Reddit.

Self-promotion on Reddit is something that scares most of the marketers today. And they end up ditching this platform. The marketers have their explanations like, "Reddit will ban me", "Reddit is time-consuming", "the traffic is not of quality", "my posts will not be appreciated". Well! These fears are very common. But for this, I don't blame them. Every marketer has got their fingers burnt on Reddit, and consequently, they give it a cold shoulder.

Okay, so even though you had to face the failure, RIGHT NOW YOU ARE IGNORING REDDIT BIG TIME!

Yes, it's true. Reddit is not a platform that should be overlooked. If used correctly, Reddit can bring quality traffic with a better ROI. So it's time to go back to the drawing board and let's see how you can efficiently use Reddit for promotion.

Although first! Let me just quickly walk you through the basics about Reddit:

The Subreddits

Reddit is a huge community that further divides itself into subreddits. There are subreddits for music, food, travel, continents, countries and almost every niche you can think about. So, to be a part of a subreddit you just need to join it and start interacting. You can participate in as many subreddits as you want.

One important thing about subreddits is that each subreddit has rules and you should follow every rule otherwise, your post will either get deleted or wouldn't be appreciated.

The Concept of Karma

Karmas are those points you achieve when people upvote your post or comment. When you get an upvote, you are appreciated. When you get a downvote, it means people did not like your content. Karma doesn't mean you are a better Redditor or your posts have more value than others. It is just a way for people to know that you are an active user.

How to Promote Your Content on Reddit Without Getting Banned?

Don't Be Promotional, Be Patient

Reddit is not a place where you can directly promote your content. You have to be a part of the community. Trust me! You will love it and soon you will realize that the other users are intrigued by what you say. Don't straight away start posting your website link. Redditors will identify you as a spammer and you will be banned. And you don't want that. You have a new account, try to get some karmas first. Join the subreddits you think are suitable for your website. Start engaging with the community by commenting. Commenting will help you achieve karmas when people will upvote your comments.

Let's say now you have 10 Karmas, so it's the time for your first post. Try to share something engaging. For example, You own a food blog and you have joined the subreddit r/Cooking to promote your content. Share the recipe of one your best dishes that will engage the other members and you can leave a link at the bottom driving the traffic to your website. This way the community benefits and you get the quality traffic. It's a win-win!

Be Active and Engaged

If you are not active, Reddit isn't your place. Logging into your account once in a month just to promote a link to your website won't help. Redditors are smart people, they will scratch around your history and pinpoint what you are trying to do. And it's a BAN, BAN BAN. So, make a way to have yourself active on Reddit for at least 7-10 minutes a day. Remember, just upvoting posts doesn't make you active. Comment on posts, help other Redditors by answering their questions, share content other than your own website. And earn karmas to show how active you are.

Don't Share the Same Content on Every Subreddit

If you don't want to get banned you have to be genuine and gentle with link posting. Don't share the same link in more than 2-3 subreddits. And use different headings for different subreddits.

Let me give you an example here. I have a travel blog and I want to bring traffic to one of my blog titled "Ten things to do in Europe." The subreddits I chose are r/Shoestring, a community that talks about budget travelling ideas and r/Travel, a community that talks about travel experiences. The title for r/Shoestring would be "I travelled to Europe for a month with limited cash, and this is how I survived by doing the cool budget things in Europe." And the title for r/Travel would be, "I travelled Europe extensively and after exploring that magnificent region I came up with some incredible things to do in Europe. Would love to share it with you guys!" So that's how every subreddit has it's own language, you just need to observe it and drop your link smartly.

Be a Great Host and Support Others

Feel home when you are on Reddit. The Redditors discuss real-life circumstances with other members of the community. All you have to be is real. Share your thoughts on what you think about a particular situation. Be nice and share your experiences in a way that helps the other members of the community. Everything you do shouldn't feel like you are spamming. You don't want people to visit your profile and see all those promotional links so keep your history clean. Just be a nice host.

My Final Word on Promotion on Reddit

The Reddit tagline, "The front page of the internet" can't be more appropriate. It's a great blend of news, hobbies, memes and some useful links. And if you reach the right audience, the users won't hesitate to click on your link.

If you wish to experiment with your promotional posts, try subreddits that don't concern you. So, even if you get banned from that particular subreddit, you are still active on the main ones. Eliminate the fear of getting banned or wasting your time. Get quality traffic to your website with Reddit.