Creating Effective Listeners
Listeners are the foundation of your CatchIntent setup. A well-configured listener finds genuine opportunities while filtering out noise.
Listener Purposes
Section titled “Listener Purposes”When creating a listener, you first choose its purpose. This helps CatchIntent understand what you’re looking for.
Goal: Find prospects actively looking for solutions
Best for: Sales teams, founders, growth marketers
What you’ll find:
- People seeking alternatives to existing tools
- Recommendation requests (“What do you use for X?”)
- Product comparisons
- Budget and pricing discussions
- Users describing problems you can solve
Example keywords: “looking for”, “recommend”, “alternative to”, “best tool for”, “vs”
Goal: Monitor what people say about competitors
Best for: Product teams, marketing, founders
What you’ll find:
- Competitor mentions in context
- Complaints and frustrations with competitors
- Users considering switching
- Feature comparisons
- Gaps in competitor offerings
Example keywords: Competitor names, “switching from”, “leaving”, “problems with”
Goal: Track mentions of your own product
Best for: Support teams, community managers
What you’ll find:
- Mentions of your product
- User issues or complaints
- Positive feedback and praise
- Support questions
- Feature requests
Example keywords: Your product name, common misspellings, related terms
Creating a Listener
Section titled “Creating a Listener”-
Choose Your Purpose
Select what you’re looking for: Lead Generation, Competitive Intelligence, or Brand Monitoring.
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Select Platforms
Choose where to monitor: Reddit, X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Hacker News, and/or Bluesky. Note: X/Twitter and LinkedIn are paid add-ons.
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Add Keywords
Enter keywords that indicate what you’re looking for. CatchIntent suggests keywords based on your workspace brand info.
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Set Threshold & Alerts
Set your relevance threshold and connect alerts (Email, Slack, Discord, Telegram, or webhooks).
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Name & Create
Give your listener a descriptive name and click Create.
Choosing Keywords
Section titled “Choosing Keywords”The keywords you choose determine what CatchIntent looks for. Focus on terms that indicate intent, not just relevance.
Intent-Indicating Keywords
Section titled “Intent-Indicating Keywords”Problem-focused:
- “struggling with”, “frustrated by”, “hate my current”
- “looking for a way to”, “need help with”
- “anyone know how to”
Solution-seeking:
- “recommend”, “suggestions for”, “best tool for”
- “what do you use for”, “how do you handle”
Comparison-focused:
- “vs”, “alternative to”, “switching from”
- “better than”, “compared to”
Keywords to Avoid
Section titled “Keywords to Avoid”Generic terms generate noise. Avoid:
- Single words without context (“CRM”, “automation”)
- Overly broad phrases (“software”, “tool”, “app”)
- Your own product name in Lead Generation listeners (use Brand Monitoring instead)
Keyword Performance
Section titled “Keyword Performance”During listener creation and in the listener details, you can see how your keywords are performing:
- Matched count — How many posts matched this keyword
- Signal rate — How many matches became signals
If a keyword matches many posts but produces few signals, it may be too broad. Consider making it more specific.
Platform Selection
Section titled “Platform Selection”Each platform has different characteristics:
- 52 million daily active users
- Niche communities (subreddits) with focused discussions
- Best for: B2C and B2B products, developer tools, consumer products
- Post types: Questions, discussions, recommendations
Hacker News
Section titled “Hacker News”- Technical audience, early adopters, startup founders
- Best for: Developer tools, B2B SaaS, startup services
- High-quality discussions with engaged commenters
Bluesky
Section titled “Bluesky”- Growing tech community
- Real-time discussions and emerging conversations
- Best for: Tech products, early adopter audiences
Relevance Threshold
Section titled “Relevance Threshold”The relevance threshold (0-100) controls how strict AI filtering should be:
| Threshold | Effect |
|---|---|
| 90-100 | Only the most relevant signals (very few results) |
| 70-89 | High-quality signals (recommended starting point) |
| 50-69 | Moderate relevance (more signals, some noise) |
| Below 50 | Low threshold (many signals, higher noise) |
Listener Health
Section titled “Listener Health”CatchIntent tracks how well your listeners are performing.
Health Indicators
Section titled “Health Indicators”| Status | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Healthy | Keywords are performing well |
| Warning | Some keywords may be too broad—review performance |
| Critical | Most keywords need adjustment |
Viewing Health Details
Section titled “Viewing Health Details”Click on any listener to see:
- How each keyword is performing
- How many signals were created
- Suggestions for improvement
Connecting Alerts
Section titled “Connecting Alerts”Attach alerts to your listener to get notified when new signals arrive:
- Email — Direct to inbox
- Slack — Real-time to a channel (requires OAuth connection)
- Discord — Via webhook URL
- Telegram — To a chat ID
- Webhooks — For custom integrations
You can attach multiple alerts to a single listener.
Iteration
Section titled “Iteration”Review your signals weekly and refine:
- Check signal quality — Are you getting relevant leads?
- Review keyword performance — Which keywords are producing good signals?
- Adjust threshold — Too much noise? Raise it. Missing opportunities? Lower it.
- Add/remove keywords — Based on what’s working
Refine your listeners based on real results, not assumptions.