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!

Are You a Promoting Success Story?

I don't know about you, but nothing gets me more motivated to go out and earn some cash then reading about other people that are out there doing it.

I'm the kinda guy that likes to read success stories of other wealthy and powerful people. I don't mean just in the promoting world, but in all different types of businesses.

I like to read how people got rich with an idea or how they built their fortunes with a business...it makes me realize i can do it too if i stay focused and motivated.


So to keep everyone motivated (including myself), I'm going to continue to send out emails of success stories from promoters that have gotten the Party Promoter Guide and have made money or thrown insane parties that are worth sharing with everyone...

Hopefully, these emails will either:
A) Stop you from procrastinating and start you promoting.
or
B) Motivate you to take your promoting business to the NEXT LEVEL!

Over the past few months, I've been getting a large number of emails from readers of the guide sharing success that they've had in the promotions business...
I guess the Book is working!

But remember, The Party Promoter Guide will only help you IF:

...you actually read the book and take in the information. (there is a ton of good stuff in there and if you don't actually read it, you'll never learn from it.)
and

...you're willing to try some of the techniques that I teach in the book. (70% of the people that get the book will do nothing. Separate yourself from everyone else and take the steps to make the money that you desire.)

I got so many "Success Story" emails the past few months, that I decided to share a few different Success Stories...
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Summer Success Story #1... Malcolm R. Columbia, SC
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Hey man,

I have started promoting parties here in Columbia, SC.

It's a gold mine because it's such a small town and there's not a lot of competition.

We have a big party this Thursday and we expect about 300-500 people to come out.
Thanks for the advice and wish you much success this weekend.

Peace,

Malcolm R

...I get lots of emails from people saying that they live in a small town so promoting will never work there. But as you can see, promoting in a small town can be done very successfully. 300-500 people is a huge crowd no matter if you are promoting in New York, NY or Columbia, SC.

Many times in small towns there is less to do and people rely more on promoters to organize events for them to attend. Plus, small towns often mean less competition and you can clean up like my man Malcolm is doing. Keep it up!!

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Summer 2008 Success Story #2... Ricky S. Sacramento, CA
=================================================
Hi,

I been so busy these last few weeks...by using your promoter guide.

I've been putting my company "REMOVED management & Promotion" out there...Now, The club owners been calling us.

We promote clubs every week.. Guest list's from them are $3-5 dollars per person or they pay us a flat rate of $500.00 if we pull 80 people minimum.

Now as for today, I have a meeting with the owner tonight to promote on Thursday night "College Night" I'm going to ask for 30% over all bar and door.

I have a really strong team in Sacramento--I have street team, DJ's, GoGo Dancers and Artists. So if you want to something together let me know...

Thanks,
Ricky
Sacramento, CA

...Ricky is a great example of putting together a strong team behind you and getting the job done. Street team, DJ's and Go-Go Dancers--when he approaches an owner, he can offer the whole package to them nice and neat. That makes it very appealing to an owner and makes your sale that much easier.

And as you can see from this example, once you get going on your own and have some success, the owners and mangers come TO YOU, instead of you going to them!

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Summer Success Story #3... Wayne U.K. "Fine-Nite Ntertainment"
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Mr Gold,

After getting your book, i started throwing parties immediately.
I have thrown a few recent successful parties that have inspired me to keep going.

My first party out of the box was a hit. A "Sex and the City" themed party. We had drink specials and it pulled a tremendous crowd, most of them being women.

After that, i had many beautiful women on my list to contact for my future events which has been quite the help and made my follow-up parties a hit.
Please keep the tips coming...you certainly are "Gold"!

Many thanks,
Wayne

...Wayne threw a party catered to women and the result was more successful parties. He learned a key thing on his first party. If you want long term continued success week in and week out, build up a client list of dedicated and loyal women that will attend your parties...and men are sure to follow!

Its easy to say to new promoters "go get as many hot girls to come to your party to be a success" because its must easier said than done.

But how do you get women to your party? Throw a party that is geared towards them. Make women WANT to come to your party.

Most new promoters make the mistake of throwing parties *around women (bikini contests, mud wrestling, models party, etc) but those are parties thrown around women FOR MEN. Most women don't want to attend those parties each week.

While those themes are great and do work from time to time, (and can be very lucrative when done right) if you want to build long term success and a big list of girls that will come to your parties week in and week out, throw parties they will want to attend like a sex and the city or offer drinks specials for cocktails they want to drink.

