Hey. I posted up this guide on the SG/VG recruiting section, and several people nominated it to come back as a guide, so I copied and pasted what I have already written, and put it here so people looking for guides can see it too!
Enjoy!!!
I've noticed several people on these forums asking how to get a SG started, or asking for tips, or w/e... I've also seen several people in-game who are trying to get people to join their brand new SG, and they can't get anybody in because it is new.
Well, I am here to offer my advice on getting a SG started. I run a growing VG on victory server, Destiny's Syren, and I love to give others advice on starting their SGs. Feel free to post or send me private messages if you have anything to add or speak against.
Here are some things to remember:
1. Dedication
2. The Name
3. The People
4. The Purpose
1. Dedication- You aren't going to be able to run a sucessful SG unless you really commit yourself to it. If you are a person with a VERY busy RL schedule, you may want to consider simply joining a SG that suites your style rather than running one yourself. But if you feel you are up to it, then by all means, go for it!
2. The Name- This sets a mental image of your SG. A sg run by a leader with a lot of potention may not be very sucessful simply because of the name. The name must be visually appealing to those who look at your charcter, and it must be something people enjoy saying or talking about. Before you even get a chance to tell people about your SG, they are already forming their own opinion about it in their minds based off of the name, so it is important to choose the right one! Also, avoid using cheesy names, and proofread the name for misspellings. Misspelling of words is a BIG turnoff for potential recruits.
3. The People- What sort of people are you looking for to join your SG? Are you looking for hardcore players, casual players who simply like to have fun, players who are sick and tired of looking for teams that aren't there, or social players who simply want people to talk to everyday? Once you decide on this, your vision of the SG will begin to fall into place.
4. The Purpose- Believe it or not, the sucessful SGs actually have a purpose. Is your purpose to do continual base raids? Is it to always have a team ready to invite you? Is it to simply have people to talk to? When you create your SG, this must always be kept in the back of your mind.
Now that you have the blueprints in place for designing your SG, how do you get all those players to join it? It will be hard at first to convince people to join your SG when you only have 3 people in it, but it will get easier as you become known.
When you recruit, the MOST important thing is to sound respectful, yet professional. For the sake of example, we will use a hypothetic SG called Heroes of Justice. Here are two examples of recruiting for this SG. Which sounds more appealing?
"Yea, I'm starting a new SG called Heroes of Justice. I wanna get it started, so send me a tell if u wanna join."
or
"A brand new SG called Heroes of Justice is recruiting new members. We are looking for respectful players who are sick of always looking for a team to join, and hope to provide those players with the team they need. Send me a tell if you are interested. Thank you."
Hopefully, you would agree that the second advertisement is a lot more effective. Notice, the first message indicates that you have no idea what you are doing, and you are just going out on a limb.
But the second implies professionalism. You are making it clear that you have plans for the SG and you are going at it, guns ablaze. Also, the minimal use of slang and internet terminology (yea, u, lol, b/c, etc.) indicates that you are intelligent, which reflects back on you as a leader. This will help draw in the serious, mature players that will actually want to commit themselves to the SG. Your goal is to sound like your SG is worth joining rather than those other fools that are recruiting for their SGs.
Once you have players, you will need some help running the SG. So spend some time with your players and get to know them. See which players are the most dedicated, and which ones are the ones you can trust the most. Once you have decided on one or two people to help you, promote them to leader, and explain the chain of command, and who has what duties. This way, you can divide up the duties of what needs to be done, and you have somebody to cover for you if RL issues pop up and you have to take a break for awhile from the SG. Never EVER try to run a SG by yourself because you will fail. Instead, divide the work among a couple other people too.
So what happens when the players start complaining about a base? Simple. Build a base. But it is easier said than done. You first need prestige. This means that you must develop a system to ensure that every player is doing their part. I cannot tell you what systems to use in your SG. It is up to you as a leader to decide that for yourself.
So, wrapping it all up, here are some last notes to keep in mind:
-Think like a leader, not like a friend. Don't show prejudice toward or against somebody because of your opinion of them. treat the members equally.
-make it worthwhile for the players to do their part in their SG. make requirements for each new rank, while each rank gives a new privelege, without passing down too much power. You want the players to feel like they are working for something.
-Make sure players stay active. You don't want you serious SG to turn into a long list of players who haven't played in six months.
-Don't become power hungry. As a leader you have power, but power corrupts. At times you will be tempted to misuse that power, such as threatening members with a demotion or being booted if they don't do what you want. It doesn't matter how successful your SG is, nobody wants to join a sg like that.
-have a disciplinary system ready to resolve issues among players. When things go wrong, it is up to YOU to step up and be the leader.
-Play respectfully, and play to have fun. This not only makes the game more enjoyable, but it gives your SG a good reputation.
Thank you those of you who have read this far! please post and comment on what you read, and if you have anything to add, by all means do so!
I would like to thank the coleaders of my VG Destiny's Syren on victory for being so supportive and helping me out when I needed it!
Thank you Starbuster, Shary McGrift, and Nightsyren! I couldn't have made it this far without you guys!
