Comparing subreddit-vetting approaches before you post

Comparing subreddit-vetting approaches before you post
This week on Reddit marketing: three ways to size up a community, and what each misses.

— [Tool] Subreddit traffic stats (the public /about/traffic page where mods enable it) show real uniques, not just subscriber count — many big subs are ghost towns.
— [Tactic] Sort 'top of the month' to see what actually gets traction; subscriber count lies, engagement on recent posts doesn't.
— [Tactic] Scan the 'new' queue for removal patterns — if half the posts are gone, the AutoMod is strict and your effort may vanish too.
— [Case] r/TheoryOfReddit analyses repeatedly show subscriber-to-active ratios swing 100x between similar-sized subs.

Editor's pick: judge by top-of-month engagement, never by the subscriber number on the sidebar.