Advertising

This blog was requested by shota_jellybean a long time ago. I had a lot on my mind and couldn't get anything out there, so here it is.
Help
I don't have to stress how hard it is to make a server popular unless you are a well known Youtuber. You obviously know that your server must have a professional quality and has also got to be fun. Get a group of people to help you advertise your server. You can make trailers of your server on Youtube and show people how cool it is! Youtube is the most well known video sharing website and quite a few people are looking for decent servers. You should advertise on as many websites as possible. PMC, Minecraft forums, reddit e.t.c are all great ways to promote your server and attract a lot of players. Some websites let you pay to get your server advertisement noticed, if you are willing. This is known as 'paying your way to the top', your server will be seen by a lot more players and you could start noticing player increase within a few minutes. Make sure your adverts are catchy and don't drone on, keep it brief and exciting.
WHAT should I advertise?
You might be asking yourself, what exactly do I have to advertise to get players to come on? Well, the answer is quite simple, plugins. If you are offering a variety of plugins such as paintball, spleef and other 'fun' plugins, you should try to emphasize the fact that your server has these 'minigame' plugins. They keep players happy and are a good way for players to relax and socialise with each other. These minigames should also involve a reward upon winning them, that way players will be more willing to use the plugins. Your server should also try to act as a community. By this I mean you shouldn't just build a spawn and let people get on with it. You should build a few safezones which offer a unique feature. Maybe a town, a bank vault, an underground lab, underwater atlantis maybe? Whatever your imagination tells you. Just don't overdo it, players get confused and annoyed if you add TOO much. Make your server enjoyable and make sure to get feedback from players about what needs to be improved.
Players aren't voting on PMC, HELP!
Players haven't been voting for your server? Don't worry, there's one trick which could just get them to vote.
Votifier. If your server has votifier, it gives players rewards upon voting. You could essentially "trick" players into voting so they could get rewards, or persuade, whatever you want to call it.
Forums
I believe the PMC forums allow you to add a signature. In that signature, you could add an animated .gif to further promote your server, so everytime someone reads your post, they will see the server you're promoting!

I hoped this tutorial helps and I apologise for not having the time to write.