My first Reddit account got shadowbanned at 47 karma.

I spent three weeks posting helpful comments, sharing resources, genuinely trying to contribute. Then one day I noticed - zero upvotes on anything. Zero replies. Complete silence.

Checked r/ShadowBan. Yep. Banned.

Turns out I triggered Reddit's spam detection by posting too consistently in business subreddits. Even though I was being helpful, the algorithm flagged me as a marketer.

That was two years ago. Since then I have built multiple accounts to 500+ karma without issues. Here is what actually works.

Why Karma Matters (And Why Most Guides Get It Wrong)

Most subreddits have karma requirements. You need 10-50 karma to post in beginner subs. Popular communities like r/Entrepreneur or r/SaaS? You need 100-500 karma just to comment.

But here is what nobody tells you: the TYPE of karma matters more than the amount.

Reddit tracks two types:

Post karma - from submitting posts
Comment karma - from commenting on posts

Comment karma is way easier to build and looks more natural. Someone with 500 comment karma and 10 post karma looks like a real user. Someone with 500 post karma and 10 comment karma looks like a spammer.

The Shadowban Problem

Reddit's spam detection is aggressive. Really aggressive.

I have seen accounts get shadowbanned for:

Posting the same link twice in 48 hours
Using the same comment structure repeatedly
Only participating in business/marketing subs
Building karma too fast (yes, really)

The worst part? Reddit does not tell you. You think you are posting normally. But nobody sees your content. You are shouting into the void.

How to check: Go to r/ShadowBan and make a post. The bot will tell you if you are banned.

My Actual Strategy (500+ Karma in 30 Days)

This is the exact system I use for every new account.

Week 1: Lurk and Learn (0-10 karma)

Do not post anything business-related yet.

Join these beginner-friendly subreddits:

r/CasualConversation
r/NoStupidQuestions
r/AskReddit (but be careful, they have AI detection)
r/todayilearned

Sort by "Rising" - not Hot, not New. Rising posts are gaining traction but do not have 500 comments yet. Your comment actually gets seen.

Leave 3-5 genuine comments per day. Not promotional. Just normal human stuff.

"That is hilarious, same thing happened to me last week." "Wait, I thought everyone knew this?" "Honestly did not expect that ending."

Short comments work better than long ones. Aim for 10-30 words.

Target: 10 karma by end of week 1.

Week 2-3: Build Real Karma (10-100 karma)

Now you can start participating in your industry subreddits. But still no promotion.

For B2B/SaaS, join:

r/Entrepreneur
r/startups
r/SaaS
r/smallbusiness

Search for posts asking for advice. Sort by New or Rising.

Answer genuinely. Share real experiences. Do not mention your product yet.

Example (real comment I made): "I wasted 6 months building features nobody asked for. Biggest lesson: talk to 10 potential customers BEFORE writing any code. Sounds obvious but most of us skip this step."

That comment got 34 upvotes. No product mention. Just helpful advice.

Post 5-10 comments per day across different subreddits. Mix business subs with non-business subs.

Target: 100 karma by end of week 3.

Week 4+: Strategic Participation (100-500 karma)

Now you have enough karma to post in most subreddits. Time to be more strategic.

I use a Reddit lead generation tool to monitor keywords across multiple subreddits. Costs $9.99/month after a 3-day trial. Saves me hours of manual searching.

Set up alerts for:

"looking for recommendations"
"what tool do you use"
"how do you handle"
"struggling with"

When you find a relevant thread, provide value first. Then mention your product as one option.

Example structure:

Acknowledge their problem
Share your experience with the same problem
Mention 2-3 solutions (including yours)
Be honest about limitations

"I had the same issue last year. Tried Notion but it was too flexible, spent more time organizing than working. Ended up building my own simple tracker. Not perfect but gets the job done. Some people also like Trello or Asana depending on team size."

See how that works? Helpful first. Product mention is casual, not pushy.

Target: 500+ karma by end of month 1.

What Actually Gets Upvoted

I tracked 200+ comments to figure this out.

