How to get people on your server

I ran into this problem awhile back, I personally just had a bunch of friends who had a bunch of friends.

Getting players on your server is more to do with dedication and advertisement, as long as you work hard, keep the server updated and advertise

Create steam group.
buy advert on youtube. (If you have money)
Or send advert in VK, FaceBook, Instagram.

I was running a gmod server like 6 times, only at 3 times there was 70% online players. Still can't realize how kids decide to choose a server

Tell your friends or players on the server to spread the word. You could also pay for advertisements on GMOD forums if you have the money, my best advice is to try and come up with unique gamemodes or make your server stand out.

just wait till randoms join and let them have a good time, so they come back

go bro and boost it on gametracker.rs or setmaster.ro they will make your server full

Try getting the word out by sending it to your friends and post it on steam groups and stuff.

well there are a couple of ways to do this you can either pay for players or create a site on a server list site or just invite a lot of friends and tell them to invite there friends.