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What is the most efficient way to advertise a Minecraft Server
Context
I am running a Java Minecraft server with the theme of “Semi-Vanilla” and I am currently looking for new players. So right now I am addressing myself to server owners who have been successful with advertising and I would like to know your methods. Right now we have probably an average player base of 11 players at once. And that ain’t too bad, but considering that I want to make multiple different types of survival worlds with sub servers, 11 players is not going to cut it.
What I’ve been doing
As of now, I’ve put my server on 5 Minecraft server lists and I have been voting on them most of the days. Though I am the only person who votes on it. I wanted to set up a votifier in my Minecraft server so that members could vote on the websites, but I don’t know how to make that work with 5 different websites. However, what I seem to find the most proficient right now is advertising on Minecraft server related subreddits (3 of them), and I would put my server on them almost every day.
Even if my server is growing, it’s growing at a very slow face and I was wondering if there would be anything else I could do to make the process quicker.
I can’t advertise here so I won’t put any links, but if you want to join, it should be on my profile.
I am running a Java Minecraft server with the theme of “Semi-Vanilla” and I am currently looking for new players. So right now I am addressing myself to server owners who have been successful with advertising and I would like to know your methods. Right now we have probably an average player base of 11 players at once. And that ain’t too bad, but considering that I want to make multiple different types of survival worlds with sub servers, 11 players is not going to cut it.
What I’ve been doing
As of now, I’ve put my server on 5 Minecraft server lists and I have been voting on them most of the days. Though I am the only person who votes on it. I wanted to set up a votifier in my Minecraft server so that members could vote on the websites, but I don’t know how to make that work with 5 different websites. However, what I seem to find the most proficient right now is advertising on Minecraft server related subreddits (3 of them), and I would put my server on them almost every day.
Even if my server is growing, it’s growing at a very slow face and I was wondering if there would be anything else I could do to make the process quicker.
I can’t advertise here so I won’t put any links, but if you want to join, it should be on my profile.
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Honestly, one of the most underrated ways to grow a Minecraft server right now is through short-form content platforms like TikTok or YouTube Shorts. A lot of servers are seeing real traction just by posting quick, eye-catching clips of builds, funny in-game moments, or even short cinematic flyovers of their spawn area.
You don’t need crazy editing skills either — sometimes a simple 15-second video with a trending audio track and some cool visuals can go viral. It’s all about getting your server in front of new eyes. People scrolling on their phones get curious and end up joining out of pure interest.
If you can, consider asking a creative player on your server (maybe someone already active on social media) to help out — or just start experimenting yourself. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just consistent.
Also, bonus tip: add your server IP in the overlay or description — you’d be surprised how many players come from one good video.
You don’t need crazy editing skills either — sometimes a simple 15-second video with a trending audio track and some cool visuals can go viral. It’s all about getting your server in front of new eyes. People scrolling on their phones get curious and end up joining out of pure interest.
If you can, consider asking a creative player on your server (maybe someone already active on social media) to help out — or just start experimenting yourself. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just consistent.
Also, bonus tip: add your server IP in the overlay or description — you’d be surprised how many players come from one good video.
I just don't have the balls to make a video lol
There isn't a way
I was just about to say that.
I mean there should be a way if all these minecraft servers managed to grow so big
In at least some cases, those servers (mainly the older ones) will have benefitted from first mover advantage.
Others may have entered the market as corrections to failed first movers.
Some are [likely] the result of deep pockets founders who were able to sustain significant periods of negative returns.
At present, the server market would appear to be saturated. (Actually marketS, as different types of servers do not directly compete.)
Successfully breaking into a mature and saturated market is going to require time and presistence (and probably a degree of luck) — somewhat less so if you can find an unsatisfied niche [and advertise it fast enough to 'own' it before any of the major players can't piggyback the innovation].
Others may have entered the market as corrections to failed first movers.
Some are [likely] the result of deep pockets founders who were able to sustain significant periods of negative returns.
At present, the server market would appear to be saturated. (Actually marketS, as different types of servers do not directly compete.)
Successfully breaking into a mature and saturated market is going to require time and presistence (and probably a degree of luck) — somewhat less so if you can find an unsatisfied niche [and advertise it fast enough to 'own' it before any of the major players can't piggyback the innovation].
Yeah and I get that if I don’t do anything different in my approach from the other server owners, I might not pass them since I need time and ideas. Time I got, but I’m not getting ideas for how I could make my server different from the others.
its all of those reasons but mostly because minecraft is dead especially java edition
Minecraft has a lower player base than a few years ago. That’s for sure. But it isn’t necessarily dead. It’s still one of the most played games out there and it’s been for so many years. There are just so many servers in the Minecraft community that it seems dead
this is relatable, i tried/try to run a server but it really well... it needs PEOPLE to get going, i can't do it on my own, but if there's nothing there without good people on it, then why would anyone play? it's a vicious cycle and i have no idea how you'd break out of it, outside of just *getting people to invite massive friend groups and hoping it's fun enough that it spirals from there.*
ultimately, what's your goal? if you just wanna have fun on survival, then surely 11 people is enough, as long as you all decide to play together on the same subserver, and switch around when you get bored? if you want to run a network, why? (for me, it would be fine if it was only like 10 active people so long as they were the RIGHT peoplpe, but it's veeeerry hard to get them)
ultimately, what's your goal? if you just wanna have fun on survival, then surely 11 people is enough, as long as you all decide to play together on the same subserver, and switch around when you get bored? if you want to run a network, why? (for me, it would be fine if it was only like 10 active people so long as they were the RIGHT peoplpe, but it's veeeerry hard to get them)
The reason why I want to run a network is for more possibilities to include a monetization system. I don't really have an idea as of now about how I am going to include a monetizing process in my Minecraft server without making it pay-to-win. But I feel like if I manage to include a lot of diversity, I might be able to come up with even more ways to include it. And the reason I want to monetize it is that I did spend a lot of money on this server, as I just bought a physical server, and I've been paying for pebblehost for a while now. But I'm just looking for around 20 people per subserver, which is a lot more than I have actually. The way I got it started, though, is, as you said, my friend invited his friend group into the server, so that already created an active playerbase at the very beginning.
