation plainly within the first two lines. "I built this, so I'm biased, but here's an honest take" beats any clever framing. Stealth marketing ("I just stumbled across this tool" when you own it) is banned in this skill and will get the account banned on Reddit.
2. The agent never posts. Drafts only. A human reviews, edits, and posts. No exceptions, no "just this once."
3. Subreddit rules outrank everything. If a community bans promotional replies, you either reply with pure value (no product mention, no link) or you skip. Never draft around a ban.
4. Keep promotional mentions rare. Reddit's own Reddiquette uses the 9:1 rule of thumb: roughly 1 in 10 contributions self-promotional. Advise the human to keep this ratio; these drafts should stay rare relative to genuine participation.
5. No manipulation, ever. No asking for upvotes, no vote-exchange, no alt accounts, no coordinating others to reply, no astroturfing. These get accounts banned sitewide and will not be suggested as tactics.
6. Recommend honestly or not at all. If the product doesn't fit the thread, don't mention it. Saying "competitor Y handles that case better than us" in one thread buys credibility that pays off in ten others.
7. FTC baseline. Under the FTC's revised Endorsement Guides (effective July 26, 2023), any material connection between an endorser and a seller must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, difficult to miss and easy to understand. Brands and the people posting share liability. Inline plain-language disclosure satisfies this; a profile-only disclosure does not.
8. Verify or cut. Every factual claim in a draft (features, pricing, dates, metrics) must be verified against a real source. Unverifiable claims get cut or framed as opinion. No confident unverified claims, ever.
9. Three strong drafts beat twenty weak ones. If nothing in the search results is a real fit, report that plainly and stop. Silence is a valid result.