Did you know that it's possible to make money from running your own Minecraft Server. Minecraft is one of the worlds most popular games with over 100 million people playing it every month. While not all servers make money, the most popular ones can bring in over $100k every month. So if you've been looking to combine your love of gaming with making a little extra money on the side, read on to find out how:
Clever ways for a Minecraft server to make money:
Minecraft is a commercial product from Microsoft and they have certain terms related to how you can make money from Minecraft. You can't charge people to access your server and you can't charge for in-game items that will impact the gameplay (aka pay to play). So if you run a server you need to be a bit clever about how you make money:
People Playing Minecraft Videos
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Accept Donations
Most large servers accept donations. Donations often end up being the number one source of revenue for servers. People are happy to donate to servers that are well maintained.
Have an Items store for Cosmetics
You can't charge for things like diamonds or gold. As these have an impact on the actual gameplay (aka you can build a better sword to be more powerful). But you can charge for cosmetic items. There are mods that let you add certain cosmetics to the game such as pets and particle effects. These items let your players stand out from the crowd and people are happy to pay real money for them.
Use Affiliate Marketing
This is something I see basically zero servers taking advantage of – but it's possible the most profitable way to make money with Minecraft. Affiliate marketing is where you link to a product or service and if someone buys something through your link you earn a commission. Affiliate marketing is how I make a full time income from this blog. And you can use it with Minecraft servers too.
Hosts like Apex Hosting have an affiliate program. So if other people want to setup a server, you can direct them to do it at Apex and earn a commission. People worry that this will cause players to leave their servers – but don't worry people play on multiple servers.
There are many other affiliate programs you can tap into too, if you're creative. Think about Minecraft Merch on Amazon or maybe gaming accessories. These are all things your server players use, why not earn a commission from them.
Sell Merch
If you have a popular server with a strong brand you can setup your own Merch store. These are free to setup through services such as Printful – which offers print on demand.
Stream or Upload to Youtube
This both a way to promote your server and earn some extra income. Share your Minecraft experience with others as well as showing off some of the fun server moments.
Make Real Money Online
Sell Advertising
If you run a website alongside your server (which you definitely should), then you can sell ads on the site. I like to use a combination of affiliate ads (where I earn a direct commission) and also sell sponsored spots. Server sites can be heavily trafficked, especially if you run a forum for server members.
How to Get your Server Setup to Make Money
Setting up a Minecraft server is actually really easy and requires no real technical skills. Especially if you use the right host.
Get a Server
The first step is getting your server. I use Apex Hosting. It's cheap, very reliable and offers servers all over the world. I recommend getting a server that is located close to you. I've found that no matter where you live there are plenty of local players. The process to setup a server on Apex is automated and you can get started with as little as $2.99 a month!
Build your Minecraft World(s)
Players will want to see something when they first join your server. Building a nice spawn area is essential. If you're not a good Minecraft builder, then I'd recommend hiring someone on Fiverr to do it for you. On my server I started small and built it over time with the help of players as the server grew.
Get good looking Graphics
I highly recommend getting a good set of graphics for your server. You'll use these on your website and also on server directories. They will make your server look more professional and stand out from the crowd. Bad graphics can really harm your brand so I recommend spending a little money to get good quality.
You can find good graphic designers on Fiverr who specialise in Minecraft renders and graphics.
Create a web page and forum
A website is essential for attracting players and also creating a community. I use Enjin which is a purpose built tool for building gaming server sites. It comes with a website/blog builder as well as forums and social profiles. It's perfect for building up a community. The best bit is you can start an Enjin website for free and then only pay when your server starts to grow and make money.
With a website you'll be able to sell items, sell ad space and use affiliate marketing. All keys to building a profitable business!
How to promote your server
Get Listed
Once you've setup a server you can add it to the countless Minecraft server directories. These will provide you with a constant stream of new players. When you're just starting out it can be hard to attract the first few new players. But in my experience if you stick at it, then it gets a lot easier.
Setup Social Profiles
Make sure you setup social profiles for your server. I recommend Twitter and Instagram. Post your builds, server news and events. And most importantly interact with other Minecraft users. You should also create a Reddit account and be active in the various Minecraft sub-reddits. There are even dedicated subs for promoting your server.
Run Events
Events are a great way to attract attention. In game events will help keep your server fun and interesting. Players can get tired of the same game modes, so by being creative and running events you'll help your server stand out. This could be anything from bingo to mining contests.
