Welcoming Newcomers

If you want your community to spread, you’ll want to take an active role in putting it out there. Here are a few useful tips for promoting your server’s growth.

Key Principles

• Make It Authentic: Don’t try to “sell” your community with an ad pitch. By sharing why you love it honestly, naturally, and personally, you’re more likely to connect with future members.
• ‍Greet New Members: If someone joining your server is warmly received, especially by you or another moderator, they’re more likely to stick around.
• Set the Tone: Send newcomers directly to a welcome channel, ideally one that explains the server rules, to ensure they understand what your community is about. You can set yours by going to Server Settings > Community Overview.

Do…

• Use Roles to Acknowledge Members: Offering roles to identify founding members, as well as qualities like pronouns, hobbies, and other interests, can help ensure newcomers feel seen.
• Custom Emojis: There’s nothing like custom emojis for sharing your community’s mood and sensibility with newcomers. You’re also more likely to attract Nitro users, since they can use your emojis on other servers they belong to.

Do Not…

• Don’t Foster Negativity: As your server grows, so will differences of opinion. If you let harmless disagreements like “what’s the best RPG” spark bickering matches, personal insults, and grudges, those with less popular opinions are likely to leave.‍
• Don’t Fear Change: As your server expands, its needs will change. When you feel it’s time to update the rules, add more moderators, or change the list of channels, listen to your community and trust your instincts. Keeping up with your server’s demands will help provide more room for growth down the line.

More of a visual learner? You might also be interested in this video about How To Manage Your Discord Community.