Ellen Levinas, raised in Brooklyn, New York holds a BS in Business/e-biz, which she earned later on in her life, after having children, and still working. As President of American Headwear, Inc. a subsidiary of Headwear Creations, Inc., a family owned and operated business that has been in business for 50 years, Ellen knew that it was time to bring that business into the 21st century and created websites for both companies. A huge improvement took place due to the additions of both these Web Sites.

As time went on, Ellen ventured out into the Networking world, via online, and became known as an avid Networker and Marketer also working with various Direct-sales companies. Today she has written and published her own book, entitled, "Your Online Party Guide" All The Tools You Need to Run Your Own Online Party. Why? some may ask, because this is the new wave of the present and the future! Many work at home women/moms as well as men, work for direct-sales companies, MLM companies and the like, in the hopes that they can earn some extra income and they do! However, many do not know that online party or "vendor Fair" exists, and if they do, they don't know how to run one, or are too scared to try. It is Ellen's wish and hope that she will be able to help all those people who are working from home to achieve success! Ellen is also the Creative Marketing Assistant for Cello In a Box Company, as well as co-owns and operates a business opportunity site and newsletter.

So Ellen, here is your first question: First of all, what is an online party – and what are the different forms they can take?

Hello Everyone, Pleased to be here!

An online party is a party made by an individual and/or group via the "Net" done virtually in a chat room where many people can be invited and can enter the room at one time. This can be done in a regular chat room or in a conference room that has audio and visual capabilities. Most people do their online parties in a party room so to speak, some Web Sites rent their party/chat rooms out for this purpose, and some are free.

How does an online party differ from a regular home party?

An online party differs from a home-party in that it is done virtually, via the "Net" rather than face-to-face. In many instances people love this idea because they do not need to leave the comfort of their homes to go anywhere. They can actually sit in their pajamas and have a blast, while making those sales! Just think, nothing to set up, no worrying about food, or beverages, unless you want a virtual one. \-/ J You are also able to reach masses of people at any given time.

What are some of the benefits of running your own online party?

The biggest benefit to running your own online party is the sales that you can make during the party, enabling someone in the direct sales business, for example to meet their quotas if they have any, but of course it is a way to make extra income as well. The other benefit is that if you run a good and fun online-party, your name will get out there, and you will gain exposure for yourself and your business. Therefore, people will come back for more. This is another form of self-promotion that works!

What are some of the key elements in properly planning my online party?

Naturally just as a "real-life" party, you need to send out invitations, post invites in forums, chat boards, etc, with the time, date, and your business link. You will want to do that beforehand enough in advance so people will be able to come, but not too far in advance so that people could forget about it. You will also want to set some time up for game time and any questions your guests might have.

You mentioned Chat rooms – is there any other technology I might need to run my own online party?

All you need is a computer, and a party room, in some cases you might need java to be installed on your computer as some party rooms are java based. Now you can also have a chat area or conference room with audio and visual capabilities, but most of those room do charge a fee for their usage.

For example, I've personally done some parties using a Power Point presentation, but again not everyone has PowerPoint, and not everyone has audio capabilities. So it is much wiser to go with the flow and just use a regular chat type room. However, you can also have a party, and those that are interested in seeing a PPT. presentation, you can email it to them as well.

What are some of the ways I can effectively promote (get the word out) my party/event?

Word of mouth, via email. Advertising your party on your site, forums, mom groups, boards, Networks, Yahoo groups, but keep in mind that some Yahoo groups do have rules for online posting on certain days. So please follow the rules and guidelines. You can also use something called an e-vite which are invitations sent to people via email that looks like a real invitation. :-) Any and all of these forms work wonders, especially when you add or entice people to come, for example. "Drawing to be held at the end of the party" or "20% off on selected items.

What are some of the things I should avoid in order to host a successful online party?

Number one thing- boredom! You want to make your party as fun as possible, it is a party after-all. A little humor goes a long way, however, what you do not want to do, is chit-chat too much. In the beginning, getting to know your potential customers is a great thing to do while you are waiting for more guests to arrive. Also be sure to use the proper Netiquette, as in Welcome to my party… greet your guests as if you are greeting them in a real-life scenario, be curteous and polite, but remember to get the party started with ample time for questions, and a game.

In deciding when to host my event, are there specific times and dates that are better than others?

Yes, never have a party around dinner time as people are very busy with their families, also, if kids are in school try not to host your parties around 2pm-3pm and never too late as well. The best time is when the kids are asleep usually around 8:30-9:pm EST. This is when most people are relaxed and able to participate in your party without any interruptions.

Let’s talk about charging for my event. What types of parties will people pay to attend and what types do you feel should be offered for free? How do I decide what to charge?

