pointed.
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LESSON 5 OF 7 · 7 MINUTES

Reply in communities without spamming

The best reply answers the question so well that nobody needs to click your link. Then people click your name.

Someone in a founders' forum asks if they need a bookkeeper before raising. Ten replies say "it depends". One says "yes, if you raise in the next year: diligence asks for twelve months of closed books". That one gets the upvotes and the messages.

The rules that keep you welcome

  • Answer the question in the first sentence.
  • Leave the link out unless they asked for one.
  • Read each community's own rules on self-promotion. They differ, and they are enforced.
  • Reply a few times a week, not a few times an hour. A pace you can keep looks like a person.

Where to look

Pick two or three communities where your buyers ask questions out loud. Search them for the words from lesson 2. The threads that match are your list.

EASIEST WAY

Listening watches the communities you choose, ranks the threads your work can answer, and drafts a reply in your voice. You read it, copy it and post it yourself. Pointed never posts for you, and caps how many replies a week it suggests per community.

Open Listening

Or watch a reply get drafted

DO IT YOURSELF

Save a search in each community for your three main topics. Check them twice a week. Reply to one thread each time, answer first, no link. Keep a list of what you replied to, so you never answer the same person twice.

Do it now

  1. Choose two communities your buyers use.
  2. Read their rules on self-promotion.
  3. Save searches for your three topics.
  4. Answer one question today, with no link.

Quick answers

When is a link fine?

When they asked for a tool or a guide, and yours is the honest answer. Say it is yours.

Should I reply as the company?

Reply as yourself. People trust a person who answers questions more than a logo that does.