Now, before we start I just want you guys to know that one of the most expensive things for your server will most likely be advertising. If you ever think once you've finished the server and you think all expenses are out of the way then you're sadly mistaken. Now, let's get started.
1. Uniquity
When I say "Be Unique" I don't mean put on your thread that your server is unique and not explain why it's unique, I mean explain it and grow off of it. A large number of servers become popular by having it's unique features and server owners tend to forget that. Unique features of a server have to be advertised in pretty much any banner you put out there to advertise your server. For example, if your server is named "Beat-Drop Server" and your unique features is you have music blocks that play the best beat drops in all of Minecraft, grow off of that! Make sure to include on your banner "Real Minecraft Beat-Drops!" or something in that nature, don't just leave it out and only tell players you have it once they've joined.
2. Patience
My father once told me that the best inventions in the world weren't created when they were rushed, they were created by time and planning. Not everything is going to go your way so you should take some time to have a backup plan and think to yourself what could go wrong with the server. In some cases, imagine the server is going to be nearly a failure and have a list of ideas to fix that. Also, the more time you spend on the server, the more time you have to fix all the bugs, get hype up for the server, and get a stable and well-trained staff team. That brings me to my third topic.
3. Staff
In my eyes, the staff are one of the strongest attributes that show how your experience will be on your server. If you have an unorganized and not very well-trained staff team, that's how players may also see your server overall. You should spend time with your staff team by making sure they understand the rules, making sure they're active and overall making sure they don't have a short temper. Not all players follow the rules and are nice to staff so having a short temper would not be good if you're a member that helps enforce the rules and players.
4. Money Pt. 1
One thing that ticks me off as a manager is when server owners say "I'll hire you by giving you a percentage of the server's profits". You may ask yourself "Why is that such a bad thing? Money is money." The reason being behind this is because of a few reasons.
A. Success Percentage
Let's say in a year or so your manager is still being paid 20% of your profits, but you're starting to make a lot of money. The more money you make, the more you're going to have to pay this manager and eventually, that Manager may be one of the highest paid Managers in all of Minecraft. Now, I doubt anyone will ever have a Minecraft server that big, but that's just a warning.
B. Failure Percentage
Let's say in a year or so your manager is still being paid 20% but this time your server isn't making a lot. Eventually, your manager is going to be getting tired of being paid little to nothing for spending countless of hours managing and eventually may quit. Now at this point, you've lost your manager and your server is going under.
C. High Money, High Expenses
Let's say in a year or so your manager is still being paid 20% and the server is doing pretty decent. Although, if the manager is being paid 20% of what money comes in and your spending a large amount of that money to expand that server, your profit could eventually be smaller then what the Manager is making, or even worse... negative. Now, you could say "The manager will be making what money I have left over after using it on expanding the server." but if you were to say that to me, being a manager myself, I would say "So I'm not going to be receiving a lot of money for a decently profited server?". Overall, selling part of your server to Managers isn't always the best idea and can be your greatest downfall in the long run.
5. Advertising
Like I was saying in the intro, a server is not cheap, especially it's advertising portion. Now, of course, you could be lucky to have that best friend who has thousands of subscribers on YouTube and records him/herself playing on your server, but eventually, players are going to get tired of watching him/her play on the same server for a while. In the long run, the hype will go down pretty drastically and your best friend may play on another server and so could your players. Now, another thing that people say could be a way to save money is uploading your server to a server-listing website You should check mine out . Now, this is a good idea, but lots of servers get uploaded to a server-listing website and this idea would probably be good if you already had a player base and you want to expand it. If you have little to no players, I would suggest you get the word out there and spend a little on a Sponsored Slot, or something to make your server appears first no matter how many votes or players you have. I think another way to also get your word out is just recommending it to your friends and their friends. There's nothing better than having a natural recommendation from your old friend about a server that just started up. Although, this does not mean go on Discord or Skype and spam your contacts about your server. If you want a large player-base then the best way I can think of is purchase several premium slots on all sorts of server-listing websites and maybe even buy advertising banners for Minecraft forums (Like MC-Market). There are several smaller tips I could give about this portion but I can't really write them all because I've taken schooling for advertising for over a year. If you want to learn more about advertising just PM me and I can give you some more detailed advice.
6. Money Pt. 2
Another thing that ticks me off the most is when server owners think to themselves "Well it only cost $3GB/Month to buy a server so I could probably have a budget of $100 and I would most certainly be set"; this is not true at all. After reading the advertising portion of this article, I want server owners to know that like I was again saying in the intro that a server could be expensive just itself, not including the advertising. Here is an example of some expenses that will come up if you don't already know how to do them.
7. Fun
Lastly, this is probably the easiest tip to follow, but just try to have fun. Yes, this is a business but if you stress yourself out day by day, you're going to lose inspiration fast and so will your staff team. Plus, remember; Minecraft is a game for players to be creative and have fun, so remind them of that when they join your server.
Thank you so much for taking your time and reading my article (or at least skimming it)! I know this is a very large article and I know I didn't explain everything, but if you're serious about a server, I think studying about success and gathering tips is definitely a great start. There's also more descriptive tips I left out because I felt like it's hard to give descriptive advice to just about all types of server owners so this is what I have to offer for now. If you liked this article, feel free to check out my server-listing website called Soenix Servers. It's new and easy to upload your server so why not upload yours; it's free too! If you'd like, you can also PM me for more advice for your server specifically and I will do my best to give you some tips that could help you succeed.
