4 Simple Tips For Choosing a Successful Party Theme

Last week I shared some success stories of people that got the Party Promoter Guide and used it to start throwing parties or take their existing business to a whole other level.

I sent this email to pump people up...to get them motivated...here's a link to it again, in case you missed it

...Well I guess it worked because over the past week I have received more emails about promoting and my book than I have in the past 3 months.

My inbox literally went over its capacity and I had to delete old emails before more people could email me. (If you emailed me and it got bounced back...I'm sorry, but try sending it again now)

If you emailed me and I didn't respond, please be patient...its going to take me awhile to write back to all these emails,but I will try to get to those that need help with their business.

While going through my emails I did notice that a lot of people had questions about Success Story #3 from Wayne of Fine-Nite N-Tertainment asking how he came up with the idea for his successful party and how he executed it.

So I emailed Wayne asking him to share some of his secrets of his successful party and here's a summary of what he sent back.
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Mr. Gold,

I had never been a fan of the show Sex and the City, but knew that it was a hit with the women.
Then on the news I saw that women all over were lining up for the premiere of this movie dressing up in their best clothing and highest heels waiting in line. They had their hair and nails done like they were going to a nightclub.

At that moment I decided to throw a party with the Sex and the City theme, thinking this would draw those same fanatical women to my party since they loved the show so much.
I did about 15 minutes of reading online and came up with a theme and drink special.
The drink special was 2 for 1 cosmopolitan's, which was their drink of choice on the show and in the movie, to keep it authentic.

The theme was for women, saying "which character is inside YOU"? urging the women to dress up like their favorite character or their inner character.

While I was worried that this idea was a little stupid, deep down I knew from what I had witnessed on TV that women WANTED to dress up like this...they were attending the movie in their finest clothes. They were looking for a reason to put on their nice clothes or dress like "Carrie".

And they did...almost every women in attendance was dressed in fancy clothes or hats or skimpy clothing.

The women outnumbered the men that night at least 2 to 1 which I've been told is quite rare.
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Wayne went on to say he thought he had some beginners luck, but I personally don't believe in that.

He threw a great party with a very targeted and specific theme.He did some research to know the background of the show and kept it authentic and gave women what they want.

Throwing "themed" parties is a great idea because it's both lucrative and fun at the same time.
Believe me, throwing the same party at the same club week in and week out with the same drink specials (while it's very profitable)can get a bit boring for some promoters.

So throwing in a few themes here or there is a great way to keep you AND your crowd excited about your parties. (but DON'T over do them)

Here are 4 simple tips to help you when choosing and executing a great theme...
1) Decide on a theme:
-what's hot?
-what's the lead story on the news?
-what big event is coming up?
-what big movie is coming out?
-what anticipated album is coming out?

2) Decide on a hook:
-will you have people dress up?
-will you have drink specials related to the theme?
-are you having special contests?
-will you have a special guest or DJ?

3) What goes into the theme:
-do you need to buy things (prizes, t-shirts, etc)?
-do you have to pay for someone to attend (celebs?)
-will it be hard to execute your idea?

4) do something that's right for your crowd
-Is this right for your crowd? (don't just do something that's hot if it won't appeal to your specific crowd)
-will your theme offend the majority of women that attend?
-will this theme make people want to attend your future parties?

So if you're looking to mix up your parties a little bit, consider a themed party and try these tips to help your party become a success!

The "How Old" Question...Answered

First, just wanted to start by apologizing for not posting more blogs in the past 2 months...i needed some time off to after a wild summer. I'm back to work on my promoting "busy season" and promise to update this blog every week from here on out.

Over the past few weeks, more and more people have been emailing me about getting started to be a promoter. With Halloween, Thanksgiving Eve and New Years Eve all within 3 months of each other, i guess people realize how much money there is to be made and people are eager to get started.

One of the most common questions that's been popping up in my email box is: "How old do I have to be to start promoting"

Some people are worried they are too young to start promoting....Others are worried they are too old to start promoting.

The answer is: There is no *right* age.

Being a party promoter is about pulling together groups of people, and bringing them to one place that pays you to fill their venue. You can be any age to do this...you just have to find what people your age want to do, set it up for them, and promote the party.

--You can be 18 and promote teen clubs or Prom After-Parties.

--You can be 30 and promote to single professional adults that want to meet other people in their situation but are too busy with work to go to happy hours every week.
...The possibilities are endless!


A common mistake that people interested in this business make is that they automatically think they are too young or too old for this business.

