The other day I came across a rare post on LinkedIn that didn’t make me roll my eyes:
As someone who writes email copy daily, I tend to agree with Svet.
To me, social media platforms are very simple:
Reddit is where people say what’s on their mind. X is where people say whatever will trigger the biggest reaction. Instagram/TikTok is where people say whatever makes them look the best.
And Facebook is just a combination of these in AI form.
Whenever I bring on a new client, I send them a thorough onboarding form.
I ask them about their product, USP, objections — anything that will help me get familiar with the brand and audience.
After that, I do my own research.
What’s the first place I check? Reddit.
It’s one of those platforms which can take you from “I have no idea about this industry” to “I know exactly what people want” in less than an hour.
Not too long ago I had a client who sold jiu-jitsu gear.
I knew nothing about the market (other than it’s weirdly popular among engineers).
But within 30 minutes of searching “What do you hate about jiu-jitsu gear reddit,” I’d find market research gold:
Here are some direct quotes:
“They’re all bad ass patterns or superhero sh*t.”
“It’s like the type of designs you’d find in a gas station in Southern Arizona.”
Some wanted the opposite:
“Can I just have a plain black piece of clothing?”
Others were unhappy with the sizing.
“They are not made for big boys that roll.”
“None of them ever fit well.”
As it turned out, people were begging for someone to sell simple, well-fitting, high quality gear.
I wrote all these down, organized them into objections, desires, and exact customer language — and made sure to use every bit of it in the email copy.
Why I Prefer Reddit Over Other Social Media Platforms
On Reddit, people are unapologetically themselves. No one is trying to paint an image with an art gallery or highlights of their $10k honeymoon in Bali.
The platform is built on honesty and vulnerability, not image.
For marketers, it’s a goldmine of qualitative data.
No matter what you sell, you’re likely to find category objections, pains, stories, and even words/phrases people use, within minutes.
Now, there are some downsides to this kind of market research, of course…
The people aren’t guaranteed to be the ones you’re actually selling to.
If you survey your own customers, you can be sure to hear only from the people who already bought.
It can also be time-consuming, whereas stuff like reviews and testimonials get served to you on a platter.
How To Use Reddit To Generate Email Angles
My favorite way to use Reddit is to find stories where people rant about their pains and frustrations.
It’s those kinds of long-form posts that get upvoted and every single person comments “YES,” and shares their POV.
You can easily take those posts, almost use the copy verbatim, and write an email campaign.
Say you sell a device for back pain relief.
You read a post on Reddit about someone who’s tried everything… physio… painkillers …endless stretches, and still wakes up stiff and miserable every single morning.
Then you write an email saying “I heard a guy saying he’d forgotten what it feels like to get out of bed without wincing…”
Because you highlight the pain/frustration, the reader will already relate, which means all you have to do is frame your product as the solution.
And then you add some urgency by saying it’s on sale for X amount of hours.
It’s that simple.
Other Places To Look When Writing Copy
Besides Reddit, I’ve found YouTube comment sections, Amazon reviews, and forums/news outlets to be great sources of market research data.
Heck, I’ve even heard copywriters use places like Wikipedia to find email ideas.
The point is: raw customer data is scattered all over the internet. You just have to go looking for it.
What’s Next
Your customers are on Reddit right now, telling you what they like, hate, desire, and struggle with about your product category.
If you’ve been limiting yourself to your own reviews and testimonials, you’re missing out.
A simple Google will make you write better email copy.
Or, if you’d rather skip the hours of digging…
Click here to work with me >>>
Siim Pettai
