Recruiting....how can I get it to work?
Well you could always try a new guild. I just created a guild, MECH. we just have 4 people right now. We are mature , laid back and are on one of the top three servers in gw2. I am a commander and we love taking keeps in WvW and doing dungeons. But we make room for pve. If your interested send me a message on here. All ranks in the guild are based on performance so you could be our next leader! Also have a ventrilo server.
It is hard to get members for a new guild since a lot of people are trying to get into guilds that have the guild missions open. A lot of smaller guilds have merged with others just to get enough people to not pug things all the time. It took our guild Order of Shadows a long time to decide to recruit, but after we did we really hit the forums and made ourselves accessible to people looking for a guild that they weren’t going to get lost in, but have a solid member population to do things with. If you are serious about running your own guild just keep trying.
Recruiting is difficult for everyone. Even the huge guilds that have 500+ members. I blame this mostly on the fact that server transfers are no longer free. Where i agree its better for WvW it also drops the amount of possible recruits i have down to only whos on my own server (or willing to pay the ridiculous price)
I do agree that it could be a good idea for you to consider trying to find a guild that fits what you want in one. Or as Ravyna said dont give up hope. Persistence is key. Keep putting your name out there and talking to people on your server. Although there may not be alot of people still looking for a guild, there are a few. Stay true to what you want your guild to be. It may take longer to find the right kinda people but think about how many people are playing GW2. With persistence your sure to run into some that want to join your cause.
Also another thing you should work out before you start recruiting is how you plan to run it. Many people will have more faith in a leader that seems to have it together, than someone just kinda feeling in the dark looking for thier way. Also remember that running a guild is not an easy feat and will take alot of your time. Be sure you are up for the responsibility it entails before bringing people together to be a part of something.
I am curious. What kind of guild are you planning on being? PvX? I read over your recruiting topic. It sounds great. I especially like that you are running it together as a team. My husband and i also run a guild this way and it really brings that family atmosphere out.
Anyway i wish you the very best of luck and if you have any questions i would be happy to help with anything i can. Although i am on Yak’s Bend lol. PM me any time
Lots of nice advice, but would you like a perspective from another new guild?
Actually, we’re not all that new. And I’m all Guild Wars 2 veterany with lots of friends on my home server.
But yeah, here’s what I say. If you wanna do your own thing, just do it and don’t worry about being all tiny. You got two active members that are all friends? You’ve already got an amazing thing. I made my guild after leaving a larger one, cause it was all wrong for me.
But I didn’t start it to get all big. I started it to make a place for my bestest friend and I to goof around in. And we was gonna make a treasure trove and fill it with garbage. Just cause.
I later tried a few other guilds cause my friend stopped playing. But it didn’t work either. So, I just did my guild all alone. Upgraded stuff an was gonna be all part of the server community warring in WvW. Then I got my friend to come back and decided we’d try recruiting for the first time.
That’s when I found out recruiting’s a horrible thing. I had a billion friends, but they was all in guilds already. We still got a few new members, but just as many joined and left without even playing with us.
So, yeah, don’t worry about recruiting all fast. I stopped the active recruiting thing. It’s not worth bothering. Just play and meet people. It’ll grow and it’ll be good people that way.
Got a new member today who’s the best friend ever and gonna try playing with another who’s all interested in us. We are pretty amazing and all.
And yeah, being all small doesn’t bother us. I made a ton of alliances with larger guilds and they help us do stuff. Maybe we’ll get more active at recruiting after we do more guild upgrades.
Just started building Art of War Level 3. Gonna start guild missions next week and that’ll make us all fancy really fast. We’re small, but it’s dedication that matters more than numbers.
And maybe good friends. Make lots. It’ll make it all even more magical.
Best wishes in whatever you do.
The Not Amazing Broken Toaster – Tarnished Coast
[Fun] with Naked Mole Rats/No One Really Likes Us [Sad]
Well you could always try a new guild. I just created a guild, MECH. we just have 4 people right now. We are mature , laid back and are on one of the top three servers in gw2. I am a commander and we love taking keeps in WvW and doing dungeons. But we make room for pve. If your interested send me a message on here. All ranks in the guild are based on performance so you could be our next leader! Also have a ventrilo server.
Don’t you love how people disregard your question and try to recruit despite of you just saying other guilds weren’t the right fit.
