What NOT to do when your Reddit post starts trending

So now that you’ve read what to do, here’s a list of what NOT to do.

The #1 thing to keep in mind is this—Redditors HATE advertisements. So you want to avoid doing anything that might make your post seem like an advertisement.

Don’t crosspost your post everywhere

Inevitably you will get some comments that say “oh you should totally crosspost this to /r/randomsub!” and those comments are great! Because it means that your story and your post is resonating with users. If you crosspost it a bunch of times then it’ll look like you’re trying to promote your game instead of telling a story.

A good rule of thumb is, if you click on your post history, you should not be able to see the same posts next to each other.

My post history. Not a single “promotional” post is next to each other. At a glance I look just like a regular Redditor. I am a regular Reddit user who happens to have a website. Not a website with a Reddit account.

Instead of crossposting right away, just remember that subreddit’s name and save it for a future date. Use laterforreddit to figure out the best time to post in that sub. Then post it later after you’ve made a few unrelated posts in between.

Keep the links to your website at a minimum.

So if you’ve followed the tips in my other post, then you should have a link to your website in your comments. However, since a lot of Redditors don’t browse the comments section they will just see your post and ask you for the website link.

Do not respond with another link!

Someone got banned on /r/pics for posting too many links to their website. Learn from their mistakes!

Instead of providing a link, just say “Hey I posted the link in another comment, or you can google my username.”

Don’t upvote your own post on multiple accounts

This should be a no-brainer but I think is important enough to bear emphasizing.

Here’s the official Reddit rule on multiple accounts:

Don’t use your accounts to upvote on the same posts.

Don’t use a VPN. Don’t use your cell phone network. Don’t use apps. Don’t try to get around this rule. It’s not worth the one or two extra upvotes you might get.

Don’t ask for upvotes from friends (via text)

Reddit knows how many times the link was shared. It keeps track of all of that. So when you copy + paste the link from your browser and send it to your friends, it knows.

Don’t ask for upvotes using messenger apps. This includes Facebook, WhatsApp, SMS, etc.

Reddit keeps track of how many times the post was shared.

Instead, if you want to share your post with you friends and family, just give them a call! Reddit can’t track calls (at least I think).

I know that this part sounds a bit tin-foil-hat-y but I think it’s better to err on the side of caution. Better safe than sorry!

That’s all I can think of for now. If I think up new ones, I’ll edit this post. But to be honest, if you read through the subreddit rules and about Rediquette, you should be fine.

Remember!

You are a Redditor who happens to have a website. You are not a website with a Reddit account!

Thanks for reading! Want more tips?

This article is part of a series of marketing tips that I wrote. If it helped you in any way, please let me know in the comments or by email at 1min@unicornwithwings.com! So many people have helped me on my journey and I’d love to pay it forward. No strings attached at all.