Find a channel before asking it for traffic

Public-source research checked on 2026-10-10. This is a proposed exercise, not a completed audit or evidence of results. The example is wholly fictional.

The decision

Where can a specific audience use your contribution, and what does that community allow today? A directory's existence, a dofollow promise or an accessible homepage does not establish eligibility or acquisition value.

Inputs

Bring a useful public page or genuinely usable demo, a precise audience task, clear product limitations and a time budget. Preparation is possible without an account. Publishing requires a suitable account, current rules and authorization for the specific action.

Actions

1. Locate a small set of communities where the task already appears. Inspect discussions and existing solutions; distinguish topical fit from permission. Record channel, audience, rule URL, checked date, external-link conditions, designated threads, account conditions and unresolved questions.
2. Read platform rules and local rules together. Reddit's promotion boundaries are community-specific; the often-mentioned 10% rule is not universal permission. Repeated irrelevant sharing and mass messaging can be spam. Unclear rules stay UNKNOWN. (S17, S18)
3. For Show HN, verify that you made the work, it is usable and you can discuss it. A landing page or signup page alone is unsuitable. HN requires people to write their own posts and not use generated text or automate posting. This exercise therefore produces an eligibility checklist, not an AI-written HN post. (S19, S20)
4. Where an appropriate channel permits a draft, lead with useful context or a demonstration, disclose your relationship and describe limitations. Do not purchase links for ranking, automatically manufacture links or flood low-quality directories and forums. Search distribution should earn attention through useful material. (S06)
5. If existing measurement supports it, create a consistent tagged link using source, medium and campaign, with optional content. Example: https://example.com/packing/rain/?utm_source=community_example&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=packing_demo&utm_content=walkthrough. These are fictional labels; UTM values are case-sensitive. Verify redirects retain parameters before relying on them. A tagged URL alone does not install analytics. (S21)
6. Prepare a reach record: draft or eligibility-check version, authorized account, actual publication URL if posted, timestamp, platform exposure when available, tagged measured visits, real task starts/completions and any moderation removal. Until publishing happens, state DRAFT_NOT_POSTED; do not fabricate a live link.

Worked output — fictional

SpokeNote is only a proposed packing-page concept. Its mock channel sheet places an imaginary cycling community under “rules unknown,” a general tool directory under “audience fit unproven,” and Show HN under “usable work and maker participation unverified.” The present action is to prepare a relevant contribution and rule questions, not publish or assume a growth channel. No real community has been checked for this fictional product.

Deliverable and evidence

Submit the channel sheet, allowed draft or author-writing facts sheet, link-validation plan and blank reach record. Publish nothing through this exercise. When later authorized, replace proposed status with the actual link and evidence; retain rejected or deleted attempts honestly.

Failure limits

UTM describes how tagged visits are recorded; it does not prove the channel caused additional conversions. Referrals can lose labels, be reshared or include bots. A removed post does not disprove demand, and clicks do not prove completion. Platform-policy research is not audience validation. Link sales language is not ranking evidence.

Bounded agent task

“Read the supplied public platform and community rules, identify audience fit and unresolved eligibility, and prepare a bounded channel sheet. Follow any generated-text restrictions. Do not post, message moderators, DM, buy listings, create accounts, request votes or invent reach.”

Public sources

• Spam policies (S06; checked 2026-10-10).
• Spam (S17; checked 2026-10-10).
• How do I keep spam out of my community? (S18; checked 2026-10-10).
• Show HN guidelines (S19; checked 2026-10-10).
• Hacker News guidelines (S20; checked 2026-10-10).
• Campaign URL collection (S21; checked 2026-10-10).

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