01: The Play That Works
Lead with their data, not your product
When we originally targeted r/whoop, we deliberately avoided posting anything resembling "check out our app." Instead, we posted: "We analyzed 2,169 posts from this sub. The #1 complaint isn't price. It's that Whoop won't tell you what to do with your data." By giving the community a highly specific, well-sourced mirror of its own frustrations and simply asking an honest question, we earned 55K views and 119 upvotes. This generated dozens of genuine comments, and when we finally shipped the product, our follow-up launch post effortlessly converted that banked goodwill into dedicated testers.
That is the entire motion summarized perfectly: give the community its own intelligence for completely free, ask them what they actually want to see, and then return later with the exact thing you built for them. This represents true permission marketing rather than blunt interruption, and it easily survives strict subreddit moderation because it proves genuinely useful long before it ever becomes promotional.
S'more is uniquely built to run this exact playbook at scale. In fact, the anchor post is S'more's core output, as we seamlessly scrape a community, extract the underlying pain, and surface it using the community's own words. We are never faking a research post just to sell a tool, because the research post itself serves as a live, undeniable demo of the tool in action.
This specific software category is already thriving in our target subreddits. Because products like "Pulse for Reddit" currently show up as existing tools 21 times in r/GrowthHacking and 18 times in r/SaaSMarketing, we know founders are already actively paying for Reddit intelligence. Our anchor post strategy drops S'more straight into a lucrative conversation that is already happening entirely without us.
03: Tier 1 Anchor Posts
The five beachhead communities
Each of the posts below is completely copy-paste ready and built entirely from that specific subreddit's own data found in the PMF study. Just swap the placeholder report link for the live one, post during the subreddit's peak traffic hours, and ensure you reply to every single comment using your own authentic voice.
r/SaaS1,266 posts · mean 4.85 · DIY 43.6%
Title pain: customer acquisition & "what to build"High-intent: 754
After analyzing 1,266 posts across this sub, I found that the primary issue founders are actually willing to pay to fix isn't growth, it's the paralyzing uncertainty of not knowing what to build.
While distribution is certainly the loudest complaint, the true willingness to pay clusters somewhere much quieter, focusing entirely on validating a painful problem before writing a single line of code. The founders posting real revenue aren't winning on clever marketing tricks, as one founder at $10k MRR put it plainly, "my app is basically for the power users who are tired of that friction."
The statistic that completely reframes this conversation is that 43.6% of posts here describe an exhaustive DIY workaround, relying heavily on spreadsheets, LinkedIn outreach, and manual SEO just to hand-roll the research because nothing else exists to do it for you.
You can view the full breakdown with charts, sourced quotes, and our methodology here, [link to PMF study]
Honest question, what is the absolute last thing you built that nobody actually wanted, and how long did it take for you to realize it?
Why it lands: highest-quality founder pain in the dataset; the "what to build" reframe is the validation wedge, sourced directly to high-WTP posts.
r/GrowthHacking2,500 posts · mean 4.11 · DIY 46.7%
Title pain: deliverability, traffic → conversionHigh-intent: 1,336
Looking deeply into 2,500 posts from this community, it becomes incredibly clear that while everyone is eager to buy growth tools, almost nobody takes the time to validate the underlying pain first.
The loudest frustrations constantly center around data quality, email deliverability, and the struggle to turn raw traffic into actual conversions. While the tool stack discussed here is absolutely enormous, featuring heavy mentions of Apollo, Clay, Instantly, and Pulse for Reddit, the single highest-signal post in the entire sub had absolutely nothing to do with a tool, stating simply, "we didn't get them through marketing, we got them because the problem is that painful."
Interestingly, 46.7% of posts describe a painstaking DIY workaround, revealing that nearly half of you are literally stitching your entire growth stack together by hand.
I compiled the full breakdown with sourced quotes and our methodology here, [link to PMF study]
Honest question, did you actually validate the core pain before you started growth-hacking it, or did you only try after you had already built the funnel?
