Some expert help needed

[The Janitor]

Hey guys. I'll try not to bore you here and keep it brief

I was staff for a while in another fed and that recently shut. We created another fed to give the roster a place to go (some were under the hope/dillusion, myself included, that the original fed would come back) Now we are in the midst of breaking out on our own, our boards were based off of the old fed, as were the way things were done.

I now have a much more active role than before as a staff member (and unofficial fed head). I have modded the boards a bit, and am in the midst of revamping them so we have our own image, to break more away from the old fed

My problem is, im kinda new to all this being responsible, not only for the show, rresults, etc which i have done for a while, but actually teaching myself coding, layouts, coming up with ideas for the whole fed and smooth running of such along with the owner. Our main problem is recruitment. This is where i'm seeking advice

I have joined here and actually enjoyed staying active on the boards. I have mailed one person seeking as the others seeking in the time ive been here my fed didnt meet their criteria. The owner has created an E-Wiki for us that he has responsibility for updating.

I would like, if it's possible, for you guys to give me more tips on how to recruit. See most of our roster when we opened have now gone for various reasons. We're down to around 18 and are looking for new memebers, people that are just EWA, not from the old place.

I'll keep up with mailing people that post in the ''looking'' section here, but i'm lost at what else to do

maybe some old hands could give me some tips


Thanks

[Triple B]

Reputation is the BEST recruiting tool, in all honesty.

Put that banner in your sig like you have and post like you get a dollar for everyone word.  Post news and results as much as possible on the various communities around, and take advantage of the Free Agent forums on those sites as well.  SPamming, sending random emails to people, and posting on people's fed's boards won't get members.  But those things, those will.

Also, send in stuff to talk about on the EFK Podcast.  I'd also recommend submitting your fed to be in "The View" by Ian, as most feds that participate in that get lots of exposure and an increase in membership.

By showing activity, a commitment to doing the hobby right, and a willingness to participate in the community at large, membership will come to you.  I can almost guarantee it.

[The Janitor]

Thanks man, i'll certainly look into other communities, though i'm not sure i have the time to do everything else and stay active here and a ton of other places, and sadly i'm not sure if our other staff would hav ethe drive or time for that. But i'll take it on board. We're still trying to find our feet in terms of results and stuff, it's getting there but it was a roster member that made EWA and he doesn't have much experience that way. But it's getting better.

I will start posting results and i have posted any news i've deemed important enough to share (see 'EWAs first ever PPV' thread) But will do that more too

I think i'll wait until i've updated the boards look and feel (we don't have a site yet) before i ask to be featured on ''The View'', as i stated i'm actually learning as i go along how to make/modify code and stuff, so it may take a little bit. Also we have a problem with the fact that 16/18 guys post on deadline day and don't really bother with the rest of the topics and threads, so i'm scared of looking inactive, which has been a bone of contention for the staff there. Anyone coming in would think we were our way out instead of just starting up lol

Thanks for all the advice, and if anyone has anything else that is different please still respond

[Hondo]

B pretty much nailed it on the head. But there's one other thing that needs to be tacked on to that. You probably even realize it by now.

To be a successful fed head, you have to WANT to be a fedhead for the long haul. Every wannabe fed owner since the dawn of the internet age think it'll be all fun and games, going into it for glory's sake. And when they realize how much WORK it takes to do so, then they get apathetic and the fed dies. It's HARD WORK running a fed. Writing results, judging RPs, dealing with unruly RPers, website updates, yada yada yada. It takes a lot of your free time. You really have to love it to do it.

So my advice is to put your whole heart and soul into this thing. Work hard, put out a good product and the rest will do itself.

[The Janitor]

Yeah, i'm in it for the long haul. And i'm constantly thinking of ways to make the place better and run smoother, and coming up with storys and angles is more fun than RPing to me. The staff all have a character in the fed (i know some people disagree with that, that's cool, i can see your point, but none of our roster or staff have a problem) im the only guy that doesnt run an active character, preferring to concentrate on making it better. That's why i'm here, and that's why im getting all the advice i can

PS. I made an account on Roughkut and posted. I'll try and keep up there, but proberbly wont be as active there as i am here. Thanks for that advice Triple B

[Smash INC]

http://www.efedknights.com/boards/index.php?topic=87.msg49175#msg49175

Most of what I wrote there should still have some application to your situation.

As B said, reputation does count for a lot. It won't guarantee a successful fed but it goes a long way towards getting people on board to your fed.

The best thing you can do when recruiting is looking at the individual instead of popping off a message to every free agent on here or wherever. Consider their character in relation to your existing roster, if they are a face and you have a shortage, let them know. If you have a gimmick in the fed that lines up well with them, let them know.

On a personal level, one of the best recruitment messages I ever received was from a fedhead who went over potential angles relating to my character explaing that if I went face or heel there was a guarantee that there would be someone to work a good angle with.

Finally, you're not going to get anyone 100% of the time even with a perfect recruitment message and so on. The best thing is to keep yourself out there and get the fed across as a place that is solid, respectable and dependable. We all want to join a fed that we know is expected to last, putting yours in that category will practically guarantee an influx of new people.