The first comment, explained

Why put links in the first comment?

Because many platforms show posts with links in the body to fewer people, and the first comment keeps your link one tap away without putting it in the post. Use it for a subscribe link, the full issue, or a short note.

Karrow’s drafts are written the same way: the AI is told to keep links out of the post body, and its “Possible AI tell” check flags a draft with a link in the body. A link in the first comment is never flagged.

Where to find it

Add it in the First comment field under your post in the editor. The field says “Add a subscribe link or note”, and it saves as you type, like the rest of the post. It’s there on every channel, including Reddit, and on hand-written posts as well as AI drafts.

Some AI drafts fill it in already. Check that it says what you want and that any link points where you mean it to, because Karrow posts exactly what’s in the field.

When you click Add channel in a draft, the new channel starts with your first comment copied over. Duplicate to rewrites it along with the post, so check it on the new tab.

How does each platform post the first comment?

It depends on the platform: LinkedIn and Facebook get a real comment under your post, X and Threads get a reply at the end of your post or thread, and Reddit gets the text added to the end of your post’s body.

LinkedIn and Facebook: posted as a real comment under your post, the moment it goes live.

X and Threads: posted as a reply at the end of your post or thread. On a single post, that turns it into a two-post thread. The reply is a post of its own, so keep it short enough to fit the channel: 280 characters on X, 500 on Threads.

Reddit: Reddit doesn’t support it, so Karrow adds the text to the end of your post’s body instead, after a blank line. That means a link there ends up in the post itself. Many subreddits have rules about self-promotion, so read the rules before adding one.

What to put there

Keep it short and useful: “Full issue here: [link]” or “I write about this every week: [subscribe link]”. One link is plenty.

Match it to the post. After a thread that walks through one idea from your issue, “The full breakdown, with charts, is in this week’s issue: [link]” gives readers a reason to click. After a question post, a note on where you’ve written about it before works better than a hard pitch.

Don’t repeat the post. The first comment is read by people who already liked what they saw, so tell them what they get by clicking, not what they just read.

Examples for each platform

LinkedIn: “I go deeper on this, with the numbers, in this week’s issue: [link]”. A full sentence reads naturally as a comment from you.

Facebook: “Full issue, free to read: [link]”. Short and plain, since it sits right under the post.

X: “Sources and the full write-up: [link]”. It lands as the last post of your thread, so it can read as the thread’s closing line.

Threads: “More on this in my newsletter: [subscribe link]”. Keep it as casual as the post above it.

Reddit: “Source: [link]”, or nothing. The text joins the body, so anything that reads as an ad stands out more there than anywhere else.

Does the first comment count towards the post’s character limit?

Only on Reddit: there it is added to the body, so it counts towards Reddit’s 40,000-character body limit. On LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and Threads it is posted separately and doesn’t change the main post’s count.

The counter under the editor only measures the main post, and the First comment field has no counter of its own. On X and Threads, where the comment goes out as a post, count it yourself against 280 or 500 characters.

The “Possible AI tell” check on AI drafts reads the first comment too, so an overused word or a long dash there is flagged like one in the post.

Can I leave the first comment empty?

Yes: if the field is blank, Karrow posts only the main post and nothing else. A field with only spaces counts as blank.

It doesn’t have to be a link. A short note works too, such as a question that invites replies or a correction you want people to see first.

Leaving it empty can be the better choice. A Threads post that asks one open question, or a Reddit post meant to start a discussion, often works without a link at all. Add one when the post gives people a reason to want more.

Once a post is scheduled, its first comment is locked along with the post. To change it, cancel the scheduled post from Posts, edit the draft, and schedule it again.