Why it lands: largest high-intent volume of any sub; the "tools vs validation" tension is real and the data names the exact tools, including a direct competitor.
r/SaaSMarketing1,748 posts · mean 3.99 · DIY 40.6%
Title pain: funnel & conversion optimizationHigh-intent: 915
After analyzing 1,748 posts in this sub, I discovered a shocking trend where founders are routinely burning roughly $1,800 a month on tools that actively make their output worse.
While conversion and funnel optimization predictably dominate the pain points, the most highly upvoted confession came from a founder who "burned through roughly $8k in tools i didn't need," operating in a state where "25% of revenue going to tools that are actively making your output worse," ultimately resulting in a reply rate of "less than one percent" before one of those very tools told him his rates were "embarrassing."
What makes this even wilder is that 40.6% of posts here still describe a manual DIY workaround layered right on top of all that expensive paid tooling.
You can find the full breakdown with charts and sourced quotes here, [link to PMF study]
Honest question, what is the one marketing tool you currently pay for that you secretly suspect is doing absolutely nothing?
Why it lands: tightest ICP overlap; the $8k tool-waste quote is verbatim and devastating, and primes the "one loop, not six tools" value prop.
r/microsaas1,671 posts · mean 3.77 · DIY 37.6%
Title pain: customer acquisition & validationHigh-intent: 796
Diving into 1,671 posts from this community, the data shows that the builders who actually win are the ones heavily validating demand on Reddit long before they ever write a single line of code.
Customer acquisition and validation surface as the top pains over and over again, and the highest-signal posts never come from people who simply shipped and prayed. For instance, one founder literally titled their post "validated the demand on reddit before building," detailing how they received "100+ comments, people doing it through grief, divorce, breakups, postpartum, layoffs... the behavior is real and widespread," which is exactly what true conviction looks like before a build even begins.
Despite the modern tooling available, 37.6% of solo builders here are still running manual workarounds, relying on a messy combination of spreadsheets, ChatGPT exports, and deep dives into Product Hunt.
I have linked the full breakdown featuring sourced quotes and our methodology here, [link to PMF study]
Honest question, as solo builders, what is your actual process for validating before you build, or do you still find yourself building and hoping for the best?
Why it lands: the "validate on Reddit first" behavior is literally what S'more automates; the sub already believes in the thesis.
r/SideProject898 posts · mean 4.99 · DIY 52.9%
Title pain: launch-to-silence, "now what"High-intent: 449
After digging through 898 posts on this sub, the most striking finding is that 52.9% of you are already building your own manual workarounds, representing the absolute highest DIY rate of any founder community we measured.
This sub carries the single highest average pain signal out of all 29 communities we analyzed, perfectly embodying the canonical "I built X, now what" crowd where the deafening silence after a launch remains a deeply recurring wound. Because you are resourceful enough to hack your own tools together, nobody is effectively selling you the exact tool that actively finds your users for you.
The reality is that more than half of you, a full 52.9%, are currently doing this incredibly tedious work entirely by hand.
The full breakdown with charts and methodology is available here, [link to PMF study]
Honest question, when you finally shipped your side project, did anyone actually show up, and what exactly did you do the week after?
Why it lands: highest mean signal and highest DIY rate in the entire study; the launch-to-silence pain is Hook 6 in its native habitat.
04: Tier 2 Anchor Posts
Five high-volume backup communities
These represent large pools of willing-to-pay posts catering to a slightly broader audience, making them ideal to run once your initial Tier 1 communities are humming smoothly, assuming you adapt the exact same five-part formula.
r/Emailmarketing2,316 posts · mean 3.79 · DIY 36.8%
Title pain: deliverability & inbox placementHigh-intent: 1,169
I recently analyzed 2,316 posts across this sub and found that while deliverability remains a massive obsession, the real money is consistently hiding in the most boring automations.
Inbox placement and sender reputation are unsurprisingly the most frequently discussed pains, yet the highest-signal threads entirely focused on highly unglamorous wins, with one user noting that "failed payment emails are criminally underrated, my dunning sequence was literally 10x more valuable per send than cart abandonment." Even within an incredibly crowded stack featuring heavy usage of Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and MailerLite, the friction is palpable.