Run a contest
To help grow your brand, giveaway something valuable (like some Minecraft Merch or Amazon Gift Card) using Gleam. Gleam is a platform for running social contests and it's really effective at growing your brand. To enter users need to follow you on Twitter or subscribe to your Youtube channel. The most they do the more entries they get. These contests can even go viral.
So there you have it – a complete guide to running your own profitable Minecraft server. Making some extra income from your Minecraft gaming is entirely possible – you just need to get started!
Earn a stable income from your Minecraft server with reasonable efforts Minecraft Server as revenue earner: Optimum rewards with modest inputs
Minecraft arguably leads to one of the most popular and trendy games in the digital landscape. And we get thousands of people to our Game Servers hosting site looking for Minecraft hosting.
If you want to learn more read our guide to setup a Minecraft serverso you can start learning how to make money from Minecraft server with this guide.
In 1 decade the game has assumed a legendary status and huge volumes of “digital epics” have been written around various technical specs as well as enhancing the user experience. However, just like any other popular media, the Minecraft can also be turned as a solid source of earning digital income. In this article, we are going to present some of the best ways for beginners to earn money through Minecraft.
If you are one of these people who are curious about can you make money with a Minecraft server? – This detailed guide will explain to you it all and show the path to success!
How can you earn from Minecraft?
It is not legally advisable or technically possible to earn money directly from the main Minecraft gaming website. To earn from Minecraft you would need to have a Minecraft game server and ready to invest a good amount of time and effort to maintain the server as well as building a dedicated community by inviting the players on your server. You may set up your Minecraft server if you are a pro at IT (especially server technology). An easier solution (especially for the beginners) would be to buy a Minecraft server from a reliable hosting provider.
How to start earning from your Minecraft server? This is the major questions that you should probably be thinking about. We make things easier for you by offering a step by step guide as below:
Buy Minecraft server
It’s a no-brainer but the question is how to buy the Minecraft server. There are several hosting companies offering Minecraft servers but to make some income out of your Minecraft server you need to purchase a server from a good company.
Many people think that only the most reputed “brands” can provide a reliable Minecraft server. That’s not completely right. How often do we hear about the top brands not being able to offer the prompt or precise support or overcharging their customers? So, it would be better to go for the good hosting companies- and by that we mean “real performers” not just flashy brands- who can provide reliable services and maximum support.
Things to consider before you purchase Minecraft server
- The automated or easy setup process
- Reasonably low prices
- Flexible pricing tiers
- Proximity to geographical area of players (if you are targeting a specific region)
- Easy and seamless upgrading
- Best in Class infrastructure
- 24X7 prompt and precise support
Create a Minecraft world that really impress (It requires efforts, time and/or costs)
You are providing an experience to your gamers, and if your Minecraft Worlds lacks appeal, how can you expect to earn income out of it? So, create an awesome Minecraft world that can instantly attract gamers and keep them engaged for hours.
If you are a Minecraft expert then put your best to create an out and out engaging visual experience for your players. Alternatively, you can hire a Minecraft builder from reputed freelancing websites. Likewise, be careful not to use substandard graphics as they hurt your reputation.
The following websites can be of great help if you wish to build your own Minecraft world:
Create an engaging website
The next thing is to make your game easily accessible to all by offering it a dedicated address and a comfortable digital real estate. For that, you need to create a website.
Having a well-designed website for the Minecraft game not only builds your distinct identity as a business but also offers you a huge avenue to earn income- right from sponsored ads to earn from affiliate programs.
Instead of creating a DIY looking website, you can either hire an experienced designer or simply buy Minecraft website themes. Many people opt for the latter option but if you need to fully personalize your website then hiring a website designer would be a better option to consider.
If you wish to buy minecraft website templates to start with minimal efforts then here are a few of the ideal themes to consider. You can simply click to download these templates:
How to attract players to your minecraft server?
Everything is ready but where are the players? You need to tell them about your server to get their attention. It can take some time but remember the players don’t take time to multiply as each one will most possibly invite his or her friends to enjoy playing with the person s/he is most comfortable with.
