How to Gain Karma on Reddit

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: April 10, 2022

This wikiHow teaches you how to create Reddit posts and comments that attract upvotes. When other Reddit users upvote your content, you receive karma. Small amounts of karma may be necessary to access some subreddits, but otherwise, it serves simply as a point of pride.

Steps

1
Know what karma is. Karma refers to points received from upvotes, which are the Reddit equivalents of "likes" on Facebook. You receive approximately one point of karma for each upvote, and you lose about one point of karma for each downvote.^{[1]
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2
Understand the different types of karma. You can receive different types of karma from the following types of posts:^{[2]
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- Post Karma - Posting an external link or creating a text-only post and then receiving upvotes will grant you "post" karma.
- Comment Karma - Posting a comment on an existing post or link and receiving upvotes will result in "comment" karma.
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3
Visit large subreddits with more than a million subscribers like r/AskReddit, r/pics, or r/funny. Sort by either top of the hour, rising, or new and leave a comment on those threads. This ensures that your comment won't be buried under those that got there before you.
4
Comment on new posts. One of the easiest ways to give your comments visibility when you're starting out is to leave a thought-provoking comment or image on other users' existing posts. Witticisms are what get you the most karma, but trivia or stories also work.
- This method is less likely to earn you large amounts of karma all at once, but it will serve to build up your karma score over time while simultaneously establishing you as a dedicated user.
5
Avoid making negative or poor-quality posts. Your links and comments should add something of value to Reddit's overall content base. Posts that fall outside of Reddit's commonly accepted posting rules (also known as "reddiquette") tend to receive downvotes.^{[3]
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- You'll also want to refrain from violating Reddit's terms of use, since doing so will at the very least result in downvotes.
- It's okay to criticize, so long as the criticism is presented in a civil manner. The exception to this rule is comedic posting, though even these posts must err on the side of civility.
6
Post relevant and discussion-worthy content. Reddit is a community based around idealistic discussion and expansion of any given topic. Posting well-researched, well-thought-out content may not rake in upvotes, but it will serve to show other users that you're worth listening to.
- The more users who consider you a valuable resource, the larger your future posts' audience--and, therefore, the potential for upvotes--will be.
7
Engage people who comment on your posts. When you facilitate a conversation, continuing it will both add to the conversation and net you upvotes based on your responses. It's important to be respectful of others' opinions while doing so.
- It's okay (and encouraged) to disagree with others, so long as you present an educated counter-argument in a respectful manner.
- Ignore negative or provocative comments, as responding to them--even if you're in the right--will likely result in downvotes.
8
Take advantage of karma bombs. A "karma bomb" is created when you respond to a prospective top comment soon after it is posted. If the comment does indeed receive a large number of upvotes, your response will likely receive upvotes due to its proximity.
- For this strategy to work, you'll need to gauge the likelihood of a comment receiving mass positive reception, which will take time and practice.
- This is a high-risk, high-reward tactic: if the comment receives negative attention and the resulting downvotes, you'll also probably receive downvotes.
9
Use creative titles for your links. Since Reddit presents links in the form of the title you add, the context provided for the title will often set up the tone for the discussion.
- Consider using humor in these titles (e.g., puns or irony). Witty or surprising posts tend to receive upvotes.
10
Post links to photos or videos. As with any social media platform, users enjoy visual media. Using a creative or informative title in conjunction with an engaging visual is a good way to capture users' interest and earn upvotes.

Community Q&A

Question

I never posted anything on /r/RoastMe, but it said I got 1 post karma on /r/RoastMe. Is that a glitch?

Community Answer

When you make an account, you naturally start with one post karma. You have to be quite careful in the beginning because a couple downvotes can render the account unusable.
Question

Can users give karma or can only mods do that?

Community Answer

Yes. Users can either upvote (which gives karma) or downvote (which removes karma).
Question

Do I need an account to get karma?

Aaron Harrington

Community Answer

Yes, you need to create an account to accumulate karma.

Warnings

Always include an NSFW (not safe for work) tag in your titles if the content is inappropriate.

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Never ask for upvotes.

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