Building Successful Guilds
-Community Guilds-
-Community Guilds-
A lot of people ask me questions as to why my Guilds are so popular or well liked. I've owned 6 Guilds on Gaia since 2007. I normally run a few Roleplay Guilds and one Community Guild, but right now I'm sticking to one of each. Since a Roleplay Guild and a Community Guild are two separate things; I'm going to separate them into two different topics.
A Community Guild is basically a small community of friends talking about what interests them the most. It can revolve around music, culture, or contain a variety of common interests. Whatever it contains; it is a community of people who like the same things.
Here are some tips to running a Community Guild.
Tip 1: Gaia Terms of Service is very important in any guild. My account at one point was banned as well as my Guild deleted for having content that is above the PG 13 level. Hidden, Private or Public your guild is being viewed by at least a good portion of the Gaia Community. You will maybe get away with 3-4 months tops before your Guild is reported and you are all banned. Learn from my mistake and do not disobey this rule.
Tip 2: Activity is not something that is extremely concerned about. Guild Captains go super crazy about this; purging members, counting how many posts they have, not helping them get started, ect. Instead of removing members for in activity and hurting your Guild's Reputation; ask them how life is going for them. Members have lives outside of Gaia and Captains need to be aware that banning them will get them no where. Members go through life issues that involve them spending a few months away from Gaia. Banning them without asking them "Is everything okay?" can make you seem like an uncaring Captain. You are running a community, so it is best to show you care for your members as much as your community.
Tip 3: Always ask your new members, "How can I help you get started?" and thank them for joining your guild. Without that member, it is one less person and one less creative piece that adds to your Guild. Members add colours and creativity everywhere, but when they are new, they may need direction. It could be intimidating to them. What better to have a designated Captain or Crew member to welcome them into the community.
Tip 4: Anime/Manga, Yaoi/Yuri, LGBT, Music, Japanese Culture, Video Games, Roleplays and Gold Guilds generate the most interest. I actually visit popular Guilds to see what makes them popular and I notice it is because they feature one or more of the above interests.
Tip 5: Community Guilds thrive on acceptance. It is important to be aware that Gaia is a community which fights for the rights. It is very good to promote tolerance and respect in your Guilds. Members should feel safe about posting in your guild. This includes acceptance. Think of a blank sheet of paper. Every member adds a bit of colour that makes it into a beautiful painting. So to have a popular Guild, have members of all shapes, sizes, genders and sexualities.
Tip 6: Allow your members freedom to post Topics in your guild without the fear of being banned. Having a tight leash around your members can feel like it is choking them trying to stay apart of your guild. Allow them a bit of freedom. Sure, if a member disobeys a rule you've set in place it is fine to tell them that it is not acceptable, but don't attack them for how many posts they can post in one hour or how to post or even post structure. Let them show you how awesome they can be.
Tip 7: Guild contests should be reasonable. 1k, 5k and 10k isn't going to attract much attention. Gaia's gold inflation sets the bar high for needing gold. 100 million is where you'll find the most people participating with.
Tip 8: Don't just choose friends as Crew or Vice Captains. You need valuable people to be in these positions. You need people that are active, people that are able to be online as much as you. People that will watch out for content that isn't acceptable. But you also need to be careful that you don't loose your Guild because of these people. Vice Captain's have the ability to change the Guild Captain if they wanted too. Also Crews that hardly put in an effort can cause unacceptable content to go under your radar. This can put both your Guild and Gaia account in jeopardy.
Tip 9: Make sure that your Crew & Captains are well aware of their position in your Guild as well as what you expect from them. You shouldn't do all the work, nor should your Crew and Captain's not know what to do. Make sure to have a clear, consistent job description. Also ensure that they understand what you expect from them.
Tip 10: You can't expect a high turn out for members by not having a good Guild Layout. A Guild Layout has Sub-Categories for easy finding, Places for members to suggest or ask questions, and also include a well formatted home page. The Home Page is the first thing a potential member is going to see. Something eye-catching and bright is recommended. Your Guild organization and forum layout is what will earn you new members. This is extremely important to Guild Success.
Well these are the Top 10 suggestions that I have as a Guild owner. If you are a Guild owner I'd love to hear your suggestions. Remember, you can take this advice or not. It is just advice.
I wish you potential Guild Owners luck with your dream Guild and remember, you are always welcome to advertise here in this Guild. Affiliation is welcome.
Lot's of Love,
Luck!
