How to Get Karma on Reddit in 2022 (Simple Guide)
Want to learn how to get karma on Reddit?
Pssst… I got those sweet Reddit karma points that you’re looking for.
I mean, not really. But I can show you a few ways that you can use to get them.
Getting enough karma is important especially if you plan to do marketing on Reddit any time soon.
So let’s start with the basics:
What Is Reddit Karma?
Reddit karma is a score of points that every user that’s registered on Reddit has.
It is based on the upvote and downvote system that Reddit functions on, and depending on how many upvotes or downvotes a user gets, their Reddit karma will reflect that.
Because of that, there are basically two types of karma on Reddit:
- Positive karma (users that have a score above 1 point.)
- Negative karma (users who have a score lower than 0 points).
Every post that you create on Reddit and every comment can bring you either positive karma or negative karma, depending on how the Reddit community reacts to your content.
An important thing to note: the number of Reddit upvotes that your posts or comments get, are not 1:1 with your karma points.
Meaning that if your Reddit post gets 3,333 upvotes, you won’t suddenly have a 3,333 karma score.
Nobody knows exactly for sure how Reddit allocates their points, and it’s something that only their algorithm knows, but of course the system heavily relies on the upvotes/downvotes system.
Why Do You Need Reddit Karma?
Good question. Users need to aim for a positive karma score in order to get access to certain benefits, and of course to show everyone that they are genuinely good people.
Benefits of High Karma Points
There are a couple of benefits to getting karma on Reddit, here are a few of them:
Post without approval – You get to post as many times as you want without having to wait for your posts or comments to be manually approved by the mods (moderators) of some subreddits (communities).
Create your own subreddit – You won’t be able to open and create your own subreddit unless you have a good amount of positive karma points.
Get access to more subreddits – Some subreddits have minimum karma points for entry, so not anyone can join, especially if you don’t have high enough points. A good example is: /r/CenturyClub, where Reddit users need at least 100k karma points in order to join.
You’re good people – A high enough karma score in general signals to others that you’re awesome and knowledgeable and overall a good user. Some Redditors (Reddit users) are proud of their high karma score, and it’s some sort of legacy for them. No seriously, there’s even a karma leaderboard.
If you want to do marketing – To have a proper shot at doing Reddit marketing, you will need to become one of them. Meaning, you need a good score, and trustworthy enough to promote some of your stuff here and there without getting downvoted to space.
How to Get Karma on Reddit
Alright, so now that I’ve explained a few things about what karma is and why it’s important to have it, let’s go over a few methods that you can apply to increase Reddit karma.
1. Post Good Stuff
Seriously, this might sound basic AF but people on Reddit genuinely want to see and upvote cool, unique, creative, and interesting stuff.
So join subreddits that are interesting to you, and start posting epic shit.
BUT
Be careful not to repost, meaning to post stuff that has already been shared before, because that’s a big no-no in the eyes of the Redditors.
2. Comment Smartly
Don’t just go around and spam comment on every thread, that’s not how you do it. Instead try to add value to the conversation, with unique thoughts and your insight.
You’ll be surprised how quickly you can ramp up your points if you’re commenting useful stuff.
3. Ask & Answer questions
There are a lot of subreddits such as: AskReddit, where users simply ask questions, and if you know the answer to them, well go ahead and answer.
It’s the same as commenting basically, but less random and more specific to a point, since you’re trying to answer a question.
You could also post your own questions, and if you come up with some interesting topics, you might see a ton of upvotes going your way.
4. Comment on New & Rising Posts
Don’t be afraid to be the first one to comment on new and rising posts.
Usually, if your comment is good (and is one of the first ones in that thread) you might get a small chance of others upvoting you, and since your comment was the first it quickly reaches the top, where others will see your comment faster and again upvote on it.
This only works of course, if you follow the 2nd. step in getting Reddit Karma which is… comment smartly and good useful stuff.
5. Join Free Karma Subreddits
Anyway, all you have to do is join “free karma subreddits” such as FreeKarma4U, and post content.
Every time someone posts something it’s generally understood and agreed by all the users in that subreddit that they will upvote the posts and comments of others.
However, be careful to read the rules of the subreddit first, and don’t just create posts begging for: “Please give me upvotes”, that will get you more downvotes instead lol.
Eh, this one is kind of a grey area, but apparently, a Reddit admin has commented that it’s totally fine.
6. Reply to comments
If someone engages with you in a conversation (or multiple users for that matter), a good way to get more upvotes and comment karma is by replying to every comment that you get.
Basically think about this as a regular conversation that you might have with someone, either via voice, chat or whatever… it’s the same with Reddit comments to, you want to keep that conversation going for a while.
Oftentimes when someone comments something and gets a ton of upvotes, other users that are also adding their own witty replies to that comment can get a lot of upvotes as well.
So make sure to always reply to comments if you have the time, it’s not only beneficial for getting more points but also it’s the polite thing to do.
7. Don’t overdo it
Listen, you don’t want to become what is known as a karma farmer or worse (a Karma whore).
Hey those are their terms, not mine… it’s generally how other Reddit users see those who post low quality stuff or things only to get more upvotes.
Such as quotes, pics and gifs of celebrities, etc…
You want to grow your Reddit Karma points gradually and naturally, and no, buying Reddit Gold won’t get you there faster either.
Viewing Your Reddit Karma Score
To check out your karma score, you simply go to your Reddit account, click on your user name and then click on Profile and you will see something like this, on your right hand side of the screen:
Final Words
Look, Reddit is a wonderful place to spend your free time in and browsing subreddits that interest you, and it can also be a powerful marketing tool if you know how to use it correctly.
While getting a high enough amount of Karma points can be beneficial and something that many people want to get as fast as possible, you should always keep in mind to follow the Reddiquette (Reddit etiquette) and follow their content policies.
Stay hustlin’
Stephen