The Complete Funnel
From any channel to Labs cohort
📍 Pain discovery
Reddit thread · YouTube comment section · LinkedIn expert post · ICP connection feed
Thousands in pain
↓
🛠️ Lead magnet (NowPage)
Tool built from extracted pain — their exact words in the title — published at a real URL
200–400 clicks
↓
📧 Email gate
Enter email to unlock full version → auto-triggers 5-day nurture sequence
80–120 emails
↓
📅 5-Day Mastery Sprint Preview
Each day = real artifact. Day 5 = retrospective reveals the gap. Exit trigger: click Apply anytime.
40–70 engaged
↓
🔍 Assessment gate (18/27)
Self-qualifying. Wrong people don't pass — by design.
10–20 apply
↓
🚀 Labs cohort ($1,500)
Right customer. Right time. Right fit. 5 spots. Coached 14-day sprint.
3–5 admitted
Extract pain from threads. Deploy in comments.
| Subreddit | ICP Match | Signal pattern |
|---|
| r/Entrepreneur | Business operators | "I've tried everything and I'm stuck" |
| r/smallbusiness | SMB owners | Frustrated questions with 200+ comments |
| r/AItools | AI-curious professionals | "How do I actually use this for my business" |
| r/SaaS | Founders, builders | Monetization + distribution pain |
| r/coaching | Coaches building practice | "How to get first 10 clients" threads |
reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/abc123/thread-title/.json
1️⃣
Comment with genuine answer — no linkDetailed, specific, adds real value. Establishes credibility before the ask.
2️⃣
End with the soft ask"I actually built a tool for exactly this — happy to share if useful"
3️⃣
When people reply "yes please" → drop the linkNow the link is invited, not pushed. Reddit doesn't suppress it. Mods don't flag it.
Mine comment sections on expert videos. Become the helpful stranger.
Expert YouTube channels are the highest-concentration pain repositories available. People watch a video on "how to get clients" and then pour their specific frustrations into the comments. The expert's audience is your ICP, pre-assembled.
| Signal | What to look for |
|---|
| Channel size | 10K–500K subscribers — big enough for reach, small enough that comments get read |
| Video age | 2–14 days old — past the notification peak, still being actively discovered via search |
| Comment pattern | "I tried this but..." / "What about when..." / "This doesn't work for me because..." |
| Adjacent experts | Coaching, consulting, solopreneur, AI tools, monetization niches |
Perplexity Search to Find Videos
Find YouTube videos published in the last 30 days on [pain topic] with high comment engagement. Focus on channels in [niche] with 10K–500K subscribers. List: video title, channel name, approximate comment count, and recurring questions/frustrations in the comments.
GET https://www.googleapis.com/youtube/v3/commentThreads
?part=snippet&videoId=VIDEO_ID&maxResults=100&order=relevance&key=API_KEY
Faster fallback:
Open the video, sort comments by "Top Comments," manually copy the top 20 into the extraction prompt. Takes 3 minutes. No API key needed.
📌
Pin your comment to a specific pain in the video"At 4:32 you mention X — for anyone who gets stuck there, here's what I've found works..."
🔗
Link is acceptable on YouTube — but bury itWrite 3-4 sentences of genuine value first. Link at the end: "I built a free tool for this → [URL]". YouTube allows external links in comments.
👍
Timing mattersComment within the first 48 hours of a new video for maximum visibility. Or comment on high-traffic older videos (1M+ views, comments still active).
🔁
Reply to existing comments with the painFind the "I'm stuck on X" comments and reply directly. More targeted than a top-level comment. Creator's audience is already engaged in the thread.
Seed your ICP first. Then publish. Then it feels timely.
LinkedIn's algorithm shows your content to your connections first. If your connections aren't your ICP, your content reaches the wrong people. The fix: add your ICP to your network before you publish — so when the post goes out, it lands in front of the exact people who feel the pain you're addressing.
Phase A — ICP Connection Seeding (do this BEFORE publishing)
Days 1–3
Search ICP by title
Filter: 2nd degree + industry. Add 20–25/day, no note.
Days 4–5
Wait for accepts
~40–60% accept rate on 2nd degree. Now they're in your feed algorithm.
Days 6–7
Comment on expert posts
No links yet. Genuine insight only. Your name starts appearing in their feed.
Day 8+
Publish lead magnet
Algorithm shows to new ICP connections first. Feels timely. They already know your name.
