- Week 1: fix the first five minutes, list the server, claim it, write the MOTD and description, record footage.
- Week 2: Discord ad servers and one r/mcservers post. Week 3: three short videos. Week 4: one event and a vote push.
- 20 minutes a day, every day: bump, post, reply, note joins.
- Measure once a week on your listing's 7-day chart and strength meter. Do not judge anything on day three.
The best way to promote a Minecraft server is not a channel, it is an order. Owners who post in twenty Discords on day one send strangers into a server that loses them in minute one, then conclude that advertising does not work. Owners who spend the first week on the server itself and the listing, then add one channel a week, end the month with something to show and know which channel brought it.
This is that month, day by day. It assumes a small team, no budget and about 20 minutes a day plus a couple of longer evenings. Each week points to the guide that goes deep on that step, so this page stays a calendar rather than repeating how to advertise a Minecraft server, how to get players and how to grow a Minecraft server.
Before day 1: the two things you need
- A server that stays up. Home hosting that sleeps overnight loses every player who tries you at the wrong hour, and it costs you rank: on our list an offline server drops below every online one.
- A one-sentence answer to "why this server?" Mode plus the one thing you do differently. If you cannot write it, week 1 will tell you what it is.
Week 1: fix the first five minutes, then get listed
Nothing you post later works if this week is skipped. It is the week most owners want to skip.
| Day | Do this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Run the ten-minute test: one stranger, address only, watch them join. Write down every hesitation. | Their confusion is your to-do list |
| 2 | Fix what they hit: signs at spawn, a one-line "do this first," a starter kit, a /rtp or claim hint. Set an honest max players (3 of 40 looks alive, 3 of 500 looks dead). | A quiet server has to look intentional, not abandoned |
| 3 | List the server (two minutes), then claim it from its server page by putting the code in your MOTD. | Claiming unlocks the listing editor and the strength meter |
| 4 | Write the MOTD (two clean lines: what it is, why now) and a description of 250 or more characters that opens with your one sentence. Add every game mode you genuinely run, a logo and a banner. | The description is worth 2.5 of the 12 strength points, the most of any field; servers with 250+ characters have a median of 20 players on our list against 11, and servers listing four or more modes have a median of 37 against 10 for the rest |
| 5 | Connect NuVotifier and send a test vote from your listing. Add your Discord invite and website if you have them. | Votes are 15% of Server Score and start counting immediately |
| 6 | Record: 20 minutes of real gameplay with players, a spawn flyover, the one mechanic that is yours. Use Replay Mod or Flashback on Java. | Weeks 3 and 4 need footage that is hard to fake later |
| 7 | Second ten-minute test with a new stranger. Check the strength meter; aim for 6 of 12 by tonight. | Confirms the fixes worked before anyone else sees them |
Week 2: Discord and Reddit
Now the server can absorb strangers. This week adds the two free channels where players are already choosing a server. The details, rules and a copyable ad are in Discord advertising and Reddit advertising.
| Day | Do this |
|---|---|
| 8 | Add discord.play. and reddit.play. hostnames pointing at your server, plus a plugin that counts logins per hostname. Set up your tracking sheet: channel, cooldown, last post, joins. |
| 9 | Write one core ad: one line on what and why now, address, one screenshot, invite. Join five advertising Discords and two community Discords with an ads channel; read every rules pin. |
| 10 | First posts in the ad Discords, at your players' peak hour. Be online in game when they land. |
| 11 | Read r/mcservers' rules page, copy the title format from that day's top posts, and post once. Stay in the thread for two hours. |
| 12 to 13 | Daily routine only (below). Reply to every "looking for a server" thread that genuinely matches you. |
| 14 | Sunday check: joins per hostname, and how many of them came back. Drop the Discords that sent nobody. |
Week 3: short video
Short vertical clips are the only free channel that reaches people who were not looking for a server. They are also the most work, so this week makes three clips, not thirty. Formats that work and the TikTok specifics (bio link rules, the "IP in comments" pattern, why Bedrock matters for a phone audience) are in promoting a Minecraft server on TikTok.
