Crosspost
Also called: cross-post, x-post, repost, reposting
Definition
A crosspost, now called a repost on Reddit, shares an existing post into another subreddit or your profile with a preview of the original, including its author, community and score. Communities can block crossposts, and spreading them widely reads as spam.
A crosspost takes a post from one community and shares it into another. Reddit now calls this reposting, labeled in its help center as "Reposting, formerly known as crossposting," but most redditors still say crosspost or "x-post."
How it works
According to Reddit Help, a repost includes a preview of the original post or comment, along with its username, community and upvote score. That way readers can find the original source and the original community gets exposure.
To repost on reddit.com, select Repost under the post, pick a community, optionally edit the title or add flair, and post. In the apps, tap the Repost icon. You can also share a comment as a new post from the comment's overflow menu.
Limits and signals:
- Not every community allows it. If a subreddit does not accept reposts, it appears greyed out in the picker.
- Post insights count it. Your post insights show how many times a post was reposted to other communities.
- Reddit Pro businesses can repost community conversations about their business from the Trends tab to their profile, as a way to showcase what people say about them.
Why it matters for marketers
Crossposting is tempting because it is one click. It is also one of the clearest spam signals on Reddit. Reddit's own help page warns that reposting content "randomly in various, unrelated communities can be seen as spammy behavior," and its spam policy lists mass-posting repetitive content for exposure or financial gain.
Used well, it is useful:
- A genuinely useful post in a niche community can be shared to one closely related community where it fits, with credit to the original.
- A Reddit Pro brand profile can repost real user discussions about the product, which is more credible than self-written praise.
Example
A developer tools startup writes a detailed postmortem in a programming subreddit. It does well, and a closely related subreddit about the specific framework allows reposts. Reposting it there once, with a title adapted to that audience, is reasonable. Reposting it to eight startup, marketing and programming subreddits the same afternoon gets the account flagged and the posts removed.
Common mistakes
- Crossposting your own promotional post to every subreddit that allows it.
- Ignoring each community's rules. A post that fits one sub's self-promotion rules may break the next sub's.
- Using reposts to farm karma. Reddit's spam policy names reposting old content to gain karma quickly. See karma farming.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a crosspost and a repost on Reddit?
Nothing anymore. Reddit renamed crossposting to reposting. Outside the official feature, "repost" also means someone posting content that has already been posted, often without credit.
Why can't I crosspost to a subreddit?
That community has disabled reposts, so it is greyed out. You would need to make an original post that follows its rules.
Does a crosspost get its own upvotes?
Yes. The repost has its own votes and comments in the new community, while showing the original's score in the preview.