Post by Dancing Puffball on Jul 29, 2019 5:00:07 GMT
1: Your server should stand out.
In order for your server to become popular, it has to have some type of appeal. Sometimes this means narrowing down the focus to something a bit less general and more niche (Example: A Nintendo server, as opposed to a general gaming server). There are thousands of general gaming servers. What makes your server the one that people should join? This is why it's important to find a target audience. A few examples of niches that may help lure in a good audience are age restrictions (example: 16+), a genre within something greater (example: A PC gaming server, a Vegan community server, a Metal music community, etc). These are examples of features that narrow down and bring together a target audience.
2: You should show maturity and experience.
Many server leaders are very young, and don't really know what they're doing yet. If you're a 13 year old, chances are people aren't going to take your server too seriously due to your lack of experience. For your server to grow, you need to to be pretty on top of things, and have self-awareness and common sense. Having decent grammar and the ability to persuade will cause more people to take your server seriously. As the owner of a server, you're expected to be approachable, likable, and dependable.
3: Have a nice channel setup.
Have a nice server layout. Give users a self-assign roles channel so they can have fun and customize their profiles. Have a level-up hierarchy to reward your active members (some people will tell you the opposite, that level-up roles are bad because they 'encourage spam', I personally disagree). Don't place all of your bots above your users, this doesn't look good and obscures your actual members.
4: Have active staff members.
One thing that helps me a lot when I start up servers is to bring a friend or two along with me to serve as staff members. If you're a single founder running your server all by yourself without adequate help from friends or dedicated staff, it will be significantly more difficult to run a successful active server, because you would be carrying all the weight on your back with little to no help.
5: What not to do.
Don't @everyone or @here, most people don't want to be pinged for random announcements and partnerships. It's better to set up an announcement ping or a partner ping etc as to avoid bothering people.
Avoid DM advertising at all costs, and avoid posting your invite link on other servers without permission. These methods can both get you in trouble, and they also show that you're desperate and maybe a bit oblivious. Avoid overdoing verification systems. Many users get turned off and leave when accessing channels becomes a major chore. Don't make the mistake of forgetting to advertise. It can be very easy to forgot to bump on DISBOARD, DiscordSL, Discord.me and other sites, and it can be easy to forget to post Reddit ads, adverts, etc. Always keep yourself timed with a bot command so you don't miss out on a bump! Also, if you feel the need to advertise your gender ratio, do it in good taste. To some users it seems obnoxious, but to others it indicates that their gender is well represented in the community.
In order for your server to become popular, it has to have some type of appeal. Sometimes this means narrowing down the focus to something a bit less general and more niche (Example: A Nintendo server, as opposed to a general gaming server). There are thousands of general gaming servers. What makes your server the one that people should join? This is why it's important to find a target audience. A few examples of niches that may help lure in a good audience are age restrictions (example: 16+), a genre within something greater (example: A PC gaming server, a Vegan community server, a Metal music community, etc). These are examples of features that narrow down and bring together a target audience.
2: You should show maturity and experience.
Many server leaders are very young, and don't really know what they're doing yet. If you're a 13 year old, chances are people aren't going to take your server too seriously due to your lack of experience. For your server to grow, you need to to be pretty on top of things, and have self-awareness and common sense. Having decent grammar and the ability to persuade will cause more people to take your server seriously. As the owner of a server, you're expected to be approachable, likable, and dependable.
3: Have a nice channel setup.
Have a nice server layout. Give users a self-assign roles channel so they can have fun and customize their profiles. Have a level-up hierarchy to reward your active members (some people will tell you the opposite, that level-up roles are bad because they 'encourage spam', I personally disagree). Don't place all of your bots above your users, this doesn't look good and obscures your actual members.
4: Have active staff members.
One thing that helps me a lot when I start up servers is to bring a friend or two along with me to serve as staff members. If you're a single founder running your server all by yourself without adequate help from friends or dedicated staff, it will be significantly more difficult to run a successful active server, because you would be carrying all the weight on your back with little to no help.
5: What not to do.
Don't @everyone or @here, most people don't want to be pinged for random announcements and partnerships. It's better to set up an announcement ping or a partner ping etc as to avoid bothering people.
Avoid DM advertising at all costs, and avoid posting your invite link on other servers without permission. These methods can both get you in trouble, and they also show that you're desperate and maybe a bit oblivious. Avoid overdoing verification systems. Many users get turned off and leave when accessing channels becomes a major chore. Don't make the mistake of forgetting to advertise. It can be very easy to forgot to bump on DISBOARD, DiscordSL, Discord.me and other sites, and it can be easy to forget to post Reddit ads, adverts, etc. Always keep yourself timed with a bot command so you don't miss out on a bump! Also, if you feel the need to advertise your gender ratio, do it in good taste. To some users it seems obnoxious, but to others it indicates that their gender is well represented in the community.
