A Discord server is a powerful tool for streamers as it allows them to build and engage with their community outside of platforms like Twitch or YouTube. With features like voice chats, events, and organized discussions, you can connect with your audience on a deeper level. Plus, creating this sense of community helps boost viewer loyalty and makes your streams even more engaging!

Getting Started with Your Own Discord Server

First, you’ll need your free Discord account, which you can get from their website. Once you have that up and running, you will either be logged in via the Discord App or the web interface and if you have just made a fresh account, it will ask you to join or create a server. If you have joined a server or skipped this screen, you can create a new server by clicking the plus button on the left-hand side of the Discord interface. 

Whatever way you get to this screen will be the same. Now click the “Create My Own” button to create a new empty server. You could also use some of the templates Discord already has pre-made.

Now, you just need to choose the type of Discord Server you want. This depends on whether it’s for a “Club or Community” or a server for you and your friends. You can skip this if you don’t want to choose anything now.

Now, you need only to give your server a name and an icon and click the Create button.

Once your new server is created, it will automatically take you to the server's default landing page. Here, you will see options to invite friends, change server settings, add apps, add channels, and more.

Setting Up Roles, Permissions, and Rules

You could make many roles in a Discord server with different rules, settings, and permissions. However, the most crucial role of a Discord server is that of a moderator. A moderator will typically have all of the permissions in the server, such as creating channels, deleting messages, moving users in and out of voice chat, etc. The only role higher than a moderator would be an Administrator, and they would have ALL of the server-owner permissions, like deleting the server.

Also, with the roles you create, you can “Display role members separately.” This means that if you have a role, such as a moderator, content creator, or game role, you can choose to have that displayed on the member list so that when you’re looking at all the members, specific roles will always stand out. 

You can also change the colours of the roles so they don’t look the same. For example, if you had a bunch of admins on your server but wanted to stand out as the “top” admin, you could just create a new role called “Admin,” change the colour, check “Display role members separately,” and then drag that role above the other Admin role so it will display at the top.

Once you have finished setting up all of the roles you want in your server, you can assign them manually by right-clicking on their username in the member list, going down to Roles, and clicking the role you want to give them. Alternatively, you could manually click the Manage Members tab and add members there.

How to Keep Your Discord Organised and Active

A good Discord server with an organised setup will help you keep it as active as possible if everything is clearly labelled and set up so that members can select roles for the notifications or parts of the server they want. 

For example, if some members would like to receive social updates from your social media accounts, they can select that role and get notified. More advanced roles can be used with games and events such as Fortnite, Dead by Daylight, Jackbox Party, or community game/movie nights, where if you select the role for the game or event, it unlocks and shows you part of the server. If you don’t choose those roles, it will hide that part of the server and only show you what you want to see.

Events are another way to entice interactions and engage your community. This can be for your next livestream, a community night, a celebration, or anything you want! 

This will have a little box on your server where you can click if interested. It will give you all the details depending on the event, providing a good idea of how many people to expect for your planned event.

The same can be done with polls, discussions, threads, and mini-games (through bots) within Discord to create an engaging community and active server. 

Discord servers can also be used to promote your stream effectively. You would do this by either having a self-promotion part on your own Discord, a particular channel just for you going live on your Discord, or promoting your streams in other communities. 

Here's a little tip: If you are self-promoting in other communities, don’t just post your stream/content and leave it at that. The reason is that while you may get one or two people the first time you post, that won't happen all the time if that’s all you’re doing. People on the server will see that you are only there to post your content and not care about what’s happening on the server.

The best practice would be to interact with the communities you’re in so people get to know and talk to you; that way, they are more inclined to come to your stream when you post it and will likely follow and interact with your server.

How to Add Bots To Your Discord Server

Adding bots to your Discord server couldn’t be easier, but first, what is a Discord bot?

A Discord bot can perform tasks automatically on your server that we usually do manually. It can send private chats and texts, orient new members and users, moderate member interactions, and more.

There are many different bots, including utilities such as Streamcord, Mee6, and Dyno, and bots for games, music, mini-games, social tools, and much more. These can be added via the App Directory to the server settings, but if they are not there, you would need to do a quick search on Google to find the bot you would like to add. 

Adding the bot could never be more straightforward, either. For example, adding Streamcord to your server is as simple as pressing a few buttons.

Once the bot has been added, you can begin to customise. Set options based on what tools are available to you via the bot/bots you have chosen to add to your Discord. You can integrate the bots with the roles to manage your server more autonomously with the roles and permissions I have mentioned above.

So now, you know how to create a Discord server, make roles and set permissions, optimise and manage it with bots, promote yourself in your own and other communities, and keep your Discord active and engaged. All you need to do now is share it with your community.