This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Reddit is known as the front page of the internet. I use Reddit all the time. I enjoy finding articles, videos, just kind of a time waster, but also interesting stuff there. Can it be a viable way to grow your business or side hustle? That's what we're gonna talk about here today in this episode of Side Hustle School.
And welcome, by the way. Thanks for tuning in wherever you are in the world. My name's Chris Guillebeau. In this episode, we're gonna turn our attention to George from Houston, Texas. George is a vintage watch aficionado.
That means he really likes vintage watches. He's found a dedicated community on Reddit. He's looking to turn his hobby into a side hustle. He wants to go from idea to income and hopes to leverage the power of Reddit to do so. Now this can be a tricky thing.
It can definitely be a viable thing, but it can be a tricky thing because, you know, the main purpose of Reddit, the Reddit community, isn't always thrilled about someone coming to basically leverage the power of Reddit to build their own side hustle, but it is still possible, right, there are ways to do it. So let's talk about that. Also, George is not just interested in running ads. He wants to know how to post content that builds his authority and attracts followers, all without getting into trouble with Reddit or the active, very emotionally engaged, let's say, Reddit community. So what can be done here?
Let's talk about it. We've got a detailed question coming up in just 30 seconds. [Music]
Hi, I'm George from Houston. I've been an actor Reddit user for a couple of years now, mostly participating in discussions around vintage wristwashes, a hobby I'm deeply passionate about. Recently, I launched a small online shop selling refurbished vintage timepieces.
Given my active presence on Reddit, I thought it might be a good platform to help me grow my business. I'm not interested in traditional ads, but instead, I'm looking to post and engage on topics that build authority and followers. How can I best use Reddit to achieve this? What strategies would you suggest to ensure I'm doing it ethically and effectively? - Hey, George, Reddit can be a powerful platform for promoting a side hustle if used correctly, if used wisely, and it also depends a great deal on what the product or service is.
But yes, I mean, Reddit has a tremendous user base. It's also got the advantage of having topic-centric communities called subreddits. So again, depending on what you're selling, there might be a place where you could essentially find this built-in audience that is just perfect for whatever you're offering. So a couple points here. You wanna, of course, find subreddits that align with your side hustle.
George has done that already, but for anybody else out there, like there are communities for almost everything on Reddit. So join the communities, understand the kind of content that resonates with them. And really being an active member of the community is the key. It is the key to success on Reddit, not just promoting your content, certainly not going in right away with something to sell, but really contributing valuable comments, discussions in post, just kind of slowly, actively building a reputation as a knowledgeable, helpful member. That's gonna make your promotional efforts more successful.
And when you do feel the time is right to start those promotional efforts, you gotta be really subtle. Like make sure your posts and comments are providing value, not too salesy. Being salesy definitely leads to being banned from the subreddit or just being downvoted. So nobody really sees your comments, your posts. But over time, if you've got something to offer, you can post it there.
You can ask for honest feedback on it. And of course be prepared for honest feedback, especially in a community like Reddit. But it's possible. Let's see what else. Hosting an AMA, which is short for Ask Me Anything, can also be a great strategy.
It's where you allow the community to ask questions about your expertise, your journey, your side hustle. Again, that works best if you have built some authority and you're not only speaking about your side hustle, you're speaking more about, I guess for George, it's vintage watches in general, maybe some more specific topic. But of course, eventually it does relate to the fact that you've got vintage watches for sale or whatever else that you're selling connected to that. Just be aware, each subreddit has its own rules about self-promotion. So be sure to read those guidelines carefully before posting and delving in further.
And most of all, just remember to be patient. This takes some time. Building authority and followers on Reddit is a marathon, not a sprint, but we have seen over the years a number of people who've been able to do it the right way as well as some people who maybe went in too hot in the beginning and it didn't work so well. So definitely take some time with it, but it can be the right approach for the right business or side hustle. All right, George, good luck.
Listeners, good luck. I'm cheering you on as well. sidehustleschool.com/questions. If you've got any questions, and of course, we'll continue to feature content from our listeners along with updates from other listeners as they launch and grow their projects. The podcast comes out every day.
It's completely free. You can listen wherever you like. My name is Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
