Just stumbled across this thread and I admit I've only skimmed earlier comments (so apols for inevitable duplications).

First - advertise you club for a good trial run - eg. two/three months if its weekly.

Second - make sure you start at the advertised time - on the dot! (A common stupidity is to wait till 'enough people' have arrived before you you start.)

Three - you can have an excellent Club without any money changing hands (beyond a bit for folk diary advertising or a bit of leafleting which needs the odd hat collection).

Four - grab all the free advertising available - there's plenty of it - even more so around a University campus.

Five - nurture talent. The Folk Snobs have driven away 1000s of potentially decent performers from the folk scene over the years because they don't fit in some way (eg they've never been to teecha training college....). Avoid the Folk Snobs.

Best wishes

Ian Fyvie - Folk Club Organiser for nearly 30 years.