1 – Plan Ahead. Schedule your
party at least a week or two ahead of time to give yourself plenty
of time to promote your party and invite guests. Even if the site
where you host your party is advertising the event, your party
will be more successful if you also promote it.
Create more excitement by planning your party
for holiday shopping or a special sale or promotion your company
may be offering.
Attend other parties to observe what works and
what doesn’t.
2 – Send Personal Invitations. You will
have the best turnout if you invite people you know or people
who have expressed an interest in your business. Send personal
invitations, ask guests to RSVP, and send a reminder on the day
of the party.
3 – Offer Incentives for Participation.
Give guests extra reasons to attend and to bring friends. Many
online parties are “Mystery Hostess” parties with
the hostess gifts being given away in a random drawing from the
guest list. Offer free shipping or a discount if someone brings
a friend who buys something (and give the discount to both the
invited guest and the friend she brought).
4 – Be the Perfect Hostess. Stay cheerful
and polite. Make everyone feel welcomed and appreciated. Greet
them by name when they arrive and thank them when they leave.
Make sure you tell your guests a little about yourself and your
company.
5 – Run an Organized Party. Have a schedule
of activities and keep things moving. Have a friend help you out.
She can welcome guests and keep everyone involved while you answer
product questions and help people order. If you play a game, make
it one that is easy for you to run. You don’t want long
delays during and after the game while you tally scores and determine
the winner.
6 - Give “Real” Gifts. You can use
discount coupons or free shipping as an incentive to “bring
a friend” or to place an order over a certain dollar amount,
but for game winners or a prize drawing, give a gift of your product.
Not only will your guest be more appreciative, but it’s
also a promotional item – the recipient gets to try out
something she may order again in the future.
7 – Inform Guests. Repeat your website URL,
ordering instructions, and incentives several times during the
party and for any late arrivals. Make sure guests understand shipping
charges and expected shipping date. If you are keeping the party
open for several days or longer after the online party, be sure
to explain that the order won’t even be placed for some
time.
8 – Grace Under Pressure – Be prepared
for possible problems and handle them calmly and effectively.
What will you do if you start having computer problems in the
middle of your party? How will you answer a guest who keeps asking
off topic questions? Or what if there’s a disruptive intruder
or someone starts promoting sales of her products?
Be as graceful as possible when handling such
issues. If your computer is making participation nearly impossible,
ask for email addresses and email everyone an apology and a discount
coupon.
Confrontation with rude and disruptive intruders
will only escalate the problem and make your other guests uncomfortable.
Most chat rooms have an ignore feature that you can instruct guests
to use for the disruptive intruders. Offer to contact someone
by email after the party for off topic discussions. And ask the
person who is promoting her products to wait until the end of
the party and invite anyone who is interested to stay for a few
minutes.
9 – Bring the party to an end at the designated
time and give your email address so guests can contact you with
any additional questions or orders.
10 – Stay in Touch. Email your guests to
let them know when their order was placed and when they can expect
delivery. Inform them of any backorders or delays and offer alternatives.
Article by:
© 2006 Linda Stacy For free chat rooms for
your online party or business opportunity chat visit www.internetbasedmoms.com/online-party-rooms.html.
