Concept Source: How to Use the Reddit Effect for Affiliate Marketing

Separating traffic sources is always a smart strategy. Moreover, lately, Facebook has been putting more and more spokes into the wheels of publishers. So we continue to look for alternative traffic sources and caught the excitement in the process! Today, we will share our impressions and ideas about the possibilities of Reddit for traffic arbitrage!

Reddit is a hybrid news portal and social network with a retro forum touch. Its structure is built from many subreddits: communities, topics, and discussions. Users provide all materials and vote for them. Links that the community likes rise in the rankings, so the main page is constantly changing, like a kind of “hit parade” of content.

By the way, we mentioned Reddit when we discussed unusual sources of conditionally free traffic. That article might help you also!

Reddit features:

One of the most popular sites in the world (19th place in the ranking of the most visited platforms, users view about 150 million pages every day).
This gigantic social platform is called the "Home of the Internet".
Each user can create subreddits with text, pictures, links. Or comment on other people's subreddits of interest.
Its content is solid user generated content. Consequently, the level of trust in the content is very high.
The level of criticism is also high, so banal advertising will not work here. You need to present the topic in such a way that it looks like a personal opinion. And even better - it has become provocative, witty, noticeable and popular.
There is an unspoken “code of conduct” here. Regular users do not trust newcomers and casual guests, so you need to earn trust and “pump” your reputation.

Types of ads on Reddit

To start with, apart from UGC, you can simply place paid ads on Reddit just like you would on other social platforms. Targeting to suitable subreddits is configured taking into account the interests of the target audience. All settings of advertising campaigns are described in detail on the website.

Reddit is offering free ad credit to test its ad tools.

As for unpaid advertising, there are nuances. Firstly, self-promotion on Reddit is not liked. If you simply post a direct affiliate link, it will be removed and your account may be blocked. Therefore, free advertising will not work without a creative approach.

What to do?

First, you can keep your thematic blog and share the thematic professional experience. In particular, for Nutra, this could be a blog about health and/or its narrow direction (skin youth, hair health, physical strength, etc.).

Secondly, you can find suitable topics and become an active participant in discussions.

In general, the community is a key concept for Reddit users. This is confirmed by a regular event called r/place.

r/place is a collective project and social experiment on the Reddit platform. It is a digital canvas that all users could edit. One user can only change the color of one pixel. During the 87 hours of the project in 2022, more than 1 million users from 236 countries edited the canvas, posting a total of about 16 million pixels, from which various drawings, memes and stories were obtained.

Now imagine that your ad was on such an epic canvas in the spotlight. It's not easy, but nothing is impossible for a talented affiliate marketer!

Creatives on Reddit

To be creative effectively, take into account the tastes of the target audience. On Reddit, the audience is picky, so you need to either surprise them or impress them with quality. We see two paths, each of which is good, the choice depends on your offer:

Be on the wave of memes, trends, and hype. Jump into the first car and use the actual stories for promotion. The main thing is not to gape, because outdated content will not work, and memes become outdated almost instantly.
Win not by humor, but by the real quality of ideas. This may seem more difficult, but it will save you from the continuous race for hype. All your messages, images and other content must satisfy the most demanding requests.

And now to practice. Let's say you decide to comment on already existing subreddits. Sign up for free (a premium account costs $5.99/month or $49.99/year). Research current topics in your niche and collect questions that users are interested in.

Create content that helps people answer their questions. For example, publish an article on your site and include a link to affiliate promotions. In a comment on Reddit, cite your article as a helpful resource.
You can try to create a subreddit on your topic yourself. Create content and respond to comments. If you do everything cool, the theme can be developed. Links to Reddit often appear on the first page of Google.
Be honest about your promotions and clearly explain how the product will benefit the reader. For example, if you use the products yourself and can confirm their value.
Use Linktree or any other multilink service

Aff1.com tip: Against obvious logic, focus on smaller subreddits rather than large ones. There are fewer participants and “information noise”, it is easier to stand out and make yourself known.

An example of an advertising campaign on Reddit: noosa yogurts. The campaign started with a discussion about which yogurt tastes best. Brand popularity increased by an average of 39-49%.