Back on topic, like said above, the best recruiting is when you meet people actually actively doing things in the game. you’ll find A. They’re actually active and B. You can actually talk to them and see their gaming performance, not that it matters too much to you i imagine. Small guilds are great, it’s all about activity, not numbers.
I basically did the same thing as you, when I didn’t want to be member number 327 and I didn’t want to be in a guild that was never going to recruit, I made my own (or rather, I took the one I had made for extra bank slots and turned it into a real guild).
It is really hard recruiting at first, it takes a leap of faith to join a guild when it has only two, three and five members. But it does get better, once you get about ten people in your guild it becomes easier to recruit because you will have people on at various hours and more to offer perspective members.
One of the biggest mistakes when starting out is not knowing what you intend to build. I had been an officer/guild leader in a few MMO’s before and I was really clear about what I wanted from a guild and it’s members. I took a lot time coming up with my list of “expectations” for both members and guild management, not because there are a lot of rules, but because I wanted to be clear to everyone joining what to expect. That type of thing can save you a lot of trouble in the long run, not just running your guild in the future but now, by weeding out people who wouldn’t fit in with your vision.
The other HUGE mistake that I see is inviting anything with a pulse because you are desperate for warm bodies or numbers for your guild. Take some time to talk to them and find out what they need and pass when you can’t be that. It is much better for your reputation to be honest then it is to try to do something you hate, like PvP for example, just because you think you HAVE to do it/offer it to get someone to join.
Later on you may have people who will do it but, you won’t be trapped by offering something you really can’t provide.
If you’ve made it this far you deserve my two best secrets to guild building. First, work the boards like a fiend, get your message out there, you never know who might be reading your posts/reply’s. Second, group with people and just be generally helpful to people who need it. Relationship building is what it’s all about so put yourself out there and see who needs a hand.
It may be slow going at first but, if you hang tight and keep at it you will build a base in no time.
If you have any questions for me please PM me here or in the game, I’d be happy to help out as much as I can.
Best of luck!
Vel/Nichole
Hedonism on Ferguson’s Crossing
In Game: myenchantedlife.3729
Web Site: http://hedo.guildportal.com
(edited by myenchantedlife.3729)
One of the first things our guild did when we created our website was design a guild charter with what our guild’s rules were and what the guild’s purpose was. Once we decided to start recruiting we came up with a policy. We want everyone to mesh so we feel the recruitment period is really for everyone. We want everyone to have a good time; so if someone decides we aren’t the right fit we usually friend them and let them know if they ever need help to contact us. No hard feelings on either side; you never know when someone might change their mind.
I went and read your recruitment post and while it’s well written it wouldn’t really answer my questions if I were looking for a guild.
The biggest tip that I can offer is to know what you plan to offer in a guild. What do you do? Your recrutitment post mentions jumping puzzles and map clears in particular — are you an open world PvE guild? Some people will say they’re a PvE guild, some a WvW guild, some concentrate on dungeons or fractals… I personally bill AI as a social guild, and I say up front that the reason the guild exists is to have fun people to play with. — we are here for social contact and that’s our whole reason to exist.
What are your rules? Are you a family atmosphere with G or PG rated chat? Are you a mature guild and have an age limit? What is your most active times? Are you EST? PST? What region/server are you on? Do you allow multi-guilding? Be as specific as possible, and if you haven’t already answered these questions in your own mind, do so before you write your post.
If I were you I would also play up the fact that it is a beginning guild, that new members will be helping to form the core and culture of what the guild will become, and that they will be the driving force in growing the guild. The first 5 people that you get will be so important to you — let them know that you realize that right at the beginning. (AI formed 6 years ago in GW1 and I can still tell you who are first 5 members were. Our first member is still active and an integral part of our guild.)
Don’t ignore the posts from people that are looking for a guild. So many of the recruiters out there use a cookie cutter response — literally copying and pasting their spiel, without ever addressing the individual’s post at all. I go through the guild forum about twice a day and I am very critical when reading the posts. If it isn’t someone that I really feel would fit my guild I don’t respond. But if I do respond I do it personally. I speak to them, address the concerns in the post, talk about how I think my guild would fit what they are asking for — I mean, if you’re going to bill yourself as a friendly group then shouldn’t your first contact with a possible recruit be friendly and personal? Actually talk to them — then post a link to your spiel. I see probably 4 or 5 posts a week from people who are looking for small or beginning guild because they don’t want to be just another face. Take advantage of that — it’s a good fit for you.
