Pikachu's Guide on Club Making

[Pikachu]

[center][size="7"]Pikachu’s Guide on Club-Making[/size]

After much persuasion, I have decided to make this. I hope you learn a valuable lesson after reading this.

Making a club in YCM is not an easy business. Most clubs usually fail quite quickly, whilst the best of the best survive and are stickied. I, the leader of Club Pikachu and The Pikagroup, shall teach you how to make a successful and popular club. There is no guarantee it would work 100%, but it would make you tackle the few obstacles at the beginning. No club can be perfect anyway.

In this guide, there are 5 sections:

1 – Deciding: Is club-making a good choice for you?
2 – Planning: What are your club’s purpose and mission…and name?
3 – Making: What would your first post look like, and how would people know?
4 – Maintaining: Who are the most ideal co-leaders for your club, and will it last?
5 – Bonus Section: A few facts, details and theories on club-making.

To have a successful club, it is certainly advised that you read ALL of the sections. Skipping any of the sections might be a bad choice for beginners. But hey, it’s you reading it, so it’s your decision.

There will also be two extra notes: The ‘*’ and the ‘!’. The ‘*’ symbolizes things that are recommended to be read by club makers who plan to make a new club, especially people who never even made a club before. The ‘!’ symbolizes sections that are not recommended to club rookies, but are extremely recommended for bigger clubs. But hey, if you got a big club, why the hell are you here?

[b]Note: If your head hurts too much after reading all this, club-making is not for you. This is a brief guide, too.[/b]

This guide is constantly updating with your feedback and corrections!

[b]UPDATES:[/b]

*none*

[spoiler=*Section 1]
[size=large][b]1 - Deciding: Is club making a good choice for you?[/b][/size]

Club-making is not fit for everyone. No matter if you are a veteran or a random noob, club-making may be a bad choice. If you are one of those people who have the leadership attribute, then give it a shot.

A recommended club leader should be a semi-famous member, with a good amount of posts and experience in the forums. They should also have good grammar and be able to command members with ease. If you feel like you’re not ready, being a co-leader in a club is a great way to start.

If you have friends that are club veterans or club leaders, you could always ask them for help if you have any questions. If you don’t have any, then you could always ask me.
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=*Section 2]
[size=large][b] 2 – Planning: What are your club’s purpose and mission…and name?
[/b][/size]

This stage of club-making is actually where most clubs leaders fail to do. They simply rush and decide a theme, catchy name (sometimes even random ones), and post it. And guess what? 0 posts.

If you want to have a good club, I suggest you plan this for 2-3 days at least. You do not only have to decide on name, theme and a bunch of random stuff. You have to plan on EVERYTHING.

First step, let’s take a look for the theme/genre of your club.

It really depends on what type of things you like, as most clubs are usually influenced by personal hobbies, or things that one simply enjoys. But however, there are a few themes that should not be used.

Talk About Anything: No, you’re just too lazy. Try again.
Animes: You have no idea how many people tried this, but no.
YCM: There is really no point on that.
Mini-Mod Clubs: This includes thread reporting, spam catching and noob protecting. No.

But still, the choice is yours. Now for the name.

A few good words to use for a title are:

Elite: Sounds elite eh?
Club: A club with such a name is not as simple as it looks. It is currently a common fad to have a name called Club ??? . Fad popularity might die soon, however.
Lounge/Café/Place: If your club is casual, this could be a great consideration.

Now choose a simple path: is you club for fun or for serious?

There are two different types of clubs. The most common one is the relaxed club, where the main mission is just to have fun and gain popularity. Many successful clubs have chosen this route. The purpose club tends to have a mission, and usually won’t rest until the task is finished. These clubs tend to make a positive purpose to the community. The Newb Defense League helps new members to settle in YCM and help them become more relaxed. This would be considered as a purpose club.

Obviously, the main purpose of a club is to have a main discussion topic, but if you choose to make a club with a broader range of discussion, it’s up to you. Just make sure your name and topic are very similar.
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=*Section 3]
[size=large][b] 3 – Making: What would your first post look like, and how would people know?[/b][/size]

Aren’t you so excited now about making your club? You’ve decided your theme, name, and mission, pretty much everything! Now all you need to do is type it all up! If you moaned, you’re not fit for club making.

The sparse tips that other club guides provided were spoilers, align-centered font, xx-small writing…and guess what? Those clubs failed too. In this section, I will not only reinforce those points I’ve mentioned, but add other vital ones.

