NJ's Helpful Guide to Writing a Successful Recruitment Telegram!

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So, you've decided to start recruiting? Well, this outta be interesting! Recruitment is a very tricky topic to cover, but we'll break it down into manageable parts and cover each one. First, we will begin with the recruitment telegram, the most important function of your recruiting efforts. Obviously, this guide is meant for regions that are seeking to create a new recruitment telegram or are looking to revamp their old ones. First, we will cover concept, then content and formatting, then some common misconceptions and errors about recruitment telegrams. If you have questions, feel free to telegram me or message me on Discord at Lies Kryos#1734 or on the project server. 

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Recruitment telegrams are one of the first things that new players will see as they join the game. At any given time, there are thousands of recruitment telegrams being sent out to new nations as they join the game for the first time. Some nations read a few of them and decide to join a the region they were sent from. If you are lucky and skilled enough, some will even join your region. The concept of a recruitment telegram is basically the same as a real-world advertisement. You need to first interest the reader with a hook, then provide a succinct and short shpiel about your region, and hopefully, with the right amount of luck, they will join your region. 

I won't beat about the bush here; a very small percentage of people will join your region based on your recruitment telegram. Anywhere from .5 to 1.5% is an average rate, but a lot of regions will barely ever see anything over 1%, even with manual recruitment styles. However, don't let this discourage you. The more telegrams you send, the better that 1% will look. The tricky part is to keep your new residents in the region active and participating. This is where the element of luck comes in. With only a small number of nations accepting your invitation to join your region, an even smaller number will be active players and contributors. Again, don't let this discourage you. Even a small core of active participants will be a good base for your region. 

All in all, while this is not a fruitless endeavor, don't expect any instant results. Be patient with failure and with yourself. Keep at it and keep going. It'll pay off!

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Of course, the content is really the most important part of any recruitment telegram. Your content should be unique, professional, and attractive to your candidates. When you send your TG, it should be the one they are interested in most and are most likely to click on, read, and be recruited by. Once you have crafted the message that best fits your region, you can format it into a telegram to be sent out by your recruiters.

[b]Content:[/b] Your content is very important. Your content should be something simple, straightforward, and a representation of your region. Often, recruitment telegrams will have content that relates to their theme. If your region is heavily focused on one aspect of history, make sure your recruitment telegram reflects that in its style and content. Your telegram should begin with a greeting to the nation, generally specifically by their name. You can do this with some code, which I will cover in the "Formatting" section. Your telegram should include all the pertinent information about your region. If your region is mainly roleplay focused, make sure to heavily stress roleplay information, such as roleplay era, maps, involvement, and ease of introduction. If your region is heavily gameplay focused, discuss your WA program, your government structure, and other such information. In general, your telegram should quickly, concisely, and informative give your reader all the basic information they need to know about your region and how they can get involved. All in all, you should have a telegram that is not more than five to seven sentences long in the body and has a complete outlook of your region. You should also sign your telegrams appropriately, especially if you are sending them manually. Having a personal touch to your manual telegrams is vitally important. 

[b]Pro Tip:[/b] In order to look and seem professional, you should make sure that your telegram has been grammatically checked and everything spelled correctly. Once you make the template, you won't be able to change the content. It also ensures that you look professional, organized, and fully functional to your potential recruits. 

[b]Pro Tip:[/b] To seem more personal, add "P.S. This telegram is not automated and I enjoy receiving replies!" to your manual telegram signatures. 

[b]Formatting:[/b] The formatting is yet another important part of your telegram. It is not as important as your content, but it is still a vital factor. Your formatting should look something like this:

[box][pre]Greeting!

Your body paragraph and information should all go here and stuff. Blah blah blah, information, blah blah blah, join our region for funtimes, etc.

Signature[/pre][/box]

It's a pretty simple setup, but it is proven to work. Make sure that you have a long enough telegram body to make it seem sincere while also not over-expounding. Your formatting should be pretty simple. You can use the code "%NATION%" to automatically fill in the nation name of the recipient. You could also use the {region}{/region} tags around your region name, to give them a link to your region. And you can also use {nation}{/nation} for your nation name in the signature, which adds a little personality. Overall, the formatting shouldn't be too heavy, keeping with the idea that "the simpler, the better". 

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When it comes to recruitment, there are a large number of errors or mistakes that new recruiters will make when they start recruiting. I will cover some of the most egregious ones and some suggestions on how to avoid them. 

[b]Not marking telegrams as recruitment.[/b] This is a [i][b]HUGE[/b][/i] no-no. If you are going to be sending out telegrams that are for recruitment, you MUST mark them appropriately. If you don't, you could be breaking the site rules. This isn't much of an issue if you don't make the next mistake, however. 

[b]Not putting recruitment telegrams into templates.[/b] If you are going to be sending out any number of telegrams to recruits, putting your telegram into a template is very important. When you do so, you will not have to copy your content into every single telegram, but just a simple code. Templates will also allow you to use the %NATION% code. You will also be able to mark your template as "Recruitment" and won't have to mark it every time you send the template. 

[b]Unknowingly poaching.[/b] Poaching is when a recruiter attempts to recruit a nation that is already established within a region. This often comes in the form of telegrams sent to World Assembly nations by intentional poachers. Poaching, while not yet against the site rules, is a heavily frowned upon and dishonorable tactic that can get offenders blacklisted or shunned from communities. New recruiters might fall into poaching unknowingly, sending recruitment telegrams to already established nations. The best way to avoid doing this is to simply stick to the [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=activity/view=world/filter=founding]Activty -> Founding[/url] page. This way, you won't attempt to recruit already established nations. 

[b]Relying on API or stamps to recruit.[/b] APIs are a great tool for recruitment and so are stamps. However, both styles will not return consistent or good regional growth. Stamps and API are low-effort, low-reward styles of recruitment, emphasis on "low-reward". Manual recruitment is vital to successful recruitment. 

[b]Expecting instant results.[/b] This always makes me chuckle. Often, new founders or recruiters will get frustrated because they don't get a recruit in the first few dozen telegrams they send. The average recruitment rate is between .5% and 1%. Lucky folks will get 1.5%, but that's rare. In effect, you shouldn't get very many recruits until after you've sent over a hundred telegrams. For every hundred telegrams you send, you can expect a return of one or one-half. Meaning, either 1 per 100 TGs or 1 per 200 TGs. Basically, don't expect immediate results.

[b]Not recruiting at all.[/b] There is a rare breed of founders that fits neatly under the title "idiot". They are the ones that believe that recruitment is stupid, pointless, and a waste of time. These are the founders and examples of recruiters that every sensible person should very strongly avoid. Recruitment is not a waste of time and is certainly not pointless. If you are a founder and you want your region to grow, you recruit. There is no other way around it. 

Overall, if you can avoid these mistakes, you will be well on your way to becoming a successful and good recruiter. As always, if you have questions, feel free to let me know. Good luck with recruiting![/align]

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