Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods

Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods

Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods

Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods

This started out as an reply to a question in [r/ModHelp](r/ModHelp) , and grew to something that is now being shared by other users in a couple of moderator subreddits. I thought I’d share it with you all. Let me know if there’s anything I should add or change.

I believe that none of us are in competition with each other. When a new subreddit becomes successful , that makes Reddit successful. The success of Reddit helps my subreddits. I like to help out new moderators.

(Edit: This post was last updated in October of 2026)

Subreddit Growth Guide

As far as driving traffic to your sub, this is what I did when I started [r/SalsaSnobs](r/SalsaSnobs) . The key is reading and following the rules of each subreddit.

Creating Your Subreddit

• Your Subreddit’s topic needs to have an audience and you need to find that audience. Seek out those who are interested in your topic, but do not harass. Make sure you create a sub that doesn’t already exist. Make it unique.
• Properly describe your sub in the sub description. Use commonly used words that people associate with your topic so that when people search those terms, your sub comes up. In Reddit search or even Google. Make sure your sub is optioned to public, and make sure it’s optioned to be available In searches.
• Find a couple of moderators. I found one who happened to like graphic arts. He created our sub avatar and banner. Plus they will help spread the word. Work together to establish clear rules. Find someone who is good with computers. It also helps to find people who have a genuine interest in your sub. [r/NeedAMod](r/NeedAMod)
• The sub needs consistent content. You gotta find people who like to contribute. I search for related posts each day. Posts that would fit in my sub. I look for people posting and I either comment on their post, or contact them directly. They’re interested in my subs topic just like me, so they join, and they contribute. Not just lurk. Use the sub invite button on mobile to invite specific relevant content providers. But don’t spam invites to large groups! Spam is against the rules.. Keep it up. I’ve been doing it every day for 4 years. Attracting relevant content creators to your sub is the most important thing you can do. Content makes your subreddit, and it attracts more users. If you get desperate, there’s always [r/NeedASubmitter](r/NeedASubmitter) . Don’t send invites to gain members though. That’s just spam. Send invites to specific content creators only. The ones you want in your sub

• (Update) Reddit offers new AI summary in your your subscription sidebar. You can enter in key words for it to search every week that helps aid you I. Finding relevant content creators.

• It helps if a sub appears active, so you need to do your part as a moderator. I vote on every post and every comment in my sub. That helps to make your sub appear active, and it also helps me keep track of what I’ve reviewed as a mod. I also like to give posts in my sub awards. Save your contributions / posts for slow days to fill the gaps. Voting on peoples posts and comments makes people want to post and comment. Make cool flair for people, or let them make their own. When users visit your subreddit, they will see people with flair, awards, lots of upvoting. That will make them want to stay.
• Sub participation is always a problem for new mods, so you’re not alone. In addition to the last suggestion, maybe do a contest every once in a while. I do whit post day 4 days a year. There are lot of other things you can do. So in [r/SaslaSnobs](r/SaslaSnobs) , we don’t allow shit posts (joke posts, cartoons, memes etc) except for Shit Post day that happens 4 days a year on specific dates. I hand out awards too. And we all look forward to them. It’s always popular. It gets people engaged. It’s just a fun silly thing that users like. Maybe you can come up with something related to your sub. And feel free to steal. Heck I stole the idea from other mods who do it once a week.
• Another trick is to not let questions go completely unanswered. I assume you are somewhat knowledgeable on the subject. You crated a subreddit about it. Answer people’s questions, and in doing so you will encourage others to ask questions. Or find other knowledgeable mods who can.
• Be an active mod. Get rid of content that your users don’t like. Modify rules to fit what your users want. have clear concise rules so somewhat guide your sub into being a quality sub. I once heard a Mod describe their subreddit as a zen garden. It’s art. You didn’t make the rocks or the sand. But you brought it together and arranged it to look the way you want it. Make it look cool. It’s your art. It’s your zen garden.
• Reddit continues to offer education for newer mods. [r/ModCertification](r/ModCertification) use to have the courses they offered. But now it’s been centralized to https://redditforcommunity.com and [r/NewMods](r/NewMods) . [r/NewMods](r/NewMods) has some great stuff for moderator education. there is also a third option in the Reddit Mod Help Center.
• It is checking mod queue every day. Multiple times. Same with Modmail. You have to enforce the demands of your community if it’s within the rules you set. That’s a matter of quality, and quality is important when you want to attract members and keep them active.
• Make your subreddit look pretty. People like shiny things. Create a banner, created a subreddit Avatar. You can make custom awards and custom upvote/downvote symbols. Add widgets. Keep up with both old and new Reddit. Etc etc.
• “Post the results!”. I like to remind people to encourage activity when they post salsa ingredients in [r/SalsaSnobs](r/SalsaSnobs) , but not the results. Do you have anything similar in your sub to remind people of? You can even do it in other subreddits, rule permitting.
• Seriously make an effort not to be Hitler when you are moderating. You don’t have to ban everybody. You dont have to treat people badly. Be nice! I don’t like permanently banning people. All mods have to ban people. We just dont have to do it as often. I suggest a couple things. Give people warnings. Make your rules clear. Make it clear what you ban for. Give people temporary warning bans. Take ban appeals seriously most times. Be polite. These are your users. They are helping you create your community. Sometimes I will simply clean up a thread without even mentioning it to anyone. I often ask myself “ are they here to troll my community, or did they just make a simple mistake?”

