I got banned from Reddit 9 times promoting my startup. Here's every mistake that caused it.

I thought I was being smart about Reddit marketing. Turns out I was doing almost everything wrong.

Nine bans. Different accounts, different subreddits, different approaches. Each time I thought I had figured it out. Each time Reddit disagreed.

Here is what I was actually doing wrong.

The mistakes:

1. I promoted too early. I would create an account and post about my product within days. Reddit's algorithm treats new accounts that post links as spam. Because they usually are.

2. I posted in the wrong subreddits. r/SaaS and r/startups are full of other founders, not your customers. I was performing for an audience that would never buy.

3. I treated every post like an ad. Reddit users can smell a promotional post in the first sentence. The moment they feel sold to, they downvote and move on.

4. I had no warmup system. Reddit requires trust before it gives you reach. You build that through karma, account age, and genuine engagement. I skipped all of it every single time.

5. I had no idea which subreddits my actual customers were in. I was guessing. Guessing gets you banned.

The thing that finally clicked was understanding that Reddit rewards people who show up to give, not to take. Your customers are already on Reddit complaining about the exact problem you solve. You just have to find the right room and say something genuinely useful.

After I understood this I spent weeks studying every ban trigger, built a fresh account to 1,500 karma testing everything myself, then built MentionFast.com to automate the whole system for other founders. Subreddit discovery, ban-safe posts, daily warmup roadmap.

First post using my own tool drove 150,000 views combined across my posts. A single post for a friend's product brought 20+ visitors in 6 hours, most converted to paid.

Zero ad spend. Fifty plus signups.
Reddit is not hostile to founders. It is hostile to founders who skip the work.

What is the worst Reddit mistake you made trying to promote something?