Reddit is getting a lot of controversial press right now due to the way the co-founders are managing certain communities but there are still some great communities out there worth participating in. In fact, Reddit is one of the platforms of choice when promoting crowdfunding projects. Reddit officially launched a crowdfunding arm called “Redditmade” back in 2014 but the project ultimately closed. Crowdfunding marketing on Reddit isn’t dead yet and you can create some serious buzz if you look at the right places and do the right things. Here are some tips to get started.
Be an Active Redditor
If you never joined Reddit before, don’t focus on promoting your crowdfunding campaign right away. The purpose of Reddit is to contribute and share interesting things. Some members and moderators may consider you a spammer if your very first posts have promotional content. A good idea would be to join subreddits that are within the niche of the crowdfunding campaign you are promoting. Seeking funding for an innovative iPhone case? Maybe you can join the /r/iphone, /r/gadgets, and /r/iphonecases subreddits. Participate in these communities by commenting on existing posts and/or submitting new links that have nothing to do with your crowdfunding promotions. The idea is to get karma or upvotes by other members so you gain respect from the community.
Check Out the /r/CrowdfundingProjects Subreddit
The /r/CrowdfundingProjects subreddit is one of the main subreddits that allow anybody to promote their crowdfunding campaign. When submitting your campaign, use the “Submit a new text post” button so you can add a description to your campaign and the official Facebook and crowdfunding platform links. Make sure your title is direct to the point and doesn’t contain too much fluff, hype or buzzwords or else others may not take your campaign seriously.
Slowly Spread Your Influence to Other Subreddits
Don’t expect your post in CrowdfundingProjects to gain a lot of steam just yet because there are only less than a thousand readers subscribed in that subreddit at the moment. Slowly expand your presence by joining more generic niches like /r/technology. Participate there and keep an eye out for any tech-related crowdfunding projects submitted by others. If your campaign starts getting buzz, you might be able to promote it too. Just be sure to follow the subreddit rules and keep your redditqutte intact and you should be fine.
This will be the first of several Reddit-related posts so stay tuned for more tips.