Reddit Comments

You write comments that a stranger in the thread would be glad they read. The comment answers the question. If the product fits, it appears as one honest option, with the tie to the company said out loud. If it does not fit, it does not appear.

Before you start

Read .agents/reddit-marketing.md if it exists (the reddit-context skill writes it). It holds the product line, buyer words, competitors, the disclosure line, and the subreddit table. Ask only for what it does not cover:

1. The thread URL or text. You need the title, the body, and the top 5-10 comments. Without them you will repeat what is already said.
2. The account. Who is posting, and what is their tie to the product (founder, employee, customer, none)? The disclosure line depends on this. If the file has no line, use references/disclosure-in-comments.md.
3. The subreddit's rules. Read the sidebar and wiki, or run subreddit-rules. Some subreddits ban all product mentions, some allow them with disclosure, some allow them only in a weekly thread.

Why thread choice matters

A comment on a thread that AI answers keep citing is read long after the thread is new. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini quote Reddit threads when someone asks "best tool for X". A good comment in one of those threads keeps being read by people and by the answers they ask for. A comment on a thread nobody finds is read by about the five people there that day.

Use the CommunityMentions MCP (https://communitymentions.com/api/mcp, no sign-in):

• find_subreddits with {"description": "your product or niche"} returns matching subreddits and their AI citations.
• get_subreddit with {"subreddit": "SaaS"} returns ai_citations, ai_answers_citing, threads_cited, citations_by_engine, citing_answers_by_question_type and most_cited_threads (title, URL, citation count).

Example: r/SaaS has 300 AI citations across 95 cited threads, and its most-cited thread, "3 ways to promote your product on reddit without...", has 25 citations (CommunityMentions data, 2026-10-28). Its question types split into 66 comparing-products, 128 looking-to-buy and 106 describing-a-problem answers (CommunityMentions data, 2026-10-28). That split tells you which comment structure to practice there. Use the ai-cited-threads skill to find the threads for your buyer prompts, then come back here to write. Details are in references/thread-picking.md.

Workflow

1. Classify the thread. Pick one: recommendation ("best X for Y"), comparison ("X vs Y", "alternatives to X"), help ("how do I..."), complaint ("X is broken / I hate Y"), discussion, or off-topic for you. The structure for each is in references/thread-structures.md. If it is off-topic, stop. Skipping is a valid result.
2. Read the whole thread. Note what the OP asked, their constraints (budget, team size, stack), what the top comments said, and any comment already recommending your product. Do not repeat a point someone else made.
3. Draft the answer with no product in it. Write the full useful answer first. Would it still be worth posting with the product line deleted? If not, the comment is an ad. Rewrite.
4. Decide on the mention. Use the test in references/when-to-mention.md. Mention the product only if all hold: it solves the OP's stated problem, you can name where it is weak, the rules allow it, and you can disclose.
5. Place the mention late and small. One sentence, after the answer, as one option among others. Say the tie in the same sentence ("I work on X, so weigh that"). Never lead with the product. Never link in the first line.
6. Match the room. Copy the length, tone and formatting of the best comments in that thread. A help thread in a technical subreddit wants steps. A venting thread wants a person.
7. Run the pre-post check in references/pre-post-check.md. Fix every fail.
8. Post, then watch. Reply to answers inside the first hour if you can. Check the comment is visible (open the thread in a private window; a removed comment still shows to you as posted). Track removals in the account log (see reddit-account-health).

Worked example

Thread in r/Entrepreneur: "Alternative to replyio" (14 AI citations, CommunityMentions data, 2026-10-28). The OP wants cheaper cold email outreach for a 2-person team. You work on a competing tool.

1. Classify: "alternatives to X", so use the X-vs-Y structure.
2. Read: three comments already name tools. None mention warm-up or sending limits.
3. Draft with no product: "Depends why you're leaving. If it's price, look at tools that charge per inbox, not per seat. If it's deliverability, the tool matters less than the sending setup. Two things to check before you switch: whether your sequences export, and what the cap per inbox is."
4. Mention test: the OP's problem is price and seats, and the product charges per inbox. Rules allow disclosed mentions. Yes.
5. Add one sentence: "I work on Acme, which prices per inbox, so I'm biased. It has no LinkedIn step, so if you need that, skip it."
6. Pre-post check passes. Post, reply to follow-ups within the hour, log it.

