Interested in More Info..

[RobinMI]

I am new to the party planning business, but would be interested in finding out how online parties work.
Thanks in advance!

[angienewton]

Hi Robin,
Online parties are a blast! They aren't always as profitable as your face to face/home parties but just another way to promote your business. Even though sales probably won't be as big as your offline events, there are some benefits such as no food prep, product set up, no travelling and no set up. Yes, you will have to prepare in advance your special offers, advertising, invites, etc but it's much less work than your traditional home party. You can even do online vendor events similar to your offline fairs/festivals.

But for now we'll go over online parties where you have a hostess or mystery hostess or even have it as an open house where you are the host. Decide what route you want to take first. If you want to find others to host the party for you, you'll need to advertise that and show people what's in it for them

Set a date and time, find a location (online party room) that will accomodate your date, send out invitations and advertise (if you have a hostess, both of you will need to advertise for the event).

Then comes the party! Prepare everything in advance. All specials, your intro, the business info, etc should be typed out into a file so when it comes time to party, all you have to do is copy and paste into the chat room. Be sure to test out the party room in advance of the party to make sure it's easily accessible. On the day of your party be sure to arrive early in the chat room, welcome everyone who comes to the party (people are going to pop in and out during the entire party so be prepared for that).

Ok, so you're going to announce your specials and advertise your website link and specials throughout the entire party. Give time for people to browse your site. You can announce that you'll play a game too. If it's a 2 hr party, I usually start the game about 40 min-1hr into the party.

Be prepared and know your product.

Be sure to explain how your guests can place their orders too.

That is a basic overview! I would highly recommend that you attend a few online parties before one of your own unless you think you have a handle on it. The more you do, the better you get at it.

Hope this helps!