I hope these couple of emails did the job and inspired you or motivated you to make some moves...these are normal people just like you and me, who got the guide, and took the steps to make some cash!

Something that Happened to ME...

I want to tell you a quick story about something that happened to me TODAY and what i learned (again) from it...

Today i was at the gym working out when this ridiculously hot girl walked by me.

Remember, i'm living in LA now so i see some pretty amazing women walking by me on a daily basis. (Just last week i sat 2 tables away from a group of 8-10 former playboy bunnies. Great meal!).


So i'm just staring at this beautiful girl in the mirror while i'm pretending to continue my workout and i guess i was a little obvious because the guy on the bench next to me starts laughing.

Obviously he noticed her too so we began talking. We ended up working out together and talking for the next 45 minutes.

I found out that this guy works in the marketing department for a fairly big cable television station.

Right away i jumped on this and told him that i'm a promoter and if he was ever looking for someone to throw a party for them or coordinate an event at a venue, i could help him out.

I told him about a few of my past parties, the clubs I've worked at, and the people I've worked with. He said he would definitely let me know if they ever have anything they could use my services for. (When we went back to the locker-room i made sure to give him my card--i always have a few in my wallet)

I figured it was a long shot, but it was a good contact to make and hopefully something good would come of it...
****************************************************************

Well tonight i got an email on my blackberry from him that I've copied and pasted here:


"We r gonna be launching a new show this fall& i'd love to talk to u about throwing a PR launch party for us. Call me tomorrow"


Hopefully this happens and we get to throw this launch party with lots of celebrities and sponsors...that would be great for my resume and EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY profitable!
****************************************************************

But this whole situation reminded me of how important it is to be social and outgoing as a promoter...

...i know this sounds obvious to some people but from time to time we all need to be reminded. Even i forget how important this is for our business and how much we can benefit by being very social at all times.

It's easy for us to go about our daily lives with our heads down and our mouth's shut...but if we do that we limit the different opportunities that come our way.

The more people we talk to, the more friends we make, the more connections we have, means the more money we'll make.

Think of every single new person you see or meet as another opportunity to make more money...So the more people you meet, and the more people you talk to,the more money you will make!

And this rule doesn't just apply to being a promoter...this is true for any business that you are in.
If you want to be successful in business you need to be (or learn how to be) social and outgoing at all times.

While this does apply to all businesses, this is especially true for promoters...We earn a lot of money by bringing people to a party. We are paid to be popular and have lots of friends/connections.

The only way to make more friends and meet new people is to talk to people at the gym, in your classes, at your office, or anywhere you run into people on a daily basis. Join groups, attend events and go out of your way to network.

Had this beautiful girl not walked by I might have kept to myself today and not started talking to this guy...and then this opportunity (whether it turns into the very profitable party or not) would have just passed me by.

I got lucky this time but i'm going to make a point to work on this every single day because, while i knew this was important, i was reminded how much this will improve my business on a daily basis!

So my tip of the week, one that I need to remember too...
No matter where you are or what you are doing, always look to be social and outgoing whenever humanly possible, so you are open to any and all opportunities that might come your way!

Are you Neglecting a Big Part of Your Promoting Business?

I noticed something the other day with many newer promoters that really worried me...

A buddy of mine is opening up a lounge in Dallas, TX and asked me if i would help him out and interview some of the promoters he was looking to hire.

I called up each of the promoters to conduct a phone interview (i wasn't looking to fly to Dallas in the summer) and I asked most of the promoters the same basic questions to get an idea of what kind of promoter they were...

One of my go-to questions to get them talking is:"give me an idea of your promoting process to bring people to my venue".

I got a bunch of different answers......some told me they would use myspace/facebook marketing.......some told me about an elaborate radio campaign......some were strong believers in a street team handing out passes...but out of the half dozen or more promoters i interviewed that week, only one of them discussed using an email marketing campaign. (and guess which one got my recommendation to hire???)


And when i say "an email marketing campaign", I'm not talking about someone that is going to send out a blast to their facebook or friendster buddies...
No, i mean someone that has an email list with names and emails of real people that will attend their parties.

There is a very big difference between email marketing and social network marketing. With Social Networking sites like myspace, you often have random people that are located all over the world as "friends" on these sites. While its great to have lots of friends all over, these people aren't realistically going to come to your party that Saturday night.


