Why Your Reddit Posts Keep Getting Removed

It happened to me three times in one week. I'd write something I thought was genuinely useful, it would get some upvotes, and then it would just disappear. No explanation. No notification. Gone.

I spent hours being frustrated before I figured out what was actually happening.

You broke an unwritten rule

Every subreddit has rules posted in the sidebar. Most of them are obvious. Don't spam, don't attack people, don't post illegal content. Those get enforced.

But there are unwritten rules. Communities develop norms that aren't official but still get enforced. You can't just show up and post a link. You can't comment only about your product. You can't do anything that looks like you're using the subreddit for traffic without being a member of it.

These aren't written down, but they're strongly enforced. The mods know who the regulars are and they protect their communities from people who clearly don't belong there.

Your account is too new

Some subreddits have minimum account age requirements. You can't see them because they're hidden, but moderators can set automoderator rules that remove posts from accounts less than a certain age.

I got caught by this early on. My account was two days old and I was posting in r/startups. The posts looked fine but they kept disappearing. The mods never told me. I had to figure it out by reading the automoderator documentation.

The fix is simple: wait. Don't post in subreddits that matter until your account is at least a week old. Better yet, a month.

You're promoting too much

The 10% rule gets thrown around a lot. It means at least 90% of your activity should not be promotional. Most successful Reddit marketers are closer to 95% value and 5% promotion.

If every comment you make mentions your product, you're doing it wrong. Even if your product is genuinely relevant, it looks like spam. I've seen posts get removed within minutes because the account history was obviously promotional.

The timing was wrong

Some subreddits have specific days for certain types of posts. Some only allow self-promotion on weekends. Some remove posts that have too many links. Read the rules before you post or you'll never know why you're being ignored.

What to do about it

Message the moderators. Be polite. Ask what you did wrong and how you can do better. Most mods will tell you. They're volunteers who care about their communities, and they're usually willing to help people who seem genuine.

Don't argue. Don't complain. Just ask and listen. The mods are doing their best and they're usually fair.

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Master Reddit marketing. The Reddit Playbook covers complete strategy.