Reddit Marketing Strategy for Local Newsletters
Local Media HQ
Event design tips to reduce awkwardness
TJ shares Nick Gray-style tactics: name tags, interest tags, timed rotations, and clear end-times for smoother events.
Michelle Rueda shares how she grew What's Weird ATX to nearly 5,000 subscribers without spending a single dollar on advertising. As an engineer with over 16 years of experience, she built Social Radar, an iOS app that notifies her whenever someone on Reddit asks questions relevant to her Austin events newsletter. Instead of spending hours searching Reddit manually, the tool alerts her to opportunities where she can authentically engage and provide value. Her approach has generated as much as 1,000 subscribers from a single comment.
The key to Michelle's success is maintaining authentic, human responses rather than using AI-generated content. She emphasizes the importance of genuinely answering specific questions and building trust through real engagement. By focusing on providing value first and mentioning her newsletter naturally when relevant, she's built strong brand recognition in the Austin community. Michelle also discusses the importance of building Reddit karma before actively promoting, ensuring your account has credibility within the community before engaging in promotional activities.
In this conversation, Michelle and TJ explore the future of local newsletters, the role of AI-assisted creator brands, and how maintaining human authenticity while leveraging technology creates sustainable growth. Michelle is currently working on expanding Social Radar into a managed service and developing an events tool for major metro areas, helping other newsletter operators grow their audiences organically.
Michelle Rueda runs What's Weird ATX newsletter at whatsgoodatx.beehiiv.com. Learn more about Social Radar at trysocialradar.com. If you're interested in the events tool for major metro areas, reach out through the Social Radar website.
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter:
https://www.localmediahq.com/subscribe
Join the Community (Discord):
Connect with TJ, share ideas, ask questions, and be part of a growing creator & media community
👉 Join here: https://discord.localmediahq.com/
Follow My Journey
Twitter/X: https://x.com/TJLarkin23
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.larkin
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjlarkin1
Website: https://tjlarkin.com/
Work With Me
For brand partnerships, sponsorships, and business inquiries:
#NewsletterGrowth #RedditMarketing #LocalNewsletter #OrganicGrowth #ContentMarketing #CommunityBuilding #AustinTech #NewsletterStrategy #SocialRadar #MediaBusiness
The AI-powered Podcast Player
