r/SideProject
r/SideProject is a subreddit for sharing and receiving constructive feedback on side projects.
Self-promotion
There are no published rules, and the entire subreddit exists for people to share what they built, so self-promotion is the norm rather than an exception. That said, recurring rant and petition posts show real community friction toward generic AI-wrapper self-promo with no story attached, so low-effort promotional posts get called out even if not formally removed.
Patterns that work
Recurring patterns in the top posts of the past year. Counts and scores are measured from those posts.
Based on 97 top posts. Left out 3 moderator, pinned or recurring posts.
- Score lift0.9×About the same
Personal-problem origin story
11 of 97 top posts 11%
The post frames the project as a direct fix for an annoying personal or family problem the poster faced.
Why it works: It gives strangers an immediate, relatable reason to care about an otherwise niche tool.
- Score lift1.3×
Milestone with concrete numbers
8 of 97 top posts 8%
The title or post leads with a specific figure like revenue, downloads, stars, or visitors.
Why it works: Numbers signal real traction or real stakes, which reddit rewards over vague claims.
Top posts using it - Score lift0.9×About the same
Emotional or hardship backstory
7 of 97 top posts 7%
The post ties the build to a major life event such as job loss, breakup, grief, or family sacrifice.
Why it works: Vulnerability drives empathy and comments far beyond what the product itself would generate.
Top posts using it- parents flew down to celebrate my app launch1,598 upvotes
- After quitting my job and a 5 year relationship heartbreak I decided to go all-in on my first app: SnapTask!1,517 upvotes
- I worked 2 jobs to bootstrap this, spent 2 years researching, and almost a year building an app that can guess a mental state from phone sensor and usage data, and offer timely support1,420 upvotes
- Score lift1.3×
Absurd or novelty niche project
6 of 97 top posts 6%
The project solves a joke-level or extremely niche problem nobody asked for, often for a pet or a bizarre use case.
Why it works: Novelty and humor make the post shareable and comment-friendly even without commercial value.
Top posts using it - Score lift1.4×
Self-deprecating or humble framing
6 of 97 top posts 6%
The title downplays the project's quality or ambition instead of hyping it up.
Why it works: Humility disarms skepticism in a sub wary of hype and oversold apps.
Top posts using it- why am i like this3,168 upvotes
- ok i am building this.2,134 upvotes
- Okay I think this is pretty cool. Needs a lot of optimization but it works.1,922 upvotes
- Score lift1.1×About the same
Update on a previous post
4 of 97 top posts 4%
The post explicitly revisits an earlier viral submission to show progress or a finished product.
Why it works: It leverages built-in curiosity and goodwill from people who saw the original post.
Top posts using it
How top posts are laid out
Top text posts typically open with a short personal hook, drop the product link early, briefly explain the problem it solves, list pain points or features, and close with an invitation for feedback or a note on current status.
- Personal hook or backstory sentence opening the post
- Link to the live product placed early
- Short paragraph on the problem being solved
- Bulleted list of pain points or features
- Closing line inviting feedback, questions, or stating availability/pricing
Best times to post
- #1 Sun, 1–2am ET
- #2 Thu, 5–6am ET
- #3 Thu, 12–1am ET
When the top 97 posts of the past year were published, in US Eastern time.
Left out 3 moderator, pinned or recurring posts.
What formats win
- Video62%
- Image27%
- Text8%
- Link3%
Share of the top 97 posts of the past year by post type.
What top titles have in common
- Titles often open with 'I built/made' followed by the personal reason behind it, e.g. 'I built X because Y'.
- Titles include concrete metrics like revenue, downloads, or hours invested, e.g. 'made 1k USD/year' or '2k downloads'.
- Titles use self-deprecating or minimizing language about the project, e.g. 'dumb browser game' or 'silly little pixel game'.
- Titles reveal a personal hardship or life event tied to the build, e.g. 'After quitting my job and a breakup'.
- Follow-up posts explicitly say 'Update' and reference the earlier post's traction.
The culture
The subreddit functions as a maker showcase where video demos, personal narrative, and visible effort matter more than polish or business framing; posters who share genuine struggle, humor, or oddball passion projects tend to be embraced, while there is a growing undercurrent of frustration at generic AI-wrapper apps and get-rich-quick tone.
It rewards concrete demos, personal stakes, honest numbers (even small or embarrassing ones), and humor or novelty, while it largely ignores or downvotes bare landing-page screenshots, marketing-speak, and interchangeable AI-wrapper tools that lack a distinct story or use case.
Do
- Include a short demo video or gif that shows the product actually working.
- Open with the specific personal problem or story that led you to build it.
- Share concrete numbers if you have them, even small ones like a handful of downloads or a few dollars of revenue.
- Write the title in first person and keep it conversational rather than promotional.
- Invite feedback or 'roasting' explicitly and stay active answering comments.
Don't
- Don't post a bare screenshot or link with no explanation of why you built it.
- Don't lead with feature lists or corporate-sounding marketing language.
- Don't post a generic AI-wrapper app without a distinct angle; the community has visible fatigue with these.
- Don't skip the backstory and jump straight into a sales pitch.
- Don't oversell the project; overly confident or hype-heavy titles underperform humble ones.
Rules (0)
r/SideProject has no published rules.
Top posts this month
- I built an iPhone app that turns your walks into a fog-of-war map2,711 upvotes290 commentsvideo
- My side project just made 0.000 revenue in just 6 days after launch and I am so grateful, this feels so real! 🎉🎉🎉1,584 upvotes174 commentsvideo
- I put the fly brain into a robot Strandbeest1,551 upvotes180 commentsvideo
- Nobody asked for a nail sorting simulator. So i made one.1,304 upvotes235 commentsvideo
- Where is Mr. Kim? I built an entire village just to lose one guy in it1,049 upvotes193 commentsvideo
- Rant: Stop building useless apps and products786 upvotes437 commentstext
- My game / app released and got a big update today ⛅788 upvotes168 commentsvideo
- Made a VR game using AI and it actually worked725 upvotes81 commentsvideo
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