Reply With QuoteHi! Thank you for taking the time to reply to my overly long post.Yes it does look like we are having some very similar problems.
First off, i would recommend not spamming trade. Everyone that i've spoken to about this topic agrees that it makes your guild look unprofessional and becomes really annoying.We have 30 or so Members and I am having tough time recruiting more members. Every chance I spam Trade but man there are a ton of new guilds all over my server. Right now i am only looking for Raiders to fill the raiding rank i am looking for. I get maybe one whisper a day from either just 85s or 84s and below. I really am out of ideas on how to recruit better. I have a website, I bump my Recruitment on this site and I spam trade. This is one of my issues.
If you think any of those undergeared 85s or 84s have any potential at all you could consider recruiting them into some sort of casual rank and then later using them as backup if they're willing to sit out during most progression raiding.
You're doing pretty much everything you can recruitment wise, i personally think some of it just depends on luck. Keep posting here, realm forums, recruitment forum, mmo-champ, elitist jerks, or any other site that gets a lot of views. Another great website that you probably know about but i'm going to mention is wowlemmings. You can search for specific classes and it will link you to every post from that class that is looking for a guild.
When responding to a post on the forums from someone who is looking for a guild, make sure you really read what they need. If they want to raid in the morning and you are a late night guild don't bother posting. I see so many people trying to convince someone to change their times, but for the most part people post their availability for a reason and are just going to ignore you anyway if you don't meet their times. Also, try personalizing your recruitment post instead of posting the same thing over and over on every single looking for guild topic you see.
Another way to get a major advantage on other guilds is to actually go to someone's realm and speak with them. It shows you're taking time and initiative and probably do the same in leading your guild.
Finally, use word of mouth. I'm sure with your experience in the game you've raided with many different people. Chances are some of them aren't happy in their current guilds and would be willing to switch. Let people know you have spots open ( don't be pushy about it though ) and have your officers do the same with the people that they know.
The first thing you should do is try bringing this up to your members. Tell them that they need to be more active and you still want to run heroics as a guild. Also try planning guild events outside of just progression raids. Ask people to be online to work on certain guild achievements or old raiding achievements for mounts and such. You could also start rated bg or arena groups. If people have something to do instead of just sitting around they're more likely to come online. If you use some sort of loot council you could prioritize loot to who is the most active in the guild, however this becomes an issue when a few people are getting all of the gear and then a few are way behind. That's going to be especially hard in a ten man. Remind people that their spots are never guaranteed and you can replace them. If it does come down to that, don't feel bad. Spend some time searching through the forums and bring someone in who you feel will be more active and a better fit for the guild in general.Another issue is that of the lack of active members I have. I felt that as soon as I chose the 7 or so members and officers to start raiding with me the activity has decrease significantly. there is no desire for people to do heroics anymore even though they are not in their BiS Pre Raiding gear. I really dont want to kick them from the guild or demote them because i really have no replacements ATM. Given 5 out of 10 of the raiders i know personally and are doing an okay job at being active (they also hold officer titles). But i still have no idea how to get others more active in the guild.
For a ten man guild, 5 officers is a lot. It might even be overkill. Make sure you picked them for the right reasons, not just because you know them in real life. In a ten man guild you really only need one or two officers.Finally my officers... I love them to death... i know 2 IRL (1 is my CO-GM) and the other 3 know the CO-GM IRL... i still feel that I am doing almost all the work. My CO-GM has stepped up recently but the others kinda really don't do anything... like if we had active members they MIGHT run heroics with them to help them get geared but deep down i DOUBT that... their either begging me to run a raid (I refuse to pug in all honesty) or they are leveling alts. I have been talking to my CO-GM and i might just make them raiders if they continue to do nothing.
If you do want to keep them all as officers you need to sit them down and explain to them what their title means. Assign specific tasks for them. Have one run the website, one help with recruitment, one keep the guild bank in order, ect. Tell them they all need to help a certain amount with the guild bank also. A few of them may decide they don't want the position and that it's too much work, but hopefully a few will also step up and do their job. If not, just demote them to raiders and keep your eye out for a raider who performed exceptionally well and is very active in the guild and ask them if they would be interested in the position.
As an after though i just want to add, you have exactly half of your raid ranked as officer (duh!). This alone could present problems for you. Make sure the officers don't get priority on loot just for being and officer and don't give them any special treatment. You don't want the five people who aren't officers to become jealous. This could potentially start a lot of drama in your guild which is the last thing you need right now.
My experience with guild meetings is that they tend to not work or be useless. People don't like to just sit around and discuss the guild. I've also had times where in a meeting two people will disagree over something and a fight will break out. I think if you want to do meetings it's best to only involve your officers. If you want to inform other guild members or something post news on your guild website and require everyone to read it and let you know if they have any comments.We do have a scheduled Raid in BWD this Friday and Meeting right before that... hopefully it will show them how challenging Cata is and hopefully open their eyes. I am a nice GM outside of raids but i am really getting frustrated with people right now. I am thinking of bringing up how i feel at this meeting before the raid or after the raid however i am afraid i am going to Nerd Rage (which i do from time to time).
Also, be careful not to let your members know you're worried about the guild not working. You should always stay composed in front of them, even if they are your friends. If they think you have any doubt in your mind the guild won't work then they're more than likely to start feeling the same way. Also, as just a member it shouldn't be their responsibility to worry about anything but being on time and prepared for the raids.
You should always be nice to your guild members, but make sure you're not being too nice. Let them know they can't get away with certain behaviors or making stupid mistakes. If they respect you as a leader and don't think of you as a push over (not saying they do) you'll get farther not only in raids but as a guild in general.
I'm having the same exact problem. It's hard to get people to join your guild because it's new and doesn't have any progression yet. Use your ICC experience to your advantage. Let people know that you and your officers have plenty of experience in the game and know what you're doing. People will feel safer about transferring to a new server and new guild if they feel like the other people in their guild have plenty of experience in the types of content the guild is going to focus on. Also, use the fact that you successfully ran a guild in previous expansions to your advantage. Show people that you know what you're doing and if given the right people you can take your guild all the way through the content.All of my members are definitely capable of doing really well in this Expansion!(at least myself my co-gm and my officers are all 11/12 HM 10 man ICC and I am 10/12 HM 25 man ICC).
Best of luck with your guild! I'm happy to give you any other advice that you need and i really hope at least some of the things i said help you out a bit.
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