The Growth Channels Playbook (Randy’s copy)
Where to show up in Weeks 1–4 to build an audience from zero. Ranked by fit for the free Reserves Worksheet. Private page — not linked anywhere in the site nav.
Facebook Groups (16 groups)
Dave Ramsey Baby Steps Community · ~450K+
Why it fits: Nearly identical worldview — cash budgeting, no debt, envelope-friendly.
Rule quirk: No self-promo. Answer questions first, mention the worksheet ONLY when someone specifically asks about sinking funds.
Budgeting for Beginners · ~250K+
Why it fits: Exactly the audience — people just starting to take budgeting seriously.
Rule quirk: Weekly “share your resource” thread — SAVE THIS DAY, post the worksheet there only.
YNAB (You Need A Budget) Users · ~120K+
Why it fits: Already envelope-method believers. Frustrated ones will love a printable alternative.
Rule quirk: Mods ban competitor promos hard. Contribute value 5–10 times before ever linking anywhere.
Frugal Living Tips & Ideas · ~300K+
Why it fits: Reserves + coupon crowd overlap heavily.
Rule quirk: Photos of your printed worksheet on a kitchen table crush walls of text.
Christian Personal Finance · ~80K+
Why it fits: Faith-forward tone matches your Founder’s voice.
Rule quirk: Never lead with a link. Share your family’s story of how the worksheet fixed a real problem.
Frugal Moms Anonymous · ~170K+
Why it fits: Christmas + kids’ activities reserves = home run.
Rule quirk: Moms respond to real stories. “My wife and I did this and here’s what happened” beats any pitch.
Debt Free Community · ~180K+
Why it fits: Once someone’s out of debt, the next fear is falling back — reserves solve that.
Rule quirk: Celebration culture. Congratulate wins first, then contribute.
Personal Finance for Beginners · ~60K+
Why it fits: Broad but engaged. Your worksheet is beginner-friendly by design.
Rule quirk: Every-question-is-welcome culture. Great place to comment on other people’s posts.
EveryDollar Users · ~45K+
Why it fits: Ramsey app users looking for printable supplements.
Rule quirk: Never call the app a competitor to EveryDollar. Frame worksheet as complementary.
Living On Less · ~90K+
Why it fits: Reserves are the mechanism that lets people live on less without stress.
Rule quirk: Post at 7am Eastern for maximum reach — moms scroll before school.
Cash Envelope System · ~55K+
Why it fits: They already believe in envelopes. Your worksheet is envelopes on paper.
Rule quirk: Photos of physical cash + envelopes get 5x the reach vs. digital screenshots.
Homesteading Families · ~200K+
Why it fits: Off-grid folks obsess over annual bills (property tax, insurance, seed catalogs).
Rule quirk: Homesteaders distrust “apps” — lead with the printable, not the software.
Dave Ramsey EntreLeadership · ~60K+
Why it fits: Small business owners face same reserve problems (quarterly taxes, insurance renewals).
Rule quirk: Business voice, not family voice. Reframe reserves as “cash flow buckets.”
[YOUR CITY] Local Moms Group · ~varies
Why it fits: Local + trust = highest conversion rate of any channel.
Rule quirk: Say you’re local. Post the worksheet as a “hey neighbors” gift.
(search Facebook for your city + “moms”)
[YOUR STATE] Homeschool Families · ~varies
Why it fits: One-income families, sinking funds are life or death.
Rule quirk: Frame the worksheet as a homeschool life-skills lesson for the kids.
(search “[your state] homeschool families”)
[YOUR CHURCH DENOMINATION] Finance & Stewardship · ~varies
Why it fits: Trust-based. Faith-forward language fits.
Rule quirk: Get pastor/leader endorsement first — worth ten cold posts.
(search denomination + “finance” or “stewardship”)
Subreddits (14 subs)
r/personalfinance · ~18M+
Why it fits: The biggest personal finance sub. Sinking funds questions are asked daily.
Rule quirk: Strict “no self-promotion” rule. Answer 20+ questions before EVER linking. Comments are permanent SEO — a good one earns leads for years.
r/YNAB · ~240K+
Why it fits: Frustrated YNAB users are your ideal customer.
Rule quirk: Never bash YNAB. Say “if paper works better for you, here’s a free worksheet.”
r/DaveRamsey · ~115K+
Why it fits: Baby-Step people love printable supplements.
