Remember, Reddit can increase your views for a day or two. They seldom become your regular reader, unless you are a heck of a writer. They come to your site from Reddit and then go back to Reddit. 

 

I stopped submitting my posts to reddit altogether.

Yes, I'm discovering that truth right now. I went ahead and submitted one of my articles as an experiment. It sent about 80 new visitors my way, but the bounce rate was ~98%! Yikes. It actually spiked a decent conversation, but all of the comments were made on Reddit, not on my site. So, yeah, aside from the very occasional submission, I don't think I'll be using it as a main traffic generating technique.

I stopped submitting my posts to reddit altogether.

2) Short answer: Yes, it's cool to submit your own. Long answer: See 4.

3) Your posts stay on Reddit forever. They may not stay on the front page, but they will stay accessible. Eventually, they roll to the next page... and then the next page... and then the next page as time goes by. Your traffic will drop off accordingly. But, Google searches on the topic may still make you a top result because of Reddit's influence.

4) DO NOT POST EVERY ONE. Focus on content heavy articles. I've personally spammed boards and been mocked and pestered for it. Not a smart move. Become a contributer and active member of whatever board you decide to post on. It will give you more clout and a better, involved presence.

5) Worth is relative. For me, I've had popular articles receive 6,500 hits in a day. Sometimes certain articles fail, but the risk is minimal for incredible gains. 

Best of luck and don't hesitate to get in touch with me to up vote some of your articles! Hope I can help.

-S.

As for your questions:

1. Yes, submit to the appropriate category for the post.  For example, many personal finance posts should go into /r/financialplanning

2. Just like other social media sites, you can submit your own posts, but do so in moderation.  I like to keep a 1-5 ratio (1 post for every 5 interactions/other submissions)

3. Depends on the post.  Max I've stayed near the top is 2 days.

4. It's not always the best, but sometimes controversial other other topics that get good conversations going that are successful.  Sometimes your "best" post from search may flop on Reddit

5. I think it is worth it - very quick and easy, and the potential upside is huge.

I've stopped by a couple of times and found the interface to be confusing and hard to follow (maybe it's just me?). Some things I'm wondering:

1) Is there a particular place/category to submit personal finance type blog posts? This is particularly where I found the interface to be confusing - I didn't see anything obvious (just stuff for WorldNews, News, Science, etc.). When I did a search I seemingly got message/discussion results instead with no articles/posts linked to them.

2) Is it cool to submit your own articles or is that frowned upon?

3) How long do your submissions stay (assuming they are voted up)? Do they expire after a while? (wondering how long it serves a traffic source)

4) I'm guessing only your best (or controversial - that seems to be a success factor from what I've read) articles should be submitted and not every other post, right?

5) I've seen some people say they've had massive success with Reddit, but others not so much? Is it worth it?

Any insight or suggested information sources would be appreciated!