Guild Recruitment TechniquesFollow

So I'm forming a guild. The problem is that it's very small right now. Basically I play with 4 other people that I know in real life and we'd like to form a guild. I need 9 signatures, but I only have 4.

I do party with nice people from time to time, but being the holiday season, I tend to only hop on for an hour here and there and usually only to help my friends.

Now my question is this: How should I go about recruiting other members? Do you condsider it annoying when someone asks you to join their guild? Do you feel you need to actually party and play with that person before you sign something? I really despise it when I'm trying to work in the Auction House and my screen suddenly disappears because some dork sent me a guild signature request. I would much prefer that someone just ask for assistance. I've helped out 2 guilds this way already.

I just want to get the guild up and running. The people who sign on don't have to stay after it's created. Once it's created, I'll make my 4 buddies Guild Officers and they can add people in that they play with. They play way more than I do, so they will be able to get people to sign up.

As far as actual recruiting goes, I despise the guild who shout /hey guild XXX is recruiting, do you have a pulse and want to join. All the guilds I have ever been in over the various MMO's have had a similar system. We talk to people we group with that we like a lot. If you group with someone who is a quality player, has a similar style to what you or your guild have and you get along with great, ask them to join.

Yeah, I know that part was obvious, hehe but you go with what works.

If ya need a hand getting your guild sigs, I am on euro time so am available at odd hours and if you like I can make a lvl 1 pretty much anywhere just to get you a sig on the charter thingy. Just because you don't know everyone and their uncle yet is no reason to not have your guild and have fun.

As bad as this is going to sound, I believe good guilds come from feeder guilds. Now...warning...I am basing this on my EQ and DOAC experience, but I have read enough to know it is the case in most games...

What I mean is that there will be large guilds...that will take almost anyone. They are the ones shouting and calling for anyone to join. So you and your friends join together. You adventure and group and form a group of solid friends in that guild. The guild is usually so large and changes so frequently that there is not a high-end organization...just small groups who work together.

At some point, whether through drama or just because they want to be more organized and have control over who is allowed in, those small groups leave and form new guilds. Those second generation guilds are the best. They take more care and pride in the group. They usually have smaller numbers and qualify the members who join.

As I said, it sounds bad, and never did I do this intentionally...but this is really the way it seems to have worked in most cases.

But, I would not just run up and ask anyone. I would ask people that you group with. You and your friends should position yourself by an instanced dungeon...whatever suits your level. And do so with lower level alts as well to get some of the lower level characters...and start asking for more to join your group. Go through the instance with some new people and watch how they play. If they are not jerks, invite them. Have them join for the long haul and not just to get the charter signed.

When I am asked to join a guild by someone who passes me on the street, I know that guild is not going to be seeking quality players...just whoever it can get. That is not what I want from a guild. If I group, especially in a dungeon crawl or some other challenging scenario...and am asked afterwards to join a guild, it is usually because the person liked grouping with me and is trying to find similar people for the guild. If I liked grouping with that person than it stands to reason that the guild will be somewhat to my liking and I will be a good fit for it. Neither of the above are certain, but odds are good.

to get the charter signed i just asked people in orgrimmar if they would sign my guild charter and they could leave the guild if they wanted when it was formed. took me about 30 mins but i got 9 sigs pretty easily. granted 4 of them were friends. and none of the other 5 staied but oh well it worked

Aye, the best way to bolster your ranks for a guild is to simply accept people into your parties, see if you like their playstyle and ask them to join you. Heck, in my case, I partied with a couple people in a guild and I enjoyed the experience so much that I asked if I could join with 'em. Much to their innevitable chagrin, they invited me! =)