Start with the rules of each place
Every Reddit community has its own rules on self-promotion, and many do not allow it at all or only on certain days. X has its own rules on adult content and how it must be marked. Read the rules before you post, follow them and check them again from time to time, because they change. A removed post or a banned account costs far more than any single promotion brings.
One link per place and kind of post
Create a separate tracking link for each community, each X profile link and each kind of post you want to compare. One link for “Reddit” tells you little; one link per community tells you which community is worth your time. Put the link where the platform and the community allow it, often in your profile rather than in the post.
Name links so you still understand them later
Pick a naming pattern and stick to it, for example the place, the community or kind of post and the month. A name like “reddit-[community]-2026-10” still makes sense in a year; “link 7” does not.
Measure fans who pay, not clicks
Clicks and even new subscribers are only the start. What matters is what the fans from each link spend over the following weeks: subscriptions, renewals, pay-per-view and tips, after refunds. Some places bring many subscribers who leave after a month; others bring fewer who stay and buy.
- Subscribers per link
- What those fans spent in their first 30 and 90 days
- How many renewed after the first month
Give each place a few weeks
One post can do well or badly by chance: the hour, the other posts that day, a moderator’s mood. Before you judge a community, give it several posts over a few weeks. Compare places over the same length of time, so a link that has been running for three months is not compared with one that started last week.
Count your time
Promotion on Reddit and X is mostly time: finding communities, making posts that fit them, answering comments. Write down roughly how many hours a week each place takes. A community that brings slightly less money for a fraction of the time may be the better one to keep.
Be part of the community
Communities notice accounts that only ever post links. Taking part in the way each community expects, and posting what fits there rather than the same post everywhere, tends to work better and keeps you within the rules. It also brings fans who already like what you do, and those are the fans who stay.
Keep what works, drop what does not
Once a month, put your links side by side: fans who paid, net revenue per fan and your time. Do more of what tops the list and stop what has had a fair chance and brought nothing. Starting one new place at a time keeps the comparison clean.