“If you have zest and enthusiasm you attract zest and enthusiasm. Life does give back in kind.”
– Norman Vincent Peale
Throwing any kind of party means tapping into your network of people. You may hire me or someone else to make your online party an explosion of fun, but no matter who you get to help you, you have to entice your “perfect” customer to come to your party.
(Gary Vaynerchuk has some of the most rabid fans of any online expert.)
I’m going to fess up right now. I had a blog that I love and still publish on for over 3 years called WorkHappyNow.com. I published 3 new articles each week to keep people interested in my blog, it was hard work. In the height of Work Happy Now I had 15,000 visitors a day. Right now as I write this I had 10,174 hits to my website in the last 30 days. I’m not saying this to brag. It’s actually the opposite. I didn’t do a good enough job of turning my blog into a business.
I knew that I could help people become happier at work, but I didn’t do a good enough job of engaging them. Part of it was my desire or lack of desire to help people with crappy careers become happier. The other part was I really wanted to help small business owners market their products. I love creating and executing a plan that brings attention to cool stuff.
I could have thrown a party for my Work Happy Now audience and most of them wouldn’t have shown up because I hadn’t created a focus that enticed them to want more.
That’s the key of any party. You have to give them a reason to want more from you. You have to find out what the people in your network are struggling with and how you can help them through this struggle.
Just Ask
The best technique is…
- Flat out ask them how you can help them and what would get them to attend an online party that you are throwing.
You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the responses that you get. They will give you answers that you never expected. They won’t give you anything new and groundbreaking. If they do you should bring them on as a partner.
What you need to do is take this feedback and turn it into something amazing. You need to be creative and find solutions to their problems that wows them and gets them talking to their friends about you. This is the start of an amazing online party.
Once you have a topic and product, your party landing page can go live and the marketing begins. That means using emotional triggers to get people interested in your party.
Create Mystique
There are different emotional triggers that get people to attend your party. I learned this concept from Sally Hogshead. You can take her Fascination Test (F-Score) to see what triggers you should use to fascinate people.
The 7 Fascination Triggers are:
- Power
- Passion
- Prestige
- Mystique
- Alarm
- Rebellion
- Trust
I like mystique because it creates curiosity. People want to be in the know and learn more about what you might teach or show them.
You can create mystique in a few different ways:
- Lead on what you will talk about at the party, but don’t give everything away.
- Save your grand prize as a surprise. (only do this if it’s an awesome grand prize that will shock them)
- Hint that you will have a special offer for people who attend your party.
Using these techniques depends on your business. If using Mystique doesn’t fit your personality then you should pick another trigger to help create an emotional connection.
You need to create some emotional buzz that gets people chatting about you online. You may do this by setting up a conference call packed with advice that will save people thousands of dollars. Whatever it is that tugs on those triggers you need to do it. I’m not talking about lying, but I’m talking about getting people excited for who you are and what you have to offer.
Social Media Marketing
A successful online party is dependent on getting the word out. Since you’ve done all the hard work already this is the fun part. Letting people know about your upcoming party, getting people excited about the cool experience you are creating for them.
(Be proud of what you are sharing with your guests.)
Since you aren’t creating some lame event that is all about selling them your stuff, you can be proud to promote it.
I suggest using every social media platform at your fingertips – your blog, newsletter list, Facebook, Twitter, your other accounts social media accounts and even your personal email. When you throw a party it’s a chance to reconnect with people. Always encourage people to talk about what you do, but don’t make it mandatory.
I recently got an email from my friend Colleen Wainwright, who is turning 50 soon. She is creating an online event to raise money for a nonprofit called WriteGirl, an organization that teaches writing and communication skills to high school girls. She wants to raise $50,000 in 50 days. The email was playful and direct. She asked for donations and encouraged me to help spread the word. I was glad to do both. Check out her 50 for 50 website to see what she created.
People want to help, but you aren’t on their radar until you ask for help, so don’t be afraid to give people a little nudge.
Top 5 social media tips to getting people to attend your party:
- Create unique messages on social platforms letting them know how excited you are about your party. Letting your enthusiasm out will encourage people to find out more about your party.
- If your party is on Twitter don’t be afraid to post about it on your blog, Facebook, Google+ or any of your other networks. The only way people show up is if they hear about it a few times.
- Personal messages are important. If you are friends with a blogger who might like to share this event with their audience then let them know. Make sure they understand that they don’t have obligation to post a link for you. You can only ask, not insist. I don’t think that I have to say “Don’t spam people, create a message that fits them.” I actually like to send out individual messages when I’m trying to get someone interested in what I do. This allows me to craft the message for them and find a way to reconnect with them.
- Post to your blog or website. Blogs are an awesome way to let people know about your party because you can explain why you are doing it. Helping people understand the why behind your party is important because this back story will create a deeper emotional connection.
- If you have an email list this is the time to use it. The ability to send someone a direct message is vital to bringing people to your party. Email is still one of the best tools for businesses to use to bring attention to the cool stuff they are doing, creating, and selling.
A Little Extra Bonus
Video is one of the most engaging mediums that many people are afraid to use. It’s very personal and that’s why it works well. If you can create a little video that gives someone an awesome tip they can actually use while you also tell them about your party. You will intrigue, teach, market and encourage them to come to the party. They might be willing to share it with their friends if it packs enough value within it.
Creating the Buzz that Gets People Talking
If you don’t have the right build-up before the party to create excitement you won’t have anyone show up. Every good party needs a good turnout. Otherwise why even throw the party.
The next blog post in the series is creating a killer party that leaves everyone buzzing and talking about your product.