Foundation How do you build a community from scratch with limited resources?

[Cedric]

Not everyone has a big budget or are even willing to spend money on their community. While others see it as a legitimate hobby and can justify investing hundreds to thousands on their community.

So starting a community from nothing can feel overwhelming when you don’t have a big budget or a large team to help. But many successful communities have grown organically with minimal resources - just creativity, consistency, and smart strategies.

How have you done it?

• Did you start with free tools like Discord or Facebook Groups?
• How did you find your first members without a big marketing budget?
• Any creative hacks to grow or keep people engaged when you’re flying solo?

Share your wins, fails, and lessons learned.

 

[InMyOpinion]

I asked @Tyrsson for help

haha but all joking aside for my makeup artistry business I got a page set up for me (yes I got help, listen I am not tech savvy what so ever) and then with the forum/website that I wanted to have I reached out a pro (Also Tyrsson LOL) and he has been amazing help! I am honestly not good with any of the technical stuff and I know that, so I'm willing to pay a reasonable amount for the help, set up and having to deal with me

Though I cannot afford to put in thousands of dollars into a project, once I get more activity and revenue from the site/forum I would definitely pay the person who is helping me with the tech more. Tyrsson has been incredibly helpful and generous helping me with my project and I really appreciate it and would like to show him that appreciation by giving him more money once I come into more money.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I started my most successful forum on free hosting! Well eventually we did move to self hosting, since my co admin couldn't fully edit the theme since our host limited what we could edit even when we did pay for their premium service. It was powered by phpBB 3 at first, and I got lots of members since I created the forum shortly after the game's kickstarter was announced. If you can put the hard work and dedication into your project, you may be able to have a successful community on free hosting/software. For example the Sonic 3 A.I.R. community is powered by Proboards and it's very active. It started on a Discord server but moved to a forum. (Sonic 3 A.I.R. is a very popular PC port of Sonic 3 and Knuckles made by a fan and it has many different mods.)

 

[CTS]

I have self hosted before using freeware and buyware. But for me, the money value of time saved is important. I use XFcloud services, which can be considered pretty spendy on a monthly bases. But I no longer have server-side duties as well as wondering if I have it set up efficiently and safely, I no longer have to do updates except if a template edit needs addressing, and basically am just left with back of house duties for the forum as well as being in the front of house for guests. May not work well for everyone, but I do have to balance time with life.

 

[SomosTuZona]

Well, I have my Forum on a server inside my own house before I used to have it hosted but over time I was putting together my own equipment until I had everything for what is my own hosting

 

[Ravenfreak]

Well, I have my Forum on a server inside my own house before I used to have it hosted but over time I was putting together my own equipment until I had everything for what is my own hosting

This is really cool! You can save quite a bit of money if you host it yourself, now you only have to worry about paying for your Xenforo license and domain name.

 

[Bawse]

Patience, dedication, and a daily effort to grow the community. Join all admin forums, post exchanges, and build backlinks using signatures. Promote on social media, and more.

 

[Cpvr]

Well, I have my Forum on a server inside my own house before I used to have it hosted but over time I was putting together my own equipment until I had everything for what is my own hosting

Awesome! What are the specs on your server? How long did it take you to put all the equipment together? What made you decide to run your own server?