Word of mouth is the best advertisement. You are one out of tens of thousands 'semi-vanilla' servers. Make it stand out, give players something that makes them want to tell their friends about it and it will grow naturally. Voting sites don't do much, reddit is a lot of effort. TikTok is good if you want to find small children to play on your server. You can get paid advertising but don't use random Ad's or listings services, use someone with a popular Youtube or Tiktok/Instagram account that can post an Ad of your server.
Again you will need the server to be good to begin with and have good player retention. Otherwise what good is finding 500 players if they will just leave after 4 minutes of running around your spawn and get bored.
TL;DR Have friends bring their friends or Pay popular Youtuber to advertise your server.
Again you will need the server to be good to begin with and have good player retention. Otherwise what good is finding 500 players if they will just leave after 4 minutes of running around your spawn and get bored.
TL;DR Have friends bring their friends or Pay popular Youtuber to advertise your server.
Yes, I'm aware that semi-vanilla is very basic, and that's what I was looking for mainly. However, my current plan to counter the boredom of the players is to create multiple sub-servers with distinct themes and plugins. It's hard to make something that doesn't exist, so most of them are already going to be out there somewhere. But people would be able to play Minecraft with the same people on different worlds with different plugins, which I think might be a good idea.
One thing is to not miss opportunities to [legitimately] mention your project: here you are writting about [presumably] Valeria , but you've not included a link…. (People are inherently lazy, make things as easy as possible for them, and they are more likely to avail themselves of an opportunity.)
Yes I, in fact, could have put a link into my post. I just was not sure however if I was allowed to put links or to somewhat advertise my server like that in the Minecraft Discussions thread
I'm obviously noy an official opinion, but linking to something about which one is 'talking' (and which is not otherwise prohibited e.g. a casino) simply seems polite. (It also furthers the discussion by clarifying that about which one is speaking. In this case, the linked description of Valeria might provide insight into how to further develop your project.)
Toward that end: while semi-vanilla covers a lot of ground, I wonder at that description… "Lightly modded" [which has little semantic difference] strikes me as more applicable.
The distinction is probably most of interest as an advertising tag insofar as it influences result order/presence when people serch for servers.
[As a 'near-pure-vanilla' player, I'd see the server as modded rather than semi vanilla (and there are doubtless heavy-mod players whose perceptions are reversed).]
A couple of other 'management opportunities' 😇 noticed on fuller reading:
"…or just exploiting in general…." is not an attractice description of prohibited activity.
As a tech-lite player, I'd want a list of what is and isn't covered.
Guessing [which is the problem], you would prohibit item duplication (likely including rail and carpet), but whether this extends to TNT dupers is unclear.
What your position on things like use of the nether attic or various auto-'farms' is also not ascertainable from the description.
"…a list of some of the plugins we use (the ones members should worry about)."
Providing a full list (which ought be fairly small for semi-vanilla) seems likely to be appreciated; even something as simple as whether you have 1-player Sleep installed can have a major effect on how one plays the game. [Adding a short descripson of each is also likely to be appreciated by those looking for a server as there are far too many mods for anyone to be expected to recognise all of them.]
Neither of these is actually relevant to me as a potential player as "griefing is allowed" is a deal killer — the comments are aimed ay maximizing your 'conversions' from people reading the ads for the server to actually playing on it.
Toward that end: while semi-vanilla covers a lot of ground, I wonder at that description… "Lightly modded" [which has little semantic difference] strikes me as more applicable.
The distinction is probably most of interest as an advertising tag insofar as it influences result order/presence when people serch for servers.
[As a 'near-pure-vanilla' player, I'd see the server as modded rather than semi vanilla (and there are doubtless heavy-mod players whose perceptions are reversed).]
A couple of other 'management opportunities' 😇 noticed on fuller reading:
"…or just exploiting in general…." is not an attractice description of prohibited activity.
As a tech-lite player, I'd want a list of what is and isn't covered.
Guessing [which is the problem], you would prohibit item duplication (likely including rail and carpet), but whether this extends to TNT dupers is unclear.
What your position on things like use of the nether attic or various auto-'farms' is also not ascertainable from the description.
"…a list of some of the plugins we use (the ones members should worry about)."
Providing a full list (which ought be fairly small for semi-vanilla) seems likely to be appreciated; even something as simple as whether you have 1-player Sleep installed can have a major effect on how one plays the game. [Adding a short descripson of each is also likely to be appreciated by those looking for a server as there are far too many mods for anyone to be expected to recognise all of them.]
Neither of these is actually relevant to me as a potential player as "griefing is allowed" is a deal killer — the comments are aimed ay maximizing your 'conversions' from people reading the ads for the server to actually playing on it.
I don't know if this was written by AI because of its length and grammar. But I really appreciate the suggestions, and I'll look into it. You did make me realize that I tend to turn lazy whenever I write these posts, so I just end up saying some general points instead of going into detail like what you explained.
🤣
just the usual errors from my lack of typing skills.
just the usual errors from my lack of typing skills.
I didn’t say that you were lazy by the way, if that’s what you understood. I said that your ideas made me realize that I was being lazy in my posts
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hey do yu have a bedrock server
No, the server I run is in fact not bedrock but Paper on Java
Can i help you with your server. I really like to do that!
In what way would you like to help our server? Helping could fit in many categories.
