How to warm up a Reddit account, day by day

Part of the warm-up series, with how to get karma on Reddit and karma farming vs warming up your account.

A new Reddit account can post on day one. Most of the subreddits worth posting in won't let it.

A warm-up is the time in between. Done slowly, it turns a blank account into one mods let through.

This is the plan I would follow, in 5 parts, with 5 things you can copy.

Save this. Start it the day you make the account.

Short answer

To warm up a Reddit account, use it the way a new person would. Read for a couple of days, join a handful of small subreddits that fit your real interests, write one or two helpful comments a day, reply when people reply, and make a first text post around day 14. No links and no product until the account has a history. Rankhog's own warm-up runs 7 to 28 days, depending on the karma the account starts with.

Key takeaways

• New accounts run into karma and age minimums, a verified email rule in some subreddits and Reddit's rate limit for accounts with little karma.
• Rankhog warms up an account for 7 days if it has at least 50 total karma and 20 comment karma, and for 28 days if it is brand new.
• Comments come before posts, and small subreddits come before big ones.
• An account is ready when its comments stay up. Its karma total says much less.
• Links, copy and paste, and speed are what get a new account flagged.

1. What can a new Reddit account not do yet?

A new account can read, vote, join, comment and post, but many subreddits filter it. They set minimums for karma, account age or a verified email, and most hide the numbers. Reddit also slows down accounts with little karma, and some subreddits screen newcomers with Crowd Control or Reddit's reputation filter.

Here are the new Reddit account restrictions I check for, and where each one comes from. Copy the list.

1. Karma minimums, set by each subreddit. When you click Create a post, Reddit's Poster Eligibility Guide shows which ones you fail, without the numbers.
2. Account age minimums. Same window, same hidden numbers.
3. A verified email. Some subreddits require it, and it takes a minute, so do it on day one.
4. The "you're doing that too much" message. That is Reddit's limit on how often new, low-karma accounts can post and comment. A little karma from commenting gets you past it.
5. Crowd Control and the reputation filter. Both are optional filters a subreddit can turn on, per Reddit's moderator guide to keeping spam out. One looks at your history in that subreddit, the other at signals from across Reddit.

So how much karma do you need to post on Reddit? There is no single number. The long answer is in how to get karma on Reddit.

A warm-up gets you past all five without tricks. You use the account like a person for a couple of weeks and let the history build. Rankhog warms up accounts you own, slowly, in your own browser.

2. How long does a Reddit account warm-up take?

About two weeks before a first post, if you warm up a fresh account by hand. Rankhog's own rule depends on the karma the account starts with: 7 days for an account with at least 50 total karma and 20 comment karma, then 14, 21 or 28 days as it has less. A brand new account gets 28.

Here is the rule written out. Copy it.

Starting karma sets the length. 50 total karma and 20 comment karma or more: 7 days. Less: 14, 21 or 28 days. Brand new: 28 days.

Kept comments set the pace. The account moves on after 10 comments are still up 24 hours later and 7 days pass with no removal.

An account needs both numbers. A big post karma total with almost no comment karma still gets a longer warm-up.

The second line matters more than the first. I used to judge warm-ups by karma. Then an audit in October showed the typical comment from Rankhog's warm-up accounts had earned zero karma. So now an account moves on when its comments stay up. The full story is in karma farming vs warming up your account.

To check where an account stands, run it through Rankhog's free analyzer and see which gates the account clears today. It reads the public profile, compares it with the published karma and age rules of the subreddits Rankhog tracks, and gives the warm-up length from the rule above. It can't see minimums a subreddit keeps hidden in AutoModerator.

3. What should I do each day of a Reddit warm-up?

Read first, then join, then comment, then post. Days 1 to 4 are for reading and joining. Days 5 to 12 are for comments, one or two a day at first and two or three later, with one day off. Days 13 and 14 lead to a first text post. It is the same order Rankhog's warm-up runs in.

Spend the first two days as a lurker. It feels like wasted time. It is where you learn how each room talks.

Here is the table. Copy it into your calendar.

Keep comments short: two to five sentences, answer first. There are three comment shapes you can copy in how to get karma on Reddit.

Vote like a reader. An upvote on something you liked is normal. Votes from your other accounts, or traded votes, are vote manipulation under Reddit's Content Policy.

If you run more than one account, keep each in its own browser profile with its own interests, and never let them reply to each other.

A brand new account inside Rankhog runs longer than this table, up to 28 days. The extra time goes into more comments before anything else happens.

4. What gets a new account flagged during a warm-up?

Moving faster than a person would. The usual triggers are promoting before the account has any history, links in its first days, ignoring a subreddit's minimums, the same message in several subreddits and a pace no human keeps up. Fake votes are their own problem, because they break Reddit's rules outright.

Here is the list I keep next to every warm-up. Copy it.

1. A product mention before the account has a history.
2. Any link in the first days.
3. Posting where the account fails the minimums, again and again.
4. The same comment or post in several subreddits. Reddit's spam guide lists repeated, similar comments across communities as spam.
5. Bursts: ten comments in ten minutes, then nothing for a week.
6. Your own accounts voting on or replying to each other.

Removals are often silent. When I audited Rankhog's warm-up accounts in October, about one in nine of their comments, replies and posts had been removed by a filter, and nothing had told us. That is why days 8 and 11 have you check while logged out.

If the whole account looks missing when you are logged out, and not one comment, run the shadowban checks before you write anything else.

5. How do I know the account is ready to post?

When its comments stay up. Rankhog moves an account on after 10 comments are still visible 24 hours later and a week passes with no removal. Then check the subreddit itself. Click Create a post and read the eligibility window, or run the analyzer. A karma total on its own tells you little.

Here is the readiness check. Copy it.

1. The email is verified.
2. At least 10 comments still show when you are logged out, a day after you wrote them.
3. No comment was removed in the last 7 days.
4. The subreddit's eligibility window shows nothing you fail.
5. Your first post is text, with no link.
6. You know that subreddit's rule on self-promotion before your product ever comes up.

Your product comes later than your first post. When it does come up, say that you work on it. The Reddit rules that get marketers banned has a disclosure line you can copy, and the Reddit marketing guide covers what comes after the warm-up.

What I don't know yet

• Reddit doesn't publish how its filters weigh age, karma and behavior. The 14 days is my plan, not a number from Reddit.
• Rankhog's 7 to 28 day rule is our own choice. Reddit sets no warm-up length.
• The one in nine removals came from a handful of big general subreddits. Small hobby subreddits may remove more or less.
• I don't know how long a warmed account stays trusted if it then goes quiet for months.

Who this is not for

If you have used your account for years and comment often, you are past this. Check the subreddit's eligibility window and post.

If you need to post about your product next week, a new account won't get there in time. Post from an account you already have, and say who you are.

What to do next

Today, in this order:

1. Make the account, or pick the quiet one you already have.
2. Verify its email.
3. Run it through the analyzer and write down the warm-up length.
4. Pick 5 to 10 small subreddits that fit your real interests.
5. Put the 14-day table in your calendar, starting today.

Make. Verify. Check. Pick. Schedule.

Thanks for reading. If you would rather not run the calendar yourself, that is the job I built Rankhog for. Rankhog warms up accounts you own, slowly, in your own browser.