Why "no note" on connection requests
Blank requests have a higher acceptance rate than messages — counterintuitive but consistently true. The note signals you want something. Blank signals you're just connecting. After they accept and see your content, the relationship establishes itself naturally.
| Filter | Setting | Why |
|---|
| Connection degree | 2nd degree | Mutual connections = trust signal, higher accept rate |
| Job title | Your ICP title (e.g. "Business Coach", "Founder") | Direct ICP match |
| Industry | Coaching / Consulting / Professional Services | Narrows to relevant audience |
| Geography | North America first | Highest Labs buyer concentration |
| Volume limit | Max 100 requests/week (LinkedIn limit) | Exceeding this triggers review/restriction |
Phase B — Commenting on Expert Posts (runs in parallel)
🎯
Find 5–8 experts posting regularly in your niche10K+ followers, high engagement (100+ likes), posting 3–5x per week. Their audience = your ICP.
💬
Comment within the first 2 hours of a post going liveEarly comments get the most visibility. LinkedIn shows comments that got the most engagement — early commenting compounds.
✍️
Comment formula: add a dimension, not a complimentNot "great post!" — but "This maps to something I see constantly: [specific observation]. When X happens, Y is usually the root cause." 3–4 sentences. Your name is now in front of their entire audience.
🔗
After 5+ substantive comments → you can tag the expertWhen you publish your lead magnet: "Inspired by [Expert]'s framework on X — I built a tool that takes this further for [specific ICP]." Expert often engages. Their audience sees it.
Phase C — Publishing the Lead Magnet Post
Post Structure (proven LinkedIn format)
Line 1: The pain — their exact words (hook, no context yet)
"Everyone says [X] but nobody talks about [Y]."
Lines 2–4: The story — your own experience with this pain
"I spent 6 months trying to [solve X]. The advice I found was..."
Lines 5–7: The insight — what you actually learned
"What actually works is [specific, counterintuitive thing]. Here's why..."
Line 8: The tool — the lead magnet
"I turned this into a free tool → [URL]"
"Takes 5 minutes. Drops straight into your [workflow/process/system]."
Last line: Soft ask
"If this lands, repost. Someone in your network is probably dealing with this right now."
Algorithm tips:
Post Tuesday–Thursday, 7–9am or 12–1pm CT. Comment on your own post within 30 minutes (boosts algorithm). Reply to every comment in the first hour. LinkedIn shows posts with early engagement to more people.
Universal — Runs on All Channels
The Pain Extraction Prompt
Same prompt regardless of source. Feed it Reddit JSON, YouTube comments, or LinkedIn post comments.
Pain Point Extraction Prompt
You are analyzing social comments to extract validated pain points for lead magnet creation.
Input: [PASTE COMMENTS — Reddit JSON / YouTube comments / LinkedIn comments]
Extract:
1. TOP PAIN POINTS (ranked by engagement/likes/upvotes)
- Exact quote (their words, not paraphrased)
- Engagement score
- What they've tried and failed
- Underlying emotion (frustration / overwhelm / fear)
2. DESIRED OUTCOME
- What do they actually want?
- What does "winning" look like to them?
3. LANGUAGE PATTERNS
- Phrases that repeat across multiple comments
- What they call the problem (their label)
4. LEAD MAGNET SIGNAL
- What tool/template/script directly answers the #1 pain?
- Relief in under 5 minutes?
- Title using their exact words?
Output as structured JSON. Use their exact words everywhere.
The Bridge — Already Built
5-Day Mastery Sprint Preview
Every channel feeds the same email gate → the same 5-day nurture → the same assessment → Labs. The sequence already exists.
Day 1
Coaching Moment
LinkedIn ICP search → market validation proof
Day 2
Pressure Test
Offer draft → 3 ICP members → real buyer input
Day 3
Content Lab
Create + post 1 piece → public artifact
Day 4
Outreach
DM 3 content engagers → warm leads
Day 5 ⚡
Retrospective
Gap revealed → Labs offer → Apply CTA
Exit trigger: Click "Apply" at any point → exits nurture immediately → goes to assessment. The sequence is designed to be skipped by motivated people. That's a feature, not a bug — self-selection in action.
Forge Automation Layer
Automate the intelligence. Keep the touch human.
| Task | Who does it | How |
|---|
| Monitor Reddit subreddits daily | Forge | Watches target subs, scores threads by pain signal |
| Find YouTube videos | Forge + Perplexity | Daily search query → surfaces high-comment videos |
| Fetch comments (Reddit JSON / YouTube API) | Forge | Auto-fetches on flagged threads/videos |
| Run extraction prompt | Forge → Claude | Pain point brief produced automatically |
| Draft lead magnet outline | Claude | Based on #1 pain → outline for Jason to approve |
| Surface top 3 opportunities in morning Telegram | Forge | Daily digest: best Reddit thread + YouTube video + LinkedIn post to engage |
| LinkedIn ICP connection tracking | Manual (Jason) | 20–25 connections/day, track weekly count |
| Posting and commenting | Manual (Jason) | Authenticity is the moat — humans only |