Rule quirk: Rah-rah culture. Celebrate wins, contribute to gazelle-intensity threads.
r/Frugal · ~2.5M+
Why it fits: Overlaps hard with reserves-thinking.
Rule quirk: Free = magic word. “Here’s a free printable I made” performs 3x normal posts.
r/povertyfinance · ~2M+
Why it fits: The audience that MOST needs this. Reserves = escape velocity.
Rule quirk: Empathy-first. Never lecture. Share your family’s hard years first.
r/Mommit · ~500K+
Why it fits: Christmas/kids’ activities budgeting hits home.
Rule quirk: Mom-to-mom voice, even from you. “My wife swears by this…”
r/personalfinancecanada · ~700K+
Why it fits: Same problems, US worksheet still works.
Rule quirk: Mention it works for Canadian bills too — property tax, GST/HST returns, EI eligibility.
r/EveryDollar · ~15K+
Why it fits: Ramsey app users looking for supplements.
Rule quirk: Small sub — high signal-to-noise, easy to become “the sinking funds guy.”
r/simpleliving · ~500K+
Why it fits: Value-oriented, anti-consumerism. Reserves fit the ethic.
Rule quirk: Anti-hustle culture. Never sound entrepreneurial — sound like a dad who made a thing.
r/HomeMaintenance · ~400K+
Why it fits: Property tax + HOA + insurance reserves = home ownership survival.
Rule quirk: Framing: “The financial half of home maintenance nobody talks about.”
r/ChristianPersonalFinance · ~8K+
Why it fits: Faith + finance overlap. Small but hot.
Rule quirk: Cite scripture on stewardship (Prov 21:5, Prov 27:23-24) if it feels natural.
r/homeschool · ~90K+
Why it fits: One-income families. Reserves = survival tool.
Rule quirk: Frame as “the money conversation curriculum with your teenagers.”
r/Bogleheads · ~800K+
Why it fits: Boglehead crowd LOVES simple, cheap, effective systems.
Rule quirk: Frame reserves as “the boring layer beneath index funds.” They get it.
r/FinancialPlanning · ~250K+
Why it fits: More advanced but questions about “how to save for X” appear weekly.
Rule quirk: Higher bar for advice quality. Cite tax code and give specific numbers.
r/beginninginvesting · ~250K+
Why it fits: People asking “should I invest before saving for property tax?” — answer is reserves first.
Rule quirk: Answer the investing question, then bridge to why reserves come first.
Your Week 1 game plan
- Day 1 (Monday) — Join all 6 Tier-1 Facebook groups. Read their pinned rules. Read the top 20 posts. Comment on 3 with real value (no links yet). Same on Reddit — join all 6 Tier-1 subs, read the sidebar rules.
- Day 2 (Tuesday) — Answer 5 real questions across the groups/subs. Still no links. Just be the helpful guy.
- Day 3 (Wednesday) — Same as Tuesday. You’re building a name.
- Day 4 (Thursday) — Now you’ve earned it. When someone specifically asks “how do I save for X annual bill?” — drop the worksheet as a helpful reply. Do this maybe 2–3 times, not more.
- Day 5 (Friday) — Post ONE of your SEO blog posts as a text-post in r/Frugal or r/personalfinance (not as a link). Rewrite it as a Reddit post. End with “I wrote this up on my site if anyone wants the full version + free worksheet — [link].”
- Weekend — Rest. Watch the leads roll in. Check your admin dashboard for UTM sources.
- Week 2 — Repeat but add Tier 2 groups/subs.
What NOT to do
- Don’t post the same message across 6 groups on the same day. Facebook and Reddit both flag this and shadowban you.
- Don’t argue with anyone. Even if they’re wrong. Especially if they’re wrong.
- Don’t ever say “I built an app” until someone specifically asks. Lead with the worksheet, always.
- Don’t post links to your homepage. Only ever link to
/free-worksheet/or the specific blog post that answers the question. Homepage links get flagged as marketer behavior.
Bonus: track what’s working
Every blog post CTA on your site tags the link with UTM params. When someone Googles “how to save for property tax” → lands on your blog post → clicks the worksheet → their email lands with utm_campaign=save-for-property-tax-monthly attached. Same for Reddit / FB — use the tagged link when you post. Check your admin dashboard for “Leads by Source” to see what’s earning traffic.
— Playbook v1, generated by the Guidebook build system. Update the FB/Reddit lists as groups die/change.