Category: Content

  • The Best Tools for Competitor Analysis in 2025 (And Why Reddit is Underrated)

    The Best Tools for Competitor Analysis in 2025 (And Why Reddit is Underrated)

    Unless your product is genuinely first-of-its-kind, your customers aren’t approaching it with a blank slate. They’re already sizing you up against competitors, checking mental boxes based on past experiences, reviews they’ve read, or buzz they’ve picked up elsewhere.

    Your product lives and breathes alongside its alternatives. That’s why competitor research shows up near the top of almost every marketing guide or strategy breakdown you come across.

    Fortunately, some tools can speed up this entire process and help you build something that stands out and pays you well. Some are popular, some are underrated, and others weren’t even intended for competitor analysis but still crushed it in that role.

    Let’s dive into a few of those right now.

    VisualPing

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    If you’ve ever manually refreshed your competitor’s pricing page multiple times – well, first, same. Second, you’ll love Visualping.

    Visualping monitors your competitor’s website for important updates, alerting you the moment they change prices, introduce new features, or tweak messaging. Unlike typical competitor analysis tools that focus mainly on SEO metrics or backlinks, Visualping tracks the subtle front-end changes competitors rarely announce but customers notice right away.

    Priyanka Prajapati, Digital Marketer at BrainSpate, found huge value in Visualping’s real-time notifications:

    “We used it to monitor a direct competitor’s pricing page, and one day, we got an alert that they had silently changed their pricing model. Turns out, they had introduced a freemium tier, which explained why our inbound leads had suddenly dropped. Because we caught it early, we quickly adjusted our messaging and rolled out a limited-time offer to counter it, saving us from a potential hit in conversions.”

    Patric Edwards, Founder & Principal Software Architect at Cirrus Bridge, echoes the same advantage:

    I received an alert the instant a competitor released a new feature and changed their pricing page. This allowed my team to adjust our messaging proactively, emphasizing our unique differentiators before they could dominate the narrative.”

    Kompyte

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    If tracking your competitors feels like a full-time job, Kompyte can do the heavy lifting for you. It’s an automated competitive intelligence tool that keeps a constant eye on what your competitors are up to online, not just on websites. I mean website updates, new ads, or marketing campaigns. Then, it sends real-time alerts straight to your dashboard.

    Zoe Rice, Marketing Manager at 3 Men Movers, explained how Kompyte helped her team quickly respond to a competitor’s new bundled service:

    “Kompyte alerted us when one of our major competitors launched a new bundled service promotion. Although we didn’t copy their strategy, the insight allowed us to quickly adjust our marketing messages and roll out a counter-campaign on Facebook and Google that spoke directly to our target audience, emphasizing our consistent track record of being reliable and affordable. The campaign was quite effective since we recorded a 13% increase in engagement rate over that period, resulting in a 2.7% increase in our conversion rate.”

    BuiltWith

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    If you’ve ever wondered what’s under the hood of your competitor’s website, BuiltWith is the tool to show you. It reveals the tech stack behind any website, everything from its content management system and analytics platform to its marketing tools and payment processors.

    Yaniv Masjedi, Chief Marketing Officer at Nextiva, uses BuiltWith to dig deeper than just the surface-level insights competitors usually offer:

    “We employ BuiltWith’s profiling technology as a secret weapon for competitor analysis. By just viewing competitors’ websites, I can instantly see their complete tech stack – ranging from their CMS and analytics to payment processors and marketing automation. This has impacted our strategic decisions directly in a variety of ways. We switched to this tool and open rates improved by 17%.”

    The WayBack Machine

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    The Wayback Machine might seem like it’s just good for nostalgia trips through ancient internet memes, but it’s actually one of the most underrated ways to peek into your competitor’s SEO playbook. This archive lets you rewind any website to earlier versions, which is awesome when you’re trying to decode changes in your competitors’ keyword strategies, content structures, and even their approach to link-building.

    Brandon Schroth, Founder of Reporter Outreach, pairs it strategically with other SEO tools for the best impact:

    “Specifically, I use Ahrefs to track competitors’ broken backlinks to pages that no longer exist. Then, using Wayback Machine, I try to check the content of those pages. Using this strategy allows my team to build new content tailored to exploit those backlinks and replicate their success.”

    Rival IQ

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    Rival IQ reveals exactly what your competitors’ audiences genuinely care about by tracking real engagement metrics like likes, comments, and shares. It also clearly highlights what their audience ignores—maybe their posts are too promotional, boring, or disconnected from what their followers actually enjoy. These insights help you craft content your audience secretly wishes they’d make.

    Rodney Moreland, Founder of Celestial Digital Services, explains how this helps his team stay proactive instead of reactive:

    “For instance, thanks to the social listening features in Rival IQ, I discovered a shift in consumer sentiment toward a competitor’s new service launch. By quickly addressing similar customer needs, we were able to capture a share of the market that might have slipped past otherwise. This tool is particularly effective because it offers cross-channel analytics that keeps our strategies aligned and proactive, rather than reactive.”

    Ubersuggest

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    Ubersuggest isn’t as flashy or feature-packed as some of the bigger players like Semrush or Ahrefs, but that’s its strength. It’s ideal for startups or small businesses that need quick and actionable competitor insights without drowning in data or paying enterprise-level prices. The tool simplifies competitor keyword analysis, showing you the keywords your competitors rank for (and the ones you’re missing out on), plus metrics like search volume, CPC, domain authority, and page authority in a straightforward dashboard. If you’re overwhelmed by dense interfaces, Ubersuggest is refreshingly user-friendly.

    Saddat Abid, CEO of Property Saviour, highlights how Ubersuggest helped him find overlooked opportunities in a competitive real estate niche:

    “I discovered three mid-sized competitors were ranking for specific location-based renovation terms I hadn’t considered. Within two months of creating content around these terms, organic traffic to those pages increased significantly.”

    He also emphasizes the tool’s accessibility:

    “I can easily find specific keywords for my social media content to attract the audience and gain maximum traffic without spending what the big companies charge.”

    The Most Underrated Competitor Analysis Tool of All: Reddit

    Reddit wasn’t built with competitor research in mind. Far from it. But that’s what makes it so powerful for that very purpose.

    Reddit is the holy source for qualitative research. It gives you contextual human insights behind the data. Instead of simply noting that your competitor updated their website or shifted their messaging, Reddit helps you understand why they made that move in the first place. Did their audience’s preferences change? Is there a seasonal trend emerging? What frustrations or unmet needs are shaping these decisions?

    Simply put, Reddit is hands-down the most insightful competitor research tool you have at your disposal. But even then, figuring out exactly where to start (and how not to waste your whole day there) can be difficult. That’s why I like to use GummySearch.