Or they think promoting is for hip-hop and techno crowds only.

Or just for wild college kids

...These are all totally false.

The fact is, anyone, any age, with any background, in any demographic, with ANY level of education can be a promoter... and make over six figures every year doing it.

It's just a matter of sitting down and thinking:
"what do my friends like to do?" or "what kind of party can I throw that would interest MY crowd"?

A fantastic example of this was sent to me by a female Party Promoter Guide reader that is "over 35, lives in the Bay Area, and is currently working at a big accounting firm". She recently started throwing her own parties for divorced people.
She said it was an untapped market and wanted parties to go to herself (a divorced mother) so she stepped up and threw them for her crowd.

Per her latest email to me, she's making an extra $1,500 a month on the side of her accounting job just for throwing 2 parties each month.

And, on the other side of the coin...

If you're under 21, stop telling yourself that you can't make money in this business since you are "under-age".

Many promoters started out throwing parties in high school and made a killing doing it!
Personally, I started in college, but I've worked with many guys and girls that made a ton in high school throwing those"18 to get in, 21 to drink" parties. They make all their money off the door fees. When you're 18 there aren't a ton of options for you, so these parties were always BIG TIME successes.

My advice to you this week...
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Anyone, any age, can be a promoter so it's NEVER too early, or too late, to get started in nightclub or party promoting...so get started right away because the sooner you start promoting, the faster you start building your list, making connections, and making some CASH!

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How to Grow Your Party and Promoting Business

Hope you had a relaxing, fun or profitable 4th of July (that's if you are located in the US--If you're not in the US, i hope you had a great Wednesday).

Lately, I've been writing a lot about "how to get people to your party" & "the Do's and Dont's of promotions", etc, etc.

But at this point, many of the people that have been reading the blog, my weekly emails and reading the Party Promoter Guide are ready to take their party to the next level.


They are throwing a weekly party or two and are making good money but they want to bring their party to a whole new level so they can start raking in the SIX FIGURE cash!

...I've been getting tons of emails asking me about this so I know many people are ready to find out how they can GROW THEIR PARTY and their income.

I've been doing this a long, long time and from my experience the best way to grow your party to another level is by focusing on people.

People?

Yes, people.

But in this case, I DON'T mean clients or party-goers.

If you're looking to grow your party, you're going to need more people to know about you and all of the hot parties you are throwing.

You want to get your name out there fast and to as many people as you can!

There are a number of ways to get your name out there so that every party-goer in town knows you who you are and what kind of party you throw---but most of them cost money (IE: radio commercials)

In my experience, they best way to really grow your party, without spending your money, is to focus on people.

...and by this I mean 3 things:
1) Get a Partner
2) Team up with other promoters
3) Get people to work for you

You could do all 3 of these options, or just one of these options, but these are they keys I've found to growing your party to another level.

I could talk about each of these topics for pages and pages, but to spare you the details, I'll just briefly touch on each of these...

1) Get a Partner:
Running a business can be a little work, and although running your own promoting business isn't much work, having a partner will make it that much easier.
But making the job easier isn't the best benefit of having a partner--the best thing about having a partner is that your partner will have access to 100's of people that you do not know.
(As i talk about in my guide, don't pick a partner with the same EXACT social circle--you want to expand your client reach)

So if you're looking to start promoting to a new type of crowd or to expand your reach of clients into another town or college, think of adding a partner for a quick and easy way to grow your party!

2) Team up with other promoters:
i know this sounds like a "partner" but it's not. I'm talking about working with another promoter on a few different events here or there, but NOT making them a partner in your business that splits all your profits and has access to all your clients and contacts.
Teaming up with another successful promoter is good if you want to promote a venue that is too big for your current party, but you feel promoting this venue will help out your name and reputation.
If you were to team up with another big-time promoter and together you can throw 1 HUGE party, both your reputations will expand to anew client base.

3) Get People to Work for YOU:
This is my favorite thing about promoting...Promoting is a job that actually has amazing fringe benefits and people are willing to help you out for free.
People will trade their time and services in exchange for free entry, VIP treatment, or a couple of free drinks.

Many young people love the social benefits involved with this job and will work for free just to be around it...which is great for us!

If for some reason you can't find people to work for free, then you can hire young and hungry promoters to pull people to your party for very cheap.

This is a common way people start out in the business...and it's EXACTLY how *I* started out in the business back in college. Someone paid me a flat fee to bust my butt and pull as many people as i could to their party.