[spoiler=Tip 1: All The Basics]
Yep, spoiler, centered font, xx-small font. That’s what everyone says.

The spoilers are a vital MUST. Not only do they keep your whole page tidy, but they serve as key sections and are easy to view. Clubs that fail to do this do not attract much attention. I suggest you put spoilers in every section you make except the key banner, introduction/mission statement, and application form.

Centered form is quite a must, as it places everything in the middle.

XX-small font…I actually disagree with that suggestion, but it does make the first post look neater.

I have to give a proud mention to Club Box who has done a great job organizing their first post successfully. Smeargle is a good buddy of mine and we respect each other for our clubs. But now, I respect him even more. This is his first post for Club Box:

[IMG]http://i50.tinypic.com/24w56hh.jpg[/IMG]
(Screenshot of Club Box’s first post on 31/01/2010)

He has followed all the rules in the basic club-making section, but look what he has done too: a nice background colour, banner (or in his case, logo) and some lines to separate the section. This will also be covered in the next section, so keep on reading.
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Tip 2: Visuals/Banners]
I had once seen a club with all the colours in the rainbow used for the whole first post. The order was really random too. And guess what? It failed.

Colour counts as an ‘optional’ addition to your first post. A good choice to make is to use a darkish colour (NOT BLACK) and apply it to all your text. Such an effect could make your club a bit more special.

To go another step further, have icons made by the GFX pros. Of course, this process requires persuading the maker and giving some big points. But hey, if you are eager to do all of that, your club would look something like this:

[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/1z19p4i.jpg[/IMG]
(Screenshot of the InFiniteX Entertainment Club, untouched since 01/01/2009)

Nathaniel (aka. Ruby) is a great GFX artist, who has even made a forum specialized in that kind of stuff. Sadly, he’s only stuck to his forum, so he couldn’t give many tips on his club. But still, his great use of small, centered font along with some spoilers and awesome icons has caught major attention for the club’s 11-day reign.

Banners…ah. This is the most useful thing to have in your first post and in your inventory of YCM domination. Banners have two purposes: advertising and first-post decorating. Putting a nice, banner to show off in the top of the page could really do some attention to by passers.

Using it as an advertising thing is done by most people. But to appeal to the members, you have to make a good-quality banner. Ask for it in Requests or Shops. If you have a pal who’s a good GFXer, ask him to make it. If you’re a GFXer yourself, that’s great!
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Tip 3: !The Sections]
I’ve spent a good two spoilers talking about sections, yet you seem to not know what the sections are. But, that’s cool. This section shall cover the vital sections you need, and the ones that are optional.

The most important sections are the basics. You might think ‘I already know this, why the hell do you need to write this?’ You’re wrong, forgetting a single one is not acceptable. Here’s a recap on the basic sections and the additional sections.

[b]Basic Sections:[/b]

-Introduction: By FAR the most important bit. If this does not appeal, you’re screwed. Talking about you is the worst idea ever. And it’s interesting, how nearly everyone tells the story of how the club existed. The introduction must include ‘what this club is’, ‘purpose of the club/mission statement (if you prepared that in the previous section, that’s great)’ and, most importantly, ‘WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN’. Common reasons are ‘be a part of our club, and receive benefits, social activities and more!’, but just think of your own.
-Members and Ranks: Don’t stress on the members for now, stress on the ranks. If your club is successful enough, your ranks will really matter. Don’t have too many or too little. Too many, and the ranks become useless. Too little, and the members won’t even need to try hard. 5-6 ranks are good enough, if you exclude the leader. The member list is VERY IMPORTANT, as long as you update it regularly.
-Rules of the Club: My club, Club Pikachu, got locked once due to the lack of rules. Because, it was fine for a year or so, until it got so active that it generated 300 posts a day. Rules are to keep your club stable. Strict rules are not recommended until it is extremely active. Stick with a few basic guidelines and you’ll be fine.

“After the basic sections have been implemented in your first post, you’re basically fine.”

The above sentence is said by nearly 90% of all YCMembers. But what do I think? Bullshit. The basic sections are like the concrete foundation of your club. There’s nothing special in it, therefore it can’t make a good club. Here are some of my recommendations, but visiting a random club once a day can help you copy some good ideas. And no, it’s not illegal to copy. There’s no copyright logo.

