I'm sure you have all seen the advertisements in the "Times Classifieds" for new clubs. I'm also sure that at least some of you are wondering to yourselves, "How can I set up a club?" Today, I'm going to tell you how!

Step 1: Concept

First things first, you need to know what your club is going to be about. A dictionary site defines club as:

"A group of people organized for a common purpose."

There are many purposes that you could join together for. You could have a fan club which comes together so that they can share information about their chosen celebrity/book/look. You could have a Whyville club. This could be a group of people who are all rocketry experts or who all want to support the Senate and think it should continue. Two groups popped up over the first classifieds which were to do with certain political issues in America. When you have your concept you're ready to go on to step 2.

For the purpose of this article, our pretend club is going to be "More Trees In Whyville". They believe that there needs to be more nature in Whyville and that the plant in the Club Why room needs regular watering as do the oher plants in Whyville.

Step 2: Getting the word out

Now, until the Classifieds came, the best way to tell people about your club was by word of mouth; talking about it with your friends and seeing if they'll join. This still is the best way to start up, mainly because you'll know some people in your group who you are friendly with and can trust. It also means that you don't end up putting a Classified Ad and then finding out that you can't get any members and it was a bit of a waste of time. Once you've done this, put out a Classifeid Ad. Send an email to the Times and write a short description of your club underneath and who you should contact. For Example:

MTIW (More Trees In Whyville): We believe that there isn't enough nature in Whyville and would like a tree in each chatroom. Contact Cobd for more details.

When you have done this, it might be wise to put a note in your City Records explaining a bit more about the club.

Step 3: Developing your club

So you've got a few members in your club. Make sure you make lists of your members, trust me, it helps a lot. Send out a few y-mails to your club members and see if you can organize a meeting. At the meeting you might want to sort out some club positions: a secretary for sending out y-mails, someone in charge of club contests, and a vice president. You may also want to organize some regular meetings to talk about issues. See if you can encourage people to advertise.

There are other little things you can do to develop a club. See if you can find a keen designer to make a club part. You could try and get an avid journalist to write an article on the club. The possibilities are endless!

Just a note that you can't make club websites . . . It may sound like fun but it's against the Why-Policy.

So... Now MTIW has 50 members, it has it's own little tree part and an article detailing the club and a few interviews. It's now thoroughly convinced City Hall to add more plants to Whyville and there's a rota up in the Whyville Staff Room detailing which City Worker has to water the plants on what day. Wow! What an achievement.

After you've done those three steps the sky is your limit. Good luck clubbing and have fun!

But for now
This is Cobd . . .

Author's Note: Everything about More Trees In Whyville was false. In the words of Douglas Adams, "Don't Panic!"