We are on the warpath for more members to the guild. This post has some tips and tricks for recruiting people to the guild. Personally; I’d like to raise my right hand, clutch my fist and say, “See it as your DUTY to increase our presence on the Blackwater Raiders realm!”, but I’m not a dictator (or I don’t think I am). That’s just how I feel on the inside. I believe we have one of the best casual guilds and I’d like the entire realm to know EotE.
Here are the overall objectives in this membership campaign:
- Increase guild activities
- Recruit more players so that we have more people to talk with while we’re on
- Make our presence known on the Blackwater Raiders Realm
- Rally our teammates to participate
- Create a structure so that we can keep the new recruits that we do get
Macro-Nation
Since the recruiting process is basically repetitive; I suggest you create macros for different scenarios and put them on your second keyboard layout (SHIFT+2).
- General message to the entire zone
- General message to the recruiting channel
- General message to individuals you pass by
Accessing Your Macros
There are a couple ways of doing this, but the simplest way is to type in “/macro” or “/m” in your chat window. This will bring up your Macro window. The cool thing here is you can create macros either for your individual toons or your entire account. So; if you have multiple Alts in a guild (hint hint), they can all use the same set of macros. You can find more information on macros at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/macros.html.
Scenario: Zone
Creating a macro for the entire zone means focusing on Channel 1, labeled [General]. You can simply chat with folks in a zone by typing “/1 {your message here}”. So; while you’re questing you can quickly shoot off a macro that will advertise the guild and our recruiting status without interrupting your flow of faction grinding or whatever. You want to keep it short, yet informative. That’s the tricky part. Here’s an example:
/1 LF casual players to join our guild, <Eyes of the East>. We’re newb friendly and all levels welcomed. Find more information at WWW.EYESOFTHEEAST.NET.
Scenario: Recruiting Channel
I’m not certain how effective or active the recruiting channel is. But you can simply copy and paste the text you used in Channel 1 for this channel too. Or, theoretically; people in this channel would want as much information as possible. Here’s an example, most of the time this channel is #4:
/4 LF casual plyrs to join our guild, <Eyes of the East>. We are newb friendly, 4 bank tabs, active ranking system, monthly officer and guild meetings. We also run dungeons, occasionally or upon request. We are growing the guild and want you to be apart of this movement. More info @ WWW.EYESOFTHEEAST.NET.
Scenario: Individuals
One of the great things about WoW is meeting people while you quest or travel. This “live” feature was the tipping point when trying out Guild Wars. Instead of announcing our recruiting status to the entire zone, you can simply start a conversation with someone, within your viewpoint. Here’s an example, first target someone, then:
/hi Are you looking for a guild to join? We’re recruiting! The name of my guild is <Eyes of the East>.
Hook, Line, and Sinker
I know, terrible header, but it’s the truth. Once you’ve “hooked” the player by getting their attention you then have to convince them we’re a great guild to join. This is very easy - simply act like yourself. Be friendly and answer ALL questions he/she may have. Remember, “We love Newbs!” Ha-ha. Once they indicate that they want to join the guild type:
/ginvite <playername>
The <playername> can be done by SHIFT+Clicking their name on the chat window. Once they’ve accepted make sure you welcome them in the guild chat. A simple “Welcome” with a shorten’d version of their name. For instance, if the player name is CrazyManDingo, you can simply say “Welcome Crazy”.
Now; the SINKER part. This is crucial for the new guild member to feel like they’re welcomed and give them the illusion that we communicate well with all our members (Ha-ha). After you /ginvite them, don’t close your chat window. Continue the conversation with them. For a moment they will be inundated with welcomes from the guild members yet still having a friendly conversation with you. Make sure you let them know of a few ground rules:
- “Youre on a 14-day trial before becoming a full member. Are you OK with that?” If they aren’t then let them know you’ll have to uninvite them from the guild.
- “When you get a chance, plz visit our site and register on the forums. www.eyesoftheeast.net”.
After those two, important, points have been relayed to the person you can then just carry on a normal conversation. “Are you new to WoW or is this one of your many Alts?” Or something to that effect. At some point you’ll need to document them in the guild window.
- Click your “O” key and go to the guild tab.
- Click on their name and type in some notes in the “Officer’s Notes” section.
- Your name and when to promote them (Marfejokin, p- 11/7). Now that we have the in-game calendar it’s easy to figure out fourteen days from time you invited them.
Wow! That was a long post. I hope it all makes sense. Now let’s get out there and make a name for ourselves! Go team Venture!