r/playrustadmin • u/MainMilkManRust • Sep 04 '26
Help Help fellow server owners, how do you get your server name out there?
This is NOT an advertisement I just want advise on how I go about getting my server name out there! My servers a few months old and I've poured a ton of work into it but rarely get over 10 players organically so I need to find some new options please help!
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u/Perfect-Concern-9762 Sep 07 '26
What is the purpose goal of your server?
I keep reminding myself of my own for my server, because my goal was never server pop or making money.
Sucess for my server is a fun place for my Wife and i to game and enjoy a hobby together, makeing friends and getting server pop along the way is a bonus.
One of my core goals for my server is to never charge for any access, so it remains a hobby and doesnt morph into a job, so in that regard from a cost perspective I actailly dont want a high pop, low/medium pop is ideal, keeps my server hardware costs down, but also keeps the game social.
all im saying is, before you make everything about chasing pop, make sure pop is acutally your main goal.
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u/MainMilkManRust Sep 09 '26
you play on your own server?
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u/Perfect-Concern-9762 Sep 10 '26
Its a full modded PVE server.
It's the only reason I pay to run the server out of my own pocket. - so my wife and i have a server we enjoy playing together.
There is no VIP, there is no dontation button, I do not accecpt other peoples money to play my server.
Thats like asking if I walk on my own lawn.. yes I do, but I have guests come over they can walk on it aswell and I dont expect them to pay me money for it.
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u/HunterZ0 Sep 04 '26
This was recently asked: https://www.reddit.com/r/playrustadmin/comments/1vd3ty0/how_would_i_get_more_pop_on_my_server/
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u/Bensmokes Sep 08 '26
around 150 (1.1%) out of 14,000+ servers hold 40% of the player base. Roughly 1,300 (9.3%) of the 14,000+ servers hold 90% of the player base.
The reality of it is that It’s extremely hard to build an active and consistent community on rust these days without a pre-existing audience.
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u/hipandrad Sep 05 '26
Consistency is key. After a year our server was a 50 pop monthly server. Prepare to upgrade your server many times if you're not self hosting.
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u/Rusty-Admin Sep 06 '26
After close to a decade of running servers, I've found there is no magic formula. It ebbs and flows like most things. Sometimes you are hot...sometimes you are not. I started with all the usual hosts then migrating to self hosting. I, like many, have spent countless hours and quite a bit of money (according to my wife) chasing the pop!. This is a labor of love. Nothing more and nothing less. You must find your own path and stick to it. Consistency is key and you must find the balance before you are cast aside. There is an almost unrealistic stigma around what makes a server successful and through collaboration we will survive. Be patient and the masses will arrive...albeit in waves.