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Growth idea action plan

Reddit early YouTube comment before new channel buildout

Answer high-fit comments early on niche YouTube videos before investing in a full channel that has no audience yet.

rare tactic low budget YouTube, Community, Founder-Led Distribution Stages: YouTube comments, waitlist growth, community listening, early comments, founder distribution

Why this can grow a startup

A young SaaS can learn a lot from other people's comment sections. The r/SaaS YouTube thread is useful because the operator described using early, useful comments on niche videos to catch people discussing the exact problem the product solved. This is not permission to spam. It is a demand-listening tactic. Find videos where the audience is already asking the question, add a genuinely useful answer, and mention the product only when it fits. The payoff is small but real: profile visits, warm clicks, and insight into the language buyers use before they search Google.

Ian's take

From scaling consumer platforms across MENA and Southeast Asia, my default is to distrust growth work that only looks good in a slide. Short-form content only compounds when the format teaches the market to repeat the idea. I would look for a simple hook, a visible before-and-after, and a repeatable angle that can survive more than one post. I would run it small enough to learn quickly, then only scale the parts that real users repeat, save, reply to, or buy from. For this tactic, I would watch one clear growth signal before putting more time or budget behind it.

Action plan

  1. Define one narrow startup segment where reddit early youtube comment before new channel buildout can create a measurable lift.
  2. Turn the tactic into one offer, page, campaign, or workflow for the YouTube and Community channel.
  3. Use the evidence from reddit.com to set the first version of the message, format, and audience.
  4. Launch a small test for 7 to 14 days with one success metric: one measurable growth signal.
  5. Review the result, keep the winning message, remove weak variants, and turn the learning into a repeatable growth playbook.

Source-backed example

A r/SaaS operator said an early comment on a Greg Isenberg video received about 50 likes, got a reply from Greg, and produced a roughly 30-person waitlist bump for Aftermark AI.

Source: Reddit r/SaaS: YouTube comments as SaaS growth channel (reddit.com)

GrowthDex source hub: Reddit r/SaaS: YouTube comments as SaaS growth channel

Last checked: 2026-06-09T04:36:17.000Z

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Ian Goh has helped grow consumer platforms across Southeast Asia, India, and MENA. His work includes scaling Tiki to 100M+ users, doubling BIGO's MENA revenue in 7 months, and increasing OYO's direct booking share across 6 Southeast Asian markets.

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