    Make Your Competitor Analysis Even Sharper with GummySearch

    GummySearch is an Audience Research Tool built for Reddit mining. It was also built for marketers and founders like myself who want to find worthy conversations without bouncing aimlessly from sub to sub.

    Let’s see an example of how I’d use GummySearch for precise competitor research.

    Say, I’m launching a coffee brand designed to compete directly with brands like Death Wish Coffee. Back in 2012, Death Wish Coffee was a startup, but thanks to founder Mike Brown’s approach – listening to customer requests for stronger but still delicious coffee – it quickly grew into one of the most popular online coffee companies around.

    I want to follow a similar path, but first, I need to understand what serious coffee drinkers think about Death Wish Coffee right now. Even better: I don’t need to have an existing customer base yet, because Death Wish already has plenty of loyal fans who are exactly the kind of coffee enthusiasts I want to target.

    So, I hop into GummySearch and create a new audience ( the blue Add+ button). It’s simple. I ask myself, “Where do coffee lovers hang out?” Right off the bat, subreddits like r/coffee (with over 2 million members), r/espresso (615K members), and smaller but passionate communities like r/brew (around 1K members) pop up. Adding these together creates my target audience instantly.

    With my audience ready, there are tons of ways I could dive in, but I prefer the direct route. That’s why I often start with the Keyword Search field. It’s one of the first things I see on my GummySearch dashboard and it kickstarts my analysis. I type in “Death Wish Coffee” and, just like that, GummySearch surfaces every relevant post and discussion that mentions it, giving me instant insight into how customers genuinely feel about this competitor.

    Just like me, you’ll probably notice that even a tiny Reddit post can quickly turn into something super valuable for your research. The tool brought me plenty of results, but one of them caught my eye.

    In the screenshot below, there’s a post by someone who recently got a coffee machine and now wants higher-caffeine coffee to boost their workouts. Right away, they mention Death Wish Coffee and Black Rifle Coffee as the brands they’re thinking about.

    In just four short lines, I’ve already learned a ton about what they want and the competitors they’re considering.

    But, if I want to dig deeper, I can dive right into the comments below this post. Of course, GummySearch has an AI summary button up top if I just want a quick overview, but let’s say I want to get my hands dirty.

    Here’s a comment that stood out to me right away: “Getting into espresso for the caffeine is like getting into whiskey so you can get drunk. There are cheaper and easier ways to achieve your goal.”

    Comments like these make it clear that caffeine alone often isn’t enough for some people. High caffeine might be the hook, but the taste and overall experience matter too. Now I’ve got something deeper to work with – maybe my coffee brand shouldn’t just promise strength, but also flavor people genuinely love.

    But now I want to dig deeper into what pulls people towards Death Wish Coffee, beyond the obvious pre-workout appeal. Just as importantly, I want to know what pushes them away. Knowing these things helps me lean into the best parts and steer clear of the pitfalls.

    Sure, I could start popping isolated keywords into the keyword search, like “Death Wish Coffee” plus “hate,” but that’s going to give me scattered results I’ll need to piece together. Fortunately, there’s a much easier way, and that’s the Ask ✨ feature. This AI-powered option lets me just ask a straightforward question, like chatting directly with my target audience. For example, I simply ask, “What do people like and dislike about Death Wish Coffee?”

    First: GummySearch immediately tells me how much time I’m saving (measured in “AI minutes”). Thanks to this one question, I just saved myself about an hour.

    Second, now I have a clear, structured breakdown summarizing what Redditors genuinely think. I find out people love Death Wish mainly for two reasons: its supercharged caffeine content (no surprises there) and distinctive flavor notes. If I’m curious to double-check those findings, every claim links directly to the original Reddit post for more context and detail.

    On the flip side, it also surfaces criticism. Redditors frequently mention that they feel the brand prioritizes caffeine quantity over coffee quality, and several users question if the high price is worth it. But this isn’t vague complaining! Redditors go into vivid detail, describing exactly why the taste or value falls short for them.

    Now, I can take all these insights and build a stronger understanding of what my target audience genuinely cares about. I can back my quantitative data with rich qualitative insights.

    Even better: if my coffee brand is looking to disrupt the market, these candid opinions give me clear positioning ideas. For example, if I discover many users simply crave caffeine without caring about subtle tasting notes, don’t want to take caffeine tablets, and want something to mix in their protein shakes… I could confidently market my product as “all kick, no frills.” I’d have solid proof from real conversations that people are already seeking exactly that type of straightforward, no-nonsense boost.

    What You See Is Often Not What You Get

    There are plenty of amazing competitor analysis tools out there. You should use those tools – they’re part of a balanced research diet. But remember, numbers alone can lead you astray. That’s because the best competitor analysis tool isn’t a tool. It’s your audience!

    Behind the alien avatars are your potential customers, openly praising, criticizing, venting, and sharing. They’re leaving one-star and five-star Google reviews, making detailed TikTok comparisons, and giving honest breakdowns of any product in the market.

    So, by all means, use traditional competitor tools to track trends, rankings, and changes. But if you truly want to understand why customers choose one product over another, move away from the analytics and go where people speak freely, without marketing filters or curated statements.

  • How to Conduct In-Depth Persona Research with a Slim Budget

    How to Conduct In-Depth Persona Research with a Slim Budget

    If there’s one thing you’ve got to nail to give your startup or business the best chance at success, it’s your personas. Yes, like everything else in marketing and product development, finding your perfect audience involves trial and error. But starting on the right foot (even if you’re not 100% sure yet) can set you miles ahead.

    Now, you might be thinking, “That all sounds great, but isn’t deep persona research crazy expensive? Don’t I need big-budget tools, or advanced social listening?”

    Not exactly. Sure, tools help, but you don’t need a massive budget in any way. Plenty of startup founders have nailed their personas without it – and today’s article is all about what they did when money was short.

    Go Guerrilla (Yes, That Means Talking to Strangers)

    Talking to people in real life isn’t most founders’ idea of a good time. Especially if you’re used to running your entire research process from a laptop. But sometimes the best feedback comes from casual conversations.

    That’s exactly what Erin Siemek did when she needed a low-cost way to understand her target audience.

    “When I needed budget-friendly user insights for a startup, I discovered a simple but effective method: visiting local cafes and coworking spaces during off-hours. I approached people who fit my target demographic, offered to buy them a coffee or snack in exchange for 15 minutes of their time, and asked them questions about their habits, preferences, and struggles related to my product.”

    One freelancer opened up about how hard it was to juggle client expectations. That one conversation directly shaped how Erin adjusted her product’s features. She kept the setting casual, which made people more honest. And it didn’t cost more than a couple of cappuccinos.

