U
/u/Zelmyra
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2.5 Month Old Minecraft Network — 1,400 Unique Joins, 34 Peak, Looking for Advice on Turning Joins Into Regulars
Hey everyone,
I run a Minecraft network called Zelmyra and I’m looking for advice from other server owners who have successfully grown past the early “small but active” stage.
The server started from nothing a little over 2 months ago. It originally launched as a medieval economy survival SMP, and I recently expanded into Skyblock as a second server. The network is Java + Bedrock and currently has around 1,400 unique joins with an all-time peak of 34 players online.
The SMP has custom dungeon bosses, player towns, shops, economy progression, ranks, events, crates, and other custom systems. Skyblock recently launched and usually has around 6–10 players online, while SMP usually has a little more than that. Combined, the network feels healthier than before, but I’m still trying to figure out how to turn more of the traffic into long-term regulars.
I’ve also started testing paid advertising. So far I’ve bought two vote/server-list ad placements:
The ads are bringing joins, but the players from those listings seem colder than players I’ve gotten from Reddit or content. They join, look around, and leave much faster. I’m trying to improve my first-join experience, onboarding, tutorial flow, and overall retention.
Current rough numbers:
I’m not really asking “how do I get players?” because I am getting players. My bigger question is:
How do I get to the point where 20 online is expected instead of exciting?
For owners who have grown past the 20–40 peak range:
I’m open to blunt criticism. I’d rather know what I’m doing wrong than have people sugarcoat it.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Zelmyra
TikTok: u/Ty_Live
Server: Zelmyra.net
submitted by /u/Zelmyra
[link] [comments]
Continue reading...
Hey everyone,
I run a Minecraft network called Zelmyra and I’m looking for advice from other server owners who have successfully grown past the early “small but active” stage.
The server started from nothing a little over 2 months ago. It originally launched as a medieval economy survival SMP, and I recently expanded into Skyblock as a second server. The network is Java + Bedrock and currently has around 1,400 unique joins with an all-time peak of 34 players online.
The SMP has custom dungeon bosses, player towns, shops, economy progression, ranks, events, crates, and other custom systems. Skyblock recently launched and usually has around 6–10 players online, while SMP usually has a little more than that. Combined, the network feels healthier than before, but I’m still trying to figure out how to turn more of the traffic into long-term regulars.
I’ve also started testing paid advertising. So far I’ve bought two vote/server-list ad placements:
- $300 USD vote/server-list ad slot
- $200 USD vote/server-list ad slot
The ads are bringing joins, but the players from those listings seem colder than players I’ve gotten from Reddit or content. They join, look around, and leave much faster. I’m trying to improve my first-join experience, onboarding, tutorial flow, and overall retention.
Current rough numbers:
- Server age: about 2 months and 10 days
- Network unique joins: around 1,400
- All-time peak: 34
- Started from nothing
- Two active gamemodes: SMP + Skyblock
- Paid ad testing: $500 total spent so far
- Main issue: getting joins, but struggling to turn enough of them into regulars
I’m not really asking “how do I get players?” because I am getting players. My bigger question is:
How do I get to the point where 20 online is expected instead of exciting?
For owners who have grown past the 20–40 peak range:
- What made the biggest difference in turning new joins into regular players?
- Did scheduled events help more than constant updates?
- How important was Discord activity compared to in-game activity?
- What first-join systems actually improved retention?
- Did paid server-list/vote-site ads ever turn into real regulars for you, or were content/Reddit/community posts better?
- At what point did your server start feeling self-sustaining?
I’m open to blunt criticism. I’d rather know what I’m doing wrong than have people sugarcoat it.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Zelmyra
TikTok: u/Ty_Live
Server: Zelmyra.net
submitted by /u/Zelmyra
[link] [comments]
Continue reading...