How I Got My First Users & Valuable Feedback Using Reddit DMs

AssetRoom is a free service I created after I found myself regularly reading about interesting stocks, but failing to then keep up with them over time - often reading many months/years later about how successful they went on to be (or not!).

After using friends for early user research and sign ups, I was ready to branch out to a wider audience.

I discovered Reddit as a goldmine for connecting with exactly the right people I was looking for. Here's how I did it and what I learned.

Finding My Target Audience

Reddit's specialized communities made it easy to identify potential users who would genuinely benefit from my service.

• r/stocks

• r/investing

• r/dividends

• r/stockmarket

(and many more!)

These subreddits are full of active investors who have an interest in investing in stocks - exactly the personas I was looking to connect with.

My Personalized DM Strategy

I developed a semi-automated workflow that helped me reach potential users without coming across as spammy:

1. Used the praw Python library to search through recent threads and comments in my target subreddits

2. Aggregated data by user, capturing their engagement patterns and discussion topics

3. Leveraged Together AI's API with Llama-3.1-70B-Instruct-Turbo to generate personalized messages based on their specific comments, albeit closely following my predefined template

4. Created user-specific UTM-tagged links to track engagement

5. Compiled everything into a spreadsheet for manual review before sending

6. Tracked responses and engagement using PostHog to understand landing page performance - their replays in particular are really useful for early-stage user research

Key Learnings

The feedback I received was invaluable for improving both my outreach and my product:

1. Value Proposition Clarity: My landing page wasn't clearly communicating why someone should use my service. I revamped it to cut down the number of steps to sign up and make it more interactive (note: this is still a work in progress!)

2. Personal Stories Matter: When I shared the personal motivation behind building the platform (my own frustration with parsing dense regulatory filings), response rates increased noticeably.

3. Exclusive Access Appeal: Framing outreach as an "invitation" to join as an early adopter created a sense of exclusivity that resonated with many recipients.

The Results

Here's some stats:

• 6% response rate to my DMs

• 11% click-through rate

• 9% conversion rate from click-throughs

• 1% overall conversion rate (DMs to users)

Most importantly, these metrics have been improving as I implement learnings. I was most encouraged by the 9% conversion rate from click-throughs, which demonstrates encouraging performance from my landing page and sign up process.

For cold outreach like this, I honestly thought 1% overall as a conversion rate wasn't too bad!

Meaningful Outcomes

1. Acquired my first 4 non-friend users this way

2. Significantly refined my messaging based on direct feedback

3. Completely overhauled my landing page - fewer steps to sign up, more interactive onboarding and I'm preparing to add my personal story that I've found to resonate in DM's.

Important Considerations

My approach wasn't about mass-spamming Reddit. Each message was thoughtfully personalized based on the recipient's actual interests and comments, then proof-read and delivered manually. This respects both the users and Reddit's terms while building genuine connections.

The goal was quality and quantity, but not in excess - reaching a reasonable amount of people and ensuring the outreach was genuinely relevant to them.

What's Next

I'm continuing to refine this approach while expanding to other channels. The real-time feedback loop has been invaluable for not just acquiring users but improving messaging, the landing page and ultimately the service itself.

Would love to hear if others have had success with similar targeted outreach strategies on Reddit or other platforms!