How to grow Facebook group members from zero
Getting the first Facebook group members is the hardest part. What makes people join, the settings that help, and where buying members fits in.
5 min readUpdated 2026-09-11
The empty room problem
Nobody wants to be the fifth person in a Facebook group. A group with 7 members and two posts from its founder feels like a room where you would have to do all the talking, and most people who find it leave without joining.
The same group at 1,200 members feels like a place where something might happen. That is why the first few hundred members are the hardest to get, and why groups that do take off usually had a way to fill the room early: an existing audience, a customer list, or a founder who personally invited everyone they knew.
Settings that make a difference
Public or private. Anyone can find and read a public group, which helps discovery. A private group shows its name, description and member count but hides posts from non-members, which often makes it feel more worth joining. Either can work. Pick one and stay with it, because switching confuses members.
A name people would search for. People look for groups by topic and city. 'Pune Freelance Designers' will be found. 'Creative Minds Collective' will not.
A few membership questions. Two or three short questions keep out spammers and make joining feel deliberate. Keep them easy, because every extra step loses some people.
Rules and a welcome post. New members look for signs of how the group works. A pinned post saying what to post and what not to builds trust quickly.
Getting real members
Invite the obvious people first: customers, colleagues, past students, anyone who has asked you about the topic. A personal message converts far better than a public post asking people to join.
Link the group from your Page. A Page can be linked to a group so its followers see it. Mention it in your posts, on your website, and in any WhatsApp communities you already run.
Post questions, not announcements. Groups grow when members talk to each other. An easy daily question, such as 'what is one tool you could not work without this month?', does more than a polished post from the admin.
Reply to everything in the first few weeks. Early members who get a reply post again. Members who get silence stop posting, and a quiet group stops growing.
Where buying members fits
Buying members solves the empty room problem and nothing else. The members we deliver join the group, and the count visitors see goes up. They will not post, comment or answer questions, so the conversation is still yours to start.
It works best right at the beginning, taking a new group from a few dozen to a few hundred or a thousand, so the real people you invite are joining something that already looks established. It works badly as a substitute for activity. A group of 8,000 members with one post a week looks like a ghost town.
Our group members start at 100 per order and cost $2.99 per 1,000 on High Quality, so 500 members cost about $1.50.
Approval and questions during an order
If your group needs admin approval for new members, each join arrives as a request. Either switch approval off while the order runs, or approve requests as they come in. Requests left pending are not delivered members.
Required membership questions hold joins the same way. Turn them off during delivery and back on once it finishes.
The group must open from its link. Hidden groups, which cannot be found or joined without an invitation, cannot receive members.
A realistic first month
Week one. Set the group up properly, with a clear name, a description, rules and a welcome post. Invite 30 to 50 people you know personally who care about the topic.
Week two. Add a few hundred members so that people arriving from your invitations and your Page find a group that already looks established. Post a question a day and reply to every answer.
Week three. Ask your most active members to invite one or two people each. Share the best discussion from the group on your Page and in your WhatsApp communities, without names if the group is private.
Week four. Look at what got the most replies and do more of it. Start a regular thread that members come back for, such as a Monday job board, a Friday wins thread or a monthly question session with someone useful.
By the end of the month the group should look established and feel active, which is the combination that makes new visitors join and stay. Bought members help with the first half of that. The second half is you.
Drop-off and refill
People leave groups and Facebook removes inactive accounts, so every group loses a few members over time. High Quality orders are refilled for 30 days and Premium for 90 if the count falls below what you ordered.
Common questions
Can I buy members for a private group?
Yes, as long as the group can be found and opened from its link. Hidden groups cannot receive members. Turn off admin approval, or approve requests as they arrive.
Will bought members post in my group?
No. They join, which raises the member count. The conversation still has to come from real members.
How many members should a new group start with?
Enough that it no longer feels empty, usually a few hundred. Keep posting while it grows so the activity matches the size.
Does membership approval stop delivery?
It holds each join as a request. Switch approval off during the order or approve requests as they come in.
How much do Facebook group members cost?
$2.99 per 1,000 on High Quality and $3.99 on Premium, from 100 members.
Should my Facebook group be public or private?
Public groups are easier to discover because anyone can read the posts. Private groups hide posts from non-members, which often makes joining feel more worthwhile. Both show their member count, so either works with a growing membership.