| After getting banned from Reddit 6 times trying to promote my product, I stopped guessing and started tracking. Built a Google Sheet. 143 rows. Each row was a Reddit post (mine or others). Logged: subreddit, survived/removed, account age, karma, time posted, comment frequency, days between posts.
After 4 months, clear patterns emerged that contradict most Reddit marketing advice. What the data showed:
Subreddit size inversely correlated with survival rate. r/Entrepreneur (3M members) removed ~90% of product posts I tracked. r/SideProject (180K members) allowed most through.
Time of day mattered, but not how expected. Posts made 2-5pm ET had higher removal rates (likely when mods are most active). 9pm-1am posts survived review longer. Account age was the strongest predictor. Under 30 days = automatic scrutiny regardless of karma. 45+ days with gradual karma building had 3x survival rate.
Comment frequency triggered filters at 3+ per hour, even when comments were legitimately helpful. Algorithm can't distinguish intent, only patterns.
Posting frequency killed accounts faster than content quality. Pattern that worked: Post Monday → rest Tuesday → comment Wednesday/Thursday → rest Friday → post different subreddit Saturday. Pattern that failed: Post Monday → post Tuesday → post Wednesday. The bans:
Account 1: Commented on 8 posts in one afternoon. Banned day 3.
Account 2: Built karma 2 weeks, posted once. Banned day 7.
Account 3: Only commented for a month, then mentioned product. Banned.
Account 4: Hired someone on Upwork (different IP, older account). Banned faster.
Account 5: Built to 500 karma over a month. Posted in "show HN" equivalent. Shadowbanned.
Account 6: Breaking point.
Account 7: Followed the data. Still alive 11 months later. What I built:
Turned the spreadsheet into MediaFast. Takes a niche, analyzes which subreddits actually allow product mentions (based on historical data, not rules), builds 30-day roadmap with pacing that avoids spam detection patterns.
Launched Feb 2024. Currently $5.4K MRR, 185 users at $29/month, ~25% trial conversion. Revenue progression:
Month 1: $360
Month 3: $1,200
Month 6: $2,300
Month 11: $5,400 Growth is mostly organic (SEO for "Reddit marketing without bans" + sharing on X). Near-zero churn because people get actual results.
Mistakes that cost months: Not tracking from ban 1 (started after ban 6, wasted 3 months) Chasing large subreddits instead of focused smaller ones
Posting same content cross-subreddit same day (banned in 4 subs simultaneously)
Ignoring rest periods (thought daily activity showed consistency, actually flagged as spam) Key insight:
Reddit doesn't ban promotional content. It bans patterns that look like spam. The content quality is almost irrelevant if your posting rhythm triggers automated detection. Tech stack:
Next.js, Supabase, Reddit API (carefully rate-limited), custom scraping for historical post analysis. Full data and roadmaps: https://mediafa.st Happy to answer questions about the tracking methodology or specific patterns. |