A surprising 36.8% of posts describe a frustrating DIY workaround forcefully layered right on top of those expensive platforms.
You can check out the full breakdown here, [link to PMF study]
Honest question, what is the absolute highest-ROI automation you run that absolutely nobody ever talks about?
Why it lands: deliverability is a clear, sourced #1; the dunning quote rewards readers with a real insight before any pitch.
r/growmybusiness2,320 posts · mean 3.40 · DIY 33.6%
Title pain: reviews & "we should use AI but don't know how"High-intent: 1,056
Looking through 2,320 posts from this community, I noticed that the single biggest unspoken pain point boils down to a simple admission, "we know we should be using AI more, we just don't know how."
While review generation and reputation management predictably top the explicit pains, the most revealing high-signal thread focused on something much quieter, highlighting owners who "hear 'AI' constantly, see competitors talking about it," but ultimately "won't ask for help because the question feels embarrassing," revealing a massive market entirely paralyzed at the starting line.
Despite all the noise around automation, 33.6% of you are still actively running incredibly manual workarounds anyway.
The full breakdown is available here, [link to PMF study]
Honest question, what is the one crucial business task you know you should immediately automate but still haven't pulled the trigger on?
Why it lands: the "embarrassed to ask about AI" insight is empathetic and sourced; it opens a door without shaming anyone.
r/smallbusiness2,730 posts · mean 3.01 · DIY 28.1%
Title pain: customer acquisition & slow lead follow-upHigh-intent: 1,033
After analyzing 2,730 posts in this sub, it is clear that while customer acquisition remains king, unacceptably slow lead follow-up is quietly killing a massive number of deals.
The dominant frustrations consistently involve acquisition and lead response times, a dynamic perfectly captured by one owner who admitted that "the more leads I get, the less actual work I do," highlighting a brutal cycle where growth actively creates its own bottleneck. Meanwhile, the standard toolkit remains incredibly humble, heavily relying on Google Business Profiles, basic spreadsheets, and simple word-of-mouth.
About 28.1% of posts describe running a DIY workaround, which is notably lower than in the tech founder subs simply because many businesses here haven't even attempted to automate anything yet.
I have linked the full breakdown here, [link to PMF study]
Honest question, how many valuable leads do you honestly think you lose every month strictly due to slow follow-up?
Why it lands: broadest audience; the "more leads, less work" quote is relatable and sourced, and the lower DIY rate is itself an honest data point.
r/nocode2,021 posts · mean 3.67 · DIY 40.5%
Title pain: marketing/discovery, profitable automationHigh-intent: 967
Diving into 2,021 posts from this sub, the data proves that the most profitable builds are rarely flashy, instead succeeding by automating one intensely annoying task within an industry that remains 15 years behind the curve.
The highest-signal post perfectly laid out the entire playbook, advising builders to "find an industry that's 10-15 years behind on tech, solve their most annoying daily task, and charge them less than what they're currently losing," supported by a stunning clinic example that successfully dropped no-shows by 35-40% while saving $150K a year. Despite robust platforms like n8n, Zapier, and Airtable dominating the conversation, friction persists.
Unsurprisingly, 40.5% of posts describe a complex DIY workaround, which is entirely fitting for a dedicated community that insists on building its own everything.
The full breakdown can be found here, [link to PMF study]
Honest question, what is the absolute most boring automation you have ever built that still quietly prints money?
Why it lands: the no-show ROI numbers are concrete and sourced; the "boring automation" question fits the maker culture perfectly.
r/buildinpublic1,837 posts · mean 3.32 · DIY 34.3%
Title pain: marketing/distribution, turning reach into usersHigh-intent: 718
Looking carefully through 1,837 posts from this sub, the hardest truth comes directly from one of your own best posts, stating perfectly that "reach you don't capture is just a dopamine hit."
Marketing and distribution overwhelmingly dominate the pain points here, which makes perfect sense for a community built entirely around posting in public, but the highest-signal insight was a serious gut-punch reminding everyone that "the validation isn't the asset, the captured audience is." While raw views certainly feel like forward progress, they ultimately mean absolutely nothing unless you actively convert them into real users.
