How to Start a Clan

Thinking of starting your own gaming clan but don't know where to begin?

Our handy guide on starting a new clan from scratch should set you on the right course. Below, we'll cover a range of topics from creating an online presence to picking the right games for your players.

Choosing a Name

This might sound obvious, but a great name will help with your clan's success. Think about the type of clan you aim to be, and find a name that's suitable, and catchy. There's no silver bullet that will grant you a 10/10 name every time, but here are a few tips to consider. A name should be:

• Relevant to the games/genre you intend to play.
• Short and catchy. Ideally no more than 2-3 words.
• Appealing to your target audience.

As a perfect case study, take the well known Destiny Clan "Dads of Destiny". It tells you the game, its catchy, and even describes the target member base. Full marks.

Creating an Online Space

First up, your new clan needs a home. Somewhere to use as a base of operations to organise your members and arrange events. You could take the more traditional route and create a website/forum? This can take time to get right and require some investment, and we're all about finding the most efficient route here.

In our experience, creating a Discord Channel is the fastest way to get your clan online. For those less familiar, discord is an online chat service that will allow you to create a private room for your clan, and manage your members effectively. Best of all, it's free.

Discord Setup

Head over to discord.com and create your account. Once subscribed, follow the Discord instructions on creating your own server. We'll assume you know the basics of channel creation for this guide, however, if you need more help there's a handy guide here that can assist.

Be sure to create a role structure that resembles your clan hierarchy. When starting out, as a minimum you will want to separate your clan leadership from your regular members. Also be sure to create a series of channels to help with announcements, game-specific chat, and a space for general conversation. You may want to consider a private room or two for your leaders to have private conversations about clan management.

Branding

Branding is key. You'll want to make sure you have a logo that is modern and appealing. This can be a difficult step, especially if you have no prior design experience.

Fortunately, there are many tools and services out there which can provide you with professional looking logo templates. Even if you're thinking of making custom branding in the future, a ready-made logo template could be a good place to start.

There are many out there which can be found with a quick Google for "Clan Logo Templates".

However, we've found this service to be particularly good for gaming-related logos. It has a small cost, but in our experience, it's worth the time saved and the professional result.

Choosing the right Games

Think about the type of clan you aim to be.

Are you planning to get involved in eSports? If so, selecting well known and popular titles is the way to go to attract the best talent.

Alternatively, your clan might be more niche focusing on specific gaming titles and lesser-known genres? Don't be afraid to target something really specific. You'll be surprised at how many people share the same interests.

Whatever you choose, make sure your clan has a clear target audience. Sometimes casting the net too wide can harm your recruitment chances.

Recruitment

Recruitment is one of the most important steps. Without members, is a clan really a clan?

We've found the following methods of recruitment to be the best:

• Post a recruitment thread on the official forum for the games you play.
• Find Reddit channels dedicated to clan recruitment.
• Create an account/profile here on LFC. Be sure to complete your profile with a mission statement/branding for the best results.

Wherever you post, be sure to include details on your clan principles, and the games/platforms you play on.

From time to time, we'll likely come back and revise this guide with the latest tips. For now, we wish you every success in setting up your new clan. Once established, do let the LFC community know! We love checking out new clans.