Apr 7, 2021
Reddit, the self-proclaimed “front page of the Internet," has over 50 billion page views per month and over 52 million daily active users. That’s a lot of eyeballs. There are over 100,000 active communities on Reddit, and more are created every day.
Although Reddit has been around for more than a decade, it can be more daunting than platforms like Facebook and Twitter. But with niche, focused communities that are highly engaged, it can be a great place to grow your newsletter audience. Here's how to get started.
1. Join niche subreddits
Just like Facebook groups, Reddit has small groups on its platform. These are called subreddits, groups devoted to a single particular topic. In these interest-based communities, users can submit posts or comments. Other users vote submissions up or down, and report the spammy content.
To promote your newsletter on Reddit, identify your niche subreddits and join them. To do so, search your niche keywords on Reddit and join the communities that match. If you want to join bigger subreddits only, check this list of top 5,000 subreddits.
2. Engage with users
Engaging within communities is a great way to build trust and connections with other members. So, allocate some time on a daily basis to engage with other folks in the subreddit. You can engage by upvoting good posts, leaving a comment that adds some value, or re-sharing posts in relevant subreddits. But, don't be too spammy. Only comment on the posts that spark your genuine interest.
3. Increase your karma
Karma is the social currency of Reddit. Karma is a number that represents how much value a user has added for the Reddit community. A user can get karma by submitting links, comments, etc. Karma will be shown as a number next to the username.
Karma is important. Some subreddits don’t allow new users to post their content until they've acquired a certain amount of karma. (It's used as a measure for these communities to ensure their members give more than they take.)
Here are three easy ways to increase your karma:
- Post a karma request or comment in r/FreeKarma.
- Ask open-ended questions in r/AskReddit or comment on other posts.
- Comment on new and rising posts in your niche subreddits.
3. Create original content
Reddit gets over 50 billion page views per month and Reddit posts rank in Google SERPs as well. Successful Reddit posts can drive significant traffic for your website. It's often worth the investment to create exclusive content for Reddit: Content that doesn't feel too promotional and is designed to engage the subreddit you're sharing it with.
To do this, you can always repurpose content from your newsletter. Re-write it a bit, or break it into a series of posts in several parts. Share the top insights and make it clear and understandable. After you've given content away a few times, you can add a link to your newsletter at the end of your posts. It's helpful to build trust first, and promote second. Another mistake many users do is posting the same content in multiple subreddits on the same day. Try to avoid that.
Note: Before you post in any subreddit, check their rules. Some subreddits don’t allow self-promotion at all and these subreddit members are hostile to self-promoters. If you break these rules, your posts will be deleted, you may get a warning and may be banned permanently.
4. Get early upvotes
Initial upvotes will push your posts in the Rising post section of subreddits. The faster your post is gaining traction, the more people are likely to see it. (Think of the Netflix "Trending now" algorithm, or the New York Times Best Seller list.) Ask friends, readers, or early supporters to upvote your work when you post it. An early show of support can pay dividends.
5. Post strategically
According to X-cart, weekends and Mondays are the best time to post on Reddit. Generally, Redditors are most active in the mornings. Try to post between 6 am and 8 am on Monday, and between 7 am and 9 am on weekends. Instead of posting manually at these times, use Later For Reddit for scheduling posts.
6. Analyze what's working
As you post, keep track of which posts seem to get the most engagement. What is working well? What are readers enjoying? Also, which posts are converting more readers into subscribers? If you see trends emerge, double down on those ideas, and scrap everything else.
7. Use keyword monitoring tools
Keyword monitoring is the process of tracking different channels to identify where the relevant keyword is mentioned.
Brands do keyword monitoring, but so can newsletter writers. You can use F5bot for this purpose. It’s a free service that emails you when your selected keywords are mentioned on Reddit, Hacker News, or Lobsters. Just add keywords you want to track and it will email whenever one of your keywords is mentioned. Then comment on your keyword posts. And if a subreddit allows link sharing, add your sign-up link as well.
8. Be consistent and focus on the long-term
There really is only one way to get better at something: practice. There are no shortcuts when it comes to mastering something. Maybe your initial posts won't perform well. Don’t lose courage. Keep on posting, reading, and learning and you might be surprised by what happens.
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