As I’m sure you’re aware, affiliate marketing is about leveraging traffic to earn a commission by recommending products that you believe in. You’re essentially acting as a middleman (or middlewoman) between the end customer and the product seller, earning a small cut each time a sale is made through your referral link.
There are many different types of affiliate marketers out there, from email marketers to paid media buyers – but if you’re looking at Reddit affiliate marketing, then you’re likely focused on organic social media and content creation!
Right off the bat, I want to tell you: Reddit shouldn’t be your ONLY traffic channel for promoting affiliate products (we’ll get into why that is later in this post). But Reddit can be a powerful way to bring highly engaged prospects into your affiliate funnel.
Let’s dive in!
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What is Reddit?
Unlike other social media platforms where the focus is often on individuals, Reddit is community-centric. It’s organized into subreddits, which are like mini-forums focused on specific topics or interests. From gardening to gaming, there’s a subreddit for almost anything – and this makes Reddit an ideal platform for targeted niche marketing!
When you combine affiliate marketing with Reddit, you get a strategy where you engage with Reddit communities (subreddits) that align with the products you’re promoting. The key here is to provide real value and authentic engagement. You’re not there to drop links and go. Instead, you’re participating in meaningful discussions, offering advice, and becoming a trusted member of one or more subreddit communities.
ClickBank serves as the bridge in this equation. We’re an online affiliate marketplace with thousands of products across various categories, perfect for any affiliate marketer looking for a product to promote. With ClickBank, you can easily find a product that would resonate with any subreddit communities you’re a part of!
Why Use Reddit for Affiliate Marketing?
Reddit’s structure is inherently different from other social media platforms. While platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram are built around individual profiles, Reddit is built around these subreddit communities. That means that instead of shouting into the void and hoping someone hears you, you’re entering a room full of people already gathered together to talk about a topic you want to discuss. This is targeted marketing at its finest!
Another huge benefit is user engagement on Reddit, which is exceptionally high. Redditors are not just passive consumers of content; they’re active participants. They upvote, downvote, comment, and share. So, when you post something that resonates with other Redditors, it doesn’t just get likes – it gets conversations started. That’s far more valuable!
Ultimately, credibility and trust are the currencies of Reddit (well, those and karma, of course!). If a community trusts you, your recommendations will go far. This is why it’s crucial to be an active, contributing member of the subreddit before you even think about promoting anything.
Case Study: Digital_Wealth’s Journey to Paying Off Student Loans
Let’s look at a quick example on Reddit of someone who used Reddit successfully as an affililiate.
Digital Wealth’s success story serves as a compelling example of Reddit’s potential for affiliate marketing. Starting in April 2022, this user strategically chose a high-ticket software product in a niche they were passionate about.
Through consistent engagement and a well-structured sales funnel, they not only saw results within a few months but also managed to pay off their student loans. Their journey underscores the power of Reddit as a platform that, when navigated thoughtfully, can yield significant financial rewards.
This case study underscores why Reddit is a platform worth considering for affiliate marketing. It offers a highly engaged community that, when approached correctly, can lead to significant financial rewards.
The Challenges of Affiliate Marketing on Reddit
Okay, before you start affiliate marketing on Reddit, it’s important to know the rules for each subreddit you want to be a part of, because violating them can get you banned.
In fact, Reddit as a whole also has a site-wide policy against spam and self-promotion! This means you can’t just drop your affiliate links into a post or comment – you’ll need to be more strategic about it. Some subreddits even require you to have a certain amount of karma points before you can even post or comment there, to help weed out spam and self-promotion.
Another hurdle to be aware of is the absolutely legendary skepticism of Redditors. Reddit users are generally more internet-savvy and can easily spot when someone is trying to sell them something or “farm karma” rather than providing real value. These users value authenticity and can be quite vocal about calling out anything that seems disingenuous. If you come off as a marketer just trying to make a quick buck, you’ll lose credibility instantly.
