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Reddit Intent Lead Finder

Name: Reddit Intent Lead Finder
Author: CortexFlow

October 5, 2026 · Intermediate · Automation

↓ Download workflow JSON

Import in n8n: Workflows → ⋯ → Import from file, then add your credentials. Free download with a free account.

How it works

Your automated Reddit scout that finds people actively asking for what you sell — before your competitors do:

STEP 1 — Scan Reddit daily — a daily 9 AM schedule trigger reads your subreddits and search keywords from CONFIG — Reddit Intent Finder, expands them into every subreddit × keyword pair, and queries Reddit’s public search.json API (no API key needed, just a polite User-Agent header).
STEP 2 — Filter + dedupe + log NEW — the results are flattened and filtered: a post must have at least min_upvotes upvotes, min_comments comments, AND contain one of your intent_keywords (e.g. “looking for”, “recommend”, “alternative to”) in its title or selftext. Posts already logged in your sheet are dropped, and the rest are appended to Google Sheets with status NEW.
STEP 3 — AI intent scoring — an AI Agent reads each post against your business_description and returns a structured verdict via a Structured Output Parser: intent_score (0–100), category (BUYING_INTENT / PROBLEM_MATCH / BRAND_MENTION / IGNORE), a suggested_angle for your reply, and reasoning. The sheet flips to SCORED.
STEP 4 — Intent gate + Telegram digest — only posts scoring at or above min_intent_score with a category other than IGNORE pass the IF gate. They are merged into one Telegram digest — score, link, category, and reply angle per lead — and the sheet flips those rows to ALERTED. Days with no hot leads still send a short “nothing today” note so you know the scan ran.

Status flow in Sheets: NEW → SCORED → ALERTED

Set up steps

You’ll need:

n8n (self-hosted or cloud)
An OpenAI API key — platform.openai.com → API keys
Google Sheets OAuth2 credential — n8n Credentials → Google Sheets OAuth2
A Telegram bot — message @BotFather, send /newbot, copy the token; get your chat ID from @userinfobot

Steps:

Import the workflow — in n8n, Workflows → Import from File → select reddit-intent-lead-finder.json.
CONFIG — Reddit Intent Finder — open the Set node and fill in:
- subreddits — comma-separated, without r/ (e.g. smallbusiness,Entrepreneur,marketing)
- search_keywords — comma-separated phrases to search (e.g. looking for a tool,software for,automate,alternative to)
- intent_keywords — phrases that must appear in the title or body (e.g. looking for,recommend,anyone know,best tool for,alternative to,how do you)
- min_upvotes (10), min_comments (3) — engagement floor filters out ghost threads
- min_intent_score (70) — only leads at or above this reach your Telegram
- business_description — what you sell, who it’s for, key differentiators (the AI prompt is built from this, so be specific)
- days_back (7) — how far back the Reddit search window goes
CONFIG — Google Sheets — create a Google Sheet with a tab named Leads and these exact headers: Date | Subreddit | Title | Post URL | Author | Upvotes | Comments | Intent Score | Category | Suggested Angle | Reasoning | Status. Put the spreadsheet ID in sheet_doc_id inside CONFIG — Reddit Intent Finder, and select your Google Sheets credential in all four Sheets nodes (Read Logged Post URLs, Log Leads — Status NEW, Update Sheet — Status SCORED, Update Sheet — Status ALERTED).
AI scoring — select your OpenAI credential in OpenAI Chat Model — Intent Scoring (model is gpt-4o-mini by default).
CONFIG — Notifications — paste your Telegram chat ID, select your Telegram credential in Telegram — Send Lead Digest, and activate the workflow.

Customize it

More subreddits, more keywords — every subreddit × keyword pair becomes one API call; keep total pairs under ~40 per run to stay polite to Reddit’s public API.
Tune the funnel — raise min_intent_score to 80+ when volume is high, or loosen min_upvotes to 5 to catch brand-new threads early.
Track outreach — add a Replied column to the sheet and a timestamp column for when you commented; your future self will thank you.
Smarter windows — days_back maps automatically: 1 → today’s posts, ≤7 → this week, ≤30 → this month; use 1 for hot/fast subreddits.
Multiple businesses — duplicate the workflow and give each copy its own business_description, sheet, and Telegram chat.
Etiquette (read this) — this workflow finds conversations; it does not earn trust for you. Reply helpfully first and sell never: answer the question, mention your tool only if it’s genuinely the best fit, read each subreddit’s self-promotion rules before posting, disclose affiliation where required, and never automate the replies themselves — spammy accounts get banned and burn your brand.

Workflow nodes

This workflow is built from 20 nodes. Here's what each one does:

