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Creating a successful Discord server takes time, effort, and dedication. A community takes time to build, and effectively, that’s exactly what your Discord server is. A community!
In this guide, we will dive into building a community on Discord, including marketing tactics, the best bots you can install to help grow your server, and a game plan for first-time Discord server owners.
Let’s dive in…
As a server owner, you need to focus on several areas for Discord server growth, including the design and organization of your server, boosting community engagement, and implementing a solid growth strategy.
Design and Organization: Building an Appealing Server
Improving the design and organization of your Discord server can make a significant difference in attracting and retaining members. You are competing with other Discord servers, so first impressions count.
If your server looks bland and uninspiring, users will just hit leave before they have even looked at what your community can offer.
Here are some tips to help you create an appealing and user-friendly server:
Create a clear and concise server name and icon that reflects your community’s theme or purpose.
Think about color here, too, especially with the icon, as your server sits in a sea of other servers in the sidebar. Icons make all the difference.
Organize channels into relevant categories to make navigation easier for members and use emojis to make your channel names stand out.
Use channel descriptions to explain the purpose and rules for each channel. Be sure to lock off any channels, too, especially “Announcement” focused channels, to keep things more organized.
Implement roles to manage permissions and access while using role colors to make your server more visually appealing.
This is also great if using a “levelling system” to promote gamification within your Discord server. Users will compete, and this drives engagement. (more on this shortly)
Boosting Community Engagement:
Strategies for an Active and Involved Community To Make Your Discord Server Better!
An engaged community is crucial for a successful Discord server. When you join a server, you never come back if there is no chat or talk. So, you must get and keep the conversation flowing.
Here are some strategies to encourage engagement and keep the conversation going:
Use announcements effectively: Create a dedicated announcements channel to share important updates, news, and events.
Make sure to keep your announcements concise, relevant, and engaging. Use this channel just for announcements, and lock it off to avoid users chatting in here.
Organize giveaways and polls: Host giveaways and create polls to involve members in decision-making processes or simply for fun. These activities can drive engagement and keep members interested in your server.
Encourage conversation: Be active in your server and participate in discussions. Ask open-ended questions to stimulate conversation and show appreciation for members’ contributions.
Establish and enforce community guidelines consistently to maintain a positive and welcoming atmosphere.
Implement an XP or levelling system to reward active members and encourage participation.
Just Created A New Discord Server?
Here Is A Game Plan for New Server Owners To Help Make Your Discord Server Better!
As a new server owner, setting up your server and growing your community can be challenging. Here’s a game plan to help you get started:
Install essential bots: Consider adding bots like Dyno or MEE6 for moderation, levelling, and custom commands. Many bots help with this, but these two are among the most popular.
Other useful bots include Pollmaster for polls, GiveawayBot for giveaways, and dotNotify for message scheduling and announcements.
Bots make your life easier, save you time and in many cases, actually help drive your server forward. Use them to do the tasks they are created to do, and you can focus on the other part of creating a successful Discord server, engaging with your community.
Attract your first members: Start by inviting friends and acquaintances to join your server to get the server started. Promote your server on social media, Reddit, online forums, and Discord server directories. Getting users into your server is tough, and consistency here is key.
Be active outside of your server across social media, being helpful, and of course, as a by-product, promoting your server.
Provide value to your members: Offer exclusive content, resources, or events that cater to your community’s interests. Make sure that members have a reason to stay and engage with your server.
When you get your first few members, create a giveaway to drive that initial engagement. People love free stuff, and it will help drive the conversation. Consider creating a giveaway that prompts your server owners to do something more than just react to a post.
You can have your server members create content, or shout about you outside of the server to enter a giveaway.
An example: “Create a cool server banner and share it on Twitter, tagging us in the post. We will choose the best banner and reward the creator with $50!”
Not only does this engage your community, but it also drives engagement and promotion outside of your server, enticing new users in.
Be patient and consistent: Building a thriving Discord community takes time. Stay committed to your server’s growth and continuously work on improving its design, organization, and engagement strategies.
When it comes to looking at how to make your discord server better, consistency in all of the above, especially sparking conversations within your server, and promoting across social media outside of your server, is the most important thing.
Commit to a 90-day growth plan, where you carry out the above tasks each day. Doing this will help improve everything about your Discord server and keep you in check.
Making your Discord server better involves focusing on design, engagement, and growth strategies. By implementing these tips and maintaining a consistent effort, you can create a thriving community that stands out.
Remember, the key to a successful server is a dedicated and passionate server owner willing to invest time and effort into their community.
