If you’re like countless other Neopians, you’ve probably joined a guild or two with lavish layouts, websites, and logos. Also, these guilds were probably successful, right? There are a few ways to make successful guilds, but I have found that the easiest way to success is through good graphics, friendly helping members, and a fun atmosphere. Friendly members and a fun atmosphere may already be present in your guild, but good graphics can be hard to achieve for some.
Pre-made layouts are just fine and there is no shame in them. Most people have used a pre-made once or twice when they didn’t feel like making a layout, they liked a certain one a lot, or they just didn’t know how to make a layout. I would though, recommend custom graphics request. You can go to the Guild board on the neoboards and you can probably get someone to make a custom graphic for you. Sadly though, people may ignore you if you don’t mention a neopoint tip for their services.
If your custom layout looks good, and your HTML code is where it is supposed to be, more people will be attracted to your guild. Don’t base your whole guild on the graphics though (unless of course it is a graphics-themed guild). People are also looking for fun, which often comes in the form of activities and giveaways.
Though contests are NOT allowed in guilds, TNT is pretty lenient when it comes to giveaways. People seeking guilds sometimes join just to possibly win the giveaway, and if your guild has a sparse amount of members or your trying to bring in more members, this can be good. It’s not all that good and fair though, if you’re looking for those members to stay. When selecting a winner for a large giveaway, I would stay more with the members who have been there longer. If they have been there for a long time, they probably aren’t going to quit after your big giveaway is over.
Activities are also fun and they can help keep people in a guild and keep them active. You can put your activities on a website, either on your petpage or a site off of Neopets. If you come up with fun ideas that the members can participate in frequently, like “Secret Santa”, they will much likely stay in the guild. I would recommend updating contests almost every week. Finally, if your ready for a challenge that members truly get into, create “Teams” for your guild. Members can join the team they want and rack up points.
Guild bashes are also very popular, though I would not recommend using the word “Bash”. I used in my guild and got a warning from TNT.
Again with the graphics, if you’re up to the challenge of making your own layouts and logos, you may need some help starting out. Paint Shop Pro from Jasc is popular among graphic makers, and there are countless guides to teach you how to use it on the Internet. There are also many other graphic making software, and if you’re not up to paying a lot of money for one, you can generally find a used one or one on eBay for much less than the retail value.
Guild members who become mean or snippy with the council for no rational reason should be warned, suspended, or deleted from the guild. Make sure your guild has a “Rules” page that members can refer to and that you can have new members and infraction-making guild members can see. Rules are important in guilds because some guilds have strict spamming rules while others don’t care. Just make sure the rules are easy to access.
Hopefully these little tips will help you achieve the guild of your dreams that will last for a long time. I live by many of these tips and my guild is a nice, active, successful guild that just turned two years old this month – HammYSilverwinG3