A Different Party for Halloween 2020

A Different Party for Halloween 2020

Events, Holiday

Halloween 2020 was supposed to be epic. This year Halloween is not only on a Saturday but also on a Full Moon. We don’t have another shot for a Halloween Full moon again until 2039 – much less on a Saturday. The parties and fun would have been amazing. 

Sadly, the global pandemic has canceled many of the events that were planned but this doesn’t mean we cannot get together and have some fun. Here are some safe ways we can get together and still have a great Halloween.  

Create Your Own Horror Story

One of my most memorable holidays parties was in an old Victorian home. The house made all the noises perfect for a horror movie and the lights even flickered a bit as we all sat around. The lights and power going out became the impetus for creating a horror story. We created a whole story how everyone in the house died that night except one person. The one survivor was telling the tale to others and at the end of the tale, the lights flickered three times and the screen goes black. 

What You Need

  • A backdrop
    • Create a setting for the story to take place. Provide pictures and room descriptions. Look into old role play books if you need some help world building.
    • You could use the Clue Board game as a jumping off point. Add in different “weapons”.
  • Some basic rules
    • Understand who you are creating with and if anyone has specific triggers you should stay away from. A good rule is no sex, religion, or politics. 
    • Each person has the final say on how they are murdered. 
      • If someone is going to survive it has to make sense in the story. The one person to survive our story was the only person wearing white.
      • Make each murder have a personal touch. In the story we created I had a bookshelf pushed over on to me right after I found out why the killings were happening in an old book. I was and still am a bookworm so it made sense.
    • None of the guests is the murderer. 
      • This makes it more fun and less personal when you are killed.
    • Decide if things are able to be overtly paranormal or if they can only be hinted at. This will keep people from being dragged away by vampires and coming back to terrorize the rest of the group. I prefer to not allow the paranormal as it adds to the fear if what is happening could happen in real life.  
  • A scribe
    • You can either assign someone to record the story or do a video recording and have someone write it all up later. 

Read/ Dramatize Other Horror/ Gothic Literature

If you do not want to create your own you can fin Gothic poetry and short stories. Ask everyone to show up dressed in their best gothic costumes with virtual backgrounds. Everyone is required to bring one poem or short story to dramatize for the group. If your group is of a literary bent, ask everyone to write their own poetry and vote on whose you like the best. 

Plan for at least two hours for each of these, encourage people to dress up and have snacks on hand so they can enjoy the whole party. 

Happy Halloween!

Picking the Right Time for Your Event

Picking the Right Time for Your Event

Business, Events, Holiday, Non-Profit, Trade Show

The complaint that I hear from the sales people that I work with most often is that the events are never at the right time. I will tell you now, there is no perfect time for an event. Early in the year people worry about taxes and saving money. Spring brings on Graduations and other end of school year items along with a wanderlust for people to travel. Summer is a time for vacations and family. Fall is filled with football, back to school, and shortened days. Year end brings the Holidays – the worst time to hold a non-holiday event.

With all these obstacles, how do you choose when to host your event? Here are the questions that I ask to determine the optimal date and time.

Who is your audience?

Are you looking to reach business owners or stay at home moms with elementary age children? Narrow down who your perfect attendee is and then learn when they have the time. A business owner often likes lunch events or afternoon events ending at 6 pm. This allows them to still be a part of the family time. A mom, you may need to host an event around 9 pm or during school hours.

What else is happening at that time?

When you have narrowed down a date and time, look at what else is happening in that community. If you are looking to attract football fans, you don’t want to host an event during Monday Night Football – unless you are showing the game. Is there a big concert going on? A big television event? A political event? Know what your target audience would attend other than your event.

How far out do you need to plan the event?

Remember that people will need a few weeks to put an event on their calendar. I prefer to give attendees at least 3 weeks before the RSVP deadline and do at least 4 weeks of marketing. If you are planning a large fundraising gala, add in time to gather sponsors etc. Understand what your timeline is and what is the level of commitment from your target attendee? Are they traveling out of town? Do they need to get baby/pet sitters? Do you have a dress code that will require time to adhere to? The larger the level of commitment, the more notice you need to give attendees.

Lay this information out on a calendar and then pick the date and time that overlaps with the least amount of other events. Remember, no time is perfect but there is an optimal time.

You can also do some market research and host events at different times throughout the day and year to see what brings in the most interest. The biggest thing is to know your perfect attendee profile. This will allow you to answer when is the best time for your event.

One more tip – I would not rule out breakfast events – if they come with a good breakfast (not runny eggs and/or small, stale pastries.) Breakfast can actually be a less expensive meal to cater than lunch or dinner and allowing people to start early in the morning and then head on with their day can bring in a great crowd.

