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View Full Version : Boost your business with Online Parties
southernbg
10-05-2005, 09:51 AM
Hi Everyone,
I thought it would be nice to have a guide so to speak for online parties. So, I asked Dinika to type something for us since she has such a wonderful party that other day. I hope this helps you all in some way.
Natalie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boost your business with Online Parties
By Dinika Ellison
So, you're thinking of having an Online Party but you have no idea how to go about it? You probably have many thoughts and fears (which are only normal). There are many questions you may be asking yourself making Online Parties that much more daunting: Who's going to come to my party? What if NO ONE shows up? How will I advertise? How am I going to handle customer orders and shipping? Where am I going to host it? And the top question you may be asking yourself, What's the plan for the night?
Online Parties aren't nearly as scary as one would think. They're actually quite easy in my opinion. I've recently had my first online party and I have to say I'm hailing it as quite a success. There were about 10 folks who showed up, I had about 3 orders and 3 people who were very interested in my company's business opportunity. From my standpoint that's a great turnout!
To assist you, I've complied a short "Tips List" for you to keep in mind when planning your own online party.
1- Find an online site that offers free party rooms. I use the rooms on the Internet Based Moms website (http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/online-party-rooms.html (http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/online-party-rooms.html) ). I love how they have a calendar of Upcoming events and your party is right there for everyone to see. I had a few folks attend that said they saw my party on the schedule and couldn't wait to attend! Hey, free advertising really works!
2- Make sure to schedule your party at a time that's convenient for both East and West Coasters. My party was scheduled 5:00pm-6:30pm PST which meant it was 8:00pm-9:30pm EST.
3- Advertise on message boards that you may belong to. Send personal e-vites to folks you know, existing customers, etc. Also the day of the party send out reminders and post reminder topics on those message boards. This is another reason why I love the Internet Based Moms Event Calendar. It really helps you out when it comes to advertising because it keeps your party in the face of a potential guest.
4- If your company has a business opportunity don't be afraid to couple 'talking' about the opportunity during your party. It's well worth it! For one thing you've built a rapport with your party guests and they'll be more open to the 'business side' of things. Plus they'll see first hand the fun you're having as a Distributor, Consultant, whatever your title may be.
5- Offer something for those that attend! Everyone loves free gifts! It doesn't have to be something expensive but make it worth their time. You can also have a drawing for one of your guests to be honored as the Mystery Hostess for the night. I had all of my guests email me with their addresses (to send the free gift) and from that list a name was drawn and that guest received a Hostess gift.
6- Have some kind of game. Since I have four websites associated with my business I had a Scavenger Hunt. I gave the guests 24 hours to answer 11 questions (10 questions plus a bonus). The answers to all of the questions were able to be found on the websites AND I gave some of the answers during the party.
7- To encourage sales have a special for the night. For my special I offered a discount on Jar Candles.
8- If your company doesn't offer an ecommerce option have your customers email you their order and pay through PayPal or some other online payment solution. A note on shipping: I know of some Distributors who charge shipping to their customers twice (once from the company to them then from them to the customer). I choose to charge my customers only once (from me to the customer). I find that's easiest to work with and more customer friendly.
9- Be open. Your guests will ask lots of questions. Since you do not have the 'warmth' of in person contact you have to convey that warmth through the PC which may take a little extra effortbut iswell worth the reward. Also don't be surprised if you feel like you're only talking a little about your products. In my case I gave a brief introduction, answered a few product specific questions and spent the rest of the time chatting with my guests.
10- HAVE FUN!!
Keep these ten tips in mind when you're planning your online party and enjoy your success
I thought it would be nice to have a guide so to speak for online parties. So, I asked Dinika to type something for us since she has such a wonderful party that other day. I hope this helps you all in some way.
Natalie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boost your business with Online Parties
By Dinika Ellison
So, you're thinking of having an Online Party but you have no idea how to go about it? You probably have many thoughts and fears (which are only normal). There are many questions you may be asking yourself making Online Parties that much more daunting: Who's going to come to my party? What if NO ONE shows up? How will I advertise? How am I going to handle customer orders and shipping? Where am I going to host it? And the top question you may be asking yourself, What's the plan for the night?
Online Parties aren't nearly as scary as one would think. They're actually quite easy in my opinion. I've recently had my first online party and I have to say I'm hailing it as quite a success. There were about 10 folks who showed up, I had about 3 orders and 3 people who were very interested in my company's business opportunity. From my standpoint that's a great turnout!
To assist you, I've complied a short "Tips List" for you to keep in mind when planning your own online party.
1- Find an online site that offers free party rooms. I use the rooms on the Internet Based Moms website (http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/online-party-rooms.html (http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/online-party-rooms.html) ). I love how they have a calendar of Upcoming events and your party is right there for everyone to see. I had a few folks attend that said they saw my party on the schedule and couldn't wait to attend! Hey, free advertising really works!
2- Make sure to schedule your party at a time that's convenient for both East and West Coasters. My party was scheduled 5:00pm-6:30pm PST which meant it was 8:00pm-9:30pm EST.
3- Advertise on message boards that you may belong to. Send personal e-vites to folks you know, existing customers, etc. Also the day of the party send out reminders and post reminder topics on those message boards. This is another reason why I love the Internet Based Moms Event Calendar. It really helps you out when it comes to advertising because it keeps your party in the face of a potential guest.
4- If your company has a business opportunity don't be afraid to couple 'talking' about the opportunity during your party. It's well worth it! For one thing you've built a rapport with your party guests and they'll be more open to the 'business side' of things. Plus they'll see first hand the fun you're having as a Distributor, Consultant, whatever your title may be.
5- Offer something for those that attend! Everyone loves free gifts! It doesn't have to be something expensive but make it worth their time. You can also have a drawing for one of your guests to be honored as the Mystery Hostess for the night. I had all of my guests email me with their addresses (to send the free gift) and from that list a name was drawn and that guest received a Hostess gift.
6- Have some kind of game. Since I have four websites associated with my business I had a Scavenger Hunt. I gave the guests 24 hours to answer 11 questions (10 questions plus a bonus). The answers to all of the questions were able to be found on the websites AND I gave some of the answers during the party.
7- To encourage sales have a special for the night. For my special I offered a discount on Jar Candles.
8- If your company doesn't offer an ecommerce option have your customers email you their order and pay through PayPal or some other online payment solution. A note on shipping: I know of some Distributors who charge shipping to their customers twice (once from the company to them then from them to the customer). I choose to charge my customers only once (from me to the customer). I find that's easiest to work with and more customer friendly.
9- Be open. Your guests will ask lots of questions. Since you do not have the 'warmth' of in person contact you have to convey that warmth through the PC which may take a little extra effortbut iswell worth the reward. Also don't be surprised if you feel like you're only talking a little about your products. In my case I gave a brief introduction, answered a few product specific questions and spent the rest of the time chatting with my guests.
10- HAVE FUN!!
Keep these ten tips in mind when you're planning your online party and enjoy your success
