I self-hosted an instance a when I got here a few days ago. The server costs me the same whether I use it or not, so I'd like to let as many people sign up as I can. I had a few people sign up already before join-lemmy.org was changed to require 5 monthly active users, but now my instance isn't shown there because it's below the limit.
Any idea on how to attract a dozen or so users so that I can show up on the main join-lemmy page again?
Just guessing but...
Ironically, post on /r/lemmymigration. Have clear rules and community expectations that tell people what your instance is about.
I'm self hosted too debating if I'm gonna open mine or keep it closed. I really did it as a learning experience, fun and curiosity. Hosting costs will barely be a Starbucks drink a month as is...
I'm using cloudzy VPS. It's cheap but realized that smtp ports are blocked today... So gotta look into what to do about that if I want to use this instance beyond a private one. Email would be required for forgot passwords, registrations, etc...