This is why building a good email list of realistic, local clients is so much more valuable and crucial to filling your venue...

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking those that use social marketing, radio ads or street teams to promote, but i CAN NOT BELIEVE that they use these methods BEFORE email marketing.
Those are things that should be done ALONG with an email marketing campaign...email marketing should be the first thing you do THEN you use these other methods to help grow your party.

In my experience (and those of all the top promoters i know and work with) email marketing is the easiest, cheapest and BEST way to get people to your party.

For as little as $20 a month there are amazing sites that you can use to make your email marketing very simple and very effective.

These sites automatically send out the emails, track how many are delivered, how many are opened up and read, and how many of your links inside your emails are clicked on...its amazing!
There are a bunch of different companies out there that do this, but the one that i personally use for my own business to send out emails (including this one) is Aweber.

No matter what company you use, you want to make sure it's a big company that is well respected, otherwise you can run into problems.


I use Aweber because:

1) They are inexpensive
2) It's very easy to use (I don't have too much time to mess around with emails)
3) They have a great reputation in the business so your emails don't get sent to people's SPAM folder...which is a HUGE waste.


I started with a different company originally (which many other promoters were using at the time) but i found that many of my friends and clients weren't getting my emails when i asked them about them.

...they told me they never got it, or maybe it was sent to their SPAM folder.


So, regardless of what company you use, you need to make sure that you are using email marketing as a big part of your promoting business.

Build your email list of potential clients, email them regularly about your upcoming events, offer your clients incentives to attend like reduced admission or drink specials, and fill your party every week!

Repeat this cycle often and you are easily on your way to being a success in the promoting business...

3 Reasons Why Now is the Best Time to be a Promoter

For the past few weeks, I've been going through my email in-box,trying to catch up with everything and respond to as many promoting emails as I can.

There has been one common question that keeps on popping up though, and I thought I'd answer it for you, in case this is something that's been going through your head.

The question that keeps on coming up is basically: "With the weak economy, is this a bad time to be a promoter or start a promoting business"?

I can honestly say, NO, this is NOT a bad time to be a promoter...

...in fact, this might be one of the best times, EVER!

I know you are thinking to yourself, "how can that be? All I hear on the news is:
High Gas prices...Rising Food costs...Major companies going bankrupt...Auto companies laying off 1,000's of employees...Coffee stores closing 100's of locations..."
With all the bad news in the headlines, it's easy to think it's a terrible time to work for yourself or start your own company...

...but fact is, it's the exact opposite.

I truly believe its a great time to get into this business and if times were tough and there wasn't enough business to go around i personally wouldn't be telling other people to jump into the business that pays my bills. I would discourage people to become promoters...
But my business hasn't slowed down at all in the last year and I've thrown some of my biggest parties in the past few years in 2008.

Here are 3 HUGE reasons why it's a GREAT time to be a promoter:

1) Venues have fixed overhead costs and need to be filled in order to pay their bills and make money.

When times are tough, they rely MORE on promoters to help pull in their crowds.
Promoters only get paid for the people that they bring to the venue so if they fill the place, its a win-win for the promoters and the venues.

Owners and managers that once felt they didn't need promoters to fill their venue are quickly changing their thought process when business slows down even a little.
Take advantage of this opportunity!

2) When you work for yourself, you can't be laid off:

Sure, business could slow down, but if you work hard you will never be out of a job...
...That is not true when you work for someone else.

You could be the best employee, but if you make too much money, then you might be the first to go when they need to cut costs. If you are new to the company then they might fire you first since you don't have seniority. Like it or not, when you work for someone else, your career, paycheck, and *life* are in their hands, not yours.

3) Promoting can be done in your part time:

With the cost of everything going up, who couldn't use some extra money to help them offset the high prices?

If you're looking for a way to help supplement your pay check with a part time job or a small business, promoting parties can provide that.

As a promoter, you could easily keep your day job or remain in school and throw parties in your part time to help keep you afloat during the tough times. There are little to no start up costs involved so its the perfect business to try out and see if you can earn some part-time cash.

Have you ever dreamed of owning your very own business?

If so, you're not alone...I was reading some statistics the other day about "owning your own business" and the numbers are pretty amazing.

Almost half (47%) of Americans want to own their own business while only 18% actually do. That means most people are dreaming about it, while very few are actually taking the steps to do it!
Now is as good of a time as any to be a promoter, so if you're thinking about getting into the business or you're looking to take your business to the next level, now is the time to do it...
...so stop dreaming and take the next step!