I made very little money (I only realized this looking back since i know how much the main promoter was pulling in--at the time i thought it was pretty good money) and so did they other newbies like me, but we all learned a lot about how to be a promoter and how to run this business...and in exchange, the guy we worked for had his venue packed to the brim and made out with a ton of cash!

...In the end it was a good deal for both of us.

At the time i remember thinking it was unfair, but i had to earn my stripes just like many other promoters before me and i got to learn the business on the go and made some money doing it.
Well, you can do the same. Find some local college kids or hungry new promoters that want to crack into the business and offer to give them X amt for the night to pull all their friends and family to the party.

You do that with a bunch of kids, you're going to have a packed party without doing much work or spending too much money.

You could even offer them a list and give them a couple of dollars per person that comes on their list--this will motivate them to work harder!

As i mentioned earlier, you could use all of these ways together (get a partner, join forces with other promoters for a party or two and hire sub-promoters to help fill your venue) or you could use each one individually.

Either way, it's important to continue to grow your business and grow your list so that you can pull in the dollars you want and grow you overall bottom line.

Remember:
The bigger your parties get--the bigger your paychecks will get!

The Do's and Dont's of Promotions

Everyday I get lots of emails from promoters asking me questions on how to get started, how to make their business better, and how to throw the best party in town.
Recently though, I've been getting another question, almost on a daily basis, so I figured it would benefit everyone to address it in this blog...


"What are the BEST promotions to use to make my
party the hottest party around?"

In order to address this question I want to lay out the different kind of promotions, so you know what I mean when I say "promotions"...

1) Party Promotions:
these are promotions that are often tied to a theme or party concept. An example would be "Pimp 'n Hoe's" party or the"White Party" (like P. Diddy throws annually)

2) Bar Promotions:
these are promotions designed to drive traffic to the bar of the venue, such as nickel beer night, buy 1 get 1, or happy hours.

3) Door Promotions:
These are commonly used to get people in the door, such as Ladies Night or reduced admission before 10pm etc.

But first, I want you to ask yourself "why am I using a promotion" and do I really think this will a) make me more money
b) make my party that much better or
c) will it solve a problem that I am having

DON'T JUST USE A PROMOTION, TO USE A PROMOTION...

Promotions are great. I'm a big fan of them.
....But I also know that the fastest way to lose a crowd is to use too many promotions. (or the wrong promotion)

I've found my crowd gets bored of too many promotions and gimmicks, so i save them for when i really need them. I keep them locked away and only bring them out on special occasions.

Promotions are a good way to help a slow night or to pad the register on "off nights". They can also be used when you're starting to throw a new party or if your looking to pull an earlier crowd.

The key is to decide what your problem is that makes you feel that you need a promotion. Then see if you can come up with a promotional idea that will help to solve the problem.

An example would be:
If your crowd is showing up very late each Thursday night then try a reduced admission before 10p promotion to see if you can draw them into the venue on the early side.

A couple of quick Do's and Don't for beginners using promotions:

Do's:
Do use promotions that are right for YOUR CROWD. Don't just try out a promotion that you read about online or saw at a party.Make sure the promotion fits your crowd well.
Do ask the venue to pick up the tab or split the costs of the promotion. (if there are any)
Do spread the promotional ideas throughout the year...try not to use more than 1 a month.
Do use them on your softer nights---the "off nights" like Sun-Wed.

Dont's
Do NOT use a promotion your first night at a venue...try the venue out first and see how it goes before you add a promotion. You might not need one at all when first starting out.
Do NOT over use promotions...too many and your crowd will get bored.
Do NOT use a promotion on a Friday or Saturday night. (unless you are desperate) These nights should be bringing in the cash without a promotion at all!
Do NOT get too focused and distracted with using catchy promotions.Focus your time more on building your list of clients...you'll make a lot more money in the long run if you do!


Bonus Golden Tip:
Just so you get an idea, here is when I will use promotions:
If I'm throwing a party on a off-night and I'm having trouble getting it going, i will try a promotion.

If I'm trying to get people to come to a venue that is out of the way or maybe a brand new spot that no one ever heard of, then I might try a promotion.

If I've been throwing parties that make good money, but I see that the money I've been making at this venue is leveling off (not increasing every week) then I'll try a promotion.


Using promotions can be a great way to increase traffic and awareness of your party, help solve problems on slow nights, or add some life back into your regular parties.

But before you use them, make sure to know why you are using a promotion and how it will help your business make more money (isn't that the key to everything we do?!?!)