As the proud owner of a new guild, I honestly have no clue on what it actually entails to run one. I’ve tried in the past, but always fell flat because I didn’t have the motivation.
I got a couple signatures from people who are actually interested in staying, so there’s that. The real question is, where should I go from here while I start recruiting?
Have great day.
Guilds are pretty much vanity things unless you do a ton of work to keep them going. Either go all in or just keep it as a vanity/personal thing.
This is the most important part.
The above person is 100% correct.
However and this is subjective…but be quick to remove people. I use the 1-3 strikes rule depending on severity
Someone who is a general prick is contagious and detrimental for guild moral.
Right, don’t be one of those guilds who invites all sorts of people and then has no focus. Get in good people and be ready to tell people you have to let them go. Give them a good number of chances but definitely let people know that nonsense and drama is not part of the guild.
This addon helps a bit with guild bank management:
In addition to some of the points above.
Be fair to all members, but know that some people just have some bad days.
Choose good officers and if it comes down to having to demote one because it turns out they are abusing power or they can’t comply with a few rules… well then it might just have to be a demote situation. Its better to take that officer aside and explain yourself than have everyone else below that officer be upset for how they’re acting and ruining their experience by keeping them in that role.
my tip would be to let someone with experience take the role 
tbh id pay to not be in that position.
Ran a guild in classic for a year or so and this is my take…
Understand as the guild master you are expected to be the heart of the guild. Many people will create a guild and just start inviting people expecting them to connect and build a cohesive team. You must create opportunities for players to play together and build relationships. Host guild events such as mythic 0 team races and winner gets X amount of gold or consumables. 3v3 arena tournament in STV etc… Good relationships make a guild last. People don’t continue to play the game if they don’t have friends in it as the content is fairly soulless now.
Be prepared to put in some work to get the guild going. You will be expected to be a leader and must take the role or find someone who is committed to doing so. A guild without leadership might as well be a pug group. Define what level of goals you want to meet in your guild. If you want to raid mythic or are content with pushing heroic content, recruit players of like minded attitude. If you get a mix of casuals and hardcore players, they will constantly butt heads on which way they want the guild to go. Recruit around it and make it clear where the guild lies in progression. Being wishy washy on it will drive players from both ends of the spectrum away.
Remove toxic personalities immediately. Toxic players can crash a guild faster than anything. No one wants to raid with someone who constantly berates others for their failures. The goal is to build people up to a standard and putting players down over and over will never improve them. Best of luck to you!
There’s a couple of basic things I tell people all the time after being the GM for a decade.
The actual important things
I hate my current guilds logo and it irks me way more than it should
Make a macro to spam your recruiting needs in /2
Search for an add-on that auto ginvites any guildless low level characters zone wide.
I kid.
90% of the reason why I don’t join a guild is this.
But I always sign charters once or twice every month then leave after the formation of the guild.
Interact with your guild mates, and be involved in what discussions are happening.
If there is a problem, address it.
Also understand that at some point, there will be drama and there will be cliques.
Try as I might, it has happened in both guilds I’ve been involved in as an officer and a gm.
Luckily the guild I run is all a bunch of cool guys, most of us know each other in some fashion.
So the clique problem doesnt really happen, and most issues are brought to the table as they happen.
Try and organize guild activities for those that want to do them, but don’t require participation.
Some people are literally just there for the name and symbol. Don’t sweat them.
If people leave, ask why.
Worst case they can give you information on what to avoid. (People like them, or mistakes made in the guild).
Most of all have fun, and maintain a good atmosphere.
If someone comes in with a crappy attitude and it starts affecting other players, squash it.
Address the issue with said player, whether it means improving what is making them unhappy, or if it’s just a gripey person, give em the boot.
Bottom line is you’re the gm, it’s your call.
As you get trusted friends that you have faith in their decision making, spread some of the responsibility to them as officers.
Grow your officer team as the guild grows, and just make sure they have a likeminded approach to managing the guild.
Wall of text there, but it’s things I’ve learned from years of being in various guilds of all types and seeing things happen over time.
This made me laugh.
Step 1: Be a girl
Profit
In all seriousness, build a strong discord…that way people can still interact logged out.
Bro, remember back in the day when people would do that because the guild bank got a cut of all gold rewards?
I kinda miss those days…
Rule with an Iron First. Take no lip from anyone.
You are the only one who touches the guild bank. they may put things in, but only you take things out
The guild runs on your clock, no one elses
Only your alts should be officers. or IRL friends
if someone disagrees, remove or demote them
(not really)
Be clear to yourself what you want and expect. Give people a reason to stay, and they will. Be patient, it can take a long time and several episodes of drama before your guild gets to a place you’re happy about.