    Go Live and Let Your Persona Talk Back

    Q&A sessions are everywhere now. That’s because the format works.

    If you already have a following, even a small one, you’ve got a front-row seat to your ideal customer’s thoughts. Answering their questions live does two things at once: it helps them, and it helps you refine your messaging by listening to what they care about most.

    Samantha Odo, who works with real estate buyers across multiple markets, used Instagram and TikTok live sessions to collect unscripted feedback without spending a dollar.

    “In one session, over 200 people participated, and 75% of them confirmed they were actively looking at pre-construction condos. That instantly told me what stage they were in and what kind of content would move them closer to a decision.”

    Samantha then built a private WhatsApp group for serious buyers, using screening questions to keep the audience relevant. Over time, that group’s conversations shaped her listings strategy and helped her increase engagement by 40%.

    Talk to Your Personas In Their Unfiltered Hangouts (AKA, Online Communities)

    There’s no shortage of insight if you know where to look. That’s what makes online communities so powerful for persona research. You don’t need a formal interview panel or paid focus groups for that!

    Georgi Petrov figured that out early on. Instead of dropping money on structured research panels, he used Reddit, Facebook groups, and other niche forums to connect with potential users directly:

    “Instead of paying for expensive focus groups, I engaged directly with target audiences in Facebook Groups, Reddit threads, and LinkedIn communities related to my industry. By posting open-ended questions, running quick polls, and DMing engaged users for short interviews, I gathered valuable insights without spending a dime.”

    If you want to take it a step further, do what Vukasin Ilic does. He uses Reddit like a matchmaking tool to set up one-on-one “coffee chats” with potential users, offering a small gift card in exchange for a 20-minute Zoom call. It’s casual, it’s low-pressure, and it works.

    My method is simple: I post in targeted subreddits offering $10-15 Amazon gift cards for 20-minute Zoom conversations about my product concept.

    With my fitness app startup, I connected with 25 dedicated fitness enthusiasts through r/fitness and r/weightlossadvice for about $300 total.

    One participant pointed out a critical flaw in our progress tracking feature that we completely overlooked.

    After fixing this and two other user-identified issues, our early adoption exceeded expectations by roughly a third.

    These calls create a genuine dialogue that traditional focus groups can’t match, due to their casual nature.

    The casual nature of these calls creates genuine dialogue, which is uncommon in traditional focus groups, in their own words.

    When Zoom Isn’t the Move, Try This Instead

    Anonymity is part of what makes places like Reddit great…but it also means not everyone’s going to be up for a one-on-one chat.

    You might have already DM’d someone who seemed like the perfect fit for a quick user interview. They were active and seemed open to chatting… until you mentioned hopping on Zoom. Then…radio silence.

    It’s not personal. There’s pressure involved. Saying yes means trusting a stranger and sometimes feeling weird about getting paid after the fact. Some Redditors just won’t bite. And that’s okay.

    The good news is that you don’t have to rely on live calls to do great persona research. If you love the platform but aren’t ready to book interviews (or your audience just isn’t into it), GummySearch gives you a smarter way to go deep without ever needing to schedule anything.

    You still get the unfiltered thoughts and real pain points. You just skip the part where you awkwardly wait in an online meeting room.

    How to Make Persona Research as Useful as Interviews

    For this example, I’m stepping into the shoes of a founder building a cellphone for kids. I’m designing a legit-looking smartphone specifically for safety-conscious parents.

    If you’ve seen the Gabb phone or Pinwheel, you already know what I’m going for. It’s got the games, the camera, but no Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok.

    Now, I know my target audience here is parents. But what I need to understand is what kind of parents. Do I need to understand the ones who are fielding daily “but everyone else has a phone” pressure from their kids? Or the ones who want their eight-year-old to be able to check in after school, but don’t want a flood of apps and messages?

    I’m going to use Reddit conversations to figure all of that out. Here’s how I’d go about it, step by step.

    Building an Audience

    I want to hear from as many types of parents as I can. A big enough base to catch different experiences and priorities, so my early research reflects the real-world messiness of modern parenting.

    So, I head into GummySearch to build an audience.

    I could’ve created one from scratch, but first I took a shortcut and checked the curated audiences. And bingo: there’s already a prebuilt “Parents” audience ready to go. It’s made up of nine subreddits like r/parenting, r/daddit, r/newparents, r/raisingkids, and more. Altogether, that’s millions of active members and a ton of context to start with.

    I already had a hunch about my main competitors: Pinwheel and Gabb. But what I didn’t expect was how helpful the Products tab would be. Once I filtered by the “cell phone” product category, I saw that many parents are still handing down Apple and Samsung devices as their kid’s first phone. Not because they love the idea, but because of the built-in parental controls.

    Now I’m starting to get somewhere. I’m seeing what they’re using right now, what they’ve settled for, and maybe what they wish existed instead.

    Going Deeper with Keyword Search: What Parents Are Really Thinking

    To create a solid persona, I need to know: What’s going on in their heads when they finally decide to give their kid a phone?

    I mean the off-the-cuff stuff people say when they’re typing fast or venting to another parent during a coffee break.

    So I went to the Keyword Search bar on my audience dashboard. It’s right up top, super easy to find. I typed in “cellphone” and right away, I started seeing posts with titles like “First Cellphone” and “Phones for Tweens.”

    In one, a parent wrote: “Good morning, my 10-year-old is getting his first phone. I gave in to the idea as he’s the only kid in his class to not have one.”

    That’s already packed with emotion. Initially, this is a fear of their kid being left out and being the “boring parent”. It’s about belonging and confidence.

    But if I scroll down, the same post starts asking about parental controls and how to monitor screen time. Suddenly, this fear also becomes about protection and safety.

    The parent wants to say yes, but a cautious, calculated yes.

    Of course, even the most detailed post won’t say everything. One parent might write a five-paragraph breakdown of why they chose a dumb phone over an iPhone, but if you want your research to actually hold weight, you’re still going to need more than one data point.

    That’s where you should start looking for Patterns.

    Looking for Patterns Without Getting Buried in Tabs

    The more parents echo the same concerns, the clearer your persona becomes.

    Now, I can read every single post with “cellphone” in it. Honestly, if you’ve got the time, I still recommend setting aside an hour or two a week to do some old-school reading and highlighting.

    But we’re founders. Time isn’t always on our side.

    So instead, I stayed right inside Keyword Search and clicked over to the Patterns tab, sitting just to the right of “Results.”

    GummySearch scans Reddit posts for me and pulls out the recurring themes. In this case, I saved myself about 2.5 hours and instantly saw the most repeated ideas across every conversation mentioning cellphones.

