How can I get members to join my server?

[BlakeGamez]

I'm actually curious as I've tried listing sites and stuff and nothing seems to work. What do those do who own big servers?

 

[himitsu]

You'll find in the long term that the bigger question is how to make players who do join stay.

 

[JohnsanGeezo]

Completely agree with the last two statements. It's not about how to get people to join, rather how to keep people coming back. It may be the features you have installed, the activities or competitions you have, the prizes you offer, the feel of the community you've fostered, a combination of all of them, or something else entirely.

It's impossible to please everyone, obviously, but the biggest things I've learned from running a successful server is making sure the server staff are engaged and reachable, and talking to the community - get feedback from your players. Ask them what they'd like to see, what they like about it, what they don't like about it. Feedback can be overwhelming but it can also change your server for the better if you listen and are open to ideas. Yes, some suggestions will drift away from your initial plan for the server and as the owner it's up to you whether you implement them or not, but listen to the people you engage. More often than not they'll have decent suggestions.

 

[rayzo]

Stand out.

 

[Cade]

Offer to pay people to join

 

[BlakeGamez]

"How do I get players to join my servers" is not an easily answered question. Simply advertising your server on listing sites does not result in a large, stable player-base. You could spend your entire life savings on advertising your server, but what would be the point when the average player spends about ten seconds on your server? To answer this question, you have to look a bit deeper than just methods of marketing. There's a reason why servers that consistently bring in hundreds of players a day are able to do so and it's not just about their advertising budget.

If "nothing seems to work," you have to take a step back and look at your own server, and put yourself in the position of a potential player. Is it unique? Does your server have some feature or mechanic that has never been seen before? And how have you achieved this? There are thousands of generic servers made unprofessionally that expect to attract a huge playerbase overnight just by making a post on Minecraft Server List. It doesn't work like that. Players are people and your server has to target an audience and bring something exciting that will make players addicted to your game.

Large servers don't rely on advertising to grow their player-base, instead they use it as a kickstarter or to attract a new audience after pushing a new update.

So, don't throw your time and money into something that your server isn't ready for. Instead, take the time to create something worth advertising so that when a player joins, they will want to stay.

You'll find in the long term that the bigger question is how to make players who do join stay.

Completely agree with the last two statements. It's not about how to get people to join, rather how to keep people coming back. It may be the features you have installed, the activities or competitions you have, the prizes you offer, the feel of the community you've fostered, a combination of all of them, or something else entirely.

It's impossible to please everyone, obviously, but the biggest things I've learned from running a successful server is making sure the server staff are engaged and reachable, and talking to the community - get feedback from your players. Ask them what they'd like to see, what they like about it, what they don't like about it. Feedback can be overwhelming but it can also change your server for the better if you listen and are open to ideas. Yes, some suggestions will drift away from your initial plan for the server and as the owner it's up to you whether you implement them or not, but listen to the people you engage. More often than not they'll have decent suggestions.

Thanks for this, I fully agree but to get people to stay you have to get people to join in the first place which is kind of hard sometimes and is what I'm looking to do

 

[JohnsanGeezo]

Ok so what have you got on offer and how are you marketing it?

 

[Syrine]

I'm actually curious as I've tried listing sites and stuff and nothing seems to work. What do those do who own big servers?

Some important aspects have already been addressed in the previous messages. However, I have to mention that it is not always easy to make your server stand out from others especially in a time when there are so many Minecraft servers. A modpack or a modpack-like server can be cited here as a good example. Of course, such a server would then stand out from others TO A CERTAIN DEGREE, but only a limited number of people have access to the server if it is a modpack server and because the server is not general but is specified for a modpack, it can be that fewer people like the game mode (then changed by the modpack). Of course it is always good to stand out from others, but it is questionable to what extent some plugins that do not change the game mode fundamentally set the server apart from others and bring direct joins, since that is obviously the problem.

Tip: The server name and game changes on the server should be associated in some form. If I see a server that is based on a sea theme and is called "FishMC", then I would also assume that they offer custom fishing to a large extent, for example, as this then shows quality and encourages people to stay.

But now away from the technical side. As already mentioned, there is no general approach that always guarantees success.
TikTok and Instagram Reels are great opportunities, but you have to upload consistently with them so that success is guaranteed in the long term and you can see changes. Once some servers get big and very established in their game mode with good quality, I think mouth-to-mouth advertising (one person talking to another person about the server and such) is what brings the most players to the servers. Of course, these servers pursue other strategies, but these are important points. There are many other advertising strategies that almost guarantee success (at least impressions). But I would not like to list them here. Add me on Discord if you want to keep talking. OFENROHR100#1084

 

[ZJump]

Hey, you can dm me and I can help you with this

zjump#0262 on discord add me

 

[DavidRogers0000]

Simply advertising your server on ad sites will not create a large, stable player base.

 

[itsmemac]

You need to do something which will set you apart from tons of MC servers out there.
Thats what will get you more players and you will need to keep on providing that unique experience with each futures updates to retain that player base.

 

[emreburak20]

just advertise it

 

[Zena]

Get their attention with something they want and the other servers don't have.
Ex: giveaways, etc