EVE General Discussion

Ok, about a year or 2 ago, i recruited up to 20 new players in 2 weeks, no biggy, no fuzz.

Now though ( having a corp with this alt ), i can't even recruit 1 new member, while i've been at it for about 3 weeks now.
All this while using the very same technique's i used successfully before.

You guys got any tips for me maybe?
Is there something wrong with the recruitment system in any way?
Do people even look at these adds in game?
Does everybody just want to be part of a huge alliance?
Is it perhaps to easy to setup a one man corporation?

Speak, discuss, explain.


Cheers,

Mark

Most small corps fail, most ppl therefore dont bother.

Yeah, i noticed that too, should have mentioned it in the OP.

Seriously? offering something of value? wtf? no, that is not and should not be the way to go.
This would mean real life cash would come into play.
I'd just buy lots of plex and start handing them out to everybody who wants to become a member and there you go.

No, no, no, no and uhm HELL NO, that's just ill, you should become a member of a corporation, because their idea's fit yours, because their goals are in line with yours, because the people in that corporation, are easy to talk to, simply because you share the same passions.

This is how real life works, and so it should work that way in game too, it worked for goonswarm ( in the beginning ), it worked for EVERY other corporation/Alliance that now has something to say in null, they all started with little to nothing, to become great as a team.

The game is changing as well, perhaps. I've looked at your corp bio and it says:



Why would somebody want to be there?

They've got a bit of time to invest in the game, don't they want to do something? Go blow something up, put up a PoS or know that something is happening - they're making some kind of impact. The game is full of epic stories like the Guiding Hand Social Club, Hulkageddon, Burn Jita, Flight of a Thousand Rifters - these are things that shape EVE.

Maybe not quite the same as it was two years ago? Dunno. It just seems a bit lacklustre, unambitious and laid back. Maybe a Gallente pilot would drool over it



Most of them came from established communities. Translating that friendship to a game is the easy bit.

And no, I don't think it has to be material. It can be an objective, a goal, something to work towards and be a part of. That is valuable; especially to newish players trying to find their feet.

Yeah yeah, i know, but.... haven't you seen the sheer amount of solo corporations out there?
Not to mention, the huge amount of players, that have been part of an NPC corp for months, sometimes even years.

They are all industrial/mining pilots ( well maybe not all, but mostly they are ), so uniting them, doesn't really seem like such a bad idea does it?

I mean, Orca support, support in numbers, support in intel, that sort of stuff, all of it is way much better then sticking with a npc corp ( or i must be an idiot, don't know really ).

What the hell are you talking about... I meant, you need to have a reason for them to join your corp. Do you offer access to resources that will help them attain their goals, intel channels and logistics chains, a good social atmosphere... ect.

At no time did I suggest you should bribe them into your corp with RL goods.

There's shitloads of corps that are focusing on people with their playstyle, whatever it may be. You have to give them some incentitive to join, simply put.

There's some more elaborate feedback on that up there *points at previous posts*, but just ask yourself this; if you were a potential member that share your corporations interests, how would they find you, and why would they chose you over other corps?

I've been a member of three corps that I enjoyed, and I would considered 'good' corps. All of them I joined by reference of previous members. I have tested a few different random corps that I saw ads for, or came in contact with. All of them turned out to be a failure, in different ways.

I'd start by putting down a long-term game play, would try find a niche or specialize on something, or advert it very hard to profile the corp to the public in a certain fashion. Then I'd build contact networks. Eventually the members will come to you, not the other way around, and you will find the members who shares your interests, rather than the (probably) younger pilots who has no clue of their own identity yet, and/or lacks contact networks.

offering "something of value" does usually not directly translate into "offering isk", although isk can be a part of it (via reimbursements, ship/skillbook subsidies, ...); more often than not it refers to a set of specific goals, capabilities and the general environment of the corporation.

the question you have to answer is "What does your corporation off that other corporations don't? How is it different?"

I'm in SniggWaffe. That corporation offers me pvp opportunities - it doesn't offer me access to ratting space, it doesn't offer me ship reimbursements, it doesn't offer me mining ops, it doesn't offer me special snowflake treatment.
But it does offer me ample opportunities to improve at pvp in a pretty unique environment. There are very few other corporations in EVE that are comparable to SniggWaffe in that respect.

Don't try to appeal to every playstyle and every player. Do a select few things and do them well.
And don't think that your unique and awesome personality is enough to make people want to join you - because even if it were, your recruits could only realize this after joining you.

Offer your corp member something of value, something different from most of the other corporations out there. And put some effort into communicating what "value" you offer when looking for recruits.


you can't really get any more generic than this, there are probably a few hundred corporations in EVE who offer pretty much the same environment as "Pride is Our Nation" does.
Why does the game need your corporation?
How would players not be equally well off joining any of the other, similar corporations?

Your whole advert seems to be designed around not scaring off any potential recruit. Everything is left vague and non-committal, nothing is asked from the recruit and nothing anyone could object to is offered by your corporation.

Leave out bullshit sentences like

• "will" in a recruitment advert translates to "we don't have this but are afraid to admit so";
"we will move to null-sec", "we will run pvp training ops", "we will expand into T3 manufacturing", ... only means "we are not in 0.0", "we don't run pvp training ops", "we don't do T3 manufacturing" and potential recruits know that.


• if you had done any of these "team things" you would know what they are and be able to name them - e.g. "we run regular mission fleets", "we have weekly mining ops with Orca support", "we like to go on frigate roams", ....


• "nor anything time consuming" sounds way better than "nor anything very time consuming". The former may not be 100% accurate but it's actually a clear statement. The latter tries hard to contradict itself: "it's not time consuming .... well, maybe it is time consuming ... but at least it is not very time consuming!".
Do you know anyone who would be up for an (unpleasant by the sound of it) activity that is "time consuming" but wouldn't be up for one that is "very time consuming"? I don't.
Try to make clear, unambiguous statements and avoid going a step back for every two steps you go forward.


• get your spelling right, "its" vs "it's"

and
is just selling yourself cheap. Is the best reason you could come up with for people to join you that it is easy to hit the Apply button?

Go like this through every single sentence of your recruitment pitch, read it to yourself a few times and cut out all bullshit, self-denigration and vagueness.


"This corp has been established, with the idea to unite Solo/casual players." is a good start. Keep that first sentence and scrap everything else.

Why is it good for solo/casual players to unite?
a social group for people who want to play solo (are anti-social), isn't this an oxymoron?
for that idea to make any sense you have to have some theory about why these people aren't really anti-social and what all the other corporations are doing wrong?
Explain with some detail who the people you want to attract are, how being in your corp is good for them and what the other corporations are doing wrong that caused your recruits to stay solo players for so long.
Tell them how your corporation does things differently, how it attracts and "unites" the solo/casual players.