    The Patterns tab tallies how many posts bring up the same idea. For example, it gave me six clear patterns, each with recurring topics. By far, the most recurring topic is: Is my kid too young for a phone?

    That “age appropriateness” concern kept coming up again and again. Right behind that, parents were comparing parental controls, asking which devices are best for monitoring usage, limiting screen time, and keeping out apps like TikTok or Snapchat.

    This already tells me a lot, even if I had no idea where to start. These are the core pain points my persona cares about – age, safety, and making the right call.

    If I’m short on time, analyzing just nine posts is honestly a solid starting point. The more the better, but even a handful of Reddit submissions will tell me a ton if I (intentionally) read between the lines.

    Take this one post from a parent with a 9-year-old who’s asking for a phone because their best friend got one for Christmas.

    That sounds a lot like another post from a parent of a 10-year-old who’s also worried about their kid being the only one without a phone in class. The common threads are starting to show up.

    Now let’s layer in some context. Not every post says “I’m a mom,” but plenty do. So if that were true, I could start building out a persona: A cautious but open-minded mom of a 10-to-12-year-old, someone who’s juggling the pressure to fit in with genuine concerns about screen time, safety, and developmental health.

    She doesn’t want to hand over an iPhone, but she doesn’t want her kid to feel embarrassed with a brick either.

    Want to Go Even Deeper? Time to Ask.

    Say you’re like me and you want to get just a little more validation before moving forward. This is a job for GummySearch’s AI-driven Ask ✨ tab.

    Inside Keyword Search, I see the Ask feature just beside Patterns ✨. I just type in exactly what I want to know, and GummySearch will mine those Reddit posts for a context-packed answer.

    For example, I asked, “What are parents’ biggest issues when it comes to cellphones? What types of phones are they likely to choose?”

    GummySearch came back with a summary that hit all the right points: exposure to inappropriate content, the influence of social media, and how recommendation algorithms might push harmful videos. It even pointed out that some parents are choosing kid-safe smartwatches instead of phones.

    If one of those points catches my attention, I don’t have to guess where it came from. GummySearch drops a link right after each insight that takes me directly to the Reddit thread that sparked it. Not just the post, but the comments too, so I can explore what other parents said in that conversation and keep building out my picture.

    By the way, as long as these subreddits stay active, parents will keep bringing up their concerns and tips. I want to stay in the loop. So I just track a keyword like “cellphones” (or anything else I’m curious about) by clicking on the 🔔 icon and then “Track Keyword”. GummySearch will ping me whenever something new pops up, so I don’t have to constantly babysit my research.

    A Real Persona With Just a Bit of Budget (and a Lot of Reddit)

    Once you start growing, you’ll want to keep refining that persona. Keep an eye on your tracked keywords in the Conversations 💬 tab in GummySearch. You could also compare your new persona to the people who become your customers. Maybe you’ll run surveys or have 1:1 interviews later on.

    But right now, this is how you get a strong head start without needing a giant audience or a fancy research budget.

  • The Do’s and Dont’s of Using Reddit for Startup Growth in 2025

    The Do’s and Dont’s of Using Reddit for Startup Growth in 2025

    I’ve seen founders organically generate thousands of sign-ups and build trust with hyper-engaged Reddit communities. We’ve seen them turn Redditors into collaborators who help shape their product roadmap. But we’ve also seen plenty of startups struggle to grow because they misunderstood how Reddit works.

    To help you avoid the latter, here are the do’s and don’ts of using Reddit for startup growth in 2025, based on real founders’ experiences – including my own as the founder of GummySearch.

    DON’T: Jump in Like You Own the Place

    Going into Reddit like “We just launched our product, check it out” is a way of starting on the wrong foot. You might not have enough karma to post that since Reddit encourages you to engage through comments before anything else.

    Instead, get deeply involved in the subreddits where your target users already hang out. This doesn’t mean self-promotion is off the table – some communities, like r/sideproject, welcome it in the right context. Founders often share their projects there because the community is open to giving feedback, offering critiques, and even signing up as beta testers.

    Even the most critical feedback can be the motivation you need. People will challenge your idea, ask “How are you different from X?” or “Why would anyone switch from what they already use?”

    These are the kinds of insights that can help you refine your positioning and strengthen your value proposition. But if you come across as someone just looking to drive traffic without contributing to the conversation, you’re more likely to get ripped apart.

    DO: Engage First, Promote Later

    Redditors aren’t shy about their dislike for traditional advertising, and if they sense even a whiff of disguised self-promotion, they’ll let you know. They won’t hesitate to call you out if you try to pass off an ad as a “casual” community post.

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    But…despite honest opinions, it’s not true that Reddit users hate advertising altogether. What they dislike is bad advertising.

    Reddit is one of the few platforms where users can downvote ads, and they often do. But just as easily as they can reject an ad, they can also support one they enjoy. Take Maker’s Mark, for example.

    Over a decade ago, they became the first alcohol brand to advertise on Reddit, and instead of running a generic campaign, they leaned into the community’s love for humor and creativity. To celebrate that weekend’s Kentucky Derby, they invited Redditors to submit their own whiskey-themed horse names. The most creative ones were then featured in a dynamic Reddit homepage takeover on the Friday before the event.

    Thousands of comments poured in, and even when Maker’s Mark slipped in a “shameless plug” for their bourbon, the community didn’t mind because the engagement felt organic.

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    As Maker’s Mark’s executives later pointed out, Reddit advertising works best when it blends into the environment rather than disrupting it. If you try to force or fake engagement, users will reject it. But if you’re transparent and offer something Redditors actually want to engage with, they just might reward you for it.

    DON’T: Ignore Subreddit Culture

    Every subreddit has its own culture and set of rules. This means that if you post like an outsider, you’ll be treated like one. That’s why you’ll often see Redditors preface their posts with “Long-time lurker, first-time poster.” Lurking first is a sign of understanding the nuances of how people communicate and engage.

    Needless to say, ignoring subreddit rules is a rookie mistake. You’ll typically find them in the right sidebar, but if you click to expand, you’ll often find even more details. Some communities are laid back, while others, like r/sidehustle, have stricter requirements.

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    Even a minor rule break can get your post removed or banned. Be sure to spend time in the community before posting to understand what your audience cares about and how you can contribute.

    DO: Blend In, But Make an Impact

    The key to Reddit’s success is looking like a Redditor, not a marketer.

    An early-stage mental wellness app for Gen Z mastered this by embedding themselves in r/Anxiety and r/GetMotivated. Instead of spamming ads, they responded to posts, shared insights, and even ran an Ask Me Anything (AMA) where their founder discussed their own mental health journey.

