Some people have asked us how to start a club, so here are some general steps and suggestions. If you are having any issues starting your club, feel free to comment on this journal entry, and I'm sure many people would be happy to help out. Please don't send us a note about it though, since it will not be answered. We are just too busy!

How to Start a Club

1) Pick a Name. Start a new DA account with whatever you want your club name to be.

2) Establish Yourself. Write a journal dealing with the club rules, who the admins are, and what your club is all about. This way people stopping by will know if they want to join.

3) Advertise. Advertise for your club. This includes doing things like noting similar clubs and asking to become affiliates (you will post each other's icons in your journals), or joining club listings (like the *clubdirectory). You can also leave comments on DA member's pages who are interested in the subject of your club, but be careful about doing this, since you do not want to become a spammer. Some people do not like having clubs advertise on their pages. Get your friends to write journal entries announcing your club, or post something about it in the forums. There are countless ways to advertise!

Also, when you start getting members, have your members post your club icon in their journals and signatures. This way your club gets more exposure.

4) Submit Art. When you start getting members who want to submit art, make sure that they have given your club permission to post it (this is usually in the "description" section of the original deviation.) Then right click on the picture, save it to your own computer, and reupload it into your own club's gallery. Be sure to link back to the original deviation so the original artists get the credit they deserve. It's usually good form that you delete the picture from your computer after it is uploaded in the club.

To make it so users can't comment on a picture, when you submit the deviation to the club, there is a drop down menu that allows you to choose "disable comments." There is currently no way to stop people from faving deviations.

5) Remain Active! Most of the clubs I see don't remain active for very long, and therefore they don't get many members and don't become very popular. The key to a popular and successful club is to remain active, hold contests and other community activities (a great way to attract new members!), and stay on top of your art submissions.

Good luck with your new club!

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