Discord is a social media that appeared a few years ago and is available for all types of devices, it is mostly used for instant messaging and designed to create communities. You can use all the communication ways that exist. Users communicate with voice calls, video calls, text messages, media and files in private chats or in communities called servers.
Discord’s popularity brings many people together, even though the platform is gaming-orientated, the platform hosts many servers to talk about life experiences or any other topics such as cryptocurrency, setups, etc. With its rising popularity, it’s no wonder that many server owners that have hundreds or thousands of members want to make some money from their activities on Discord and earn money with Discord. I have a few tips on how to do so.
Why is it essential to monetize a Discord server?
Discord servers’ owners usually spend their time taking care of the server, setting it up, keeping it running, up-to-date and clean. All these actions lead to “hiring” people to moderate all the rooms and keep it tidy. While most of the moderators start doing it because they’re passionate about this and in their free time, it can be a good idea to start rewarding the people who are taking care of the server.
On the other hand, you might want to upgrade your server to Discord Nitro. To make it simple, Discord Nitro was developed to provide better performance and to support Discord. By subscribing to Nitro, you offer your server the possibility to get some extended features like higher resolution for your files, customized emotes, etc. That’s not it, as Nitro gives you the possibility to get a Server Boost that will increase your server’s visibility. However, Nitro costs about $100 per year, and monetizing your server can be a great idea to get this useful extension.
How to monetize a Discord server?
As with every social media, there is a place for monetization and making a few or more bucks out of it. Discord is no exception and there are few possibilities to earn money with a Discord server. Whether it’s for the aforementioned Discord Nitro or for a Twitch Prime account or even for a cup of coffee, below you will find 5 tips that can help you earn money with Discord.
1. Partnership program for Discord servers
Unlike other platforms, there is no built-in way to make money through ads, therefore this is the perfect place for affiliate programs, partnership programs and sponsorships. At the moment, the privacy and security market is buzzing, VPNs are growing exponentially as well so it’s a great time to jump on the bandwagon.
I personally use NordVPN myself and they’ve launched a dedicated NordVPN partnership program for Discord server owners landing page. Their partnership program is an easy one to follow so I will definitely be trying it out.
Other big brands may have a dedicated landing page where you can register for a partnership or sponsorship too and if not, you can always ask via email whether the brand has that sort of program. Becoming an affiliate for a company means that you promote their products or services to your audience, and if you refer someone who makes a purchase, you get a percentage of the money. It’s a great way to have some passive income for your server and capitalize on an engaged community.
A few other possible partnership programs:
2. Getting paid sponsorships for your server
This part can take some time as patience is the keyword here but the result is worth your time. The point of being sponsored is to earn money from a company in exchange for better visibility and brand awareness. Different sponsorships exist but companies usually decide to have their logo and name displayed on the server.
Companies receive dozens of messages per day asking for sponsors; this is where you will need to show your motivation and determination skills to convince people who will read your message. It is always better to advertise companies linked with your server activity.
For example, if you own a gaming server, companies such as MSI, Roccat, or PlaydBuzz are a perfect match.
Getting sponsors requires some outreach experience, so you will find at the bottom of this article an email template that can be used to contact brands. Keep in mind that usually you have to have a lot of members on your Discord server to get a sponsorship as the companies will want more visibility and the bigger the server is, the more people will see the promotion.
3. Making your server for paid members only
Not only will you increase the quality of your server, but you will also be able to get some money from it. This is similar to a closed forum and is often compared to an association where you only pay Entry fees. This method guarantees high-quality communications where no staff members are needed.
Discord offers the possibility to create unique rooms inside the servers to restrict access and make it payable. You choose between making the entire server payable or choosing which part of the server you want to limit the access to.
4. Accepting donations to keep your server running
It is important not to underestimate any steps to monetize a Discord server. I would say this one is the most often underestimated. Several websites exist where it is possible to support the server financially directly. I have a Patreon that sustains my server just because our community is so close and they see no problem in donating a few dollars every month. And it helps me out a lot to be honest.
The best-known websites are:
It is easy to set up, and the significant advantage is to let people decide on their donation.
Generosity works pretty well and it will attract more people if you explain your future projects for the server.
5. Advertising other servers on your server
While all the other steps can be done no matter the number of members in the Discord server, this step should be done at last.
What is possible to do is to promote another server on your server. That is a kind of promotion inside of Discord and totally legal. This works simply by just contacting servers’ owners asking them if they would agree to be featured on your welcome page.
As mentioned previously, It can sometimes be challenging to start the outreach, so I decided to attach the mail I used to send to various brands in the past. You are encouraged and free to tweak it to make it sounds more personal, don’t hesitate to give more details and explain your project entirely to bring more value.
Possible outreach email
Hello,I am the creator of a Discord server [link to your channel], and I have [subscriber number] members. The server is about [topic] that seems to be closely related and in line with your product. My Discord server has grown since its creation and continues to grow with new members joining everyday. I am looking for a product that would be relevant to my server members and the community we’ve built together.I’ve always been impressed with your product [write more details about the product you are reaching out to]. I could see it being promoted on my Discord server with possible topics for relevant content and possible pinned posts that every member would see when joining the server. I could also set up a bot that could send the promotional message occasionally on my server so that the members could see your product and get to know it better.If this sounds like a good opportunity that you’d be interested in, please respond and we can then discuss the needed details for a possible partnership.Regards,
[your name and surname]
Final thoughts
The tips on how to earn money on Discord are ranked from the most valuable ones to the most difficult ones. I would definitely recommend starting from the first step and trying out partnerships and then proceeding with further steps in order to increase your server’s revenue.
Discord is an easy and convenient way to earn money that does not require that much time but of course it requires effort.
With the current situation, if you’ve been spending a lot of time on polishing your Discord server and building a community there, definitely try to monetize if you’re thinking of building it even further or if you would just like to earn a few dollars on the side from something you love.
https://berney1.medium.com/5-tips-on-how-to-earn-money-with-discord-329f00f1814f