    They also partnered with subreddit moderators to sponsor community-driven events like daily check-in threads, integrating their app without making it feel like an ad. One founder took note of their journey and summed it up beautifully:

    “You can’t ‘sell’ on Reddit, but you can spark conversations that sell for you.” Niclas Schlopsna, CEO, spectup

    DON’T: Expect Instant Results

    As Rocky Balboa would say, Reddit is about going the distance.

    The founder of BeardBrand, Eric Bandholz, can confirm that.

    Before ever hosting an AMA, he spent five years actively engaging in discussions, asking questions, sharing tips, and being the face AND beard of his own brand.

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    By the time he finally did an AMA, people were eager to participate.

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    This kind of trust doesn’t happen overnight, and Beardbrand’s growth proves why it’s worth the effort. Launched in 2013 with just $8,000, they quickly scaled up to over $10 million per year at their peak.

    If you treat Reddit like a get-rich-quick scheme, the community will see right through you. Holz said it himself:

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    DON’T: Be a Long-Time Lurker

    Lurking for research and not interacting can get too comfortable, and comfort is the opposite of growth. You want to talk to people, learn as much as you can, and gain traction.

    Even though there are so many ways to engage, like beta invites, AMAs, or early access programs, I recommend sticking to regular posting and commenting for a while until you feel comfortable doing AMAs, for example.

    And if you’re like, “people will see that I’m nervous, and I’ll look like a loser…” the next example is for you.

    DO: Be Vulnerable and Transparent

    Vulnerability and transparency win on Reddit, and nothing proves that more than Caliber Fitness’s ad for their 100% free strength training app. Instead of being ignored like many ads, this one was met with praise.

    From the very first line, the founder, Justin Fauci, was upfront. He made it clear this was an ad, even apologizing for interrupting people’s scrolling. But he also shared something important: he’d been a Redditor for eight whole years, which ties in perfectly with our theme.

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    Plus, he explained he was advertising to help people get better results from their workouts and engaged in the comments like a real human. When users responded, the founder replied with vulnerability, even admitting he was nervous about running the ad.

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    People appreciated the honesty so much that they wished more ads were like this! The post got 10k+ upvotes, 90+ Reddit awards, and 4k+ comments. What a boost!

    Another great example is from a crypto startup in early 2025 that turned $5K in ad spending into over $50K on new users. Not by spamming promotions but by engaging with the community first.

    For weeks before launching any campaign, they dropped useful insights into niche subreddits. Naturally, when they finally ran ads, they felt like a smooth transition to the conversations they were already having rather than random promotions.

    That move paid off.

    • Comments doubled on their promoted posts.
    • Upvotes hit over 1,200 on a single thread.
    • When they finally offered an exclusive beta invite in r/cryptocurrency, sign-ups exploded.

    “They did not push a product. They positioned themselves as active members of the community. Their CEO even jumped into threads to answer tough questions in real time, which built credibility fast. When they finally offered an exclusive beta invite in r/cryptocurrency, sign-ups blew past expectations in under 48 hours.”

    Thomas Franklin, CEO, Swapped

    This shows how to do Reddit marketing right, especially if you’re trying to grow your startup.

    DON’T: Get Stuck in Endless Research Mode

    With so much data available, startups risk spending too much time analyzing and not enough time acting. Spending months researching without taking action won’t grow your startup – it’ll hinder it.

    Using the right tools helps you focus on insights that matter without speed-running your research. GummySearch, for example, helps you cut down on research time dramatically, so you can spend more time engaging, iterating, and growing.

    DO: Use GummySearch to Avoid the Research Trap

    GummySearch lets you instantly surface trending discussions around your product category without spending hours manually sifting through posts.

    All you need to do is create your free account, then hit “Make a New Audience” and start adding relevant subreddits where your target users hang out. You can search for niche communities based on the industry, interests, or issues your audience talks about. 

    For example, this is an audience I’d create for a time management tool:

    Here are several ways GummySearch reduces research time:

    • It groups top discussions using a scoring-based algorithm, pulling in the most engaged, discussed, and high-performing content so you’re always seeing what is most important.
    • Instead of just sorting by “top posts,” it also includes emerging trends or fresh insights.

    Beyond that, it delivers AI-generated summaries that condense entire conversations into clear takeaways. That means if I’m just checking in on your audience for five minutes during morning coffee, I can get an instant sense of what they’re talking about without deep-diving into every post.

    • It highlights genuine customer pain points, motivators, and requests through AI-powered analysis.

    Let’s say I’m running a pain-based ad for your time management tool. I already know people struggle with balancing work and side projects, but what exactly frustrates them the most? Where is the pain strongest?

    Instead of wasting time Googling generic searches like: 🔍 “time management tool hate site:reddit.com 🔍 “time management problems reddit”

    I just open GummySearch, hit Pain & Anger, and let it surface the real frustrations people are venting about.

    I’ll instantly see what’s making people struggle the most right now, as well as the predominant sentiment. For the example above, it’s “Despair.”

    If I want quick insights, the AI summary gives me a fast breakdown of the biggest recurring pain points. For deeper research, I can dive into specific posts to see how people describe their struggles in their own words.

    • It notifies me when people talk about my brand and mention competitors, important keywords, or industry trends.

    GummySearch keeps me in the loop without the chaos, automatically pinging me whenever any of my tracked keywords pop up in discussions. It allows me to:

    • Set up keyword alerts for my brand name, competitor names, industry trends, or customer pain points.
    • Get real-time updates in the Conversations Report, where all my tracked searches are stored.
    • Get notified via email, Slack, or even Discord. And I can share the report with my team whenever needed.

    If you’re more laid back, you don’t have to get notifications every day. Instead, you can opt for daily or weekly keyword digests. It’s up to you.

    Growing a Startup on Reddit is Like Method Acting

    Or method marketing, to be more specific. That’s because you need to become a part of your audience to succeed.

    Yes, the advice to “engage first” and “build a presence” is abundant, but it is the answer.

    There’s no trick to making Reddit work for you. You need to go the distance and interact with your audience as much as you can. In the meantime, you can use tools like GummySearch to break down the research, categorize key insights, and make the process much faster. That’s how you grow a startup at a healthy pace without skipping over any steps.

  • Case Studies: How Founders & Brands Use Reddit for Customer Research

    Case Studies: How Founders & Brands Use Reddit for Customer Research

    Why Brands Use Reddit for Research in the First Place

    If you’re building a product, you already know customer research is unskippable. But while everyone tells you to “talk to your audience,” they’ll rarely tell you where to find the best, unfiltered insights.

    If they won’t, I will. That place is Reddit.

    Reddit is where people go to discuss their interests on a deep level. Along with those discussions come honest opinions and impromptu product reviews. Plus, it’s ridiculously niche-friendly – here’s a subreddit for everything. If you think your industry is too obscure, I promise you, Reddit has a community for it.

