Reddit is an online forum that has become hugely popular, especially among people aged 18 – 49 who make up 75% of Reddit end users in America. Although Reddit qualifies within the lower end of the social media businesses, it has a large user base with over 500 million accounts currently and has an expected growth of over 556 million Reddit users by 2028. It also appears highly on the Google organic search when end users ask questions. This shows that Reddit is growing in popularity and it could be a good place for Affiliates to organically grow their following and promote their Affiliate offers. If you are an Affiliate looking to take advantage of the opportunities Reddit provides, read on to find out the best practices when using Reddit for Affiliate offers.
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Communities on Reddit
Reddit has a lot of communities to choose from with some forums outgrowing the site like AITA- a subcategory of r/AskReddit in which users ask if they were wrong for their reactions to different scenarios. These posts have made it to news articles and YouTube with people commenting on their thoughts on situations. The top communities on Reddit are r/funny, r/AskReddit, and r/gaming. This shows that no matter your niche there will be a category you can join. Now that we have explored some of the categories let’s look at some of the terminology on Reddit to get you started.
Terminology on Reddit to help you build a presence for Affiliate offers
Before we talk about how to use Reddit for Affiliate offers, we will go through some of the definitions you will need to know when getting started on the forum. Understanding these terms will help you when building a successful Reddit presence for Affiliate offers.
- Subreddit: A community within Reddit, focused on a specific topic or interest. For example, r/music is a subreddit for fans of music.
- Post: This is just like Facebook or LinkedIn. A post stands for a piece of content shared by a user, which can be a text, image, video, or link.
- Comment: Another shared term which is a message that can be a reply to a post or another comment.
- Upvotes: This is very important as votes that indicate approval or appreciation for a post or comment. The upvotes will increase your website authority and will help you appear higher in the comments of a specific post.
- Downvotes: These are votes that indicate disapproval or disagreement with a post or comment. One of the reasons it is important to ensure you integrate your Affiliate content organically into Reddit is that downvotes will cause you to get flagged or it will make it harder for your comments on other posts to rank.
- Karma: A reputation system on Reddit. Users gain karma through upvotes and lose karma through downvotes. Once you have enough Karma points you will be able to create your own subreddit. Depending on your niche you will need anywhere from approximately 30 to 100 Karma points to create your own subreddit.
User Types on Reddit
When using Reddit there are some abbreviations that are used on posts. Here are the abbreviations that are used for different end users.
- OP: Original Poster, the person who created a post.
- Lurker: Someone who reads posts and comments but rarely contributes.
- Mod: Moderator, a user who has special privileges to manage a subreddit.
- Troll: Someone who intentionally posts provocative or disruptive content to cause trouble.
How to use Reddit for Affiliate offers.
It will take time to grow your audience organically. The best way to do so is by becoming active on Reddit, providing useful insights, contributing to posts in your niche, and by being smart with how you share your links. Here are some of our best practices when using Reddit for Affiliate offers:
1. Create your account
- Use a Reddit-specific account: Create a separate account for your Affiliate marketing activities to keep your personal and professional profiles separate. If you have multiple niches, although it could be tempting to create one account and grow your authority faster, we recommend separate accounts as you can create a username that reflects the industry you are interested in talking about. It also protects you from losing Reddit as a Traffic Source in the case that you are banned.
- Write a bio: The more information on your profile the more other end users will resonate with you. Briefly describe your interests or hobbies. This can help other users get to know you better.
2. Find relevant Subreddits
- Identify your niche: As an Affiliate, you have already found your niche or niches. This can help you focus your efforts on the correct forums. For example, if you are an Affiliate that specializes in VPN offers, you could search for forums about Cybersecurity, answer questions on how to access films and TV shows from different locations, or, include your offer on posts that ask for VPN recommendations. It is important to remember that you should give a bit more information on the VPN by providing the Pros and Cons of the specific VPN.
- Search for subreddits: You can use Reddit’s search bar to find subreddits related to your niche. For example, if you’re promoting fitness equipment, search for subreddits like r/fitness, and r/naturalbodybuilding.
3. Understand Subreddit rules
- Read the sidebar: The sidebar is an easy way to learn about the group rules and expectations. Each subreddit has its own rules and guidelines so make sure you read it carefully to avoid getting banned.
- Respect the community: Avoid spamming or self-promotion. Contribute meaningfully to the discussions and include links when it is appropriate.
4. Provide value
- Offer helpful information: Share tips, tricks, or reviews related to your niche. The more useful information you contribute, the more people will trust your content and the more likely they will be to look into your Affiliate offers. Focus on building relationships and trust before promoting your Affiliate offers.
- Answer questions: Be responsive and helpful to other users’ questions. If you are not educated on a topic do not provide your opinion as if it is unhelpful your comment may be downvoted and you will lose Karma points.
5. Integrate your Affiliate Links
- Natural placement: Integrate your Affiliate links into your posts or comments in a natural way. For example, if you’re reviewing a product, include your Affiliate link to the product page.
- Shorten links: Use a URL shortener like Bitly to make your links more visually appealing. Shortening also increases end user ease as your comment will look cleaner and easier to read.
6. Track your results
- Use Affiliate tracking tools: Monitor your Affiliate links to track clicks, conversions, and earnings. You can also track clicks more effectively by including a tracking code. This will help you to identify if Reddit is a good Traffic Source for you over time.
- Analyze performance: Identify what’s working and what’s not to optimize your strategy. Trying different approaches to see what works best for your niche and audience will also help you learn more about your audience and what drives them to purchase your offers.
Conclusion: Best practices when using Reddit for Affiliate offers
Building a successful Reddit presence for Affiliate offers takes time and effort. We have given you the Best practices when using Reddit for Affiliate offers. So, if you are consistent and persistent you will be able to build a following. If you give good-quality responses you will be able to create your own subreddit in time. Reddit works so well because the responses under posts are helpful, so if you are an Affiliate with a passion for educating and building a community around your offers, try Reddit today!
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