[b]Advanced Sections:[/b]

-Activities List: No club can survive fully without activities. Actually, they can, but they will become those spam clubs that will clog up the section. To have a good and clean club, having this section ensures all your members know what’s happening and when.
-Notice Board: This is very optional, but it does look very professional if you use it. This section will serve as the club’s news section, where new updates, contests and member ranks will be kept here. This could also serve as a history section of all the past notices.
-Banner Section: Yet again optional. Unnecessary if you’re not a GFXer/advertising fan or if you’re just plain lazy to get a nice banner from a shop. But if you have at least 2, go for it.
-Affiliates: This is really not optional; it’s more of a must. You might think “It’s kind of a waste to implement that section when I don’t have any affiliates yet.” Wrong. If you want people to know that you’re a can-affiliate club, then they will affiliate with you if you’re lucky. Also remember to have a reasonable application form.
-Extras: This might include a gallery, memorable quotes and events, archived things, forum link (if you have one), RP link, history of your club, and many more.

Let’s look at Club Pikachu’s first post:

[IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/33xvha9.jpg[/IMG]
(Screenshot of Club Pikachu’s first post on 30/03/2010)

My club has pretty much all the sections you will need. If you take half of them, it’s more or less enough if you’re just starting. Remember, you can always add sections, and these sections could be as creative and wacky as you wish them to be. My example is the sections that are recommended. But hey, it’s your club.
[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=!*Section 4]
[size=large][b]4 – Maintaining: Who are the most ideal co-leaders for your club, and will it last?[/b][/size]

You got everything set, all the sections on the ready and within a click of the ‘Post Thread’ button, you’re on the road to fame. But this is barely the beginning.

Designing is half the success of a true club, the other half is your member management and activeness. And this is extremely crucial. Below are the sections which you should have a look for the different factions of club management. I suggest you take a deep read through all of them.

[spoiler=*Tip 1: Member Management]
Why is this so important? You’ll know soon enough. Member management is not only member selecting when they join, but a lot more than that. I’ll split this into smaller sections for you to understand.

[b]Member Joining[/b]

I’ve seen many clubs who accept, virtually, everyone that posts an application form and requests to join. You should not be doing this. You should either be filtering these members by their current status (eg. Activeness, post count, reputation, newness) or by your own, smart judgement. Your application form could easily filter that, as not only could you see it by the questions you ask, but their grammar, spelling, and others.

I understand how it feels when the first bunch of members joins. I really do. You immediately accept them. But you must clam yourself down. Do they really deserve to be in your club?

[b]Senior Ranks/Co-Leaders[/b]

Your co-leaders are your backbone to your club. Is you club inactive? They shall bump it up for you. Are you being inactive? They’ll look after it for you. If they don’t have a club, they could even be like your sidekick in action. But the big problem is picking the right one.

Most people tend to choose their friends as co-leaders, but I find this practice to be rather noobish. Find someone who’s experienced in the clubs section. But yet, don’t find a complete stranger, as you can’t really trust him. If you have a friend who’s an excellent club leader, ask him nicely and maybe he’ll take the job.

I recommend you to have two co-leaders at the start. When your club is large, go for three.
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Tip 2: Special Activities]
If you were here at the very beginning of Club Pikachu (which I doubt any of you are), I always had a fun weekend playing a few games of 20Q with my members and pals. Not only did it give us 100 posts every weekend, but we had lots of fun and new members and alike joined the excitement.

To have your club be as active as mine, do not play 20Q everyday, or else the fire-breathing dragon will chain the 20Q device…or will he?

Activeness is guaranteed through activities. You might wonder, what? How do card contests make my club active, it’s on a different thread! Well, there are many ways to solve this problem.

[b]Do Nothing![/b]

Is this a joke? Am I trolling you? Actually, I’m not. Sometimes activeness happens unexpectedly. No one can tell if the next day would be a busy, hyper day or the slowest day of your life. Making your members have freedom can lead to surprising results. Try it.

[b]Have Two Contests[/b]

In the early days, I had planned many recruitment tactics, which I’ll share in the next section. The first one was the card contest recruitment program. It’s simple, one contests is for your members only, and the other is only for specially invited guests (if you’re not ‘the guy who knows every cool dude around’, make it an open contest).

If I was making it, the contests winners (1-3 place) would get the free membership to your club. Yet again, you might think ‘Hey, anyone could join my club, why do I have it this way?’ But hey, like anyone knows your club, you just started. This is pretty much advertising AND recruiting at the same time, so this double deal is not a bad idea. But be careful, name your titles suitably so the two contests could run at the same time and nobody gets confused.

