Most fan Discord servers let anyone in for free, then wonder why nobody's active in the chat.

We took the opposite approach with OCRP (Orlando City supporters). We split access into 3 roles — VIP, Orlando+, and Premium — each unlocking its own private channels, matchday chat tier, and community perks. No more one giant channel where the loudest 5% drown out everyone else.

Here's what we learned setting it up:

• Price the entry tier low ($2-3/mo). It's not about margin, it's about filtering for people who actually care.

• Give each tier a REASON to upgrade, not just "more access" — better chat visibility, admin shoutouts, early event access.

• Auto-syncing roles to Discord (instead of manually adding people) is the only way this scales past a few dozen members.

If you run a fan community and you're still doing free-for-all Discord access, you're leaving engagement (and revenue) on the table. Happy to answer questions if you're thinking about doing something similar for your own community.