Another option, which is usually not mentioned... Go play real UO, and recruit the kind of people you want on your shard. Go PvP at a Fel Yew moongate for awhile, and invite the best to come play on your free shard. Or join a great roleplay guild, make friends, and invite the best roleplayers to your own roleplay haven. I've found most people I talk to on OSI servers don't even know about player run shards. And it's not like you'll attract enough players to hurt OSI player base any, so they won't haunt you.
Other than that, reputation is the best thing. If your shard truly roxxors, your current players will want to bring friends. Maybe even offer prizes for bringing the most friends, make a contest about it. Get the most invite credits in a given month, get a fortuity necklace, +200 luck. Valued at 8mil on OSI servers, you're sure to get some notice for it.
Just a tip or two.
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