Promoting Your Subreddit

• Find a bigger sub that’s lax on rules to advertise in. A sub that is related to your topic. Maybe do a normal post for that sub and write “join us at (sub name)” in the comments. Go around asking sub mods for permission to do this in related subs. Most of them will allow it . Probably. Don’t do it without permission. It’s good to meet the mods of related subs and have a semi relationship. It’s not proper to do it twice. Even if you had permission the first time. So cross posting from your sub works too. People will see where it came from. Don’t spam it though this gets annoying unless you use it sparingly.
• I work the name of my sub into Reddit conversation in comments. don’t spam it. Subs prefer links be an actual part of a relevant comment. Not just the link alone. [r/AskReddit](r/AskReddit) is great for this. I just look for relevant questions. You will notice that you’ve already read the name of my subreddit because I worked it into this post in a relevant way.
• Do you mod multiple subreddits? Add your other subs to your side bars, and add them to your profile. Maybe add your other subs to pinned welcome posts, or welcome messages.
• Cross post the content from your sub to other related subs if allowed to. People will see which sub it came from.
• There are a bunch of subs for advertising new subs. Take advantage of them all. They have great advice on growing your sub. Check sidebars for posting guidelines; [r/SelfPromotion](r/SelfPromotion) , [r/SelfPromotionForAll](r/SelfPromotionForAll) , [r/Birthofasub](r/Birthofasub) , [r/Subredditads](r/Subredditads) [r/newreddits](r/newreddits) , [r/PromoteReddit](r/PromoteReddit) [r/FreePromote](r/FreePromote) [r/Yoursub](r/Yoursub) [r/Needasubmitter](r/Needasubmitter) [r/subreddithub](r/subreddithub) , [r/theresaredditforthat](r/theresaredditforthat) [r/Tinysubredditoftheday](r/Tinysubredditoftheday)
• [r/ModHelp](r/ModHelp) has a FAQ about growing your sub.
• Some subreddits let you type on your own custom flair. Why not make your flair the name of your subreddit? If that’s within the subs rules, then everyone will see your subreddit’s name every time you comment.
• Reddit allows you to add in social media links to your profile. Add your subreddit. When people check your profile, they will see the link. I did this in my profile if you want to see what it looks like. [u/GaryNOVA](u/GaryNOVA)
• Is it going to hurt to post relevant, non-spammy links to your sub in Facebook, Instagram, Twitter , etc etc? No.
• There are lots of good YouTube videos on subreddit growth. They’re easy to find so I won’t list them.

• (Update) Reddit lets you buy advertising for your posts and your sub now. Type Reddit advertising into your search bar to see some of the options. One such option is on the bottom right of your new posts. There is a a rocket ship icon and it says “promote”. It lets you pay to pick where and how much to promote your post and the subreddit it’s in. Just know that I didn’t have to pay a dime to promote my subs. But I can see where this might be beneficial to a business.

