Welcome to December! I apologize for the lateness of this article, but I had a bunch of papers that I needed to grade, which prevented me from working on this as much as I wanted to. You probably find yourself in a similar position as well--as finals kick in, you’re probably too busy to worry too much about the gaming club. That’s good, actually, because clubs can run into problems if the officers let their grades slip below the point where they can be officers. So make sure you take time to study!

When you’re done with studying, though, you might want to consider the promotion of your club again and how you can continue to grow the membership. Last month, we discussed the basic methods of promotion, which are useful for understanding the various ways your club is likely to get the word out to other students. However, there are some less-common methods that should be considered as well, and these are just as important, since they tend to target gamers specifically. That means that you should take a little effort and make sure these work.

Conventions

Chances are, there’s at least one local gaming convention in the area, and it probably has a promotions table as well. At the very least, see if there’s a way you can put a flyer on that table for interested people. At BGSU, for example, the big con is BASHcon, up at the University of Toledo. So if we want to get the word out to BG gamers, putting a flyer or two up there makes sense, as people who may want to join will likely show up.

Other good methods of promotion with the con are to actually run games there. Talk to the organizers and see if you can get people registered as GMs under your club name. That way, your name will be in the schedule several times as well, and people can get a chance to see what a game with your club is like. Pros: Targets likely members well, usually pretty cheap. Cons: Requires time to run games, only happens once a year.

Local Gaming Stores

Local gaming stores are a bit of a mixed bag; lots of gaming clubs tend to go to them and ask for discounts, which only works if you can guarantee a certain amount of sales, which isn’t likely. However, a store is interested in growing the local gaming scene as well, so it can be in their best interest to work with you as well. At the very least, a store usually has space for announcements and gamer inquiries, so it’s a place where you can put up flyers and such for your own events.

If a new store opens up and wants your help in promoting the store, that’s great, but it’s usually a better deal if you can hook up with a store that’s been around a while. They understand what tends to sell (at least at their own store) and they usually have space and events on a regular basis. They also understand how special event need to be run, so you can get some guidance for running your own small events.

Owners can be a great resource, but since the stores often have a really loyal fan base, they can also hurt you in bad publicity if you mess up when they’re involved. So if you’ve arranged to run an event with them and something gets broken or money gets lost, be prepared to pay for it out of pocket and reputation.

A word of caution: get everything in writing. Store owners are business people, first and foremost. They’re on your side, but they’re looking out for their bottom line. If you get a discount deal with them, make sure you get said deal in writing in case it becomes an issue later on.

Pros: Targets likely members, has experience of local gaming scene, may (*may*) provide discounts if a deal can be worked out.

Cons: Can ruin your reputation if you mess up around them, especially if it involves money they’re owed.

Other University Clubs

Other clubs are likely to intersect with your interests, and getting the word out to them might help your club.

One way of doing this is offering to help with a big event they’re running. If the anime club is having a big viewing party, maybe offering to volunteer or run an anime-themed RPG would be good. This way, you’re helping their club succeed while getting the name out for yours.

Another advantage of this method is that you establish a working relationship that could help you out in the future if you want to start running your own event. It’s always good to have someone to remind you what you need to plan and when, as well as how many people will be needed for a given event. It can help you avoid rookie mistakes that can be both costly and hard to recover from.

Be careful not to try and step too far into their business; it can be tempting to approach a club and go “Hey! We have similar interests, so why not team up? We’ll split everything fifty-fifty!” If they’re running an established event, they don’t need your help, and it looks like you’re just trying to horn in on their success—because you are. Stay respectful and understand that their event is just that—theirs. Assist when you can, and work out a deal for some reciprocal advertising.

If they’re unwilling to help advertise your club, even with your assistance, however, thank them for their time and move on. Your club is not an extension of theirs, either. Pros: Gives you access to experienced people who know how to run an event; builds good will between groups. Cons: You’re not directly helping your club.

Other University Events

A couple of years ago, the BGGS held a panel on video games and violence for one of the themed weeks that the student org office was holding. We didn’t have many participants, but it was actually refreshing to have an event that didn’t involve just playing games—we instead discussed the state of gaming and why they were important to us.

If you’re interested in growing your club and earning respect, this is an important item to remember, because to many people, it looks like you’re just getting together and playing games. And while you certainly are doing that, if you’re interested in growing not just the club, but understanding of the hobby and its importance to our society, then events like this help create a more formal space for others to discover what it is you do and why.

While events like this don’t usually do much in terms of recruitment, they do considerable work as PR tools. You will need to do some legwork beforehand, just to make sure you can sound informed when you give your presentation, but it does wonders to show people that there are lessons to be learned by participating in your group, and that does wonders for your public image.

Pros: Gives you a chance to pontificate about your hobby; gives outsiders a chance to see why what you do is important.

Cons: Not likely to recruit lots of members from this; requires some research ahead of time.

Those are the main avenues of promotion that I can think of right now, but if you think I’ve forgotten any, PM me or reply to this on the forums below. Please note that I’ve left “running your own convention” off for a reason—if you need this column as guidance, you’re not ready to run one yet. However, next month, we’ll discuss some of the challenges of running small events. As always, PM or email me if you have any comments or ideas.

December checklist:

• Make sure you’re signed up for the next semester’s organization fair. It won’t be as big of a deal as the fall one, but it’s good to have a presence there.
• Sit down with officers and other members and get their opinion on how this past semester worked out.

See you next month!
Alec “Kid Twist” Fleschner