Comment by GaryNOVA on 02/02/2025 at 12:45 UTC

2 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)

Subreddit Growth Guide

Im not a bot even though I might seem like one. As far as driving traffic to your sub, this is what I did when I started r/SalsaSnobs . The key is reading and following the rules of each subreddit.

***Creating Your Subreddit****

Your Subreddit’s topic needs to have an audience and you need to find that audience. Seek out those who are interested in your topic, but do not harass. Make sure you create a sub that doesn’t already exist. Make it unique.

Properly describe your sub in the sub description. Use commonly used words that people associate with your topic so that when people search those terms, your sub comes up.

Find a couple of moderators. I found one who happened to like graphic arts. He created our sub avatar and banner. Plus they will help spread the word. Work together to establish clear rules. Find someone who is good with computers. It also helps to find people who have a genuine interest in your sub. r/NeedAMod

The sub needs consistent content. You gotta find people who like to contribute. I search for related posts each day. Posts that would fit in my sub. I look for people posting and I either comment on their post, or contact them directly. They’re interested in my subs topic just like me, so they join, and they contribute. Not just lurk. Use the sub invite button on mobile to invite specific relevant content providers. ****But don’t spam invites to large groups!**** ****Spam is against the rules.****. Keep it up. I’ve been doing it every day for 4 years.

It helps if a sub appears active, so you need to do your part as a moderator. I vote on every post and every comment in my sub. That helps to make your sub appear active, and it also helps me keep track of what I��ve reviewed as a mod. I also like to give posts in my sub awards. Save your contributions / posts for slow days to fill the gaps.

Be an active mod. Get rid of content that your users don’t like. Modify rules to fit what your users want. have clear concise rules so somewhat guide your sub into being a quality sub.

Reddit has mod courses you can take to make yourself more proficient in moderating. Go to r/ModCertification to find out more.

It is checking mod queue every day. Multiple times. Same with Modmail. You have to enforce the demands of your community if it’s within the rules you set. That’s a matter of quality, and quality is important when you want to attract members and keep them active.

Make your subreddit look pretty. People like shiny things. Create a banner, created a subreddit Avatar. You can make custom awards and custom upvote/downvote symbols. Add widgets. Keep up with both old and new Reddit. Etc etc.

***Promoting Your Subreddit****

Find a bigger sub that’s lax on rules to advertise in. A sub that is related to your topic. Maybe do a normal post for that sub and write “join us at (sub name)” in the comments. Go around asking sub mods for permission to do this in related subs. Most of them will allow it . Probably. Don’t do it without permission. It’s good to meet the mods of related subs and have a semi relationship. It’s not proper to do it twice. Even if you had permission the first time. So cross posting from your sub works too. People will see where it came from.

I work the name of my sub into Reddit conversation in comments. don’t spam it. Subs prefer links be an actual part of a relevant comment. Not just the link alone. r/AskReddit is great for this. I just look for relevant questions. You will notice that you’ve already read the name of my subreddit because I worked it into this post in a relevant way.

Cross post the content from your sub to other related subs if allowed to. People will see which sub it came from.

There are a bunch of subs for advertising new subs. Take advantage of them all. They have great advice on growing your sub. Check sidebars for posting guidelines; r/Birthofasub r/Subredditads r/newreddits r/Promote r/PromoteReddit r/FreePromote r/Yoursub r/Needasubmitter r/subreddithub r/subreddits r/theresaredditforthat r/Tinysubredditoftheday r/Newsubreddits , r/promotecrossposts

r/ModHelp has a FAQ about growing your sub.

Some subreddits let you type on your own custom flair. Why not make your flair the name of your subreddit? If that’s within the subs rules, then everyone will see your subreddit’s name every time you comment.

Again. Always follow the rules of both Reddit and it’s subreddits !

***Being Part of a Larger Community****

Make a list of related subs and then contact their moderators. Ask them politely if they would add your sub to their related subs sidebar. Tell them you will add their sub to your sidebar. A typical message would be something like “ I mod (this sub) and I am a big fan of your sub. I would love to add your sub to our related subs sidebar with your permission. We would love to be a part of yours as well.”

I do contests and give gold to the winning posts. It encourages participation. I also do cross sub contests. Example. I got ahold of the mod for a related sub. and told him I was doing a contest on the 4th of July. The Mod let me advertise it and he pinned my post for a month out of kindness because it was cross related to his topic.

Join the Mod subs; r/ModHelp , r/ModClub , r/ModNews , r/AskModerators , r/ModGuide , r/ModSupport , r/AutoModerator , r/NeedAMod , r/ModReserves , r/Help etc etc

***Other Resources For Sub Growth****

Guide For Subreddit Advertising

Seeding Content

Reddits Guide for Growth Basics

Reddit’s Guide for Maintaining an Active Community

Growth As A Mod

More Subs for Mods

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This took a combination of research and trial and error, but it seems to work. The main rule: Follow the rules of other people’s subs

Replies

Comment by linuxusr at 02/02/2025 at 23:04 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I am 71 years of age and a noob mod. This is SO helpful and I am very grateful for the time

and effort you put into your post. I will put your advice to good use as I progress, building

my sub now with 1 post and 7 members (and many posts by myself, equally a mod and a participant): r/PIP_Analysands