1. Uniquity
When I say "Be Unique" I don't mean put on your thread that your server is unique and not explain why it's unique, I mean explain it and grow off of it. A large number of servers become popular by having it's unique features and server owners tend to forget that. Unique features of a server have to be advertised in pretty much any banner you put out there to advertise your server. For example, if your server is named "Beat-Drop Server" and your unique features is you have music blocks that play the best beat drops in all of Minecraft, grow off of that! Make sure to include on your banner "Real Minecraft Beat-Drops!" or something in that nature, don't just leave it out and only tell players you have it once they've joined.
2. Patience
My father once told me that the best inventions in the world weren't created when they were rushed, they were created by time and planning. Not everything is going to go your way so you should take some time to have a backup plan and think to yourself what could go wrong with the server. In some cases, imagine the server is going to be nearly a failure and have a list of ideas to fix that. Also, the more time you spend on the server, the more time you have to fix all the bugs, get hype up for the server, and get a stable and well-trained staff team. That brings me to my third topic.
3. Staff
In my eyes, the staff are one of the strongest attributes that show how your experience will be on your server. If you have an unorganized and not very well-trained staff team, that's how players may also see your server overall. You should spend time with your staff team by making sure they understand the rules, making sure they're active and overall making sure they don't have a short temper. Not all players follow the rules and are nice to staff so having a short temper would not be good if you're a member that helps enforce the rules and players.
4. Money Pt. 1
One thing that ticks me off as a manager is when server owners say "I'll hire you by giving you a percentage of the server's profits". You may ask yourself "Why is that such a bad thing? Money is money." The reason being behind this is because of a few reasons.
A. Success Percentage
Let's say in a year or so your manager is still being paid 20% of your profits, but you're starting to make a lot of money. The more money you make, the more you're going to have to pay this manager and eventually, that Manager may be one of the highest paid Managers in all of Minecraft. Now, I doubt anyone will ever have a Minecraft server that big, but that's just a warning.
B. Failure Percentage
Let's say in a year or so your manager is still being paid 20% but this time your server isn't making a lot. Eventually, your manager is going to be getting tired of being paid little to nothing for spending countless of hours managing and eventually may quit. Now at this point, you've lost your manager and your server is going under.
C. High Money, High Expenses
Let's say in a year or so your manager is still being paid 20% and the server is doing pretty decent. Although, if the manager is being paid 20% of what money comes in and your spending a large amount of that money to expand that server, your profit could eventually be smaller then what the Manager is making, or even worse... negative. Now, you could say "The manager will be making what money I have left over after using it on expanding the server." but if you were to say that to me, being a manager myself, I would say "So I'm not going to be receiving a lot of money for a decently profited server?". Overall, selling part of your server to Managers isn't always the best idea and can be your greatest downfall in the long run.
5. Advertising
Like I was saying in the intro, a server is not cheap, especially it's advertising portion. Now, of course, you could be lucky to have that best friend who has thousands of subscribers on YouTube and records him/herself playing on your server, but eventually, players are going to get tired of watching him/her play on the same server for a while. In the long run, the hype will go down pretty drastically and your best friend may play on another server and so could your players. Now, another thing that people say could be a way to save money is uploading your server to a server-listing website You should check mine out . Now, this is a good idea, but lots of servers get uploaded to a server-listing website and this idea would probably be good if you already had a player base and you want to expand it. If you have little to no players, I would suggest you get the word out there and spend a little on a Sponsored Slot, or something to make your server appears first no matter how many votes or players you have. I think another way to also get your word out is just recommending it to your friends and their friends. There's nothing better than having a natural recommendation from your old friend about a server that just started up. Although, this does not mean go on Discord or Skype and spam your contacts about your server. If you want a large player-base then the best way I can think of is purchase several premium slots on all sorts of server-listing websites and maybe even buy advertising banners for Minecraft forums (Like MC-Market). There are several smaller tips I could give about this portion but I can't really write them all because I've taken schooling for advertising for over a year. If you want to learn more about advertising just PM me and I can give you some more detailed advice.
6. Money Pt. 2
Another thing that ticks me off the most is when server owners think to themselves "Well it only cost $3GB/Month to buy a server so I could probably have a budget of $100 and I would most certainly be set"; this is not true at all. After reading the advertising portion of this article, I want server owners to know that like I was again saying in the intro that a server could be expensive just itself, not including the advertising. Here is an example of some expenses that will come up if you don't already know how to do them.
- Minecraft Server Hosting
- Forums Server Hosting
- Domain
- Building User/Team
- Banner Designer
- Graphics Thread Designer
- LOGO Designer
- Custom Plugins
- Xenforo License (Recommended)
- Forums Add-ons (Recommended)
- Portal Website (Recommended)
- Website Designer (Recommended)
- Java Developer (Optional)
- Manager (Payment Optional)
- Staff Team (Payment Optional)
7. Fun
Lastly, this is probably the easiest tip to follow, but just try to have fun. Yes, this is a business but if you stress yourself out day by day, you're going to lose inspiration fast and so will your staff team. Plus, remember; Minecraft is a game for players to be creative and have fun, so remind them of that when they join your server.
Thank you so much for taking your time and reading my article (or at least skimming it)! I know this is a very large article and I know I didn't explain everything, but if you're serious about a server, I think studying about success and gathering tips is definitely a great start. There's also more descriptive tips I left out because I felt like it's hard to give descriptive advice to just about all types of server owners so this is what I have to offer for now. If you liked this article, feel free to check out my server-listing website called Soenix Servers. It's new and easy to upload your server so why not upload yours; it's free too! If you'd like, you can also PM me for more advice for your server specifically and I will do my best to give you some tips that could help you succeed.
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