New Years Eve Party Success

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a lot of fun celebrating, or cashing in, on New Years Eve.

I'm sorry I haven't written in a while, but this was the busiest I've been in years. It's been non-stop since Halloween.

2007 brought my most profitable Halloween and tied for my top Thanksgiving Eve...but New Years Eve was out of control. I literally doubled the profits of my next best new years eve.

DOUBLED!

I was involved with 4 parties this year (some on a much greater level than others) which is one more than usual, so i figured i would make a little more money...but not DOUBLE!

...and i wasn't the only one making money this year...

After speaking with some of my friends in the business and even a couple of competitors, i realized that EVERYONE had a huge year.

I've read that America is headed for a recession and times are tough, but you would never know that in the nightlife industry.


I thought it was just me throwing amazing parties and promoting them like crazy, but it turns out that most promoters I know in New York, LA and Miami had HUGE years.
(I imagine the same is true for most of the country)

I can't believe there are that many people out there looking to party, but the numbers at these parties don't lie.

...But with all the craziness over the past 2 months putting together these parties, i haven't had a minute to relax...

So, again, I'm sorry for not writing, but I'm back now and will be updating my blog much more often.


Note: I've got a lot planned for 2008, with the party promoter guide and for promoting in general, (for example, I'll be running some of the parties that are taking place at the Sundance Film Festival over MLK weekend) so be sure to check out my blog and my weekly emails.

In the meantime, if you have a success story from Halloween, Thanksgiving Eve, or New Years Eve, be sure to send them to me right away. I'm going to compile a list of the best ones to share with everyone. (I've already gotten a few great ones.)

Also, if you have any questions about promoting or you have come across any problems starting your business / running your business, feel free to email them to me and I'll be posting the best Q&A's on my site and blog.

A Couple of Huge Reasons to be a Promoter...Right Now

The next few months are what many promoters often call their "busy season"...but instead of just one holiday like Christmas, we have 3!

I love to throw Super Bowl, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's day and all those other holiday parties...but the reality is, they are just a tiny fraction of what you can earn compared to one of the "big three" parties.


They are:
3) Halloween
2) Thanksgiving Eve
1) New Years Eve


I've been in this business a long, long time, and for me, New Years Eve is always my biggest party of the year.

...But I've worked with big time promoters that make much more money on Halloween and I know a lot that swear Thanksgiving Eve is their most profitable party of the year.

...regardless of which party is the biggest, they are all very lucrative and you should be involved with all of them.

Although Halloween just passed, if you work fast you can start promoting in time for the last two (extremely profitable) parties....

Thanksgiving Eve
For those of us in the United States, this is a huge party night right before a big holiday weekend.
When you're in college, this could be the biggest party of the year since everyone is back home from school for the holiday's and they want to see everyone from home, so people feel compelled to go out.

If you're a college student or around that age, you MUST be involved with promoting these parties and start pushing YOUR Thanksgiving Eve party NOW...it's never too early to get a jump on this.

Just like with Halloween, these parties are normally pre-sold tickets so this is a great opportunity for new promoters or people that don't want the responsibility of throwing their own big party to get involved and earn some cash.

New Years Eve
Obviously the most popular and biggest party of the year. If you're even thinking of becoming a promoter, you should be involved with a New Years Eve party...even if you're just promoting in your part-time.

You don't have to throw your own party and if you're new, then I would suggest NOT trying your own New Years Eve party until you've become much more experienced. (I personally didn't throw my own New Years Party until I was promoting for 5 years)

I suggest getting involved with a big time new years party and help sell their tickets to this event...and here's why:

1) The person throwing the party has taken on the main financial responsibilities involved (renting the place, guaranteeing the bar a certain dollar amount, paying the big name DJ, etc.)

2) You and your business can be associated with BIG names without paying the big bucks needed for these names. (Like when Diddy is "hosting" a New Years bash)

3) Makes your sale much easier and it's all profit for you.
I could write forever on these 3 parties because they are so big, and so important to making a great living as a promoter, but I have to get back to work on MY 2008 Halloween Party!


So, if you've been reading my blog and you are:

• thinking of getting into promoting...
• you just want to try it part-time...
• or you're already promoting but want to take your promoting to a whole other level...

Then you have to get started right away because these next few months are THE BEST months of the entire year to do this!!!