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Make sure you have a deck to give them for free. People are usually willing to try something if you offer it to them for free.
I started hosting tournaments once a month (always the 3rd Saturday of the month) when my wife and I moved back to WI. Since there is consistency and people could see them on the Cactus tournaments page, we have had about a dozen people show up that I had never met before. The biggest group we've had on a given day so far is 10 players (my wife and I were hosting/judging, not playing), and we now have 4 players that come every month. It's just the others that vary. We'll probably have 12-15 at our June district tournament. It started small, but it's been growing, which is exciting! (We also give away a free Thesaurus pack to anyone who brings a friend and provide free pizza and soda to anyone who's playing all day!)