How do you run this contest? How do you make it? Wrong guide, sorry.

[b]Club-Helping Activities[/b]

Oh, what’s this? This would be like ‘make a banner and get a rep’ or ‘invite 3 or more people for a promotion’. Since everyone has a different special ability, a GFXer would find the ‘make a banner for a rep’ really easy. That way, he gets a rep, you get a free banner, both of you smile, and you run along the fields in the sunset. Great.

Give them promotions and reps and they’ll do almost anything for you. Just be careful though, don’t tell them to spam an enemy club. Oh, did I just say enemy? We’ll cover that later.

[b]Have Mini Contests[/b]

No, not card contests, or your club will be a whole card pile, we don’t want that.

What I mean by this is to have a little fun with your fellow members. 20Q is a good example but as I warned you before, don’t do it everyday. Instead, switch around once in a while to riddle solving, picture commenting, or anything that’ll make them roll on the floor laughing their heads off.
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Tip 3: Advertising]
I have no idea why, but every time I say this, everyone thinks I’m Hitler. But hey, Hitlerchu ftw, right?

To keep your club in the hype, you have to show the power of your club. Show the epicness of it. Have some loyal friends? Tell them to spread the word. But there are lots of other tactics. Remember me saying that I had tons of recruiting plans? The recruiting contest was one of them, and the others? I’ll share them with you.

[b]Sponsoring/Affiliating[/b]

What the hell is sponsoring, you say? Do you team up with a local charity and steal everyone’s money for the sake of your club? Hell no.

By that I mean support other clubs. That would be affiliating. But bring it to the next level. Affiliate and sponsor shops, huge card contests, fan fics and all the huge events. If you get extremely lucky, you might even sponsor an official event. (I have yet to try that.) But go around and start PMing different contests makers, fan-fic writers and shop owners and be the dominating power!

[b]Expand to Other Sections[/b]

I said in ‘Tip 2: Special Activities’ that making a club card contest public would help your club grow. But usually, those members are good card makers. You also want other people.

Yes, your club is only a club. But treat that has your Headquarters and start expanding your territory. Need some good GFXers in your arsenal? Make a shop and sell simple things at first, then hire a few pros and make it better! You want some people with good grammar? Make a club fan-fic to attract attention, or start a RP where you could all just have fun. If you really need it, make a private club forum.

[b]Signatures/User Titles[/b]

Getting a bit Nazi-ish here, are we?

Having a high quality banner in another member’s signature would greatly improve chances of new members. Also, the quality of the banner would attract different people. Have a bad banner? You’ll attract either no-one or a noob. Have a high quality banner? People would swarm to your club. If you feel the need, force everyone to have the banner somewhere in their sig, but don’t go too harsh.

Want to go further? Even though it would be pretty cruel, ask them to change their avatars and user titles to club-related things (eg. Pokemon club, Pokemon avatar. Simple!). This is not recommended, but you could try it and give some feedback.
[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Section 5 (Bonus)]
[size= large][b]5 – Bonus Section: A few facts, details and theories on club-making.[/b][/size]

This section should not be read by rookies, unless you can’t resist it.

Most of the elements, theories and ideas are still experimental and can only be confirmed if you are willing to try these theories. There will be 2 sections: the facts with concrete…or solid proof, and the theories of club making. Both are still considered beta, so don’t rely on it too much. Enjoy!

[spoiler=The Facts and Rules]
[size=large]Rules of Thumb[/size]

[b]NEVER make two new clubs at once:[/b] Ever since the new rule implemented by Flame Dragon is in effect, many club makers have tried to spam new clubs and try to get attention. But dude: it won’t work. Not only will it make your life more stressful, it is pointless to spread out your success evenly. Having a successful club is more important than having 3 small ones.

[b]NEVER have bias rules/topics:[/b] Although this rule might seem silly, let me quickly explain something to you. Your club won’t be very successful, if your topic of discussion is too narrow. A Pokemon club is acceptable by regular standards. A club based on a single aspect on it, however (eg. Shiny Pokemon, Gym Leaders), won’t get you very far. Don’t get me wrong though, you are more than welcome to have a club name as anything you like, even Club Poke-Shiny. I’m just talking about the topic.