    That’s why so many successful founders now use Reddit as THE customer research destination. They approach it in a different way than they do other social media for best results. Here’s how they do it.

    How Founders Successfully Used Reddit for Customer Research

    Pronounce AI Surpassed 300,000 Users by Mirroring Customer Language

    Pronounce AI, an AI-powered tool that helps non-native English speakers improve their pronunciation and fluency, has grown to over 300,000 users worldwide. That’s what happens when you truly listen to your audience and apply what you’ve learned.

    How They Did It

    Instead of guessing what language learners struggle with, the Pronounce AI team hung out in subreddits like r/LanguageLearning and r/JudgeMyAccent, where people were venting about their fears and frustrations. Their pronunciation worries prevented them from speaking. Post after post mentioned the same fears:

    • “I freeze up when speaking English at work.”
    • “I’m self-conscious about my accent.”

    People didn’t just want pronunciation help, but they wanted a judgment-free way to practice. This shaped both the product (a private AI-driven speech analysis tool) and the marketing.

    Plus, instead of a generic copy like “Improve your English pronunciation,” they had an inventory of “sticky” phrases from their audience. This resulted in persuasive messaging like “Don’t freeze up in your next meeting.”

    This approach made their ads and landing pages feel instantly relatable. Rather than talking to their audience, they were reflecting their experiences right back at them.

    From the Founder

    “Don’t stop at just the upvotes. Even if you’re doing it manually, conduct a quick sentiment analysis of how people talk about their struggles. Look for emotional words: frustrated, embarrassed, anxious.”

    Xenia Busheva, Co-founder & CMO at Pronounce AI

    Cafely Boosted Engagement by Prioritizing Genuine Conversations

    Cafely, a brand deeply involved in the coffee, wellness, and mindfulness communities, took the long route on Reddit. They engaged with people first, listened to their thoughts, and built trust before ever mentioning their products.

    How They Did It

    Instead of coming in hot with product promotions, they did something brands often forget, which is talking like real people. They:

    • Joined discussions naturally, without pushing an agenda.
    • Asked questions to encourage organic engagement.
    • Took note of common frustrations, like concerns over artificial flavors.
    • Spotted trends like rising interest in low-carb, sugar-free coffee.

    This genuine approach to research gave them access to unfiltered insights, like what people wanted in a coffee product, not just what coffee brands assumed they did. That feedback directly shaped their marketing and product messaging, leading them to highlight their zero artificial ingredients and rethink how they positioned their nootropic energy drinks.

    From the Founder

    “Don’t jump right in. Lurk first. Observe. Before posting or commenting, spend time reading discussions so you’ll have an idea of the general tone and culture. Also, instead of selling or promoting, it’s best to pose questions that will spark engagement and comments. (…)

    Last but not least, engage genuinely. After all, you want to get the most genuine feedback and comments to ensure accuracy in your research.

    Mimi Nguyen, Founder at Cafely

    Fetch & Funnel Boosted Customer Engagement by 15% in Two Months by Inviting Redditors to Beta Test

    Fetch & Funnel, a digital marketing agency, actively involved Redditors in shaping products by inviting them to beta tests. Rather than just scraping feedback from discussions, they turned Reddit users into real contributors, using their insights to shape e-commerce strategies for better customer engagement.

    How They Did It

    Samir ElKamouny, Founder & CEO of Fetch & Funnel, took a hands-on approach to Reddit research with a focus on wellness-focused communities. Instead of using polls or comment analysis, he:

    • Identified user concerns (like sustainability in e-commerce packaging) through subreddit discussions.
    • Engaged Redditors in constructive conversations rather than just absorbing feedback.
    • Used beta testing invites as a way to bridge the gap between customer input and product iteration.
    • Build transparency into their approach, making their community feel heard.

    From the Founder

    “One significant challenge is the anonymity of Reddit, which sometimes results in unfiltered criticism. I approach this by encouraging constructive dialogue and inviting users to take part in beta tests, which not only resolves issues but builds a deeper connection with the community. Always be transparent, which resonates well with the Reddit audience.”

    Samir ElKamouny, Founder & CEO, Fetch & Funnel

    Over at Reddit, You’re Not a Founder. You’re a Student of Your Audience.

    The founders’ takeaways are clear: If you listen more than you talk and make genuine, curiosity-based conversation, you’ll be well received – and learn a ton about your audience in the process.

    But here’s one thing people often forget about Reddit…

    • People won’t always engage with your posts, especially if you don’t have enough Karma (Reddit’s user score). And if they don’t engage, you’ll have no first-party data to pull from there.
    • People won’t always reply to your comments or messages, even if they’ve happily agreed to chat in the DMs. Some people use temporary “throwaway” accounts and don’t intend to use them after a short period.
    • Depending on the number of subreddits you’re following and their activity level, you could spend weeks digging through discussions and still miss important insights.

    Now for the good news: You can build successful products only on existing conversations with the amount of Reddit data available. Even if you don’t have enough first-hand interactions, zeroing in on the right audience and the right discussions will give you plenty of material – while slashing your research time in half.

    GummySearch helps you with that.

    GummySearch Makes Customer Research Effortless

    No matter what stage you’re at – validating an idea, looking for product-market fit, or just trying to stay connected with your audience –helps you track, filter, and analyze audience conversations in minutes. Here’s how it does that.

    It Helps You Create a Highly Targeted Audience (Even If You Don’t Have Customers Yet)

    Let’s say I’m building a time management tool for people struggling to balance work and side projects but have no people “of my own” to research. My ideal audience will typically include entrepreneurs, freelancers, and productivity enthusiasts who are already talking about their struggles on Reddit.

    With GummySearch, I can build a custom audience by selecting subreddits where my target users hang out. I can just hit “Make a New Audience” and add relevant subreddits like:

    • r/entrepreneur
    • r/productivity
    • r/sideproject
    • r/projectmanagement
    • r/timemanagement

    The platform then gives me filtered community data with insights like:

    • Audience growth trends so I can tell if interest in a topic is rising or falling.
    • Engagement levels, so I know how active a community is before diving in.

    It Lets You Explore Hot Topics, Top Content, & AI-Powered Themes

    Once I’ve built my audience, I get access to themes, topics, and product mentions, making it stupidly easy to pinpoint what my audience is buzzing about. I can filter my audience’s conversations through topics or subreddits and categorize my research by finding patterns in existing conversations.

    Inside GummySearch, I have two theme options:

    • Scoring-based themes, which are themes based on recency and engagement level.

    These are Hot Discussions (the most upvoted, engaged, and talked-about threads) and Top Content (the best-performing posts over time, great for evergreen research).

