HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Take Over a Dead Subreddit and Post There

Take Over a Dead Subreddit and Post There is a communities tactic for getting your first users: For lifestyle/niche subs that ban self-promo, find an inactive subreddit matching your audience, claim it as moderator, revive it, then post your project as the owner.

It's a strong fit for teams of almost any kind, and works especially well for Products in niche/lifestyle verticals with strict subs. As a communities play, plan for high effort and expect results to build gradually over time, all grounded in 1 linked primary source.

CommunitiesHigh effortSlow

Why does communities work for this?

Owning the sub means no mod can remove you for self-promotion, giving you a captive audience of your exact target users.

The exact steps (4)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

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Sources

Works for
Any / universal

Frequently asked

How is the "Take Over a Dead Subreddit and Post There" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 1 primary source — a real founder write-up or interview, not generic advice. It is linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original account yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is high effort, and results tend to be slow.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via Source — IndieHackers, is in the paid library.

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