[b]NEVER give up:[/b] I saw many starting clubs with barely 100 posts go down the drain often. The problem is, they never bump. Keep on bumping. Bump till it hurts. If, after 3 bumps, no one joins, then…sorry.

[b]ALWAYS have the highest ranking places with people you trust:[/b] Most new clubs die. Why? The co-leader is inactive. And these people are always noobs that just post and go, they feel your club is new and could get a higher rank than average. This tactic should be countered by having these spots filled with either your friends or known leaders.

[b]ALWAYS have a banner ready:[/b] Trust me, it actually works.

[size=large]Advanced Rules of Thumb[/size]

[b]Bump ONLY if you need to:[/b] Why do clubs fall to the second page so fast? Why do clubs always seem to have 2-3 ‘bump’ posts before an actual discussion appears? Because you’re [s]doing it wrong[/s] not timing it right. To bump properly, bump when you think most of your members are online at that very moment, or else that bump is wasted.

[b]Learn your time zones:[/b] The toughest thing for me to handle is that over 80% of my members are from the other side of the world. So how am I able to maintain it? Usually, I would post normally, until it gets really inactive, then I use a simple tactic. I don’t post, until my thread drops to the end of the first page. Because a truly active club doesn’t need you to post at all. You just manage things, and post from time to time.

[b]Ask yourself, who are you?[/b] You sir, are a club leader, the highest ranking member in your little thread of yours. You get to do what you want, whenever you want. But as a leader, you have to listen to your members on club-based opinions. Is your club going in the wrong direction?

[b]Don’t run a club without support:[/b] Affiliation, in today’s standards, is seriously nothing. All you do is place their club name onto some spoiler and maybe the link to their club, and that’s it. Do you do anything together? No. Do you have contests against each other? No. Have a person or two to help you out of you have any troubles. If your friends are club leaders, you better ask them to affiliate/introduce members to increase the chances of activeness.

[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Theories]
Okay. I have none. Honestly.

If you have some, post them here in this thread! I’ll have a look.
[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

I hope this guide will help you in the future. Thanks for reading!

~Pikachu

p.s Consider this guide a beta. Lots of updates might come.[/center]

[Blake]

I agree with this... Also, DO have three Co-leaders, yourself and 2 others.

You called the FTK serious? lololololno.

[Glitch]

This doesn't belong in Clubs and Organizations.

It might belong in comments.


But good job.

[Monkey]

[quote name='Killer Skull' timestamp='1282338368' post='4547496']
This doesn't belong in Clubs and Organizations.

It might belong in comments.


But good job.
[/quote]

This thread is in the right place. It should be stickied more than anything. It helps members create clubs that won't die instantly, why would it be in comments if it's a guide?

[Pikachu]

[quote name='Tainted Black' timestamp='1282316984' post='4546326']
I agree with this... Also, DO have three Co-leaders, yourself and 2 others.

You called the FTK serious? lololololno.
[/quote]

Oh, I typed that part a long time ago. (Since I was so lazy and all. This actually started in January.)

I better change that.

[Βyakuya]

Well this is a good explanation in clubs, I can see. This should be pinned.

[Pikachu]

Thanks.

Um, why should it be pinned? Is it that good?

[Hunter.]

if i had this when i made my first club, it would still be here. thanks for the guide Pikadude.

[JG.]

You sound like Bill Gates on the advertising parts. No srsly, you should become a marketing director.

[Βyakuya]

[quote name='Pikadude' timestamp='1282376077' post='4549496']
Thanks.

Um, why should it be pinned? Is it that good?
[/quote]

I don't know. Its helpful for people who want to have successful clubs and why should they or not. Important for them to look. But I was thinking of this as like a Tutorial.

[Pikachu]

[quote name='JG.' timestamp='1282392901' post='4549766']
You sound like Bill Gates on the advertising parts. No srsly, you should become a marketing director.
[/quote]

Damn, you found out what my future job is. D:

Which parts, specifically?

[quote name='Byakuya Kuchiki' timestamp='1282393473' post='4549775']
I don't know. Its helpful for people who want to have successful clubs and why should they or not. Important for them to look. But I was thinking of this as like a Tutorial.
[/quote]

...This is a tutorial. But I replaced the word 'tutorial' with 'guide'. Cwutididthar?

[Pikachu]

Bump. Need more comments.

[Hunter.]

nice theory: making a spriting club? don't expect to get very far.

[Pikachu]

Lol, nice theory.

But some have done...alright.