If someone is involved in a "vendor fair" then you as the vendor will be charged for a time slot, or slots depending on how many times you want to have a party. In most cases, you get a deal when taking more than one slot, but the party to the public is free for them to join in. Most do not charge for entrance into a party if you are a guest. If you are running your own party, that is free to the public as well. No one wants to pay to enter a party, in fact most are enticed by coming to your party because you are either running a special or having games and prizes.

Now if you might be doing a type of Networking event, you might consider charging for that, but in my humble opinion, it should be free to the public, because that's what gets them coming to your party along with things that will entice them.

Do you recommend we enlist a co-host for our event?

You can have someone else host a party for you yes, but in most cases it is that host who gets the rewards for hosting your party for you. Many do party swaps, where rewards are swapped that come from the company itself, but the sales that are accumulated still does go to the individual who planned the party. In this way everyone is rewarded and everyone gets the sales. Also, in some cases there is a sales quota. So for example, if xyz company/person meets $150.00 in sales that night your hostess wins whatever rewards is coming to him or her. This is another good way to get more people to coming to your event, because it is the responsibility of the host to invite people as well as your own.

Tell us a little bit more about your book: "Your Online Party Guide" All The Tools You Need to Run Your Own Online Party

My book was written basically from experience in doing many online parties and vendor fairs. It is geared towards anyone who would like to know more about online parties, from tips, tricks to ideas on how to run one properly, and ideas on games, and on how to entice people to come to you party, as well as how to create bookings, and getting people to come back to your parties in the future. All of this leads to Networking with people and capturing leads, which you can use in the future to let people know of future specials, sales, and of course coming back to your wonderful party for more sales for you, and fun for everyone. Remember, it is a party! For more information go to http://www.bizoppsnl.com/YOPG.html.

In addition to "Your Online Party Guide" All The Tools You Need to Run Your Own Online Party, what other resources do you recommend our guests check out to learn more about online Parties?

The best suggestion that I could give anyone is to actually go to some online parties/vendor fairs as a guest and to take a look at what people are doing. It is always great to have a guide around especially for beginners, as it sets the stage for you, but your next step would be to just go into a party and see what the hostess is doing, what kind of preparation did he/she do, what specials are they offering, what games are they playing if any. Some parties are just wonderful and great fun, while others are very boring, and that is what you want to
avoid.

Here is a wonderful resource to have that is 100% free to join and anyone can do parties there for free as well. http://www.sanivel.maxincommon.com.

Another resource would be, http://www.themompack.com

Hello Ellen: Are there any solid statistics on results of these online parties? Are there 'fakes' wasting the time of the people genuinely interested? Are there average percentages of closing ratio to attendees? How does one go about creating a CHAT ROOM facility and how do we solicit an audience? (Question from Christian Perkins -Solutions Analysis.net - www.SaluteHEALTH.com)

As of right now there are no solid statistics that I know of, but what I can tell you is that there are tons and tons of vendor fairs being held that are extremely successful! People who are involved in these vendor fairs/parties are not fakes, they are genuinely interested in making those extra sales. That is why there are so many parties online at this very moment. :-)

Chat rooms are already in place for you, many can be found on online party sites, Wahm sites, and different Networks, they really are everywhere. There are even places that offer these rooms totally for free. :-)

Soliciting an audience can be done in various ways....email, word of mouth, something called e-vites, if you belong to groups, you can post your invitation there, message boards, forums, etc.

Do ‘dial up’ consumers also use chat rooms? (Question from Christian Perkins)

Yes.

Do I simply go to www.ASK.com and type “chat rooms for conducting direct sales parties”? and expect that the list that I get is only legitimate, income producing ‘chat rooms’? The networking possibility sounds excellent if I can figure out how to find a specific audience that I know will benefit from what we offer. For those of us that have never been in a "chat room" and simply have not utilized online resources, start with WHERE to find reputable areas to conduct a party. (Question from Christian Perkins)

You are absolutely correct, and that is exactly why I have made this book! :-) The best advice that I can give you to find where, is to scout out online party place, simply put in your browser, Online Parties, or Vendor fairs via Online, also put in WAHM boards, WAHM stands for Work at Home Mothers. You will find a ton of information. :)

Could you tell me what types of parties are the most successful to hold online? Does anyone ever host a networking "party?" (Question from Carol Deckert, Virtual Assistant)

Great question! You can pretty much sell just about anything online as a party offering people incentives such as games and prizes or a percentage off, even a service can be sold. This in itself is a type of Networking, because you get to know the people at your party, you collect their emails and such. Yes you can most definitely have a Networking party. Imagination is a wonderful thing, and it is endless! :-)

I think majority of the time people sell products more than services, however I have seen services being offered many a time.

Thank you very much for having me! I'd love to come back and I hope everyone got some good information to help them along!

Regards,
Ellen Levinas, Author
"Your Online Party Guide" All The Tools You Need to Run Your Own Online Party
http://www.bizoppsnl.com/YOPG.html