Good luck to you. If you would like to use my guild to take advantage of bounties for your members let me know — I’m happy to help with that.
edit: I’m editing this because I forgot one huge thing that I did when I first started learning to recruit. I copied other recruiters that I liked. Myenchantedlife posted in your thread, seems to have a lot in common with you, runs a small guild and has been successful. Click her name, click the button to see all of her posts, see what she does and how she does it. I have a great deal of respect for a recruiter named Rising Dusk — when I see him respond to a post I try to learn from him as I’m reading.
I also check the posting history of the people who are looking for a guild. If they seem trollish, I pass.
Sorrows Furnace
(edited by Aye.8392)
Starting a guild is tough, especially because free transfers have ended. I was reading your original post and thinking up lots of good things to say, but as I read further in the thread I find that Aye has already covered basically everything I would’ve said. Seriously, that post is good. (/wave!!) I will, however, reiterate a few details I think are critical to successfully expanding your player base in a healthy way.
You need to know what you’re looking for in a member, and what you intend to offer players as a guild. This includes upgrades, content you play, social aspects, and so on. It’s challenging finding people on your server to join what with free transfers having ended, but it makes it a lot easier to recruit from within because people are more willing to give it a shot than risk 1800 gems to transfer and be disappointed. I also definitely recommend browsing the forum and looking for people who fit the bill. For my recruiting, I target people who have intelligible and thoughtful opening posts, who are looking primarily for PvE content with a smattering of WvW, people in the EST time zone primarily, and people who seem open to being chatty. That’s specific, and needless to say I don’t increase my guild’s ranks by more than 1-2 every week or so, but I think it results in a better guild.
I also want to discuss something else I think is important: critical mass. Critical mass for a guild is that point where a guild can basically take care of itself. Where people can get on and talk to each other and have fun and they want to represent without you, the leader, being online. Reaching that point should be your goal as a guild leader, because at that point you don’t have to worry so much about it collapsing or falling apart. At that point you’ll also start to see a lot more influence flow in so you can get those upgrades to offer new members. This point is also where people will ask their friends to join, and you start getting players fitting your guild perfectly without having to do nearly as much work as you might otherwise.
Lastly, don’t be afraid to invite people and lose people. Sometimes the fit isn’t perfect even though you thought otherwise, and sometimes the player just finds themselves wanting something else due to maybe time zone changes or what-have-you. Don’t burn bridges, and always be upbeat and kind. It pays off, and makes your guild much more pleasing a place to be in the end.
No matter what, though, good luck with your guild! I hope it works out for you, and if it doesn’t, don’t be afraid to look for a good guild that you can fit into well. They exist, I swear.
Well there you go, Aye illustrates my point perfectly; you never know who is paying attention to you. :-D
But he makes an excellent point, the first thing I do when I get on the boards is check out the other posts and see what others have to say. Cookie cutter responses drive me nuts and if I were looking, I would automatically toss out their offer.
One poor soul on here has asked people who respond to name their favorite fruit. This is sad to me because this shows how rarely people actually take the time to listen to the people they want to recruit, and that person obviously realizes it as well.
A lot of people here have excellent advice (RisingDusk’s paragraph about Critical Mass is especially good) so take some time to read them twice (I did) and really think about what they have to say and how you can build on that for yourself.
Another thought that I had, but was too tired to mention this morning (it was 5 am and I had lost my first attempt at a post), was don’t be afraid to stop recruiting when you need to as well. A small guild is kind of like a fish tank, you have to float the new guys in the tank for a while so they can acclimate to the water. With the free server transfers our guild doubled overnight and I’ve stopped actively recruiting people so everyone has time to get to know each other. While I still post and respond to folks, I don’t actively look for them in the game and reach out to them.
I might lose out on some great people in the short-term but, in this instance, it is better for the climate within the guild to let a few people go now than it would be to have an atmosphere where people felt like they were just another number, which is what we with small guilds are trying to avoid in the first place.
And also don’t be afraid to say no. No to perspective members who you don’t feel would work out, and no to current members as well. I’ve had members of many guilds ask to be in officer positions but only for the prestige, not to actually have a hand in running the guild. Make sure the promotions you make matter and try not to appease people because you’re afraid they might walk.
