After my sixth Reddit ban, I stopped guessing and started tracking.
Built a Google Sheet with 143 rows. Each row logged a Reddit post (mine or others I was monitoring).
Tracked: subreddit, survived/removed, account age, karma score, time posted, comment frequency, days between activity.
Four months of data revealed patterns that contradict most Reddit marketing advice.
Here's what the data showed:
Subreddit size inversely correlated with survival. r/Entrepreneur (3M members) removed ~90% of product mentions I tracked. r/SideProject (180K members) allowed most through. The "go where the audience is" advice gets you banned.
Time of day mattered differently than expected. Posts at 2-5pm ET had highest removal rates (mods most active). Posts at 9pm-1am survived longer before review. Everyone says "post when users are active." Data says post when mods aren't.
Account age was the strongest predictor. Accounts under 30 days got flagged regardless of karma. 45+ day accounts with gradual karma building had 3x survival rate. Yet every guide says "build karma first" without mentioning the time component.
Comment frequency triggered automated filters. 3+ comments per hour got flagged even when legitimately helpful. The system can't assess intent, only patterns.
Posting rhythm mattered more than content quality. Pattern that worked: Post Monday → rest Tuesday → comment Wed/Thu → rest Friday → post different sub Saturday. Pattern that failed: Post Mon/Tue/Wed consecutively. Reddit doesn't ban promotional content. It bans behavioral patterns that look like spam.
The six bans:
Account 1: Commented on 8 posts in one afternoon trying to be helpful. Banned day 3.
Account 2: Built karma for 2 weeks, posted once about my product. Banned day 7.
Account 3: Only commented for a month. Casually mentioned product once. Banned.
Account 4: Hired someone on Upwork (different IP, 2-year-old account). Banned faster than my attempts.
Account 5: Built 500 karma over a month. Posted in a "what are you working on" thread. Shadowbanned. Took 3 days to realize no one could see my posts.
Account 6: Breaking point. Four months wasted.
Account 7: Followed the data. Still alive 11 months later.
What I built from this:
Turned the spreadsheet into a product (MediaFast). It analyzes historical data to find which subreddits actually allow product mentions, then builds a 30-day posting roadmap with pacing that avoids spam detection patterns.
Launched February 2024. Currently at $5.4K MRR, 185 users at $29/month, ~25% trial conversion, near-zero churn.
Revenue: Month 1: $360 | Month 3: $1,200 | Month 6: $2,300 | Month 11: $5,400
Growth is organic (SEO + sharing on X). The near-zero churn happens because the pacing system actually works.
Mistakes that cost me months:
Not tracking from ban 1. Started after ban 6, wasted 3 months of trial and error.
Chasing large subreddits. Smaller focused communities had better survival and conversion.
Cross-posting same content same day. Got banned in 4 subreddits simultaneously.
Posting daily. Thought consistency showed commitment. Actually flagged as spam behavior.
The insight:
Reddit's spam detection is pattern-based, not content-based. You can write the most helpful post ever and still get banned if your activity rhythm looks robotic.
The algorithm doesn't read context. It watches: posting frequency, comment velocity, rest periods, account age, cross-posting behavior.
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.
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.
Happy to answer any questions about how I built MediaFast or the marketing roadmaps inside.
I made this because I kept wasting time figuring out where to post and how to actually get attention as a solo founder. The tool gives me clear daily tasks so I don’t overthink anymore.
Would love your honest thoughts. What's missing? What would make it 10x more useful for you?
Hey all! I built MediaFa.st after getting banned 6 times on Reddit while trying to market my own projects
I figured out what actually works and turned that into a tool that gives daily marketing roadmaps across Reddit, LinkedIn & X.
It helped me get 10k+ visits and $5K+ in sales, all organically.
Would love feedback:
– What features would make this more useful?
– Should I expand to other platforms?
– Any niche marketing tactics you'd love to automate?
Built a Google Sheet with 143 rows. Each row logged a Reddit post (mine or others I was monitoring).
Tracked: subreddit, survived/removed, account age, karma score, time posted, comment frequency, days between activity.
Four months of data revealed patterns that contradict most Reddit marketing advice.
Here's what the data showed:
Subreddit size inversely correlated with survival. r/Entrepreneur (3M members) removed ~90% of product mentions I tracked. r/SideProject (180K members) allowed most through. The "go where the audience is" advice gets you banned. Time of day mattered differently than expected. Posts at 2-5pm ET had highest removal rates (mods most active). Posts at 9pm-1am survived longer before review. Everyone says "post when users are active." Data says post when mods aren't.
Account age was the strongest predictor. Accounts under 30 days got flagged regardless of karma. 45+ day accounts with gradual karma building had 3x survival rate. Yet every guide says "build karma first" without mentioning the time component.
Comment frequency triggered automated filters. 3+ comments per hour got flagged even when legitimately helpful. The system can't assess intent, only patterns.
Posting rhythm mattered more than content quality. Pattern that worked: Post Monday → rest Tuesday → comment Wed/Thu → rest Friday → post different sub Saturday. Pattern that failed: Post Mon/Tue/Wed consecutively. Reddit doesn't ban promotional content. It bans behavioral patterns that look like spam.
The six bans:
Account 1: Commented on 8 posts in one afternoon trying to be helpful. Banned day 3. Account 2: Built karma for 2 weeks, posted once about my product. Banned day 7. Account 3: Only commented for a month. Casually mentioned product once. Banned. Account 4: Hired someone on Upwork (different IP, 2-year-old account). Banned faster than my attempts. Account 5: Built 500 karma over a month. Posted in a "what are you working on" thread. Shadowbanned. Took 3 days to realize no one could see my posts. Account 6: Breaking point. Four months wasted. Account 7: Followed the data. Still alive 11 months later.
What I built from this:
Turned the spreadsheet into a product (MediaFast). It analyzes historical data to find which subreddits actually allow product mentions, then builds a 30-day posting roadmap with pacing that avoids spam detection patterns. Launched February 2024. Currently at $5.4K MRR, 185 users at $29/month, ~25% trial conversion, near-zero churn. Revenue: Month 1: $360 | Month 3: $1,200 | Month 6: $2,300 | Month 11: $5,400 Growth is organic (SEO + sharing on X). The near-zero churn happens because the pacing system actually works.
Mistakes that cost me months:
Not tracking from ban 1. Started after ban 6, wasted 3 months of trial and error. Chasing large subreddits. Smaller focused communities had better survival and conversion. Cross-posting same content same day. Got banned in 4 subreddits simultaneously. Posting daily. Thought consistency showed commitment. Actually flagged as spam behavior.
The insight:
Reddit's spam detection is pattern-based, not content-based. You can write the most helpful post ever and still get banned if your activity rhythm looks robotic. The algorithm doesn't read context. It watches: posting frequency, comment velocity, rest periods, account age, cross-posting behavior.
Product: https://mediafa.st
Happy to share more about the tracking methodology or specific patterns I found.