# Reddit Launch Strategy — CartSnitch

## Goal

Establish CartSnitch as the go-to data source for price tracking and shrinkflation detection on Reddit. Build trust first, promote second.

## Target Subreddits

### Tier 1 — Primary (launch week)

| Subreddit | Members | Why | Approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| r/shrinkflation | 200K+ | Core audience. Already angry, wants data. | Share CartSnitch findings as useful data posts, not ads. |
| r/personalfinance | 18M+ | Budget-conscious users seeking tools | Helpful comments on grocery budget threads, link blog posts when relevant. |
| r/grocery | 50K+ | Direct audience — people who shop and compare | Price comparison posts, store-vs-store data. |

### Tier 2 — Secondary (weeks 2-4)

| Subreddit | Members | Why | Approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| r/Frugal | 2.5M+ | Deal seekers, budget optimizers | "Here's data showing which stores are cheapest for X" |
| r/EatCheapAndHealthy | 3M+ | Overlap with grocery budget audience | Data on which staples have risen most, where to find deals |
| r/povertyfinance | 800K+ | Fixed-income shoppers hit hardest by inflation | Empathetic, data-driven posts about how to stretch grocery dollars |

### Tier 3 — Opportunistic

- r/Costco, r/aldi, r/traderjoes — Store-specific subs for targeted price data
- r/news, r/economics — When price data is newsworthy
- r/dataisbeautiful — Visualizations of price trends (high viral potential)

## Content Types

### 1. Data drops (weekly)
Post format: "[CartSnitch Data] Title describing the finding"

Example:
> **[Data] Your box of Cheerios has lost 2.4 oz since 2023. Price hasn't changed.**
>
> We tracked 847 products across 12 major grocery chains. Here are the worst shrinkflation offenders this month: [table with data]
>
> Full methodology and data: [link to blog post]

Rules:
- Always lead with the data, not the product pitch
- Include methodology notes
- Respond to every comment in the first 2 hours
- Never be defensive — if someone questions the data, thank them and address it

### 2. Store comparison posts (biweekly)
> **We compared prices for a 20-item grocery basket across 6 chains in [City]. Here's what we found.**

### 3. Helpful comments (daily)
Monitor relevant threads for questions like:
- "Has anyone else noticed X got more expensive?"
- "Which store has the best prices for Y?"
- "Is inflation really that bad for groceries?"

Reply with data. Link to CartSnitch only when directly relevant.

### 4. AMA (month 2)
Host an AMA on r/shrinkflation or r/personalfinance once we have 30 days of data and some traction.

## Rules of Engagement

1. **No astroturfing.** Every post from CartSnitch account is clearly from CartSnitch. No fake accounts.
2. **Data first, always.** Every claim has a source. If we don't have data, we say so.
3. **Respect subreddit rules.** Read each sub's rules before posting. If self-promotion isn't allowed, engage in comments only.
4. **Don't argue.** If someone disagrees with our data, engage constructively or disengage. Never get into flame wars.
5. **Give credit.** When community members spot shrinkflation first, acknowledge them.
6. **Be useful even without CartSnitch.** Our comments should be valuable whether or not the reader ever uses our product.

## Success Metrics (First 30 Days)

- 10+ data posts across Tier 1 subreddits
- 50+ helpful comments on relevant threads
- 500+ combined upvotes on data posts
- 100+ users visiting CartSnitch from Reddit (UTM tracked)
- 0 posts removed for self-promotion (measure of trust-building)

## Account Setup

- Username: u/CartSnitch or u/CartSnitch_Official
- Profile: "We track grocery prices so you don't have to. Data-driven price transparency."
- First post should be on r/shrinkflation with a compelling data finding, not a launch announcement