Nice to meet you Drewber; I've just been playing since October and am now in Wood Elves. From what people tell me, it's changed a lot in both good ways and bad. The tournament has changed the most, from what I hear, and will change even more once the beta version transfers to the main stream. I think the best way to grow a fellowship is to have a few main rules that everyone can agree on. You need to decide what direction your fellowship will take. Will it work on the spire, or the tournaments, or fair trading?
My wish list for the perfect fellowship would look like this:
Fair 2-3 star trades only unless arranged beforehand with the AM.
Cross trades allowed.
Tournament players earn a minimum of 300 points
Spire players should at least pass the first door.
Neighbor visits at least 3x weekly.
Everyone participates in Fellowship Adventures with at least one badge per level.
I personally could do a lot more than this, but this would be a wish list that I think most members could manage. Of course your wish list will be different, depending upon what you like to do, but just come up with something simple that everyone can agree on, and then make a post in the forum under "fellowship seeking members." Be sure to check out the forum section on "members seeking fellowships" as well, so you might be able to snag a few members there.
One thing I'd like to say though ... choose only the rules that you intend to enforce. If someone abuses the rules more than a few times, you should be willing to part with them. If you're not, then don't make rules that will be flouted without consequences. Nothing disheartens players worse than rules that aren't followed.
Best of luck to you.