The platform accepts content of different formats: photos, videos, gifs, news.

The technical specifications of the ad creatives are detailed directly on Reddit.

The Reddit mascot is an alien named Snoo. This is a registered TM, but you can try to play with it in creative. But first, read the Reddit Brand Guidelines.

Reddit for Nutra traffic

Let's look at the audience again: the majority of Reddit users are between 18 and 49 years old, that is, the active solvent part of society. A significant proportion of users are even younger: between 18 and 29 years old. According to Statista, Reddit is dominated by a male audience: 63.8% male and 36.2% female. Mostly residents of the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Does this young audience match your desired target group?

18+ is the audience criterion for Nutra. Then you can choose offers: dietary supplements for skin and hair for women 25+, potency for men 30+, hair loss remedies for men 35+, etc.

In addition, according to the platform’s own statistics, the number of views in the Beauty category increased by 13% in 2022.

Don't forget to consider restrictions on advertising for health and beauty products.

White Hat is also a suitable niche. Gadgets, interior items, and any original and stylish things captivate these people.

Reddit users love animals. In 2022 (and in all other years), redditors shared photos and videos of pets. Offers for animals will definitely come in handy.

Brand advertising campaign for animals in video format and a quiz on a hot topic.

There is such a trick: first, write a post, and the next day edit it and add an affiliate link.

Fly in the ointment

The Reddit audience is its advantage and disadvantage at the same time. The status of each user and trust in him is determined by “karma”.

Karma is a rating system on Reddit. Every user, post and comment has it. Karma shows the opinion of users about the quality of content. Karma is earned by posting new interesting topics. The higher the karma, the more respect and attention the user has!

It is impossible to get organic traffic on Reddit without good karma. And good karma is achieved only by competent and active activity on the platform.

You will have to spend time and effort building your reputation. In order for your opinion not to be considered spam by a newbie, you need to accumulate at least 600 karma points in the comments before you start posting links.

The requirements for content on Reddit are higher than on other social networks. In many services, any reaction to a post promotes it, positive or negative, it doesn't matter. And here only positive ratings raise your post, so for organic promotion, you will have to be very thoughtful about the content.

But that won't let you rest on your laurels. Accumulating karma and posting links is an ongoing process, so keep contributing. Each of your posts is a step forward or a way of regression. It all depends on whether users give you plus or minus for it. Link to different reliable sources, not just your website. If your advertisement is perceived negatively, it will harm your reputation and karma. Therefore, such advertising is simply not allowed.

To earn the trust of the community, mimic their style. There are many abbreviations used on Reddit, here are the most popular ones:

AFAIK means "As far as I know"
AMA means "Ask me anything"
CMV means "Change my view"
DAE means "Does anybody/anyone else"
ELI5 means "Explain like I'm 5 (years old)"
FTFY means "Fixed that for you"
IAMA means "I am a"
IANAD means "I am not a doctor"
IANAL means "I am not a lawyer"
IIRC means "If I recall correctly"
IMO/IMHO means "In my opinion" and "In my humble/honest opinion"
ITT значит "In this thread"
MRW/MFW means "My reaction when" and "My face when"
NSFL means "Not safe for life"
NSFW means "Not safe for work"
OP means "Original poster"
[Serious] means "Serious answers only" (often used in /r/askreddit and now other subreddits)
PSA means "Public service announcement"
TIL means "Today I learned"
TL;DR means "Too long; Didn't read"
YSK means "You should know"

Instead of conclusions

Reddit has earned a reputation as a dangerous place to advertise. In fact, you just need to understand its principles and be careful enough when promoting your links on this site:

1. Don't post self-promotion without karma points.

2. Be a valuable and helpful Reddit member before you start promoting.

3. Don't post direct affiliate links; link to your site with useful information on the topic and leave affiliate links only there.

5. Keep gaining karma points, don't forget to keep working on your account's reputation.

So now you have another effective traffic source in your hands. You can read about others in our previous articles:

In the meantime, we continue to find the best offers, sources, and ideas for you. Aff1.com managers are always in touch and ready to share their experience!