High upvote comments:

Sharing a personal failure or lesson learned
Answering a specific technical question
Providing data or numbers
Disagreeing politely with a popular opinion
Adding humor (but only if it is actually funny)

Low upvote comments:

Generic advice ("just work hard!")
Obvious statements
Complaining without solutions
Correcting minor details
Anything that sounds like a sales pitch

The pattern: people upvote comments that teach them something or make them feel something.

Timing Is Everything

I tested this obsessively.

Commenting on a post in the first hour: average 8 upvotes Commenting on the same post after 6 hours: average 1 upvote

Reddit's algorithm heavily weights early engagement. If your comment gets 3-5 upvotes in the first hour, it rises to the top. If it gets zero upvotes in the first hour, it stays buried forever.

This is why monitoring matters. You need to catch relevant posts early.

The Karma Farming Trap

There are subreddits specifically for farming karma. r/FreeKarma4U and similar.

Do not use them.

Reddit tracks where your karma comes from. Karma from these subs is basically worthless. Some subreddits even auto-ban users who participate in karma farming communities.

Build real karma from real participation. It takes longer but it actually works.

Common Mistakes That Get You Shadowbanned

I learned these the hard way.

Mistake 1: Posting too consistently in one subreddit

If 90% of your activity is in r/SaaS, you look like a marketer. Mix it up. Comment on random stuff in other subs.

Mistake 2: Using the same comment structure

"Great question! I use [tool name] for this. It has [feature 1], [feature 2], and [feature 3]."

If you post variations of this comment 10 times, Reddit flags you. Vary your structure. Sound like a human, not a template.

Mistake 3: Editing comments to add links later

Some people post a clean comment, wait for upvotes, then edit to add their product link. Reddit detects this. Do not do it.

Mistake 4: Deleting downvoted comments

Deleting lots of comments looks suspicious. If you get downvoted, leave it. It happens to everyone.

How to Recover From a Shadowban

If you are already shadowbanned, you have two options:

Option 1: Appeal

Go to reddit.com/appeals and explain what happened. Be honest. Sometimes they lift it.

Success rate: maybe 20% based on what I have seen.

Option 2: Start fresh

Create a new account. Follow the strategy above. Do not make the same mistakes.

Important: Do not use the same email or post from the same IP immediately. Reddit can connect accounts.

Tools That Actually Help

You do not need much.

Essential:

A way to monitor multiple subreddits for keywords
A spreadsheet to track which posts you commented on
r/ShadowBan to check your status regularly

I built a desktop tool that searches multiple subreddits and filters by engagement. Has a 3-day trial. The UI is not pretty but it works.

You can also do this manually with multireddits if you have the time.

The Real Goal Is Not Karma

Here is the thing nobody says: karma is not the goal.

The goal is building an account that looks real so you can participate in communities where your customers hang out.

I have seen people with 10K karma get banned for spamming. I have seen people with 200 karma successfully promote their products.

The difference? One was obviously there to sell. The other was there to help, and occasionally mentioned what they built.

Reddit users are smart. They can tell the difference.

My Current Routine

I spend about 20 minutes per day on Reddit.

Morning:

Check keyword alerts (5 min)
Read 3-5 relevant posts (5 min)
Leave 2-3 helpful comments (10 min)

That is it.

Some days I get zero upvotes. Some days I get 50+. Over time it averages out to steady karma growth and occasional customer conversations.

The key is consistency without being robotic. Show up regularly but do not force it.

When You Can Start Promoting

There is no magic number, but here is my rule:

100+ karma: You can mention your product when directly relevant
300+ karma: You can make occasional posts about your product (if subreddit allows)
500+ karma: You look like a real user, less scrutiny

But even at 500+ karma, if you suddenly start spamming links, you will get banned.

The ratio I follow: 10 helpful comments for every 1 product mention.

Final Thoughts

Building Reddit karma is not hard. It just requires patience and genuine participation.

The people who fail are the ones who treat Reddit like a billboard. Post their link everywhere and wonder why they get banned.

The people who succeed treat Reddit like a community. They show up, help people, build relationships. And occasionally, when it is relevant, they mention what they built.

That is the difference between 47 karma and a shadowban versus 500+ karma and actual customers.

Start slow. Be helpful. Do not be weird about promoting.

You will get there.

How to Get Reddit Karma Fast in 2025 (Without Getting Shadowbanned)