    This duo is great for time-sensitive research and makes for a well-rounded analysis with much less hands-on work.

    • AI-based themes, which are sentiment-based and topically relevant.

    They include:

    • Advice Requests – Users actively seeking recommendations (perfect for positioning your product)
    • Money Talk – Discussions around budgeting, spending, and purchasing decisions
    • Solution Requests – People looking for fixes to specific problems
    • Pain & Anger – The rants and frustrations that tell you what’s broken
    • Opportunities – Moments where users express unmet needs (gold for product ideas)
    • News – Real-time discussions about recent industry updates.

    Every single theme comes with an AI-generated summary.

    • If I want to spot patterns fast, AI detects recurring pain points and trends for me.
    • If I need specific answers, I can ask AI a direct question. It’ll pull the most relevant insights, with source links so I can analyze the discussions for myself.

    It Lets You Ask Reddit Anything

    If I’m looking for specific keywords, I can search across my audience and instantly find relevant discussions. All I need to do is go to Advanced Search, select the audience I want to search, and type in a keyword, for example, “side hustle.”

    Once GummySearch fetches the relevant results, I can sort them by most recent, the ones with the most upvotes, or the ones with the most comments. I can also apply filters to view only text posts and omit every post I’ve already seen. This keeps my data squeaky clean.

    Beyond that, I can see the timeline for every keyword I search. That way, I can decide if it’s worth tracking or not. I’ll get to tracking in a second.

    Most times, I need hyper-targeted results that don’t get triggered with a shorter keyword. With the Ask ✨ feature, I can type in a direct question – almost like I’m asking Reddit itself. AI will only pull the most relevant posts that answer it. If there are no matches, it’ll let me know.

    In my case, I wondered what side hustles Redditors in my audience typically recommended for people who didn’t have enough time on their hands. So I just asked them.

    GummySearch will retrieve the answers for me in the form of Reddit posts that match my question.

    The best thing about this feature is that it tells me exactly how many minutes or hours I’ll save on research. For example, this one simple search saved me over an hour.

    It Provides Competitive Intelligence Through Product Mentions

    The Products tab compiles discussions around tools and services related to my audience, showing unfiltered product feedback straight from Reddit. There are way fewer biased reviews simply because those weren’t meant to be “official” reviews in the first place. They’re simply people sharing the products they use and why they work.

    It Lets You Track Keywords & Automate Research

    I don’t have to search Reddit every day manually, and, frankly, I don’t want to. So I have my tracked keywords do it for me.

    The keywords I track will depend on the type of research, but I like tracking keywords that have to do with:

    • What’s frustrating my audience right now (“frustrated with”, “I hate”)
    • What people love about similar products (direct competitor names + “I love”)
    • What people love about my brand (my brand name!)

    Here’s how I set it up:

    1. I ran a keyword search. For example, “SaaS founders” if I’d like to say what this segment is talking about, time management.

    I could refine my search by adding “time management” to the AI Match Criteria, but that’s optional.

    1. I click “Track” (after confirming the results are relevant)
    2. I sit back while GummySearch alerts me in the Conversations 💬 page when new discussions pop up.

    Since I don’t like to get broad results, I use AI-based matching whenever I can to filter out irrelevant results and get hyper-precise results. I just need to click any tracked keyword, then the gear ⚙️icon beside it to decide:

    • How often I get notified of new keywords (because sometimes there are too many)
    • Where GummySearch should deliver the notifications
    • What types of results should pop up? (To avoid getting overwhelmed with mentions, I apply AI-based matching to the keyword if I haven’t already. I also make sure to add the type of results I don’t want to see in the Exclude Criteria field).

    I try not to go crazy with the filtering. After all, I still want Reddit to have some leeway in bringing me certain “unexpected” results. There’s so much to explore out there!

    Reddit Marketing is Humanized Marketing

    With Reddit, you can go both ways:

    You can listen to your audience when they don’t know you’re listening…and even when they do!

    Moving forward, get to know your audience. Really. Then, drop the polish. Join conversations without trying to control them, be vulnerable, and use what you learn to build something better.

  • The Solopreneur’s Guide to Audience-Backed Content Strategy

    The Solopreneur’s Guide to Audience-Backed Content Strategy

    Audiences are often treated as an afterthought, which boggles my mind. Modern businesses can’t afford to sidestep the very people using their apps, buying their products, and keeping their business alive.

    More importantly, audiences give you everything you need to craft a content strategy that attracts even more people like them.

    If, like myself, you’re passionate about audience insights…it’s your lucky day. Today, I’ll be guiding solopreneurs like yourself on how to build a content strategy that’s completely audience-backed at every stage.

    Let’s jump in!

    Solopreneurs: Here’s How to Craft an Audience-Backed Content Strategy

    Know Your Audience

    Those three words tend to make busy, go-go-go solopreneurs roll their eyes into oblivion. “I already know my audience!”

    And I get it. The fact that “getting to know your audience” is often synonymous with one-dimensional, baseless personas isn’t very helpful.

    That said, many solopreneurs understand their audience quite well. For example, let’s say I’ve decided to create a task management tool specifically for side hustlers. That’s already a step beyond typical “busy professional” tools, as it’s a tool aimed at a specific audience.

    Still, truly knowing your audience requires peeling back even more layers. Sure, I’ve identified side hustlers as my target – people who likely already rely on other task management tools. Now, I need to answer the following question: What story does my content need to tell these folks – and at which stages –  in order to convince them to switch to my product?

    To answer that question, you need to…

    Find Out Where Your Audience Lives

    So…side-hustlers! Where do they hang out? What place do they use to vent, to ask for other side hustlers’ advice, and to celebrate their wins?

    If you’re like “I dunno,” then the answer is most likely Reddit. For the most part, Reddit users are anonymous and free to speak their minds and hearts. Plus, there’s a subreddit for almost anything you can think of (seriously, give it a try).

    I love Reddit because people don’t need to “perform” there, as it’s often the case with Instagram and X. It’s a massive community – and an audience-heavy one at that!

    And because Reddit is so massive, it’s also rabbit-hole material. This is why I created GummySearch: to turn Reddit into your ultimate audience research tool without the overwhelm. It cuts through the noise, making insights digestible, accessible, and actionable in minutes instead of hours.

    With GummySearch, I can create a custom audience by cherry-picking specific subreddits. The platform helps me identify the size, activity level, and engagement within each community at a glance, giving me a clear picture of my audience.

    To make the tips in this article as actionable as possible, I created a “pretend audience” called Time Management (it could just as easily have been Task Management, but you get the idea). As you can see, it pulls in subreddits where side hustlers are more than likely active – like r/entrepreneur, r/productivity, r/sidehustle, and more.

