How to Earn Cash with Affiliate Marketing Using Reddit?

This post was originally published in [2022] and has been fully updated for 2026 with new data and tools.

Most marketers are fighting for scraps on Facebook and X, completely ignoring the fact that the world’s most engaged buyers are hiding in subreddits.

If you’ve been struggling to get clicks, Reddit affiliate marketing might be the untapped goldmine you need.

Unlike other platforms, Reddit users value authenticity over flashy ads, meaning you can drive massive sales just by being helpful.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to navigate the “front page of the internet” to earn cash without looking like a spammer.

The easiest way to earn cash with affiliate marketing is to post helpful content on Reddit and put links to your website that have an affiliate link. Even better, create a subreddit you own!

Keep reading, and I’ll share 3 ways to use Reddit to earn money, 4 BIG mistakes to make on the platform, and 4 ways to grow your Karma quickly!

Common Reddit Affiliate Marketing Mistakes: Why Your Links Get Deleted

Reddit is more strict than growing up in a royal family in the 1800’s. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating, but there are MANY rules.

Whatever platform you’re on, it’s best to follow the rules; otherwise, they can kick you. This is why I’m a fan of blogging and email marketing because you own BOTH those platforms.

The good news is that Reddit is one of the top 20 websites that gets a boatload of traffic. It’s hard to ignore the potential of this website.

1 – The biggest mistake is to directly link to an affiliate product because you risk getting your account shut down!

It’s generally frowned upon to start spamming an affiliate marketing link all over the place.

Direct linking to an affiliate offer is generally a bad idea; you could link to a helpful resource that links to an affiliate offer.

This is why having a blog is such a good idea, because you own the blog. As long as you’re being helpful, attaching a link to one of your blog posts or YouTube videos is a good thing.

This depends on the subreddit. It’s a good idea to read the rules on each one before posting. Some are VERY strict, and some are chill.

Then, in the content you own, you can link to an affiliate link and earn money.

2 - Posting titles that don't match the content you wrote.

Maybe this is where clickbait comes from! You just don't want to mislead anyone because your post will be downvoted.

3 - Posting to a Crappy Subreddit

You want the subreddit to match what you're posting about. Also, you want to make sure there are enough active followers.

If you post to a subreddit with 2 active people, don't be surprised if nobody reads it.

To find subreddits, I recommend this site HERE. You can also find out how many people are involved in the subreddit.

Another idea is that AI can give a big list of subreddits about a certain topic.

Notice how different all 3 subreddits are in terms of subscribers? The first has 999 subscribers, the third one has 765,653, and the second has 58.

Of course, another place to find subreddits is with AI and just asking it to list the top 50 or 100 subreddits about a topic, and it will give you TONS of ideas.

4 -You are posting and don't have a lot of Karma.

I've been guilty of this for a while. There are a few things you can do to build Karma. You could post funny pictures on subreddits that have to do with humor.

You could also post pictures of hobbies you are interested in. Do this a few times a day, and your Karma has to increase.

Oh, and you could be the first to make a comment that is witty and good. Maybe going over to this site HERE and including a good Giphy could help.

One more idea is to head over to this subreddit HERE and just ask and answer questions to gain Karma.

What is a good amount of Karma? Depending on how old the account is, between 1,000 and 10,000 is good!

It's good to have karma because some subreddits will not allow you to post if it's too low.

Another tip is if you post something and it BOMBS. You know you get lots of negative comments; it's downvoted.

DO NOT LEAVE A COMMENT.

The reason why is a post can only go to 0 karma. You can lose karma.

A comment can go WAY negative karma. Since your comment is attached to the post, it's probably not going to go well regardless of what you say.

I did this. Even saying "thanks for the comment." I lost SO much karma. It's not worth it.

This is called the "Hive Mind" in Reddit. Also, if you leave a comment and it starts to get downvoted a lot, just delete it so you don't lose too much karma.

Direct Posting on Reddit: How to Share Affiliate Offers Safely in 2026

Next, you have to have a way to earn money from the traffic. Affiliate marketing is great because you don't have to create a product.

There are different networks, and one I'm a fan of is this one HERE because you can earn "a lot" of money when someone enters their email address.

Nobody even has to buy anything before you get paid!

Oh, and I tell you by clicking HERE exactly how to get accepted into the network because they are VERY strict.

Next, I'm a fan of finding the traffic FIRST. You need 2 things to earn money online.