Currently, 34.3% of you are running a highly manual DIY workaround, typically consisting of a messy spreadsheet, basic ChatGPT prompts, and manual outreach completely duct-taped together.
I put together a full breakdown available here, [link to PMF study]
Honest question, what is your actual, tangible system for turning raw views into real users, or are you just posting into the void and hoping for the best?
Why it lands: uses the community's own highest-signal quote against its core behavior; provocative but fair, and it sets up the "capture" value prop.
05: Sample X Threads
The same data, built for the timeline
The X algorithm heavily rewards a strong hook paired with a clean payoff, so these examples perfectly mirror the Eva Everywhere teardown style by leading with a hard number, delivering genuine insight, and linking directly to the study. Always post these natively and reply to every single quote-tweet in your own authentic voice.
Thread 1 , The data drop (hook + thread)
I recently analyzed 57,660 founder posts across 29 different communities to figure out exactly where the painful reality of "shipped to silence" actually happens.
The answer honestly surprised me. 🧵
1/ While the average post scores a bleak 2.8/10 on its product-market-fit signal, that raw average is a complete lie because it carelessly blends idea-stage tourists with actual paying founders.
2/ When you filter specifically for the 18,373 founders demonstrating a real willingness to pay, the signal immediately jumps to an undeniable 6.0/10, proving that PMF isn't absent at all, it is just highly concentrated.
3/ This deep intent lives almost entirely in just five key communities, r/SaaS, r/GrowthHacking, r/SaaSMarketing, r/microsaas, and r/SideProject, whereas everywhere else is mostly filled with people still trying to decide whether they should even start.
4/ The real kicker is that 27.7% of these founders are already building their own validation workarounds entirely by hand, relying on messy spreadsheets, endless tab-juggling, and manual Reddit mining just to survive.
They are literally showing you the product gap in their own hands.
5/ I published the full study with sourced quotes, detailed charts, and my complete methodology here, [link]
What did I get completely wrong? 👇
Lead with the surprising-average reversal. The "what did I get wrong" close invites the engagement that feeds the algorithm.
Thread 2 , The contrarian one-liner
It feels like everyone is desperately buying expensive growth tools these days, yet almost nobody takes the time to validate the underlying pain first.
I have 57,660 founder posts serving as receipts, and they clearly show that true willingness to pay heavily clusters around successfully finding the problem, not just endlessly marketing the final product.
Validation is the ultimate wedge, and absolutely everything downstream is just pure noise until you finally nail it. [link]
Punchy, quotable, designed to be screenshotted. Pin it during launch week.
Thread 3 , The recursion flex
I recently built an intelligent agent that actively finds exactly where your users already hurt on Reddit.
Deciding to put my money where my mouth is, I pointed it directly at my own startup and analyzed 57,660 posts to see if my core idea even held up under scrutiny.
The data proved that the validation wedge is incredibly real, while also bluntly revealing that a huge part of my original pitch was completely wrong.
You can read the fully honest study here, including exactly where the data completely called me out, [link]
The "it told me I was wrong" honesty is the Purple Cow. Self-criticism reads as confidence and gets shared.
Thread 4 , The single-stat quote
It is wild to realize that 27.7% of founders are already aggressively mining Reddit for validation entirely by hand.
They are relying on massive spreadsheets, juggling dozens of browser tabs, and burning the midnight oil just to find a signal.
If your users are already painfully building the workaround themselves, that is no longer just a simple product gap, that is a massive market desperately raising its hand. [link]
One stat, one image of the pain, one reframe. Works as a standalone or thread opener.
Thread 5 , The tool-waste hook
I recently found a deeply frustrating post from a founder in r/SaaSMarketing who managed to burn $8k on tools he absolutely didn't need.
A staggering 25% of his hard-earned revenue was going to bloated software that, in his own words, was "actively making your output worse."
After digging deeper, I uncovered 1,748 posts telling the exact same tragic story, proving that the real problem isn't a lack of tools, it is a complete lack of validated signal to point them at. [link]
Sourced, specific, and it sets up the "one loop, not six tools" positioning. Verbatim quote, traceable to a permalink in the study.