# The Receipt — Reddit Stealth Strategy *Created: 2026-02-07 | Status: DRAFT — awaiting Michael's approval* *Platform: Reddit | Audience: r/australia, r/sydney, r/melbourne, r/AusRenovation, r/AusFinance, r/BlueCollarWorkers* *Campaign: The Receipt (stealth — long game)* --- ## ⚠️ CRITICAL RULES 1. **NEVER mention RateRight by name.** Not once. Not even hinted. 2. **NEVER link to rateright.com.au** or any RateRight social media. 3. **NEVER post this as its own thread.** Only drop in relevant conversations. 4. **This is a 2-month stealth play.** Plant the flat-fee concept. That's it. 5. **Account must have genuine comment history first** — at least 2–4 weeks of normal participation before any of these comments drop. 6. **Reddit detects and destroys shills.** If this feels promotional, it's already dead. --- ## The Concept Don't sell RateRight. Sell the IDEA that flat-fee hiring platforms exist and that percentage-based labour hire is a rip-off. Let Reddit come to RateRight on their own when we launch publicly. --- ## Phase 1: Weeks 1–4 (Pure Value — No Agenda) **Goal:** Build karma and credibility. Comment genuinely on: - Construction threads (tips, advice, project discussions) - Labour market discussions - Cost-of-living threads (natural segue to wages) - "What do you do for work" threads **Example comments (adapt to context, never copy-paste):** ### When someone complains about agency fees or dodgy labour hire: > "The margins in labour hire are honestly wild once you see the numbers. I've seen contracts where the builder pays $60-65/hr and the worker takes home $38-42. That's $20+ an hour going to someone who's never touched a shovel. Do the maths on that annually and it's scary — like $50k per worker per year scary. The whole model is built on making sure the two people who actually need each other can't find each other directly." ### When someone asks about construction pay rates: > "Depends on the trade and whether you're direct hire or through an agency. Direct you're looking at $45-55/hr for most skilled trades in Sydney. Through an agency you'll see $38-42/hr but the contractor is paying $60+ for you. The gap is the agency margin and it's massive. Some blokes don't realise how much is being skimmed until they see the bill rate." ### When someone discusses the cost of building / renovating: > "A chunk of your labour cost isn't going to the tradies — it's going to the middle man. Labour hire agencies typically margin 30-40% on top of what the worker gets. If your builder is using agency labour, you're indirectly paying for someone to answer a phone. Some newer platforms are trying to cut that out with flat-fee models instead of percentage margins. Makes more sense for everyone except the agencies." --- ## Phase 2: Weeks 5–8 (Seed the Alternative) **Goal:** Introduce the concept that flat-fee platforms exist. Still NO brand mention. ### When the topic of labour hire alternatives comes up: > "I've been hearing about some platforms trying to do flat-fee hiring for construction instead of the percentage model. Like one connection fee and the worker keeps their full rate. Makes way more sense than the current setup where agencies keep $200/day per worker just for existing. Dunno which ones are legit yet but the model itself is a no-brainer compared to traditional labour hire." ### When someone asks how to hire tradies without agencies: > "The problem with going direct is finding reliable people and handling the admin. That's what agencies sell you on — convenience. But you're paying $50k/year per worker for that convenience. There are some newer flat-fee platforms trying to solve this. Contractor pays a one-off fee to connect, worker keeps their full rate. Still early days but the concept is sound. Way better than paying 30-40% margin forever." ### When someone says "all labour hire is a scam": > "Not all, but the margin model is definitely broken. The agency has no incentive to get the worker more money because their cut is a percentage of the gap. Some companies are moving to flat-fee models which actually aligns incentives better — they make the same amount whether the worker charges $40 or $60/hr. Worth keeping an eye on." --- ## Phase 3: Months 3+ (Only If Asked) **Goal:** If someone directly asks "what platform?" or "which ones?" — THEN and only then: > "I've seen a few pop up recently. There's one called RateRight that's doing a flat fee for construction specifically. Haven't used it myself yet but the model looks right — $50 once, worker keeps everything. Worth a look." **This comment ONLY happens if:** - Someone explicitly asks for a recommendation - The comment thread is relevant (construction hiring / labour hire) - The account has 2+ months of genuine history - It's casual and non-promotional --- ## Target Threads (What to Watch For) Set alerts or manually check for threads containing: - "labour hire" + complaint - "agency fees" or "agency ripping" - "construction wages" or "construction pay" - "how much do tradies make" - "building costs" + discussion about labour - "finding tradies" or "hiring tradies" - "cost of renovating" + labour mentions ### Target Subreddits (Priority) | Subreddit | Why | Approach | |---|---|---| | r/AusRenovation | Direct audience — people hiring tradies | Helpful advice, cost breakdowns | | r/australia | Large audience, cost-of-living threads | Wage discussion, industry insight | | r/sydney | Local market, construction boom | Sydney-specific rates and examples | | r/melbourne | Second market | Melbourne rates and examples | | r/AusFinance | Money-savvy, hate inefficiency | The financial argument against margins | | r/BlueCollarWorkers | Workers who GET IT | Solidarity, shared experience | | r/Construction | Industry insiders | Technical credibility | --- ## Voice & Tone Guide (Reddit-Specific) - **Sound like a tradie or someone who works in construction.** Not a marketer. - **Use "I've seen" and "I've heard" not "studies show."** Reddit trusts personal experience. - **Be slightly cynical about the industry.** Reddit loves cynicism about broken systems. - **Don't oversell the alternative.** "Dunno if it'll work but the concept makes sense" is more believable than "this is amazing." - **Engage with replies genuinely.** If someone pushes back, have a real conversation. - **Australian vernacular.** "Blokes," "reckon," "dodgy," "fair enough," "heaps," "keen." --- ## What NOT To Do ❌ Create a post titled "Labour hire agencies are ripping you off — here's the maths" ❌ Copy-paste the same comment across multiple threads ❌ Reply to every labour hire thread — pick 2-3 per week max ❌ Use new accounts or accounts with no history ❌ Get defensive if someone disagrees — just say "fair point" and move on ❌ Link to ANYTHING (no website, no socials, nothing) ❌ Use marketing language ("game-changing," "revolutionary," "disrupting") ❌ Mention RateRight before month 3 under ANY circumstances --- ## Success Metrics After 2 months, we want to see: - Comments with 10+ upvotes on labour hire threads - Other users independently mentioning "flat-fee" as an alternative - "Someone should build this" type responses - DMs asking for more info (don't respond with RateRight yet — wait for public launch) --- ## Account Management - Use a personal-sounding username (not "RateRightOfficial" or anything brand-related) - Build karma in non-construction subs too (sports, cooking, cars, whatever feels natural) - Post at realistic Australian times (7–10 PM evenings, weekend mornings) - Don't comment more than 5-8 times per day across all subs --- *DRAFT — Do not publish without Michael's explicit approval.* *This is a long-term strategy document, not a single post. Requires ongoing management.*