This guide is not just for World of Warcraft but any other online games with a guild system as well. Anyways when you do decide to start a guild, and you go around advertising to try and recruit people, don't just say:"We are a fun guild that wants to raid and group together and help each other out and above all have fun!"
Or something to that effect. It is usually pretty well assumed your guild will group with each other at some point, and help each other at some point. If not, why would someone want to join? Here are a few suggestions I have for recruiting, if you want to have a better shot at building a guild that has a lower turnaround rate:
1] Explain your guild's goal in DETAIL!
Maybe in your recruiting message you ask them to /tell you for details.
Explain what your goal for the guild is. Raids at higher level? Just a casual group of gamers looking for someone to talk to when they play at the end of a hard day? Hardcore HvA guild? People often leave a guild when they find out the guild is not aimed at their particular game style. Avoid this by informing them ahead of time.
2] Tell them why you want them to join.
Do you just want a large number in your guild? Some people ( myself included ) don't want to join a guild that is inviting them solely for the purpose of having large numbers. I want a guild that chooses me based on my qualifications or play style. If you are just looking for numbers, tell them that. If you are in need of, say as in my example, a Priest, tell them that. Let them know why you feel you could benefit from them joining, and they are likely to feel better, knowing their place in the guild.
3] Explain additional requirements
If you require that people be on for x number of hours between x.xx and x.xx during the day, say so first off! It is frustrating to be in a guild and then all of a sudden find out you _need_ to play certain hours. People will quit after finding out they cant comply, and be upset that you wasted their time by not informing them ahead of time.
This also goes for things like raids or guild meetings. If you are going to REQUIRE that everyone in your guild sit in one place for an hour, talking in /gu, then tell them that as well. Nothing has frustrated me more so far than being expected to spend at least an hour of my free time sitting down in front of a guild leader while everyone talks in /g, when I could easily do it from anywhere else in the world. Everyone benefits from sharing this information in the beginning.
4] Level requirements
Many guilds do not have level requirements yet, but they hold guild-wide groups and events that members must be xx+ level to attend. If you are going to have these _often_, please do not invite people that are 5 levels lower than this. They will feel left out when everyone shows what they are getting for loot in a place they cannot go to, and they will not be able to get as many groups. Yes, some people level faster than others, so I understand that there will always be someone that is left behind. But there should always be at least 1 group of people around the minimum level that can do those events/quests/etc that everyone else was doing before.
IF you are going to invite someone below that level anyway, let them know ahead of time that they will not be able to participate in a lot of these things until they gain x number of levels.
I think that is all I have for suggestions, for now. Please remember that people will often leave a guild if they are not provided with any information ahead of time, and it turns out to not fit their style of gameplay. Its like blind dating, not every date will lead to marriage. Its easier when you can make an informed decision first.
So, advertise your guilds however you feel is best to get your guild where you want it to go. Take my suggestions with a grain of salt as its mostly just the way I would like to base my decisions for a guild on.
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