The goal here is genuine engagement. Reddit is a community, and like any community, it wants to reward the members who contribute. Redditors will actively check your profile, see how much karma you’ve earned, and even scrutinize where you’ve posted before. They’ll also know if you’ve just joined Reddit, and if you’re an active member of any other communities!
Bottom Line: Reddit isn’t a platform where you can take shortcuts. You need to invest time and effort into becoming a genuine member of any community that you wish to engage with. It’s about contributing value, building trust, and understanding the nuanced rules and culture of each subreddit. Only then can you get real results from affiliate marketing on Reddit!
4 Tips for Success as a Reddit Affiliate Marketer
I’ve thrown a lot of information at you so far, but there’s really 4 simple tips you need to remember for success as an affiliate on Reddit.
1) Understand Your Subreddits
Before you even think about posting, take the time to understand the subreddit you’re targeting. Each subreddit has its own culture, rules, and in many cases, unspoken norms as well. Ignoring these can get you banned, downvoted, or perhaps worst of all, totally ignored!
Spend some time lurking and observe what kind of content is appreciated there. This will serve as your foundation for creating new content and interacting with other users on that subreddit.
2) Be Genuine and Upfront
Transparency is highly valued on Reddit. If you’re promoting a product, it’s better to be honest about it. Redditors appreciate when you’re upfront about your intentions, as long as you’re also providing value. The worst mistake you can make is to try and deceive the community. They’ll catch on quickly, and your reputation will be tarnished – not just in one subreddit, but on all of Reddit!
Along those lines, you should reach out to the admin(s) of a subreddit asking for permission to post your link! It’s better to err on the side of caution when it comes to promotion.
3) Build Karma by Offering Value
When you engage with any subreddit, you MUST add value! Your posts and comments should contribute something meaningful to the discussion. Whether it’s expert advice, a how-to guide, or even a relevant personal anecdote, your contributions should offer something beneficial to the community!
I wouldn’t even think about promoting anything until you’ve accumulated at least 30-50 karma points through active posting and engaging in these subreddits!
4) Avoid Direct Promotion
When it comes to actually writing a post or comment designed to promote your business, brand, or affiliate product, resist the urge to use all of your direct response copywriting techniques and hard selling right there. Blatant promotion is frowned upon and can get you flagged or banned. Instead, aim for subtlety.
If your product can solve a problem that’s being discussed, you can offer it as a suggestion, but not through a sales pitch. Frame it in a way that shows you’re helping, not selling – and think in terms of being informative or entertaining, not salesy!
Here’s an example for someone in the r/WeAreTheMusicMakers subreddit asking the question, “Record at studio or at home?”
One reply mentioned getting a USB interface to record at home, but didn’t specify which one in his answer.
However, if this user this were in the music niche, he could still mention getting a USB interface and also include link over to a video or guide he put together that explains how to choose a USB interface – and THAT resource could have affiliate links!
It all comes back to a simple funnel: start with a traffic source, route the traffic through some kind of bridge page, and include your affiliate link over to the sales page so when people buy, you get a commission. The same thing works on Reddit as it does on Quora, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, email, or any number of other traffic sources!
5 Steps to Start Affiliate Marketing on Reddit With ClickBank
In order to find success on Reddit as an affiliate, you need some products to promote! If you’re new to ClickBank, this will help you get started fast!
1) Set Up a ClickBank Account
This first step is straightforward but crucial. Head over to ClickBank’s website and sign up for an account by clicking the Start Here button. This will be your gateway to a wide range of products that you can promote.
Make sure to complete your profile and get to know the ClickBank dashboard. This is your hub for finding affiliate products to promote!
2) Choose an Affiliate Product
This is where the fun begins. Browse through ClickBank’s marketplace to find top products that align with your interests or expertise. Don’t just pick any product; choose one that you can genuinely endorse. Your authenticity will shine through when you’re promoting something you believe in.
In addition, you’ll want to pick something with a decent Gravity score. I have a separate guide where I dive into what the ClickBank Gravity score is, but just know that it measures how many different affiliates have generated sales of a product recently. That’s helpful, because you want to promote products that convert!
