Should you use Reddit to promote your articles?
Say you write a spectacular article (like this one). Maybe it’s on your company blog, maybe it’s for a news site. Either way, it’s awesome, and it’s out there, ready for the world to read and salivate over. Once that bad boy is published, it’s up to you to spread the word and get as many eyeballs as you can on the story. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn get the ball rolling. You follow by submitting the piece to Growth Hackers, Hacker News, and Stumbleupon. Momentum is on your side and things start to look promising. But then you start feeling bold… and you venture onto Reddit.
Uh oh.
Should you promote your articles on Reddit? Isn’t that site for axe murders to exchange tips on breaking into houses or something? And don’t Redditors create accounts so they can make fun of articles like the ones I’m considering posting? Where’s the benefit?!
Well, If an article takes off on a subreddit, it’ll be read widely and discussed by a large, targeted audience. But if it doesn’t take off? At best it won’t be read, at worst it’ll be ripped apart by swarms of angry users. Or you’ll be banned from the subreddit you posted to in the first place.
Treat Reddit like a litmus test
A poorly performing article can sink anyone’s ego. But it’s good to know where you stand. So think about Reddit as being a giant litmus test. If your story does well there, it’s probably a decent piece, or at the very least it’s well-targeted to the subreddit. If it gets downvoted or piled on by ruthless Reddit users? Then take the criticism as constructively as you possibly can and learn from it. Knowing how audiences respond to your writing make you a better writer in the long run.
Don’t write crappy articles
If you don’t feel great about the article you’re posting to Reddit, then don’t post it. But if you can look back through your article and not fall asleep, give it a go. Expecting strangers to respond well to an article that you had a hard time slogging through isn’t going to bode well. Write articles that give valuable information to the reader and find subreddits where you know you’re actually providing a service to someone. Reddit hates SPAM. So promote yourself without actually being SPAM.
Don’t give it away that it’s your article
If you’re committed to using Reddit to promote your articles, then get in the habit of sharing other exciting articles on the site. You’ll build Karma (not sure if it’s important, but it’s a thing that happens on Reddit), credibility as a source who shares valuable information, and you won’t leave yourself open to personal attacks. Plus, if people think they’re critiquing a random article and not one written by a fellow Redditor, you’ll get their honest feedback, for better or worse.
So what about you? Do you use Reddit to promote the articles you’ve written? Let me know.
Chad Reid is Director of Communications at JotForm a popular tool to create online forms. He loves cats.
