“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.” Jim Rohn

A successful party requires you to get back to the fundamentals. I say this because an online party is very much like an offline party.

You must create a solid foundation to make sure your party will stay strong and work for you long after it’s over.

If you don’t prepare well for the party it doesn’t matter how much excitement you create you won’t have the desired effect. Every event needs a detailed oriented person to pay attention to the details. This could be you, an employee or someone you hire. You can’t do it all so having someone help you make sure everything is set up well is vital for your successful party.

Many people try to throw a party without taking the necessary steps to make sure that people want to come to the party. They think they can announce the party and people will come running. You know and I know no party works this way.

I had a birthday party a few years ago and I accidently threw it on the night that a popular band was playing at a nearby club as well at the same time another party was being thrown. I didn’t check this before I picked the date. So my party was sparse and not well attended. It’s a little embarrassing admitting this fact, but it proves my point. No one person is more popular than an amazing band. If a person isn’t careful about creating an event that is well attended then why even throw the event in the first place.

Think before you throw a party

You may have a cool product coming out, but you have to understand what your target audience wants.

1. When do they want to connect with you?
2. What do they want to learn from you?
3. How do you create something that excites them?

I threw a party for a client who wanted to help people overcome their procrastination. He wanted to throw the Twitter party in the afternoon, in the middle of the week, and to top it all off it was the middle of the summer. I didn’t object, which I should have. I thought he knew that the party would most likely not be well attended. We threw the party and I felt like crickets were jumping all around me mocking the party that I helped create. Seriously, we didn’t create something that fit his people’s needs.

The 3 above questions are key to figuring out how to create an online party that has some backbone to it.

You’ve probably noticed when a popular friend of yours throws a party offline or online. Everyone and their mother shows up. Why? Because they create an event that people want to be a part of. That’s what you have to think about before you throw a party.

That’s who the Men With Pens party with their writing course Damn Fine Words Twitter Party was so well attended. People couldn’t wait to listen to James talk about writing. It doesn’t hurt that she had two amazing guests Brian Clark of Copyblogger and Liz Strauss of SobCon. You can listen to the audio and see why it was so successful. The fundamentals were all taken care of and the rest was just having fun. You can listen to the audio in the member’s only section if you want to check it out.

How can I create a show that excites and delights?

You can do this by looking at what you are offering. If you are offering people the ability to apply Yoga to their office life then this can be a stress relieving dream. You have to understand how valuable your information is and how much of an impact it can be on someone’s life. If you are trying to help people reduce their stress at work you have to meet them where they need you. You need to hold the online party during the afternoon if they are small business owners. They have the flexibility to attend. You might need to have your party at night if you are trying to reach corporate workers. The idea is to make it as easy as possible for them to attend.

So look at what you are offering and why it matters to your “perfect” clients. Then you have to break down what excites them. We’ll dive into this topic in the How to Throw a Killer Party article. I just want you to get the ideas flowing. A great party starts at the foundation of who you are and what you have to give then it’s about figuring out what interests your people and how you can motivate them to attend your party.

The next lesson will focus on leveraging your network.

Image courtesy of Curtis Gregory Perry