Minecraft server directories: To get the new players you need to add your server to Minecraft server directories. Be adamant and in a reasonable time you would be able to get the players. Here are a few options to consider:
- Minecraft Server List: Add your server here:https://minecraft-server-list.com/login/signup.php
- Minecraft Server Directory: You can contact them to know how to add your server thereby visitinghttps://minecraft-server-directory.com/contact
Join Groups and communities: Creating your own group or community might be a bit difficult especially during the initial stage. It would be easier to join the existing communities and interact with the members. You can make valuable connections in these communities. Here are a few groups to start with. Please note that you are free to choose any group or community you like but you need to start from some point, right? So, these groups/communities can give you some idea, and they have a thriving helpful community of active members too:
- Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/323356298248419/
- Twitter:https://twitter.com/mc_communityhub
- Reddit:https://www.reddit.com/r/Tregmine/
Create Social Pages/Communities: As now you have a good idea about how the groups and community work, you should be ready to create dedicated pages and communities on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit. Make it as interesting as possible by adding new posts, tweets, and story updates to show people that it is a happening place and lots of engaging activities are going around. It can easily attract new gamers.
Also, it could be a bit difficult to manage the things but thanks to some sophisticated tools, now you can automate and manage the daily posting and social media schedule. Here are a few tools to consider:
As you have already purchased your own Minecraft server, created a website and build a community, we will now concentrate on different ways to earn real income out of it:
Assure excellent experience and get donations
Let us start with the easiest option that is highly rewarding as well- accepting donations. You can take good care and maintenance of your server to provide a premium quality experience to the users. The users would happily offer you decent donations for the high-end user experience and collectively you can get a really good amount of donation.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is an old, trusted and highly dependable source of income. Minecraft is a very popular game. So there are high chances that at least some of your players would click the affiliate links you place strategically. Each time any user completes, the corresponding commission would automatically be credited to your account.
Many reputed brands offer highly rewarding affiliate programs. You can join their affiliate program and place the links/banner ads etc. at strategic positions. The gamers who wish to purchase minecraft server would most likely hit the link, directed to the purchase page and if they make any purchase, the corresponding commission is automatically added to your account.
To increase the chances of sales, you need to widen your portfolio without losing relevance. For instance, apart from the server, you can also add other Minecraft specific products like gaming accessories.
Sell cosmetics
Another best way to earn an income is to add specific cosmetics like particle effects as well as pets, among a few others through various mods. These cosmetics offer a distinct identity to the users and level up their digital reputation. Put a price tag on such cosmetics and many users would buy them to create an air of exclusivity around them,
Use it an avenue for various forms of advertisements
Another way to ear through your Minecraft server is to build your website and sell advertising on the same. There are various creative ways to sell the advertising space. Along with running affiliation ads, you can also sell the sponsored ads by renting out your website space to the brands who wish to advertise their products digitally.
Real Minecraft Play
Monetizing the content through Youtube
Another best way to turn your Minecraft server into an earning avenue is to stream your Minecraft experience on Youtube to share it with others. You can also add a variety of content that pulls crowd like interesting moments, behind the scenes, etc. You can earn a decent income through the youtube monetization scheme.
Server Access or duration-based charges
Charge the players for accessing your server. The charges should be based on the overall experience. You can charge a decent amount for an awesome world with great visual impact, expansions, etc. Those with a limited budget can start with a fairly average looking world and charge modest amounts. There’s always room to grow. Steadily scale up as you start earning income. If you have built a unique world then you may also consider charging your users based on the duration of access which can be termed as membership fees. Keep the amounts reasonably low to encourage more users “sample” the things before shelling out the bigger amounts for a longer duration.
Earn through “task-based” virtual currency
Many businesses might hesitate to pay for advertisements on your new Minecraft server but there are some creative solutions to overcome this challenge. For instance, you can also assure businesses the “minimum returns” out of their expenses by creating a “task-based” virtual currency program for the players.
The players need virtual currency to play games. You can allocate them a specific amount of virtual currency based on the tasks they complete which can include different tasks that offer business benefits to the advertisers like downloading their application, watching the full video of their latest ad, liking their social media page, subscribing their email list or participating in a market survey.
People Playing Minecraft
If you wish to purchase Minecraft server and build a dedicated website with high-quality performance but lack the required amount then there are several ways to get your project up and running
Conclusion
Minecraft’s huge popularity has made it a very strong digital option to earn a regular stream of revenue, provided you are the owner of a Minecraft gaming server.
There are various time-tested as well as creative ways of earning income through your Minecraft server. In this blog, we have presented a few ways to earn income from your Minecraft server. The readers are advised to keep on reviewing the results and stick to the options that are generating maximum and sustainable income.
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