# Reddit Buyer Intent & Pain-Point Lead Finder (`excitable_pickle/reddit-buyer-intent-monitor`) Actor

Monitors Reddit for high-intent buying signals, competitor churn, and tool recommendations with automated intent scoring.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/excitable\_pickle/reddit-buyer-intent-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [Pavan](https://apify.com/excitable_pickle) (community)
- **Categories:**
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.005 / actor start

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## 🎯 Reddit Buyer Intent & Pain-Point Lead Finder

> **Turn Reddit into an automated high-intent inbound pipeline. Monitors subreddits and Reddit discussions for competitor churn, tool alternative queries, and buying signals with real-time intent scoring.**

[![Apify Actor](https://img.shields.io/badge/Apify-Actor-orange?logo=apify)](https://apify.com)
[![TypeScript](https://img.shields.io/badge/TypeScript-ES2022-blue?logo=typescript)](https://www.typescriptlang.org/)
[![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Apache--2.0-green.svg)](LICENSE)

***

### 💰 Why This Actor Sells on Apify Store

Reddit is the #1 place where B2B buyers ask for recommendations:

- *"What's the best alternative to Zapier?"*
- *"Cancelling HubSpot because of price hikes. Any suggestions?"*
- *"Looking for a reliable agency to handle our cold outbound..."*

Tools like **Syften**, **GummySearch**, and **Brand24** charge **$39 - $199/month** for basic keyword monitoring.

#### 💵 Recommended Monetization Strategy

- **Monthly Rental / Subscription**: Charge **$39 to $59 / month** on the Apify Store.
- **Pay-per-result (PPR)**: Charge **$0.01 to $0.02 per qualified lead**.
- Users set this Actor on an **Apify Schedule** (e.g. running every 4 hours) to receive a fresh batch of qualified prospects directly to Google Sheets, Slack, or webhook.

***

### ✨ Supercharged Features

- 🧠 **Algorithmic Intent Scoring (0 - 100)**: Evaluates title and body using natural language intent patterns to calculate buying urgency.
- 🏷️ **Categorized Intent Signals**:
  - `ALTERNATIVE_SEEKING`: Users looking to replace an existing tool.
  - `COMPETITOR_FRUSTRATION`: Users complaining about pricing, bugs, or bad support.
  - `BUDGET_HIRING`: Users with immediate budget ready to hire an agency or buy a solution.
  - `RECOMMENDATION_REQUEST`: Inquiries asking the community for top tools in a category.
- 🎯 **Tailored Outreach Angles**: Automatically generates a personalized angle for your sales team (e.g., *"Pitch directly as an alternative to HubSpot. Focus on pricing transparency and fast customer support"*).
- ⚔️ **Competitor Churn Detector**: Tracks mentions of 15+ major platforms (`Salesforce`, `HubSpot`, `Zapier`, `Shopify`, `Apollo`, etc.) plus your custom competitor list.
- 🛡️ **Dual-Engine Architecture (Zero Proxy Required)**:
  - Uses direct Reddit JSON endpoints for fast bulk processing.
  - Features a **High-Reliability SERP Search Fallback** that guarantees leads even on datacenter IPs where Reddit returns 403 blocks!

***

### 📥 Input Configuration

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `searchQueries` | Array | `["alternative to", "looking for tool"]` | Target keywords, problems, or competitors to track. |
| `subreddits` | Array | `[]` | Limit search to specific subreddits (e.g. `["SaaS", "marketing", "entrepreneur"]`). If empty, searches all of Reddit. |
| `competitors` | Array | `[]` | Competitor brand names to monitor for user complaints. |
| `timeFilter` | String | `"week"` | `"hour"`, `"day"`, `"week"`, `"month"`, `"year"`, `"all"`. |
| `sortBy` | String | `"new"` | `"new"`, `"relevance"`, `"hot"`, `"top"`. |
| `minIntentScore`| Integer | `30` | Filter out low-intent noise. 30+ is warm, 60+ is urgent buyer mode. |
| `maxPosts` | Integer | `50` | Maximum leads to collect per run. |

***

### 📤 Sample Output

```json
{
  "id": "1ay573l",
  "title": "What's your current email marketing platform for your SaaS?",
  "intentScore": 75,
  "intentCategory": "ALTERNATIVE_SEEKING",
  "confidence": "HIGH",
  "author": "growth_lead",
  "authorProfileUrl": "https://www.reddit.com/user/growth_lead",
  "subreddit": "SaaS",
  "redditPostUrl": "https://www.reddit.com/r/SaaS/comments/1ay573l/whats_your_current_email_marketing_platform_for/",
  "matchedKeywords": ["seeking_alternative"],
  "detectedCompetitors": ["HubSpot", "ActiveCampaign"],
  "painPoints": ["price_hike"],
  "suggestedOutreachAngle": "Pitch directly as an alternative to HubSpot. Focus on feature parity, easier onboarding, and competitive pricing.",
  "upvotes": 14,
  "commentCount": 38,
  "contentSnippet": "Looking for a reasonably priced alternative to the all-in-one marketing platform Hubspot. Need solid automation depth and ease of use...",
  "postedAt": "2026-09-06T18:25:30.221Z",
  "searchQuery": "alternative to HubSpot"
}
```

***

### 🚢 Quick Deploy to Apify

```bash
cd /root/ApifyAutomations/reddit-buyer-intent-monitor
apify login
apify push
```

***

### 📄 License

Apache-2.0

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Phrases, keywords, or problems to search for (e.g., 'alternative to Zapier', 'recommend cold email tool', 'looking for marketing agency', 'Airtable too expensive').

## `subreddits` (type: `array`):

Specific subreddits to restrict the search to (e.g., 'SaaS', 'entrepreneur', 'smallbusiness', 'marketing'). Leave empty to search all of Reddit.

## `competitors` (type: `array`):

List of competitors to monitor for user complaints and churn signals (e.g., 'Salesforce', 'HubSpot', 'Apollo', 'Shopify').

## `timeFilter` (type: `string`):

Limit search to posts created within this time window.

## `sortBy` (type: `string`):

Order of search results.

## `minIntentScore` (type: `integer`):

Only export leads with an intent score at or above this threshold (30+ filters out casual chatter; 60+ is urgent buying mode).

## `maxPosts` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of posts to process and evaluate.

## `includeComments` (type: `boolean`):

Also analyze top comments on matching posts for additional prospective buyers asking follow-up questions.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Apify Proxy settings to prevent rate limits during large runs.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "alternative to",
    "looking for tool"
  ],
  "subreddits": [],
  "competitors": [],
  "timeFilter": "week",
  "sortBy": "new",
  "minIntentScore": 30,
  "maxPosts": 50,
  "includeComments": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "alternative to",
        "looking for tool"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("excitable_pickle/reddit-buyer-intent-monitor").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "searchQueries": [
        "alternative to",
        "looking for tool",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("excitable_pickle/reddit-buyer-intent-monitor").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "alternative to",
    "looking for tool"
  ]
}' |
apify call excitable_pickle/reddit-buyer-intent-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,excitable_pickle/reddit-buyer-intent-monitor"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/CCI9AV2eAyLUUdivk/builds/grWIXgL9mEHa9Fr0M/openapi.json