Experimenting with Reddit - Success, Then Banned
I recently read an article by Brian Dean on viral marketing, and was inspired to try out everything he suggested.
Well, I created a value-packed post, and then promoted it on several platforms, one being Reddit. I posted it on Reddit about half an hour ago and here are my results so far in Google Analytics:
The visitors are fluctuating between 3 and 7 right now.
So yeah, going out there and actually promoting your content really does work. As long as your content is insightful and packed with value, you'll be rewarded with lots of targeted visitors. And yes, even Reddit works - as long as you don't spam. ;)
EDIT: more and more visitors... :)
EDIT 2:
What? My post was 100% upvoted (9 upvotes), it was showing near the top of the r/webdev feed, I was getting lots of traffic, and then this:
Why? I've never been banned from anything before. :( I thought my link qualified, if not over-qualified, as valuable. I didn't break any of their posted rules. Just goes to show the danger of posting your own content to Reddit I guess. (?)
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Recent Comments
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It's hard to understand why you were banned. I've never used Reddit and not likely to after reading your experience.
I was banned for self-promotion. So, you basically can't post links to your own website(s) unless you are a very active participant and rarely promote yourself (which I don't have time for), or purchase an ad....
It's not user-friendly, or even the least bit intuitive. It reminds me of a circa 1992 forum really :)
I agree. It definitely has a VERY outdated look and feel. But hey, somehow it's still wildly popular.
I've been banned at least twice before when I've tried using it, so I won't try again. I just don't get it.
Reddit is awesome! It can be a HUGE boon to anyone trying to get targeted traffic.
But like you found, they can also be very finicky.
Understand that sub-reddits are all monitored and maintained by people just like you and me.
They every sub has its own rule. I'll be making a post on the tech soon and I'll post it out here as well.
They can "ban" you for anything, or nothing. You MUST have been reported by someone to the admins or they took issue with your post directly.
But you've not been banned from Reddit.
You can post in other subs, and you should be able to contact the admins of that sub and inquire as to why you've been banned.
If you agree to fix, or otherwise apologize they might even let you back in.
Thanks for the insightful comment.
I realize I wasn't banned from Reddit itself, just the r/webdev subreddit.
I messaged the mods, we'll see what they say. :)
I would be curious if they respond, and assuming they do, how they respond.
If you wouldn't mind posting an update regarding your experience, I'd appreciate it.
Sure, they responded hours ago but I was away.
I completely understand what they're saying. They have to be strict, otherwise Reddit would be riddled with spam....
But that's how people's post go viral, because they post their own stuff so I really don't understand now. Lol
Apparently you have to be a very active contributor and rarely post links to your own site. I posted the link before contributing anything in that particular subreddit, so I understand why I was banned. Here are the official rules on self-promotion, which the mods who banned me shared:
https://www.reddit.com/wiki/selfpromotion
You can also purchase a Reddit ad, and promote your site that way...but I think I'd only do that with a money page.
No problem.
Quick warning: Reddit is definitely one you can have a lot of success with, but it's also known for being very unfriendly. You just have to be careful, and read ALL their rules. Some mods can be ruthless when they disagree with you or view your post as spam.
I read a post from some forum about a guy that posted on Reddit an got banned right off the bat. Lol
Oh well, if you read my updated post you will see that's almost exactly what happened to me lol.
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maybe you surpassed the daily allowance of contacting people or adding them
Nah, that's not quite how Reddit works. I was banned because I posted a link to my own website.