Online parties are similar to home parties, but the guests are able to stay at home, in their pjs if they like!
Its makes for a more relaxed atmosphere. You hold your party pretty much the same way you would a home party just you don’t have a display case to set up.
1. Setup online parties
A) Finding a Hostess – The first step to setting up an online party is to find a hostess. Try asking friends and family members to host an online party for you. You can also put out ads on the internet looking for random hostesses for your party. You could do a mystery hostess party where you would draw a name from the guest list and give them the hostess benefits. Another idea is to host your own party.
B) Setting a good date –You will want to grab your calendar and find a good date for you and your hostess. But you will also want to do some research on which days are good for online parties. We have seen that sometime during the week is good for parties. When winter hits then weekends can be great for parties too because the family is not out doing things together, instead they are home trying to stay warm.
C) Getting a Chat Room – You will need a chat room to have your online party in. There are several places on the net to get a chat room. Again you will want to do some research and find the best one for your needs.
Here are some free chat rooms and some party rooms that you can use:
- Bravenet.com – Offers a free chat room to be hosted on your own chat. Bravenet offers many things great for WAHM’s
- The Mouse Connection – Offers party rooms hosted on their site. Fees range from $8.00 – $45.00 a month. There are many features that come with these chat rooms.
- Direct Sales Moms – Offers party rooms hosted on their site. Fees are $45.00 a year. There are many features that come with these chat rooms.
- Zoom
D) Figuring out Specials – Always know your company specials. We usually try to make up a special that is only good for the guests of the party also. This lets them know they are getting something special for taking the time to come to your party. Good specials range from a free (small) gift with an order, 10% off the price, and a lot of customers love the free shipping specials. Be sure that whatever you give as a special isn’t going to leave you with no profit though.
E) Games and prizes – Be sure to come up with some games and prizes to be played at your party. Games add a little competition to your party adding more fun. There are many games that can be played at parties below are some examples:
- Scramble – Pick out maybe 10 – 15 different products. (depending on the number of guests). Scramble the product names and type each product in one at a time. The first guest to unscramble the word gets a point. The guest with the most points wins.
- Scavenger Hunt – Pick out a certain amount of products (maybe 10 – 15 depending on the number of guests). Give the guests a product name. The first guest to tell you what page it is located on gets a point. The guest with the most points wins.
- Bingo – Have a list of words on your site and have guests pick out 5 words and email you those words, then later on when it’s time for the game, start picking words from your list, and the first person who calls all 5 words calls bingo and wins the game.
- Auctions – These are a blast and we have done great with them. You make up a list of ways for guests to earn play money to bid with, with the highest way to earn being either purchasing or booking a party, then you pick out a few prizes to auction off. This is a great game to get competitive juices going.
For each game you play, you will want to have a prize. There are many different prizes that you could give, below are just some suggestions for a prize. When picking out a prize be sure to pick out one that is suitable for the game. For example, if it’s a harder game you might want to give a higher value prize than if it’s an easy game.
- Gift Certificates – in whatever amount you deemed suitable. Usually, $5 – $10 are good amounts.
- Coupon Books for a specific amount or percentage off a certain product or minimum purchase.
- If your company offers sales aids for giveaways at home parties, these make great gifts too.
F) Preparing invite and sending it – An invite to an online party is like an ad. You will want it to entice people to come to your party. Be sure to include all the info that is needed for your party like date, time, place, specials, etc… Send the invite out to all your friends and family and to any groups you belong to. Be sure not to send them to people you don’t know or groups you’re not in, this can be considered spam if you do and you don’t want to get in trouble for spam. You can send an invite via email or you could use evite.com and they will send your invites out for you.
2. Actual Party
A) Introduction of your business You will want to greet people when they come to your party. Wait until a few minutes after the time it is supposed to start and then let everyone know what it is you do. Be sure to thank them for being at your party.
B) Sales Specials and Leads Let all your guest know what the specials for the party are. Also, make sure they know how to find your site. A suggestion would be to have the link on the party page so they can just click right on it. Watch for any questions that someone might have. Answer them to the best of your ability.
C) Games and prizes Have your games and prizes figured out. Pick a good time to play them usually, after everyone has had a chance to look through your specials and site.
D) Recruiting & Hosting Leads Let your guests know what your hostess is getting for hosting the party. Tell them they can get the same thing if they would like to host a party. Try to set a date right then for their party, or arrange to email them to pick out a good date. Tell the guests what you get by starting your own business. Be sure to tell them about the recruiting special that your company has going at the time.
E) Chit Chat Make room for general chit-chat all through your party. You don’t want it all to be business, but make sure you keep control of your room. That way when you need the conversation geared back to business it can easily be done.
3. Closing the Party
A lot of times online parties don’t end right when they are scheduled to, so plan on being there longer than what you have actually planned. When everyone is getting ready to leave (they will usually leave at different times) be sure to thank them for coming and let them know you will be contacting them with their total (if they ordered and if you hadn’t already gotten it to them). Also, let them know you hope they had fun and you hope to see them around again sometime. Ask if they would like to be added to future invite lists for upcoming online parties. Be sure to thank your hostess for hosting and let her know you will be in contact to let her know what she has earned from her party.
This is just a basic way to have an online party. You will want to do what feels comfortable to you. Play with the idea and do what works best for you.
Visit Kirsten @ her Scentsy Blog
