Come dance with the Wanderers... Circulation: 186,575,100 Issue: 506 | 5th day of Hiding, Y13
Home | Archives Articles | Editorial | Short Stories | Comics | New Series | Continued Series
 

The Secret Recipe to Making a Successful Guild


by indicula

--------

Guilds are one of the most exciting parts of Neopets! They are often homes not only to fun activities and events but close friendships, memorable conversations and inside jokes. With that being said, creating your first guild can be an extremely daunting task and it is often difficult to know where to start.

In this guide, I hope to highlight some of the key elements that make guilds successful and share some tactics of getting new guilds off the ground. As a successful guild leader of three large and active guilds, I sincerely hope this guide will be helpful to new guild leaders.

Step #1: Establishing a theme

Guilds can range from broad themes to specific themes and the theme that you choose plays a huge role in the environment of your guild as it will determine the members your guild will target. Choose something that you are passionate about and that passion will likely rub off onto your members and into your dedication to your guild. Below are some of the common guild themes, but of course, you're free to be unique and invent your own theme. After all, it's YOUR guild!

Role-play guilds (commonly abbreviated as RP): Ever really like stepping into the shoes of a character from stories? How about acting? Well, this type of guild may be just right for you! Role-playing guilds are centered around having members role-play characters from plots, created by members of the guild or from existing movies and stories!

Celebrity based guilds: Are you absolutely obsessed with a particular celebrity? With layouts, events and activities based on a favourite star, these guilds are home and base for fans who share the same enthusiasm!

Battledome guilds (commonly abbreviated as BD guilds): These are homes to the owners of the mightiest neopets of Neopia! These types of guilds are a central hub for battlers to discuss weaponry and boast their strength in battles. Often, they include tournaments within the guild and for competing against other BD guilds.

Avatar guilds: Do you love collecting and showing off your avatars? Are you a new collector and want to work on goals with other people? This type of guild might be for you! Avatar guilds are all about collecting avatars, showing off their accomplishments and aspiring to get new avatars! They often include avatar lending systems for pet/petpet and item avatars, guides and other avatar related things!

Neopets related guilds (commonly abbreviated as NR): This is one of the broader and more common themes for guilds. As the name suggests, guilds that are neopets related have to do with things that are related to Neopets. Since Neopets includes such a wide array of things to do, these types of guilds also have enormous diversity. For example, guilds can be made so that the chatter in the message boards and activities reflect the current happenings of Neopia, such as the Altador Cup or plots. They can also include 1 NP auctions, adoption centers and lending systems for avatars, just to name a few.

Step #2: Getting a partner/team

This step is optional, but something I've found to be helpful. Leading a guild can take a lot of time and effort, especially at the start, and it's really nice to have someone to work with. This person can be someone you already know well as a friend or someone new. If you don't know anyone, creating a board in the Guild Chat can be a nice way of finding people who would be interested. This person will likely play an integral role in your guild so choose someone who you think you would work well with!

Step #3: Getting the basic structure together

Though it is possible to start advertising right away, the bulk of your members will be the members that join after there’s some basic structure. The happenings of your guild and how it will be run is very individual, but I’ll list some of the things to consider as a guild leader:

Private or public: A guild can be either public (open for anyone to join) or private (exclusive to people that you select). Some select members based on written applications, others select members based on requirements.

Activities: Activities can be one of the largest components of your guild and they can be generators for building a homey, cohesive environment. Some examples include riddles, word scrambles, and “Hide and Seek” to find a certain neopet owned by someone in the guild.

Rankings: Guilds can use the ranking feature of guilds to establish ranks or teams. For example, promotions in ranks based on participation in the guild or accomplishments, or guilds may have team competitions where each rank represents a team.

Size of the guild: Before you start recruiting members, it’s a good idea to have in mind the environment you want to establish, in particular, the size of the guild you want to make. Both large and small guilds have their pros and cons. Tease it out with the people you’re making your guild with!

Step #4: Advertising

What makes a guild enjoyable is the members you get to share it with, and, as such, one of the most important things you have to do as a guild leader is come up with advertising strategies. Guilds each have their own way of doing this... some just recruit friends, some make boards in the Guild Chat, etc. If you’re going to be advertising to the public in the board, it’d be a good idea to come up with a premade list of things you want to convey to possible new members. For example, the theme of your guild, the size of your guild and what your guild does. Don’t forget, you can get members involved in it too!

Step #5: Building a cohesive and positive environment

I consider this to be the most important step as it’s what really determines the environment and success of your guild. Remember to always welcome new members and get them involved in conversations and any activities or events. Like many aspects of guild leading, this is very individual. Be yourself and work hard to produce a positive and fun home for your members!

Alas, you have reached the end of the guide! I really hope that you’ve found at least some of the information in this article to be helpful and wish you all the best in forming your new guild! I expect it’ll be an experience full of memorable laughter and fun. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me!

 
Search the Neopian Times




Great stories!


---------

Flying's Not For Everyone
Most families did not have a regular use for a tarpaulin.

by partonsvite

---------

More Powerful than Magic: Part Four
"I am the Games Master! Please leave, unless you wish me to utterly defeat you."

by saphira_27

---------

Destructomuffin-The Intro
It BUUUUUUUUUUURNS!!!!!!!

by devonrex_ss

---------

One-Way Letters to Emma
"How have you been? I know it's been a while since we last talked..."

by hidden_0_o



Submit your stories, articles, and comics using the new submission form.