How to Validate Your Business Idea on Reddit Without Getting Banned
You have a business idea. It feels brilliant, and you're sure it's going to be a hit. But there’s a quiet fear in the back of your mind: "What if I build it and no one comes?" You need to know if real people actually want what you're building.
This guide will show you a step-by-step framework to carefully validate your idea, get priceless feedback, and do it all without getting banned. To get valuable, honest feedback, you need to approach Reddit not as a marketer, but as a community member.
Step 1: Become a Member, Not a Marketer (The Foundation)
Before you even think about posting your idea, you need to lay the groundwork. Dropping into a community and immediately asking for something is like walking into a dinner party and asking strangers to help you move. It’s rude, and it won't work.
Your goal in this first step is to become a trusted, familiar face.
1. Find Your "Home" Subreddits:
Find the specific communities where your future customers already hang out. Be specific.
- If your idea is a new type of gardening tool, don't just go to r/business. Go to r/gardening, r/vegetablegardening, or r/houseplants.
- If your idea is a productivity app for writers, join r/writing, r/freelanceWriters, and r/selfpublish.
2. Read the Rules and Lurk:
Every subreddit has its own set of rules in the sidebar. Read them. Seriously. Many have strict rules against self-promotion or surveys. Understanding these rules is your first line of defense against getting banned. Then, spend a few days just reading posts and comments. Get a feel for the tone of the community. Is it humorous? Serious? Technical?
3. Provide Value First (The 90/10 Rule):
Your most important job is to contribute. For every one post you make about your own interests, you should be making nine helpful comments or upvoting nine good posts.
- Answer other people's questions.
- Upvote helpful content.
- Share a helpful resource (that isn't your own).
By doing this, you are building a positive history. When you eventually ask for feedback, other users and moderators will see that you are a genuine contributor, not a drive-by spammer.
Step 2: Ask About the Problem, Not Your Solution (The Indirect Approach)
This is the most critical part of the validation process. You don't mention your idea at all. Instead, you start a conversation about the problem your idea solves. People love to talk about their problems and frustrations.
If nobody shares the problem you think they have, then your idea might not be as valuable as you thought. This is an early and crucial reality check.
How to craft the "Problem Validation" post:
- Focus on the Pain Point: Frame your post around a frustration or a tedious task.
- Keep It Open-Ended: Ask "how" or "what" questions.
- Share Your Own Struggle: Be relatable and honest. This invites others to share their stories.
Let's look at an example.
Your Idea: A SaaS tool that automatically creates social media graphics for small business owners who are bad at design.
Good Post (Problem-Focused & Engaging):
Subject: "What's the one non-business task that eats up most of your time?"
*"Hey everyone at r/smallbusiness,
As a small biz owner myself, I feel like I'm constantly drowning in tasks that aren't actually my main job. For me, it's trying to create decent-looking graphics for social media. I'm not a designer, so I waste hours in Canva trying to make something that doesn't look terrible. It's so frustrating.
I'm curious, what's that one time-sucking task for you all? How do you deal with it?"*
Bad Post (Solution-Focused & Spammy):
"Hey r/smallbusiness, I'm building a tool to automate social media graphics. Would you use it? Please take my survey!"
(This will likely get removed or ignored.)
This post will trigger a flood of comments. People will share their own struggles. Some might say "I hate doing my books," but many will say "Ugh, social media graphics are the worst for me too." This is validation. You have just confirmed that the problem is real and widely felt.
Step 3: The Humble Ask for Feedback (The Careful Reveal)
After you've become a member and validated the problem, you might have earned enough trust to take the next step. This is where you can gently introduce your concept. The key here is humility. You are not promoting; you are asking for help from smart people whose opinions you respect.
How to craft the "Humble Ask" post:
- Reference Your Previous Post: This shows you have a history in the community.
- State Your Goal Clearly: You are building something to solve the shared problem.
- Make a Specific, Non-Salesy Request: Do not ask them to buy anything. Ask for feedback on a name, a landing page, or a specific feature.
- Show, Don't Just Tell: Link to a simple mockup, a Google Doc, or a one-page landing page. Don't link to a page with a "Buy Now" button.
Example (Continuing from the previous step):
Subject: "A few weeks ago I posted about how much I hate making social media graphics. A lot of you felt the same way, so I did something about it..."
*"Hey r/smallbusiness,
You might remember my post from a little while back about the frustration of creating graphics. The response was huge, and it made me realize this is a major pain point for a lot of us.
Well, I've started working on a super simple tool to try and solve this. My goal is to create something that lets you generate professional-looking graphics in about 60 seconds, no design skill needed.
It's very early, but I put together a simple one-page website explaining the concept. I would be incredibly grateful if you could take a look and give me your brutally honest feedback. I'm especially wondering: Does the description on the page make sense? Is the idea something you could see yourself using?
Here's the page: [Link to your simple landing page]
Thanks so much for being an awesome community."*
This approach works because it's transparent, humble, and it values the community's opinion above all else.
Action builds business. Start small, start smart—then scale.
This content is AI-assisted and reviewed for accuracy, but errors may occur. Always consult a legal/financial professional before making business decisions. nrold.com is not liable for any actions taken based on this information.