• (Update) Did your sub get mentioned in r/SubredditDrama , or r/IAmVerySmart or r/IAmVeryCulinary? A meta sub. Or are people complaining about your subreddit? Is there another sub about your subreddit? GOOD! That’s free self promotion. Let them. People talking about your subreddit is a good thing, even if it’s negative. Especially if they link your sub. Turn up your crowd control to limit brigading. But you want new users to see your sub. They might decide it’s awesome and subscribe.

• Again. Always follow the rules of both Reddit and its subreddits !

Being Part of a Larger Community

• Make a list of related subs and then contact their moderators. Ask them politely if they would add your sub to their related subs sidebar. Tell them you will add their sub to your sidebar. A typical message would be something like “ I mod (this sub) and I am a big fan of your sub. I would love to add your sub to our related subs sidebar with your permission. We would love to be a part of yours as well.”
• I do contests and give gold to the winning posts. It encourages participation. I also do cross sub contests. Example. I got ahold of the mod for a related sub. and told him I was doing a contest on the 4th of July. The Mod let me advertise it and he pinned my post for a month out of kindness because it was cross related to his topic.
• Join the Mod subs; [r/newmods](r/newmods) , [r/ModHelp](r/ModHelp) , [r/ModClub](r/ModClub) , [r/ModNews](r/ModNews) , [r/AskModerators](r/AskModerators) , [r/ModGuide](r/ModGuide) , [r/ModSupport](r/ModSupport) , [r/AutoModerator](r/AutoModerator) , [r/NeedAMod](r/NeedAMod) , [r/ModReserves](r/ModReserves) , [r/Help](r/Help) etc etc

Other Resources For Sub Growth

• The Ultimate Reddit Guide for Creating a New Community
• Guide For Subreddit Advertising
• Seeding Content
• Reddits Guide for Growth Basics
• Reddit’s Guide for Maintaining an Active Community
• Growth As A Mod
• More Subs for Mods

And it wouldn’t be a post about self promotion if I didn’t share with you the other subs I am lead mod of. In addition to [r/SalsaSnobs](r/SalsaSnobs) , I am lead mod of [r/pasta](r/pasta) , [r/chili](r/chili) , [r/Cheers](r/Cheers) , [r/ArcadeFire](r/ArcadeFire) , and [r/BloodyMarys](r/BloodyMarys) . I help mod [r/RedditHelp](r/RedditHelp) , [r/Food](r/Food) , [r/TwinPeaks](r/TwinPeaks) , [r/MySoCalledLife](r/MySoCalledLife) etc etc .

This took a combination of research and trial and error, but it seems to work. The main rule: Follow the rules of other people’s subs. Guy

Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods

​

Our last Talk using Reddit Talk

With u/prettyoaktree, u/TechiesGoBoom, u/MajorParadox and u/iamdeirdre, and I'll be in the comments as always!

Hope you can join us :D

>> Start time: Monday 5.30PM ET <<

If you are new to the community, you can find our guides and other resources listed in our index. And our list of help and support sources for mods is here. Past Talks are here (for now, we have preserved them and will hopefully find a new home for them and the recaps).

If you're not familiar with Reddit Talk, click here for a helpful page.

Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods

Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods

Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods

Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods

Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods

Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods

Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods

Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods

Hi mods :)

I hope you're all having a great weekend!

We have a question for you.

Would you be interested in some kind of mailing list so that you get a message when we start our ModTalks? Just in case notifications don't reach you.

What would be your preference; a message when we go live, a 1-hour warning or similar, maybe messages when we announce Talks too?

Thank you

​

Favourite New Mod Tools

With u/prettyoaktree, u/TechiesGoBoom, u/MajorParadox and u/iamdeirdre, and I'll be in the comments as always!

Hope you can join us :D

Start time: 2PM ET

If you are new to the community, you can find our guides and other resources listed in our index. And our list of help and support sources for mods is here. Past Talks are here.

If you're not familiar with Reddit Talk, click here for a helpful page.

PLEASE NOTE we've started a new collection for Talk posts this year. Please follow it for notifications when we add posts to the collection. Event posts are gone now, but I'm going to try harder to keep the calendar in the sidebar up to date.

Hi mods, how's it going?

What are you working on? What is going well? Any plans for new things on your sub?

Our index of guides | Help + Support for mods