Reddit is a great platform to interact with communities and topics you are interested in. However, some of them may not allow you to participate unless you have a certain amount of Karma on your account. This helps some of the top subreddits avoid spam posts and throwaway accounts. So if you are new to Reddit and find it difficult to gain karma, then keep reading as we discuss the best ways to help you earn karma faster.
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How Does Karma Work on Reddit?
Karma is essentially the reputation points of a user on Reddit. Accounts with higher karma show other users that your account is genuine, trustworthy, and verified. It also enables you to participate in certain communities or subreddits with minimum karma requirements. 
The amount of karma you get is roughly based on the number of upvotes you receive on a post, comment, or reply. Upvotes on Reddit are equivalent to Facebook and Instagram likes.
Though not an exact translation, the more upvotes you receive, the more karma you accumulate. Similarly, receiving a large number of downvotes can reduce your karma. Here are some ways to help you gain karma faster.
How to Quickly Gain Karma on Reddit
Earning karma is not a herculean task. You just have to be active on Reddit, i.e., post content or comment on others’ posts like you would usually do on any platform. But if you are in a rush then here are some tricks that should help you get more karma in a short period.
NoteDo not join any subreddits that promote free upvotes to earn a lot of karma. These are called karmafarming subreddits, and they are frowned upon by the community. If you have joined any such subreddits, then your posts might get removed and your account could get banned from participating in certain subreddits.
Method 1: Post on Subreddits You Are Interested In
A good way to start earning karma is to join communities or subreddits related to topics that you are interested in. This way it will be easy for you to join discussions and share your honest opinions through comments and posts which is key to getting more upvotes. It will also help you get a general hang of how the platform works. 
Example: If you enjoy watching “The Office” TV series, you can join r/DunderMifflin. Here you will be able to find other fans of the show and engage in conversations about it. You can post your insightful thoughts about the show, or even clips that you found funny to get upvotes.
Method 2: Engage with the Comments
Let’s say you created a post which received a few comments and upvotes. You can choose to leave it or try to reply to existing comments. This will start a conversation that other users might also want to join in resulting in more comments on your posts.
The more you interact, the higher your post’s engagement, which elevates it to the “Hot” or “Rising” section of the subreddit, where it will be exposed to more users, thus, increasing your chances of getting more upvotes. Not to forget, you may also gain upvotes from your comments on said post which will help boost your karma.
Method 3: Join Popular Subreddits
Joining a large and popular subreddit with thousands or millions of members can also be a great way to receive upvotes. Because of the massive user base, your posts and comments are more likely to get noticed and upvoted. Just remember to be respectful, make useful and meaningful responses, and follow the subreddit’s guidelines. 
The last point is crucial since larger subreddits have stricter restrictions, and violating them will result in your post or comment being removed and even get you banned. Some popular subreddits you can start with are – r/AskReddit, r/pics, r/funny, r/science, r/gaming, and r/aww.
Method 4: Comment on New and Rising Posts
It is best to make efforts to comment on new and rising posts because your comments will have more chance of being noticed. Try to leave a humorous, witty, detailed, and thoughtful comment if you can.
To find such posts, visit the subreddit page and click on the sorting menu on the top right side. From the drop-down menu choose New or Rising. 
Sometimes, even a good GIF will do the trick, so don’t shy away from using them. If you are lucky enough, your comment may gain thousands of upvotes which will increase your overall karma.
Method 5: Create Image or Video Posts
While text posts have their audience, image or video posts easily catch the eye of users just scrolling through the platform. A good title with the right image will help you garner a good amount of upvotes. Just make sure to share it on the relevant subreddit. 
Some common and popular subreddits for this type of content are r/pics, r/mildlyinteresting, r/gifs, r/BeAmazed, r/Unexpected, and r/videos. Reddit has been promoting short videos like TikTok and YouTube Shorts so such type of content is likely to get more appeal on the platform.
Method 6: Discuss About Popular Topics
Follow trending topics and news stories that you can use to create an interesting and discussion-worthy post. A well-timed and thoughtful post might get you a good amount of upvotes or at least start a discussion that you can partake in. 
Just remember to stay helpful and open to understanding others’ perspectives. Subreddits for discussion on trending topics include r/popular, r/OutOfTheLoop, r/news, r/worldnews, and r/movies.
Method 7: Avoid Sharing Low Effort Posts
As mentioned above, upvotes will help increase your karma but downvotes can hurt it. If you try to make several unnecessary low-effort posts in a short period, you might get a lot of downvotes.
Since Reddit allows people to see your post and comment history, users can easily detect if you are trying to farm karma and downvote your posts. So post content that you want to speak about. Also, avoid spamming a particular subreddit; otherwise, the moderators will ban you.
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Coming to the end, I think it is also the right time to tell you that other than allowing you to engage in certain communities and helping you gain some reputation, karma has no alternate purpose. You cannot use it to redeem rewards, collectibles, or avatar costumes. So, once you reach a certain amount, you shouldn’t try hard to grind for karma.
There is no clear guide as to what works and what doesn’t on Reddit. Sometimes you may find that a meaningless reply is getting more upvotes just because the community finds it amusing. So instead of focusing on karma, I would suggest that you use it like any other online website. If you have any queries related to this topic then do share them with us in the comments below.
Do I Lose Karma If I Get Downvoted?
Yes. Just like upvotes increase your karma score, getting downvotes on a comment or post negatively affects it as well. It is not a direct translation. So if you get 100 downvotes then that would be a loss of 50 to 100 karma.
Would I Lose Karma If I Delete a Post?
No. Deleting a post on Reddit will not have any effect on your overall karma. Even if it had a ton of upvotes or replies.
Does One Upvote Equals to One Karma?
No. Karma is not a one-to-one conversion of upvotes you receive. It is based on several factors. These include overall upvotes and downvotes received, your posting and commenting history, and awards received.