    Find Out How Your Audience Is (or Isn’t) Solving Problems Related to Your Product 

    Inside the GummySearch dashboard, my audience section is packed with options to filter and refine the search. It’s designed to massively cut down the time I’d normally spend on user research, while still giving me plenty to dig into.

    At the top, there’s a search bar where I can enter any keyword. Right below it, GummySearch offers quick-start suggestions to speed things up. I can filter by subreddit if I’m targeting a specific community, or I can explore topics, themes, and even products.

    But my favorite is the Ask ✨ feature.

    With this, I can type in a direct question (anything I’d ask my ideal customers) and GummySearch will fetch relevant Reddit discussions, complete with sources and links to the original posts.

    Now, if I’m looking for specifics like pain points, there’s an even faster way: the Pain & Anger theme. This AI-powered filter pulls up conversations where people vent about their biggest frustrations.

    The cool thing about the platform is the ability to combine features. In order to find my audience’s problems and how they’re (not) solving them, I used the Ask feature inside the Pain & Anger theme to dig into frustrations around time management tools for side hustlers. Here’s what came up:

    The AI condensed all relevant posts into a clear, high-level summary: People are frustrated with the rigidity of traditional work schedules, the limitations of the 9-to-5 culture, and more.

    Beyond that, it also pulled up direct links to every post that matched my query, so I could dig even deeper into how my audience actually talks about these struggles.

    And why does this matter for my content strategy?

    Because that’s my audience speaking to me. This means I can craft content that actually resonates with them and their current struggles.

    But I wanted to go further. I refined my search and asked: What are people’s biggest frustrations with time management tools?

    This time, the insights were even more actionable. GummySearch surfaced complaints like:

    • The overwhelming search for the “right” tool
    • Wasted time and effort testing different solutions
    • Features that don’t fit their needs

    While at it, the platform also highlighted the tools these users are already trying. That means I got a competitive analysis as bonus material!

    Armed with this, I know exactly how to position my content and improve my product to address real gaps in the market.

    Align Content With Your Audience’s Journey

    There’s that classic Awareness, Consideration, and Decision funnel, right? It gives me a general idea of the types of content you’ll need at each stage.

    However, it’s up to me to figure out… 

    • What type of content to create
    • The stages my audience goes through before taking action
    • The messages to lead with

    Let’s expand on this.

    Awareness

    I need to start by understanding where my audience first learned of my product. Was it through a blog post, an ad, or a Reddit comment? If people are constantly finding me on one channel over another, it’s time to double down on the winner.

    To figure this out, I’ll need data. Tools like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) will help me massively.

    For example, GA4’s Funnel Explorer feature lets me backtrack the customer journey. I can see the steps they took before converting, like landing on my website or looking at different pages.

    Now, I’ll also want to survey my users directly, asking questions like:

    • What was happening in your life that made you search for this type of solution?
    • Where did you first hear about us?

    I can also use GummySearch to triangulate that data. It’ll help me find what’s driving people towards products like mine.

    All I have to do is ask a question such as: Can you fetch me side hustlers who are looking for time management tools?

    And here’s the output:

    Having an AI summary with sources is awesome, but I always like to take a look at the specific results that show up. For example:

    If my task management tool has both features – a to-do list and a calendar – that’s an incredibly persuasive insight I can use for top-of-funnel content.

    Consideration

    The consideration stage is often where people start comparing my product to others. Or, it’s where they start considering whether changing the status quo is worth their time. That’s why I need to understand what my audience is actually comparing my product to.

    The most important thing at this stage is to find out what alternatives your audience is genuinely considering. If you already have users, ask them questions like:

    • What solutions did you try before this?
    • What would you have used if our product didn’t exist?

    I remind myself to be open-minded. Sometimes people will compare my product to something I didn’t expect!

    In GummySearch, I can switch to the “Products” tab and instantly understand the productivity and project management tools side hustlers are already using. I can then read their open, honest reviews to fuel my audience research.

    Purchase

    The content people see right before they decide to try (or abandon) my product is what drives either action or inertia.

    So, how can I create a slippery slope towards action?

    • Using tools like Hotjar or CrazyEgg, I can analyze user behavior on key content pages. Where are they hesitating? Are they rage-clicking on something? Are they scrolling but not taking action?
    • Usability testing is also super helpful. It’s one of the most audience-backed validation tools out there because I’m watching real users navigate the content and make decisions in real time.

    If they struggle to understand my product’s value, hesitate on a call-to-action, or get lost in a sea of options, that’s where I need to optimize.

    Craft Relatable, Engaging, and Personalized Content

    According to a study by SmarterHQ, 72% of consumers say they only engage with marketing messages that are personalized and relevant to them – as they should!

    Mapping the audience journey, as I’ve already discussed, can help me personalize content by discovering what my audience is more likely to respond to. But, I can always go deeper.

    Using GummySearch, I can dive into real conversations on Reddit to capture sticky, authentic language. This will help me create relatable content that mirrors the thoughts, feelings, and day-to-day of my audience.

    Take a look at the raw, ultra-specific post the platform brought up. This is the type of language that mirrors real pains – one that my product can help with:

    Beyond messaging, there are a number of other ways I could personalize my content, which include…

    • Creating different landing pages for each audience (If I happened to have more than one audience)
    • Segmenting email lists
    • Letting users self-segment through interactive quizzes, custom onboarding forms, or preference centers

    Use Data and Feedback Loops to Optimize Your Content

    If I’m passionate about what I’m building, I’ll want to stay tuned in to what my audience is saying so my content can always serve them better. Can you relate?

    GummySearch has a fantastic tool for that.

    All I have to do is type in any keyword I’d like to track using the “Keyword Search” field I’ve mentioned at the beginning of this article. Then, I’ll click “Track” (the bell 🔔icon) to start tracking the keyword. I can even ask AI to filter down my searches so that only relevant results come up.

    By tracking relevant keywords, I can stay in the loop about what people are saying about topics that matter to my product. No need to log into the platform every hour – whenever there’s a new mention, you’ll be able to see it on the “Conversations 💬” page.

    (Placeholder because the tool still hasn’t collected enough data for the screenshot)

    Talk to Your Audience. But Most Importantly, Listen to Them

    My mom was right when she told me I have two ears and one mouth because I should “listen more than I speak.”

    Now, back to you.

    Your audience holds all the answers you need to create content that converts and products that stick. Keep the loop open, and keep talking to real people. If you can’t talk to them, passively observe them as they talk to one another – even if it’s behind a computer screen.

    When you ground your strategy in real insights, every piece of content serves a purpose. And with GummySearch, anyone can make this process manageable – even side-hustlers. 🙂