Socially Distanced Fundraisers

Socially Distanced Fundraisers

Events, Non-Profit

Nonprofits have not disappeared during the pandemic. Most of them are working overtime to help the people they serve and have had to forgo the events, concerts, and galas that are their life blood.

I have been brainstorming with some of my friends that run non-profits on how they can still raise money and be socially distanced.

  1. Drive Through Fundraiser

I am working with a group that has access to a huge parking lot and some great caterers. We are working on creating a grab and go dinner solution. People will pay for the dinner beforehand and all the “extras”. There will be priests giving out blessings to the family in their car and a local DJ to spin tunes. You can also do raffle drawings, count the number of cars giveaways, etc.

There are a lot of different ways to spin this event to work with your non-profit.

Interested in the Drive Thru Fundraiser? Check out our Step by Step Drive Thru Fundraiser Workbook for $80. It is currently 35% off for all website visitors.

 

2. Virtual Game Night

There are a ton of games you can play online with a large group but my suggestion would be Bingo. It is easy to do in big groups and is interactive enough to keep people involved. I would have “Add Ons” to this night. Raffle tickets and a 50/50 drawing is an easy way to go. Having a meat and cheese board delivery option would be another great add on. Or you can have people pay for and pick up dinner and drinks before the Bingo begins. Choose foods that are good cold or can be easily heated up.

3. Movie Night Box

This is probably the simplest of the ideas on here. You put together a box with all the essentials for a movie night date. I would offer two different boxes: family movie night and date movie night. I would then offer an add on of a Drink box.

You can purchase most of this at a warehouse store and gather your troops to put the boxes together. Foil pans would be great options to pack in because they are durable and stack easy. Other catering boxes are also an option.

There is another variation of this where you get people together to watch the movie but in a socially distanced way. Have circles or tables laid out for four people at a time so people can stay separate. A park or even a driving range would be a great option for this.

4. Create Your Own Ice Bucket Challenge

We all remember the large amount of money that was raised by the Ice Bucket challenge. Make your own twist on that. Is it wearing a shirt or a button? Are you going to work with businesses to have their employees wear jeans on certain days if they donate money? You can also do a twist on the American Heart Association “Wear Red Day”.

Many people and businesses are still looking to donate to their chosen charities. Make it easy for them by letting them know you are still out there and helping your community.

Perfecting your Event Press Release

Perfecting your Event Press Release

Business, Events, Trade Show

Press releases (also know as, press statement, news release or media release) are a great tool to increase awareness of your event and your brand. Writing a release can seem daunting. I remember writing my first few and agonizing over the wording and formatting.

Your release has the two goals of grabbing attention and giving information in a clear and concise way. This is not a time to over exagerate or use flowery language. You want people to know about and attend your event and to trust you for future events.  

Here are the simple steps that I follow for writing an event press release.

Parts of a Press Release

  • Headline
    • This is one sentence that you use to grab your readers attention. This will also be the subject line of the emails that you send out.
  • Dateline
  • Lead Paragraph
    • What is the event and why does the press care. You need to give them a reason to attend.
  • Body
    • This is one or two paragraphs that go into greater detail. Who will be attending, why you are hosting the event etc.
  • Company Information
    • This is a generic about us paragraph that your company will use on press releases.
  • Contact Person
    • Provide who the press should reach out to for more information.
  • Ending
    • It is standard practice that you end the press release with “ ### “. The three pound signs let your reader know that the release is finished.

Perfecting the Release

The format of the press release is very formulaic. Use the formula. This allows the press to see what you are about very quickly. So how to you stand out?

Here are some tips.

  • Give them a good story (but keep it true).
  • Use the third person, active voice.
  • Keep it to one page 300- 500 words.
  • Don’t make them hunt down vital facts.

The last point is my biggest tip. Some people will tell you to not give everything away – I say the opposite. Give the press everything. Let them know about the amazing event that you are hosting. One caveat to this; if you have a surprise guest, do not put that in the press release. If it is in the release the press can let the public know the details.

Submitting Your Master Piece 

Most newspapers and TV stations have an email address or a portal for submissions. You do not want to add your press release as an attachment (in fact don’t add any attachments). The release is the body of your email.

If you are going to be submitting more than once a year, create a list of the TV, Newspaper, and Radio stations in your area and where you need to submit you information. This will keep your submission release down significantly.

I submit my press release twice. Two weeks ahead of the event and then the day before. This gives the press time to put your event on their calendar and then reminds them.

A last note, be ready for the press to not show up. Most of the events a small business will host will fall below the murder and meyham that makes up most of the news. Plan for them to be there but don’t hold up your agenda if they don’t show.

Vendor Interviews

Vendor Interviews

Events, Non-Profit, Trade Show

The vendors your hire will make or break your event. They are a large part of what your guests will see and interact with – having great vendors will push your event into the top echelons, having a bad vendor can leave embarrassment and bad feelings for years to come. 

