The first two hours

Why the start matters. Reddit tends to show newer posts with early votes and comments to more people, so the first hour or two often decides how far a post travels. Replies from you count too: a post where the maker is answering questions looks alive, and gives people a reason to come back to it.

How to reply well:

• Answer the actual question, in a sentence or two. Add a detail they couldn't get from your website.
• Thank people for feedback, then do something with it. "Good point, the pricing page is confusing; I'll fix that this week" builds more goodwill than a defence.
• Don't argue. If someone is harsh, take the useful part, reply once, calmly, or leave it. Other readers notice how you handle it.
• Don't paste the link again in replies unless someone asks for it and the rules allow it.
• Don't ask friends to upvote. Reddit treats organised voting as manipulation, and it can get posts removed and accounts suspended.
• Ask follow-up questions. "What would you use instead?" or "What made you stop at the sign-up page?" turns a comment into research.

Write it down. Keep a note of every question, objection and feature request. The same three or four usually come up again and again, and they're the best guide to what to fix on your site and what to say in your next post.

If nothing happens. Some posts get no replies at all, even good ones. That's normal, especially for newer accounts. Check it's still visible (chapter 8), leave it, and try a different type of post or community another day. Don't delete and repost straight away: it can look like spam.

In my first week of posting on Reddit I was already getting genuinely valuable feedback that prompted me to take real action and improve my product, so it matched what my audience and potential customers were actually looking for.