To get new people into the game fast the devs will have to think of a way to get the story out to the newcomers and let them start with everyone else straight away. A "story so far..." would be an idea they could use.
The story is not good to sit newcomers through if SE wants to keep them. I know you guys are saying all sorts about how it's a "story-driven" MMORPG but the fact is, this will not keep new customers if new expansions are revealed. How tedious is it for those new people will it be if they have to slog through sets of story content just to get to where everyone else is?
The longer the story gets the less likely new players will want to start up unless there is a "story so far..." recap.