I got my server on the Popular Reel and Frontpage of PMC with a few techniques and etiquettes. To be honest, half of the advice you received here won't work, whatsoever. The difference between a great server, and a terrible one, is originality, eye candy, and has an established community (MOST IMPORTANT). Let me get straight to the good stuff so you won't have to read a whole essay. Imagine yourself as a new player coming on the server for the first time. What are your first impressions? Do you like spawn? Is the chat nice and welcoming? Are the staff doing their jobs professionally? Here's what you can do: Go on other popular servers, similar to yours, and compare that first few minutes there with your server. You can see right away the virtues of your server. Also, having those new players join and STAY is essential to establish a community. It doesn't matter if you have 100 players, the server can be horrible if its players reflect nothing but arrogance and immaturity. What makes a REAL community is the presence of mature, responsible players who enjoy the server for what it is, and they would like to stay. I really don't want to go further into this, as I think I already gave you enough words to read. Good luck!

bur dump badump gadump BUMP

Badump badump bumpy dumpy herpity derp badump dedump durdump madump cadump edump

mrvideogaming1cuz ur a dork and noone likes u

Thanks, your really cool too you know? You deserve coolest dude of the year...

-.-

If you let me join i not asking for any rank i just want to see your server what IP?

Minecraft.net thing is down, thats why

Oh my ign is Polarcraft56

Trust me if you make me a mod on your server I'll advertise for it and tell my friends to tell threre freinds to tell there freinds..........and so on trust me I'll be a great mod for the server

Our server had absolutely wild success simply by the way we use our ranking system and 1 post on minecraftforums...

Not telling you our secret though.

Advertising is the key though. The more places you post your server, the more views you receive, the more players that join.

Here's the best thing you can do.

1. Submit your server to Planet Minecraft, minestatus.net, etc. The more sites you're on, the more members you get.
2. Make a YouTube and post your server with the IP in the description. Through personal experience, I've found this method the best way to get people on your server.
3. Encourage your friends and classmates irl to join your server. I mean, who doesn't like to be with their friends especially online?
4. Make events on your server and build a lot to show that you are a competent owner that who knows wtf he/she's doing.
5. Add plugins to show that you have the technological know-how and the brains to intelligently run a server.
6. Make a facebook/twitter/google+/bing/etc page where many go on just for the heck of it.

Hope these help.

I have the same question... here are my observations:
1. Networking (people tell their friends and those people tell their friends)
2. Social Media
3. Posting and bumping the server daily at PMC
4. YouTube Let's Plays
5. Having fun things to do on your server
6. Getting someone "famous" to review your server or play on your server and post it on their YouTube channel.

I guess it's who you know.

Coming to visit... if I can get on. My server is still running 1.3.2... so I cannot update my software yet. That's another thing on my to do list!

Bump.. and thanks slamzznl

Ask the successful people?

I'll join if If I can be a mod pls I tell myfreinds

No i cant help u on that but u want to hang and play some minecraft well anyway if so tell me on yahoo at jadenstittsworth@yahoo.com