How do you ensure you have the right vendors for your event? Vendor interviews. 

These allow you to get to know the person you are working with and if they have the know how and capacity to help at your event. 

How I Conduct Vendor Interview

Internet Research

I have no compunction of doing some major research on a company before even calling. I want to see the following things. 

  • A professional website – Their website does not have to be the newest or flashiest, but I want to see they have put the time into their business. This shows me that they care about their work and reputation. I will accept a very well done Facebook page as a company website. 
    • I worked with one company that stated they had a huge inventory of items but very little of it was pictured or priced on their website. This company messed up a major event for me because they did not have the materials they stated. Trust what the websites are telling you. 
  • Reviews – You want to see that other people have worked with the company. I don’t mind bad reviews as long as they are balanced out by good reviews. I will often click on the profile of the bad reviewer and see how they review other companies. (90% of the time the other reviews are bad as well.)

Ask to Meet the Vendor at Their Office or Warehouse.

You can tell a lot by how people keep their business space. I look for the following things while at someone’s office space. 

  • Is it clean? – I do not ask that things be spotless but I do want to see things organized. 
  • Do the other people on the team seem happy? – Now, everyone has a bad day, but if people are jumpy, won’t make eye contact, and avoid the boss. I tend to run the other way. These are the people that will be at your event, you want people that are going to do their best – not live in fear of the boss. 

I do have a caveat on this, if someone’s desk looks like a complete mess but they are able to put their hands on any piece of paper they want – I will overlook the mess. Some people work well with that system and if they showcase that, I will move forward. 

Questions to Ask

You have done your research and are at their place of business – great job! Here are the questions you should ask. 

  • Can they cover the scope of your business? – Outline the event you are planning, let them know all of the details, guest counts, space, date and time. They will need to know all of this so they can determine if they have the ability to work your event. Most event vendors are great people and if they cannot help you, will point you in the direction of people who can. 
  • What is their back up plan? – If they suddenly cannot help out at your event, how will they help you? This does not happen often, but business do close their doors or personal things comes up. I am more concerned about their tone of voice and if they get defensive from this question. 
  • What suggestions do they have for the event you have outlined? – Event vendors have seen it all and are a wealth of knowledge. Ask their opinion and you will often find great ideas. 
  • Do they have the right insurance for your event? – I want my vendors to carry their own liability insurance on top of the insurance I buy for the events. Most companies have a general rider that they pay for with their business. I reserve this question for events over 50 people. 
  • Ask them about the other vendors you plan to use. – Vendors know one another, some refuse to work with certain people, some have contracts that force them to work with certain companies. Ask them what they think about the other vendors on your list. You can gain great insights. 
  • Can they give you referrals or examples of their past work? – If someone is unwilling to show you their past work or give you people to call, run away. I refuse to work with someone who has nothing to show. If you are interviewing a company that is brand new, ask them their experience in their field and potentially ask for character references. Going with a new company can get you a lower cost but you have to weigh that against your desires for the event.

Vendors are the people that hold the keys to your great event. Hiring the perfect vendor for your event starts with the vendor interview. Don’t skip this step. The two hours your spend on research can save you hours of heartache later. 

How to Celebrate Cultural Holidays at Your Business

How to Celebrate Cultural Holidays at Your Business

Business, Events, Holiday

Hosting events outside of your cultural norm can be difficult. If you do it wrong, people will drag you through social media and scream about cultural appropriation. But as the world becomes evermore multi-cultural, hosting cultural events is a great way to get your business name into new communities and expand your own horizons. 

So how do you host these events? Here are my tips.

Find a cultural expert

Find someone in the cultural community that you are wanting to host and bring them in as a co-host or sponsor. Run your ideas and planning strategy by them. Ask them for food and decoration recommendations. And listen to them. They are your life line, don’t throw it away. 

Be Genuine

People see right through a marketing or sales gimmick. Do not throw these events just to get some quick sales. You need to be ready to start and create lasting relationships with the people you are inviting. This is a long term play, not a short term gain. 

Share the Experience

Do not invite just one subset of people. Include your entire customer list if possible in these events. Help promote the community you are trying to reach to your current customers. Ask your expert to provide some educational materials or speakers for those who do not know what the Holiday is all about. 

These events are a great way to expand your network and your brands reach but they need to be done correctly. Do not pander, do not host these events just to make a quick buck. Host these events to learn and build lasting relationships for your business. 

Questions to Ask of your Cultural Expert

  1. What dates should we plan around or avoid?
  2. What colors should be used and avoided in the invite and decorations?
  3. What images should be used in the printed materials?
  4. What kind of decorations should we have?
  5. Who should we use for catering?
  6. Should we make this family friendly or a business mixer?
  7. Who else should we partner with?