#	Node	Type	What it does
1	`Daily 9AM Trigger`	Schedule Trigger	Starts the workflow automatically on a schedule.
2	`CONFIG — Reddit Intent Finder`	Set	Holds editable configuration values — fill in your own settings here before activating.
3	`Expand Subreddits × Keywords`	Code	Runs custom JavaScript to transform, filter, or compute data between steps.
4	`Fetch Reddit Posts — Search API`	HTTP Request	Calls an external API or webhook endpoint.
5	`Flatten + Filter Posts`	Code	Runs custom JavaScript to transform, filter, or compute data between steps.
6	`CONFIG — Google Sheets`	Set	Holds editable configuration values — fill in your own settings here before activating.
7	`Read Logged Post URLs`	Google Sheets	Reads from or writes to a Google Sheet — this workflow's log and state store.
8	`Filter New Posts Only`	Code	Runs custom JavaScript to transform, filter, or compute data between steps.
9	`Log Leads — Status NEW`	Google Sheets	Reads from or writes to a Google Sheet — this workflow's log and state store.
10	`AI Agent — Score Lead Intent`	AI Agent	The AI brain — reasons over the task and calls tools to get it done.
11	`OpenAI Chat Model — Intent Scoring`	OpenAI Chat Model	The language model powering the AI agent.
12	`Structured Output Parser — Intent Score`	Structured Output Parser	Forces the AI to return clean, structured JSON instead of free text.
13	`Update Sheet — Status SCORED`	Google Sheets	Reads from or writes to a Google Sheet — this workflow's log and state store.
14	`IF — Intent ≥ Threshold & Not Ignored`	IF	Splits the flow into branches based on a condition.
15	`Merge — Collect Alert Leads`	Merge	Combines the outputs of two or more branches back into one flow.
16	`Build Lead Digest`	Code	Runs custom JavaScript to transform, filter, or compute data between steps.
17	`CONFIG — Notifications`	Set	Holds editable configuration values — fill in your own settings here before activating.
18	`Telegram — Send Lead Digest`	Telegram	Sends you a Telegram message or alert.
19	`Expand Alerted URLs`	Code	Runs custom JavaScript to transform, filter, or compute data between steps.
20	`Update Sheet — Status ALERTED`	Google Sheets	Reads from or writes to a Google Sheet — this workflow's log and state store.

Setup instructions

1. Add your credentials

In n8n go to Credentials → New, create each credential below, then open the named node and select it:

Node	Credential to add
`Read Logged Post URLs`	Google Sheets OAuth2
`Log Leads — Status NEW`	Google Sheets OAuth2
`OpenAI Chat Model — Intent Scoring`	OpenAI API
`Update Sheet — Status SCORED`	Google Sheets OAuth2
`Telegram — Send Lead Digest`	Telegram Bot API
`Update Sheet — Status ALERTED`	Google Sheets OAuth2

2. Fill in your config values

Open the config node listed below and replace each placeholder with your own value before activating the workflow:

Node	Field	What to paste
`CONFIG — Reddit Intent Finder`	`sheet_doc_id`	`PASTE_YOUR_SHEET_ID` Your sheet id
`CONFIG — Reddit Intent Finder`	`telegram_chat_id`	`PASTE_YOUR_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID` Your telegram chat id
`CONFIG — Reddit Intent Finder`	`business_description`	`PASTE_YOUR_BUSINESS_DESCRIPTION` Your business description

How this workflow starts

Schedule Trigger: Runs every hours.

Use cases

Your best prospects are on Reddit right now, typing things like "looking for a tool that does X" — and your competitors are not watching. This template scans Reddit every morning at 9 AM for buying conversations about what you sell. It expands your subreddits and search keywords into every subreddit-by-keyword pair, queries Reddit's public search API, and filters results by minimum upvotes, minimum comments, and intent phrases in the title or body. New posts are logged, an AI agent scores each one from 0 to 100 against your business description with a category and a suggested reply angle, and only posts above your intent threshold land in your Telegram digest.

The SaaS founder hunting competitor alternatives

A founder selling project software watches for threads like "alternative to Asana" across relevant subreddits. She configures her subreddits, search keywords, and intent phrases in the CONFIG node, and the daily scan surfaces threads where people are actively evaluating options. The AI's suggested_angle tells her exactly how to enter the conversation helpfully, and posts scoring under her min_intent_score never reach her phone. Because every result must clear the engagement floor and the intent-keyword gate, the digest stays small enough to act on each morning. Practical tip: when volume gets high, raise min_intent_score from 70 to 80 — and add a Replied column plus a timestamp column to the sheet so you never comment twice in the same thread.

The freelance web designer finding clients

A freelance designer scans subreddits like smallbusiness and Entrepreneur for "looking for a developer" and "need a website" threads. The engagement floor — min_upvotes and min_comments — filters out ghost threads, and the days_back setting keeps the window fresh. Every morning's Telegram digest has the score, link, category, and reply angle per lead, ready to act on with coffee — and quiet days still send a short note so she knows the scan ran. Practical tip: use days_back of 1 for fast-moving subreddits so you catch threads while they are still active, and keep total subreddit-by-keyword pairs under about 40 per run to stay polite to Reddit's public API.

The B2B vendor monitoring brand mentions

Beyond hunting buyers, the BRAND_MENTION category turns this into a listening tool: a vendor gets alerted whenever their product — or a competitor's — comes up in conversation. The dedupe step drops posts already logged in the sheet, so each thread alerts exactly once, and the reasoning field explains why each post earned its score. Practical tip: duplicate the workflow per business line with its own business_description, sheet, and Telegram chat — the AI prompt is built from that description, so a specific description produces sharply better scoring than a generic one.

The consultant answering problem-match threads

A marketing consultant does not pitch in comments — she answers questions. PROBLEM_MATCH threads, where someone describes exactly the problem she solves, are her highest-value reading list. The digest's reasoning field explains why each post scored the way it did, so she can prioritize the threads where her expertise genuinely helps and skip the ones that are only adjacent. Practical tip: read each subreddit's self-promotion rules before posting, disclose affiliation where required, and never automate the replies themselves — the workflow finds conversations, but trust still has to be earned by a human.

The agency running it for multiple clients

For a lead-gen agency, this is a repeatable client offer: one cloned workflow per client, each with its own subreddits, keywords, business description, and Telegram destination. Days with no hot leads still send a short "nothing today" note, so clients know the scan ran and the silence is real data. Practical tip: loosen min_upvotes to 5 for niche B2B subreddits where threads start small but buyers are serious — the intent score matters more than raw engagement in quiet corners of Reddit.

↓ Download reddit-intent-lead-finder.json

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