• Traffic
• Way to earn $$ from the traffic

Not super complicated, right?

This place HERE will give you 500 of the most popular subreddits. Then match an affiliate offer to one of the popular subreddit categories.

Cats are listed as 44, I'm sure you can find an affiliate product linked to cats.

You would create a helpful post and then link to a blog post or YouTube video that you made that contains the affiliate link.

Your post on Reddit should be as helpful as possible so it gets upvoted. It's not a good idea to post 1 sentence and then your link because it looks too spammy, right?

You can put links on Reddit, it just has to be a good resource (again, be helpful). It's generally frowned upon to direct link to an affiliate product, but if you have a blog post or other content, I would recommend linking to that.

Then, in your blog post, for example, you would link to affiliate products.

You might think blogging is dead. What is so great about a blog is that you can repurpose your content. The same post can be posted to LinkedIn, Medium, Quora, Substack, or even made into a YouTube video.

In this post HERE, I share 20 benefits a blog can give you, how AI can be helpful, plus how to start one from scratch.

Plus, with a blog, you do the work 1 time, and it can earn you money well into the future.

Oh, and I can't forget there is a subreddit about a Shameless plug that is HERE. Next time you create content, all you have to do is submit your link to this subreddit, easy, right?

I need to remember to do this more.

Building a Branded Subreddit: The Ultimate Long-Term Traffic Moat

What I strongly recommend doing is creating your own subreddit.

The reason why is that many moderators are VERY strict. Every time you post in another subreddit, you risk getting your post deleted or banned.

This stuff sucks!

Plus, when you create a subreddit, you make your own rules. You can put links in the sidebar, sticky posts, in posts, and even the automod.

The automod is a message that shows up after someone leaves a comment or post.

What is so powerful about a subreddit is the crossposting.

Every post has an option to crosspost to a subreddit. When someone clicks on it, they go back to your subreddit.

It's a REALLY cool way to advertise and grow your subreddit.

If you do create a subreddit, it's not a bad idea to create a few more Reddit accounts and make them moderators.

This way, if something happens to 1 account, you don't lose the subreddit.

Also, if you do create a subreddit, don't let the power get to your head. There is a way to ban someone for 1 day if they break your rules.

Don't be that guy who gives instant lifetime bans for 1 mistake. I hate those guys!

Reddit Keyword Research: Using Subreddits to Find High-Intent Content Ideas

Another way to use Reddit that I have to mention is to brainstorm ideas. What is the biggest fear of a content creator?

It's not mean comments or trolls - some of those are entertaining.

My biggest fear is running out of stuff to say or getting bored. To keep things fun and interesting, I create content on stuff I want to learn more about.

It's almost like having a conversation with someone, and each topic is an unlimited number of branches that you can go deeper into.

If you type in the seed phrase of your niche, maybe it's earning money online, and type Reddit next to it, you will get all the threads on this topic. Then read through the conversations, and people are giving you more seed phrases based on your niche.

You could learn about one of these topics and JUST document what you have learned. It REALLY is that easy!

Seriously, why do people go into debt for school when they can learn about shit and earn money while they learn? Cool right?

Summary: Is Reddit the Best Free Traffic Source for Affiliate Marketing?

When it comes to earning money online, I'm a fan of using ALL the approaches. The key is you have to go out there, take massive action, and make mistakes.

Reddit is just one tool that I plan on using more. Again, I do everything blogging, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, Podcasting, and more.

Heck, I just started getting into press releases that I recently created a post about HERE.

What is the worst thing that could happen? You get rejected, or a troll says, "you suck shit." If you can deal with that, then you're going to earn money.

The best part is that it doesn't cost money to try all the platforms. The key is you have to get traffic and link the traffic to a way to earn money.

Some people get traffic, but they haven't figured out a way to monetize it.

I'm giving away free guides on how to monetize traffic with affiliate marketing by building a list. What is so powerful about a list is you own the traffic. Plus more benefits such as....

• Can promote multiple offers
• Can contact someone WAY in the future
• Promote your other content
• Do list swaps
• Easier to get accepted into affiliate programs
• MUCH higher conversion rate
• Great for launching products
• Get valuable feedback
• Protects you from algorithmic changes
• More personalized marketing

I'm giving away FREE guides on how to build a list and how to earn money from it HERE. It's free, so what do you have to lose, right?

I hope this blog post on Reddit and affiliate marketing was helpful. Bye for now.