3) Find Relevant Subreddits
Now that you have a product, it’s time to find your audience. Use Reddit’s search function or third-party tools to find subreddits that align with your product’s niche. But don’t just stop there!
Spend some time getting to know the community, their pain points, and how your product can solve their problems. And keep in mind that there are different types of subreddits, some of which are more geared toward entertainment, such as r/aww, and others which are focused on news, such as r/news.
You want to find ones that are geared toward how-to information and relevant to your niche. For example, I’m personally in the music niche, and I belong to subreddits like r/composer, r/edmproduction, and r/bedroombands. Just from their names, you can see how these communities are much more focused on actually doing something – and if I have content or product recommendations that can help the people in these communities, then I’ve got a great opportunity for my affiliate business!
4) Promote Your Affiliate Links
Here’s where you need to be cautious. Reddit has strict rules against spam and self-promotion. Instead of posting your affiliate links directly, use an affiliate bridge page, a blog post, or a YouTube video where you provide additional value before directing them to the product through your affiliate link.
This not only complies with Reddit’s rules, but also builds trust and warms up your audience for whatever product you’re promoting. Or if you’re building an email list, you can just encourage them to opt in and sell them through your email sequence.
NOTE: If you don’t currently have a landing page builder, consider trying ClickBank Accelerator. Here at ClickBank, we created this funnel building software aimed specifically at affiliate marketers!
5) Supplement with Other Traffic Channels
Reddit is powerful, but it shouldn’t be your only marketing channel! At ClickBank, our top affiliates are using other methods like paid ads, email lists, SEO, and organic social.
I’ve identified 5 types of affiliates that tend to promote on ClickBank, but they’re not all super compatible with Reddit. Personally, I would focus on Reddit as a supplement for free traffic sources like a blog, YouTube channel, email list, or community. The idea is to create an integrated marketing strategy where Reddit can amplify or sweeten your other efforts.
What About Paid Ads on Reddit?
Most of this post has been devoted to organic traffic, but Reddit is also a platform where you can pay to have your ads seen by a target audience.
Here’s my take: Reddit users tend to be more sophisticated, spend more time online, and skew younger than the typical users on Facebook, YouTube, and other prominent paid ad platforms – as well as users who happen to notice native ads on their favorite websites.
In other words, Redditors are more skeptical and less likely to engage with ads or sponsored content, whether because of ad blindness or a willful determination not to click ads. I don’t want to discourage you from experimenting with different free and paid channels to see what works, but I’m aware of what top ClickBank affiliates are using – and I’ve never heard of a ClickBank Platinum affiliate getting there through Reddit ads.
Feel free to experiment, but if you’re determined to use Reddit as an affiliate, I would stick with it for free traffic!
Affiliate Marketing on Reddit Wrap-up
In some ways, Reddit is a difficult platform for affiliate marketing, but the rewards can be substantial if you can crack the code. Reddit offers a unique environment filled with highly engaged users who are deeply invested in their communities. When done right, Reddit can act as a force multiplier for your affiliate marketing efforts, amplifying your reach and brand!
It’s important to remember that Reddit is not a standalone solution for most affiliates. It works best when integrated into a broader marketing strategy that may include other social media platforms like Quora, email marketing, TikTok, YouTube, or SEO efforts.
So, while Reddit isn’t a magic wand that will solve all your marketing challenges, it’s still a powerful tool that can significantly boost your affiliate marketing success when you use it right. Best of luck with Reddit!
Take Your Affiliate Marketing to the Next Level
Before you go, I want to make sure you know about a great opportunity to diversify your traffic sources and skills through free traffic goldmines beyond Reddit, including TikTok and SEO blogging.
Spark By ClickBank is the official affiliate marketing education platform from ClickBank. With Spark, you’ll get a set of proven traffic techniques, a like-minded community of marketers, and the tools you need to do the job.
If you’re looking to elevate your affiliate marketing game and find your path to success faster, check out Spark By ClickBank today!