r/smallbusiness: rules, audience and how brands can post there
2,562,882 members. Self-promotion allowed? No. Weekly promotion thread only.
r/smallbusiness is a question-and-answer community for people starting and running small businesses, with about 2.6 million members. Promotion goes in a weekly thread, and since June 2026 the mods remove product mentions that look promotional.
Paste your draft on the next page. We flag likely self-promotion and rule problems before you post.
- Members
- 2,562,882
- Self-promotion
- No. Weekly promotion thread only
- Created
- 2009
- Checked
- November 7, 2026
What r/smallbusiness is
This sub is not for advertisements! Questions and answers about starting, owning, and growing a small business only.
Service and software businesses for small owners that can answer questions from their own experience.
Can a brand post in r/smallbusiness?
The sub takes questions only. Experiences go in a weekly stickied thread. Rule 2 bans links, product recommendations, unsolicited advice, blog content and SEO-motivated posts. It also says that as of June 2026, product mentions in new posts or comments get removed if they look directly or indirectly promotional. Rule 3 bans business promotion posts outside the weekly Promote-your-business thread. You can still mention your business in a relevant reply to a post or comment, but deliberate abuse of that exception gets removed. Market research and pain-point posts aren't allowed either. A brand can help in replies where its experience is relevant.
What works
- Answering owners' questions from experience, without a link
- Mentioning your business only when a reply makes it relevant, under rule 3's exception
- Keeping promotion to the weekly Promote-your-business thread
- Posting a real question, since the sub is question-and-answer only
What gets removed
- Business promotion posts outside the weekly thread
- Product mentions that look promotional, enforced from June 2026
- Links, blog content and unsolicited advice outside the sticky thread
- Market research and pain-point posts
The rules, summarised
- 1. Post only questions about small business.
r/smallbusiness is a question and answer subreddit. You ask a question about starting, owning, and growing a small business and the community answers.
- 2. No links, product recommendations, unsolicited advice, blog content, or SEO shaping.
No links, product recommendations, unsolicited advice, blog content or SEO-driven posts. From June 2026, promotional-looking product mentions are removed.
- 3. No business promotion posts
Business promotion posts are banned outside the weekly Promote-your-business thread, although a relevant reply may mention your business.
- 4. No personal attacks.
The rule has a title only, with no further text on Reddit.
- 5. No market research posts - not for developing apps, not for AI, not for business offerings
Posts asking about "pain points" or trying to find a problem to solve aren't the focus of our sub and those posts will be removed. Our deep library of past posts are your guide to what everyone needs if you are willing to search and analyze.
Source: the community's own rules page, read on November 7, 2026. Rules change, so check the page before you post. See also the 9:1 rule.
Frequently asked questions
Can I promote my business on r/smallbusiness?
Only in the weekly Promote-your-business thread. You can mention your business in a relevant reply to a post or comment, but deliberate abuse of that exception gets removed.
Can I link my product on r/smallbusiness?
Rule 2 bans links and product recommendations, and from June 2026 mentions that look directly or indirectly promotional get removed.
Want help earning a place in r/smallbusiness?
30-minute intro call with a partner. If we're not the fit, we'll tell you in the first five minutes.
We take on 3 new engagements per quarter. Serious teams only.