I have been to a lot of online parties, and there are things that you want to do and not want to do.

Here are the do’s of online parties:

• Do - tell your friends, family, co-workers, etc. about the party and support your fellow WAHMs
• Do - try to make a purchase from at least one vendor or book a party with them to help their business
• Do - participate in the chat and the presentations; let them know you are there and paying attention
• Do - thank the presenter/vendor for their time; their time is precious and shouldn’t be wasted
• Do - be respectful to the host of the party

Here are the don’ts of online parties:

• Don’t - advertise your own party site while attending a party at someone else’s site
• Don’t - only participate when a game is about to happen, win the prize, and never order
• Don’t - come in the chat and never say a word
• Don’t - hijack sales of the presenter (if you do not know what this is, ready my part 1 article on etiquette)
• Don’t - leave without saying thank you and goodbye
• Don’t - come in and spy to see how many people are in a chat room that is going the same time as yours; it is rude and who cares how many people are in my room versus yours….I wouldn’t do it to you.
• Don’t - HATE!

These are just some of the things that people do in the parties that drive me nuts.  Feel free to comment and let me know what you think about the do’s and don’ts, and also let me know if there is anymore do’s or don’ts you would like to add.

So, you have booked your online party with your consultant, and you are waiting for the date of your party to see who shows up. The day of your party comes, and you are excited! You have blasted all your friends on Yahoo an hour before the show, and you have spammed all your Yahoo groups; however, no one shows to your party. As a hostess, you have a duty to yourself and your consultant. What are they you ask? Let me help you.

1. Make a list of people that you want to invite. This can be friends, family, co-workers, church friends, etc. Make sure these friends are both online and offline, because maybe your offline friends would like to order some of the products too. Don’t assume that they will not want to see it because many people will love to see a catalog.
2. Give your list to your consultant, so she can remind and follow up with them the day before the party. If you have someone who wants to book a party, she would be able to get them booked off your party so you can get more rewards. If you have a person interested in joining the business, your consultant can give them the information that they need before the party. See how important it can be to be in constant contact with your consultant.
3. Call everyone you know the day of the party and see if you can count on them to be there for you. If they can’t be there, ask them if they seen anything that they wanted to order in the catalog or on the website. Outside orders will help boost your sales and get you closer to your goal.

Following these steps not only help you but your consultant too. She is providing you with a product that she loves and believes in, so she needs to know that you feel the same way too.

Feel free to comment or add any ideas you may have to this article.

Thanks,
Amy

Now that you have learned to have a party online, I would like to share with you some of the games that you could use to give away goodies at your online party.  Be sure that you allow time to play the game during your presentation because you do not want to stall the next presenter.
Here are some of the games I play, and you can change them up how you would like:

1. Pick a number — You can have the guests in the party choose a number between, for example, 1 and 20.  The one that gets closest to the number without going over wins the prize.
2. Scavenger Hunt — You can mix this game up a few different ways.  You tell them the product, or ask a question about it, and then they have to tell you the price of the product you asked about.  First one to reply gets a point.
3. Scramble — Pick some products from your product line and scramble them up to where your guests will have to unscramble the word or words.  First one to reply gets a point.

These are just a few of the games that we play, and I will be adding more as I come across them.  Please check back often to find more fun games to play with your customers.

Thanks!

Amy

Do you have a business that you are looking to market in another way?  Or do you want to know how to have an online party?  You have come to the right article.  I am going to share with you every aspect I know of having an online party.

Here are the steps you can follow to get started:

1.  Check your calendar and finances to be sure that you can book a party for the date you want and the time you want from the schedule.  You also need to be able to pay for your spots.  Most of us use Paypal to process orders through our websites.
2. After you have purchased your spot, remember to get there about 15 minutes early to be sure that you are there in time for your party spot.
3. Now you need to prepare for the party.  If you are going to use a script to help guide you through the process, you need to have that ready to copy and paste into the chat room when it’s your time to shine.  I always use a typed up script as a guide as to what I am going to say during the party.  Another tip while preparing for you spot is to have a game ready to play for the people that have attended the party to win something.  I usually give a Free Gift Certificate of $5 or $10.  Some people give a free sample of their product.
4. You are ready to party, right?  Wait for the host to introduce you, and do your “thang”.  Remember to include any sales or specials, and be sure to give out your contact information like email address and yahoo ID in case they have any questions or want to order.  At the end of the presentation you will want to repeat this information.
5. Last, but not least, thank the host for having you and your potential customers for listening to your presentation.  Try to stay the remainder of the time and support the other vendors while they do their spot in case there is something out there that you would like to purchase as well.

Sounds easy enough, right? It really is once you get the hang of it.  I would like to share my story of my first online party.

I thought I was going to die the first time I presented.  I wasn’t prepared, my palms were sweaty, and I thought that the world would end when I got done doing my presentation.  This is why I wrote this article.  Online parties can be a great way to market yourself and your product.  I want you to be successful in all that you do, and I am always here if you need a helping hand.

In first business, we had our very first vendor fair, and it was a blast! Lots of companies and lots of prizes! We had some wonderful companies presented, like Tupperware, Latasia, Simply Tempted Bath and Body, The Body Shop at Home, Tastefully Simple, Peddler’s Kitchen, and Arbonne.

Join us on the 10th of January for more vendors and fun. We will have Bingo this night, and if you are attending and would like a Bingo card, email me for a random card. We also have openings for our parties on the 17th, 24th, and 31st of this month. All spots are FREE in January.

At the end of the party, I took nominations for our Vendor Spotlight. Roberta Smith, a great friend of mine, won the nominations as our preferred vendor this month, and she does deserve it! Congratulations Roberta! Please be sure to check out her Vendor Spotlight and show her some love.
We will name the next vendor at our January 31st party for February.

Be sure to check out our directory also! This area is new, and I would love to see everyone get listed. It is an inexpensive way to advertise, and more categories will be added daily. A 6-month listing is $10, and 1 year is $18.