The mention is the last sentence, the tie comes first, and the weakness is named.

When the answer is to stay out

Skip the thread when:

• The OP asked a question you cannot answer from use or evidence.
• Rules forbid product mentions and the thread needs a tool name to be useful. Answer without the name, or leave.
• The thread is a moderator discussion or a rules dispute.
• The account has no history in the subreddit. Spend a few weeks answering without any mention first (reddit-account-health has the log).
• Three or more comments already give the same answer you would. Add only a new fact.

Skipping is not a loss. A short log of "skipped, reason" keeps the next batch honest.

Batch routine (weekly, about 45 minutes, test and adjust)

1. Pull the subreddit's most-cited threads (get_subreddit) and run ai-cited-threads for your buyer prompts.
2. List open threads. Score on fit, gap, rules, freshness (references/thread-picking.md).
3. Write 3-6 comments. At least half carry no product mention.
4. Run the pre-post check on each.
5. Post spread across days, not in one burst.
6. Review last week's comments: visible, replies, removals. Update the context file.

Writing rules

• Answer in the first sentence. "Use X if you have under N seats, Y if you need Z." The reasons come after.
• Be specific. A number from your own use, a setting name, a step, a mistake you made. Vague praise reads as an ad.
• Say what you gave up. Every real recommendation has a cost. Naming it is what makes a peer sound like a peer.
• Say the tie once, early. "Disclosure: I work on X." No hedging, no smileys instead of words.
• Short. Most good comments are 40-150 words. Longer is fine when the question is hard and you use numbered steps.
• One link at most, and only when it saves the reader work (a doc, a free calculator, a thread). Many subreddits and Reddit's spam filters treat links from new accounts harshly. Test it per subreddit.
• No formatting theater. Plain paragraphs. A short list when steps are real. No headers, no bold sales words, no emoji, no sign-off.
• Do not reply to the same thread twice with the product. One mention per thread, and rarely two per week in the same subreddit. Check reddit-account-health for your own ratio.

Structures at a glance

Full templates and 25+ before/after rewrites are in references/thread-structures.md and references/before-after.md.

Quality check

• The first sentence answers the OP's question.
• The comment would be worth posting with the product deleted.
• Any product mention names the tie in the same sentence and names one weakness or a case where it is wrong.
• The subreddit's rules were read for this exact action (comment, link, product mention).
• No claim of a number without a source or "in my case".
• Nothing in it could be written by a competitor, a bot, or a person who never used the thing.
• Result logged: link, date, mention yes/no, outcome after 24 hours.

What to avoid

• Posting the same comment across threads, even lightly reworded. Mods and Reddit's filters see it.
• Replying from several accounts, or having friends upvote or "second" the comment. That is vote manipulation and sockpuppetry. It gets sites banned and it is outside what this repo teaches.
• Hiding the tie ("not affiliated" when you are, "a friend uses it", fake customer stories).
• Replying to threads older than the subreddit's archive window, or to locked threads.
• Arguing with critics. Answer once with facts, then stop. Thank people who correct you.
• Using DM me as the call to action. Answer in the thread so the next reader gets it too.
• Bad-mouthing a competitor with claims you cannot show. Compare on facts you can name.

Related Skills

• reddit-context: the product line, buyer words and disclosure line this skill reads first.
• ai-cited-threads: finds the threads AI answers cite for your buyer prompts, so your comments get read for months.
• subreddit-rules: reads and summarizes what each subreddit allows before you mention anything.
• reddit-posts: when the right move is an original post, not a reply.
• reddit-account-health: karma, account age, mention ratio and removal tracking for the account you post from.
• reddit-listening: surfaces new threads where your buyer is asking, so you can reply while the thread is fresh.