| Day | Do this |
|---|---|
| 15 | Cut clip one from week 1 footage: a single real moment, 10 to 20 seconds, hook in the first second, address on screen at the end. Export vertical 9:16. |
| 16 | Post it on TikTok and as a YouTube Short. Pin a comment with the address and edition. Add a tiktok.play. hostname first. |
| 17 | Clip two: a 20 to 30 second server tour, spawn to the thing that is yours. |
| 18 to 19 | Post clip two. Read every comment; "what's the IP?" gets the pinned comment, "does it work on phone?" gets a straight answer. |
| 20 | Clip three: an event teaser for week 4, with the date on screen. |
| 21 | Sunday check. If a clip did well, note why (hook, moment, sound) so next week's clip repeats it. |
Week 4: an event and a vote push
An event concentrates your players in time, which is the cheapest cure for the empty-server problem, and gives every channel a "why now." Ideas by size and mode are in Minecraft server event ideas; the vote mechanics are in how to get more votes.
| Day | Do this |
|---|---|
| 22 | Pick one event that fits your mode and your player count: a build contest, a boss fight, a drop party, a PvP bracket. Set it for day 27 at your peak hour. |
| 23 | Announce it everywhere at once: MOTD second line, Discord, this week's ad posts, the clip from day 20. Same date, same time zone spelled out. |
| 24 | Turn on a vote reward that players actually want (a crate key, a cosmetic) and tell them in game with a /vote command that opens your vote page with their name filled in. |
| 25 to 26 | Daily routine. Remind about the event once a day, not hourly. |
| 27 | Event day. Every staff member online. Record it; it is next month's best clip. |
| 28 | Post the recap clip and screenshots. Thank people by name in Discord. Ask everyone who had fun to vote once. |
The 20-minute daily routine (days 8 to 30)
- Five minutes: bump and post. Bump your Discord directory listing if it is due, post in the ad Discords whose cooldown has passed, at peak hour if you can.
- Five minutes: reply. Every comment under yesterday's posts, every question in your own Discord, and two or three "looking for a server" threads that match you.
- Five minutes: be in game. Say hello to whoever joined. New players judge the server by whether anyone answers.
- Five minutes: log it. Joins per hostname into the sheet, one line on what you posted. On Sunday the sheet becomes the week's decisions.
What to measure each week, and where
You do not need analytics software. Your listing's stats page here has a 7-day player chart, and the claimed listing shows a strength meter out of 12. Between those and your hostname counts, this is enough:
| Week | Check | Where | What you want to see |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Listing strength; tester hesitations | Strength meter; your notes | 6 of 12 or higher; second tester hesitates less than the first |
| 2 | Joins per hostname; returners after 24 hours | Your plugin counts; the 7-day chart | Which two or three Discords sent people who came back |
| 3 | Clip views to joins on the tiktok.play. hostname | Platform analytics; your counts | Any joins at all; a hook worth repeating |
| 4 | Event peak vs your normal peak; votes this month | 7-day chart; your vote count on the listing | A peak above any previous week; votes from more than your staff |
The number to care about at day 30 is not the biggest peak. It is players seen on both day 30 and day 23. If that number is higher than on day 7, the plan worked and next month is about doing more of what the sheet says worked. If it is not, the leak is still in the first five minutes, and next month starts at day 1 again, not at day 8.
Next step on this site: list your server today if it is not here, claim it from its server page, and fill in the fields the strength meter flags. A claimed listing at 8 of 12 or more is also eligible for the Rising spots on page one.
Quick questions
What is the single best way to promote a Minecraft server?
Server lists, because every visitor is choosing a server at that moment, and they are free. But the honest answer is the order above: fix the server first, list it, then add Discord, Reddit, short video and events one week at a time.
How long until promotion shows results?
Give each channel a full week and judge it by players who came back, not by the first evening's spike. Most owners see their first stable regulars in the second or third week if the first five minutes are fixed.
Should I pay for ads during the first 30 days?
No. Paid spots multiply what your first five minutes do. Once week 4 shows returners, a labeled placement timed to a new season or event is the lowest-risk paid option; our advertise page explains how ours work.
What if I only have 20 minutes a day, not the longer evenings?
Stretch week 1 to two weeks and skip the video week. Listing, MOTD, description and the daily routine are the parts that cannot be skipped.