Finding brand new people who want to try tabletop gaming

[Generic Villain]

Hey all. I've been playing tabletop games my entire adult life (as well as much of my pre-adult life), and love these games. I play multiple times a week as both a player and GM. Many of my friends are also tabletop gamers, and we have a great little community that I am very fortunate to be a part of. Of late though, I've developed an interest in getting brand new people into the hobby. The folks who are curious about TTRGPs, but for whatever reason, haven't tried the game themselves.

I'd absolutely love to GM a group of people brand new to the TTRPG experience. I think it would be a blast. I've taught Pathfinder to many people over the years and it's always been a rewarding experience, but those people were always familiar with at least one other system (usually 5e). This is an incredible hobby with so many upsides, but I also know that, from the outside looking it, it can be very daunting and mysterious.

Problem is, I'm not sure how to find these TTRPG-curious. There are dozens of ways to find new players who are already experienced in the game, but I couldn't find any resources for recruiting those who are brand new.

These days I almost exclusively play online, but I think for brand new players, a face-to-face game would be better and more rewarding. Plus, if I can find a player who is a bit lonely or socially isolated, I think in-person would be a great option.

Does anyone have any advice/suggestions/thoughts/experience in this regard? I'm thinking of contacting some community outreach programs in my area, but that's my only idea right now.

[W E Ray]

Social media is the best place to start, as are some workplace environments.

Meet first at your LGS to introduce and play there.

While at the LGS, be approachable and, to any folks who briefly pause to look at your table, greet them and say what you're doing. People at the LGS may be interested or curious or if you're lucky even hungry for a game, but do not want to interrupt total strangers or disrupt / disturb a game (as though it's sacrosanct.)

And Good Luck!

[Generic Villain]

That's good advice. Thank you.

[Xenobiologist]

I don't know if I have good advice, but as one of that type of people I will add:

We don't always hang out at LGS. Some towns don't have one anymore. Socially isolated people may have given up on trying, especially if they're socially isolated because of hometown bigotry or incurable COVID vulnerabilities or not having a car or any economic/medical barrier that makes LGS inaccessible to them. All of those barriers have ganged up on me and robbed me of my previous gaming opportunities and time to game.

And some people don't hang out at the LGS because they know the crowd there is not into the games they're into. It's especially hard to find in-person games that are not of the favorite popular types (D&D, PF, WH, 40K, Magic).

So if you're recruiting for a game that nobody else at that LGS ever uses in public, you may need to try a different venue.