Grow your server
A step-by-step growth routine with Buddy: a listing that gets clicks, a bumping habit, invite rewards, YouTube and stream alerts, and a weekly analytics check.
On this page
- 1. Write a listing that gets clicks
- Copywriting tips
- 2. Build a bumping routine
- 3. Reward members for inviting friends
- Track your promotions with keyword invites
- 4. Turn your content into new members
- YouTube alerts
- Stream alerts
- 5. Check your analytics every week
- Troubleshooting
- My server isn't in the directory
- Invite roles aren't being given
- YouTube or stream alerts don't post
- Related
Growing a server takes two things: getting people through the door, and giving them a reason to stay. This recipe covers the "through the door" part with a routine you can keep up every week:
- A server listing that makes people want to click Join.
- A bumping habit so you stay near the top of the directory.
- Invite tracking with rewards, so members bring their friends.
- YouTube alerts and stream alerts, so your content brings people back.
- A weekly look at analytics to see what's working.
Growth only sticks if new people feel welcome. Pair this with a polished welcome flow and something to do, like rewards for active members.
1. Write a listing that gets clicks#
In Discord, create an invite to #welcome or #rules, click Edit invite link and set it to
never expire with no max uses.
It's under Growth. Set Show in directory to Enabled and paste the link into Invite link.
Choose the Category that fits best and add tags people would search for. Put your three most important tags first; they're the ones on your server card.
See the copywriting tips below.
Upload a Listing banner and a Profile banner (resized to 724 x 400).
Click Save listing.
Copywriting tips#
Your Short description (120 characters) is your pitch. It's what people read on your card before they decide to click.
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| "Welcome to our server! We are a friendly community." | "Chill Minecraft survival with weekly build contests and a friendly 16+ crew." |
| "Gaming server for all games" | "Valorant and Apex squads every night, EU and NA. Find a duo in seconds." |
| "Best art server!!!" | "Daily drawing prompts, honest feedback and monthly art challenges for all skill levels." |
- Say what people do there in the first few words: the game, topic or activity.
- Be specific. Numbers, schedules and names beat adjectives.
- Say who it's for: beginners, a region, an age range, a language.
- Give a reason to join now: an event, a giveaway, active voice chat.
For the Full description (2048 characters), use a short intro, a bullet list of what you offer and one line telling people what to do first. Line breaks are kept, so lists read well.
A bright Listing banner with big, simple artwork works better than a screenshot with small text.
2. Build a bumping routine#
/bump moves you to the top of the Recently bumped order, which is the directory's default sort
and also drives the "Recently bumped" list on the Discord Buddy home page.
Create #bump and pin a message explaining how to bump.
A server can be bumped once every 2 hours on the free plan, and each person can bump once every 30 minutes. Premium shortens both.
Ask a few regulars to bump when the server cooldown is ready, for example as part of a
Bumper role's duties.
/bump EveryoneBumps Current Server Up the Discords Server List on Discord-Buddy.com.
Consistency beats bursts. A bump every few hours through your active time keeps you visible far longer than five bumps in a row (which the cooldown won't allow anyway).
3. Reward members for inviting friends#
It's under Growth.
In Public invite messages, set a Join message channel (shows who invited each new member) and an Invite milestone channel (celebrates new invite roles). Click Save invite messages.
In Invite reward roles, add a few milestones, e.g. 3 invites → Recruiter, 10 → Ambassador,
25 → Legend.
Tell members about it in your announcements: "Invite 3 friends and get the Recruiter role!" Each member should create their own invite in Discord (Invite People) so the joins count for them.
Buddy needs Manage Server to read invites and Manage Roles to give invite roles, with its role above the reward roles.
Track your promotions with keyword invites#
Before you post your server somewhere, create a keyword link for it with /invite create, e.g.
reddit, twitter or partner-pinecrest. Use a different channel for each keyword, because Buddy
keeps one keyword invite per channel. Later, the Top invite keywords chart in Analytics shows which
promotion brought the most people.
4. Turn your content into new members#
If you or your community make videos or stream, let Buddy announce it.
YouTube alerts#
It's under Automation & alerts.
In YouTube channels, choose a Discord channel in Post notifications in and click Add YouTube notification.
Click the edit button, enter a Name and the YouTube channel ID or URL, then click Save notification.
In Notification message, keep {url} in the message so Discord shows the video preview.
Click Save message.
Hey {role:123456789012345678}! **{author}** just uploaded **{title}**
{url}Replace the example ID with your notifications role's ID.
Stream alerts#
Stream alerts announce when a member starts streaming (Go Live) in one of your voice channels.
It's under Automation & alerts.
In Go Live alerts, turn on Alerts on.
In Where and who, pick an Alert channel, optionally limit it to Streamer roles, and pick a Ping role (optional).
In Alert message, write something like {user} just went live in {channel}! Come hang out 🎮
and click Save stream alerts.
Streams in private voice channels are never announced.
5. Check your analytics every week#
Open Analytics (under Overview), tick Collect analytics for this server and click Save analytics settings.
Look at Joins vs leaves, Top invite keywords and Busiest times.
Double down on the promotions that work, and schedule bumps, events and announcements just before your busiest hours.
Questions to ask yourself each week:
- Are joins higher than leaves? If many people leave soon after joining, improve your welcome and make your listing describe the server honestly.
- Which keyword wins? Spend more time where it's working.
- When is the server busy? Bump and announce just before then.
Free servers see the last 7 days. Premium shows 30 or 90 days, and the Gold plan adds All Time, so you can compare month to month.
Troubleshooting#
My server isn't in the directory#
It needs Show in directory set to Enabled and a working Invite link. See Server listing.
Invite roles aren't being given#
Buddy needs Manage Roles and Manage Server, and its role must be above the reward roles. Roles are checked when someone joins through that member's invite, not retroactively.
YouTube or stream alerts don't post#
Check the alert channel is saved and Buddy can Send Messages there. Problems are listed under Bot errors on your main dashboard page.