Anyway, it’s time for happy hour but if I think of anything else I’ll post it here.
Continued luck!
Vel/Nichole
Hedonism on Ferguson’s Crossing
In Game: myenchantedlife.3729
Web Site: http://hedo.guildportal.com
(edited by myenchantedlife.3729)
Strawberries! lol i found that post to be interesting. My first time reading through it, i was like huh? Why would it matter what type of fruit the person likes. But sadly your right myenchangedlife. I think the guy just realised no one bothers to even read the LFG posts before copy/pasting thier guilds information in the topic. Ha! even saw one today that the guy was looking for some people to start a guild with and completely ignoring what the person was asking for it was another beautifully copy/pasted recruitment response. sigh
All of the things these people have said are great pointers and priceless information on how to get your guild started in the right direction. (and in reading this thread i feel like ive learned a bit too lol) Have faith. Faith in yourself and your ability to make it work and faith in your members that they will stick by you and make it work with you. Dont let bumps in the road get you down. Sometimes people leave. It happens. As myenchangedlife said, dont be afraid to say no and dont be afraid to let go of people that are just not working out. Quality is MUCH better over quantity.
Man i wish i had been able to be given this information when i first started out lol. Trial and error has gotten me this far. Youll have some of your own too. Just keep your head up and keep moving forward.
Ive successfully brought a dead one man guild to an alive small guild in 2 months. Heres is how I recruited.
Forums: Keep looking for players that looking for a guild on your server (so far I havnt got any willing to transfere or guest on Blacktide). If the player seems to fits in what you expect of a member of your guild, leave a short (!) message related to his/hers requierments. Send this person an ingame message aswell, sometimes I even sends an invite to the guild at the same time. Everyone I have messaged on Blacktide have joined my guild. This have turned out to be the best recruits aswell.
In game: Reqruit during your guilds primetime. I go to Lions Arch and uses the Asura gates to to the other towns. Then I go to the low zone area next to that town and post my recruit message on map chat. I repeat this until someone replies or all low zones got my message once (I dont wanna spam to much).
WvW Commander of Blacktide.
@RaugoolGW2 on Twitter
As much as i understand the reason for shouting in a map chat i just cant bring myself to do it. I feel so… dirty… like im annoying all the people out there in that map with my spam (as they do to me all the time) and i wonder who looks at those messages anyway. Cuz i know i dont. I feel like its a very impersonal way to recruit.
Just my two cents :P
As a player surreptitiously looking for a guild (on a different server than the OP), I want to expand on what Aye said, key words being “cookie cutter”. Not only are cookie-cutter replied bad, but your initial recruitment post shouldn’t read solely like a mash-up of the top twenty-five phrases used in guild recruitment. I’d like to know what makes your guild different and special (just as presumably a good guild wants to know what makes the recruitee different and special).
The OP’s recruitment post takes a step in that direction (noting the skills and interests of the guild’s founders). Then she drops another piece of interesting info in her post here, where recruits won’t see it! Telling us that you created the guild with your boyfriend because other guilds didn’t fit, then telling us why they didn’t fit will make you stand out more.
Anyway, that’s one important thing I am looking for in a recruitment post—that special something that can’t be summarized by a stock phrase.
As a player surreptitiously looking for a guild (on a different server than the OP), I want to expand on what Aye said, key words being “cookie cutter”. Not only are cookie-cutter replied bad, but your initial recruitment post shouldn’t read solely like a mash-up of the top twenty-five phrases used in guild recruitment. I’d like to know what makes your guild different and special (just as presumably a good guild wants to know what makes the recruitee different and special).
The OP’s recruitment post takes a step in that direction (noting the skills and interests of the guild’s founders). Then she drops another piece of interesting info in her post here, where recruits won’t see it! Telling us that you created the guild with your boyfriend because other guilds didn’t fit, then telling us why they didn’t fit will make you stand out more.
Anyway, that’s one important thing I am looking for in a recruitment post—that special something that can’t be summarized by a stock phrase.
Starry,
If you are still guild hunting, surreptitiously or otherwise, I invite you to check out my recruitment post. Hopefully you won’t find those 25 stock phrases you were mentioning, but you WILL find limericks. We would welcome you in AI, even as a part-timer.
Sorrows Furnace
lol what server you on Starry?