Events, Parties and Social Business Growth

Did you just start a new business/club in Gutter Trash Alley

Did you spend thoustands of L$ to decorate it,

Did you set it up perfectly and even have a cool name ?

Perfect, now you’re probably wondering why nobody’s ever visiting you

NOBODY KNOWS WHO YOU ARE

build it and they will come is the lazy-ass lie failed business owners tell themsleves before they drown into anymosity

Local advertising

Before television, radio, paper, vendors were standing in the middle of the street screaming “Fresh apples, buy the best apples in town!”

How many people do you think heard the message? 10-20. If 1 out of 10 people buy apples that’s a WIN. But that’s not enough to sustain a business

Broadcasting 

Because their message was limited to the range of they voice, they hired people to go into the distant corners of the market and

let people know that they are selling the best apples in town.

Now if each advertiser would get 1/10 people to buy apples, that’s a  win.

…

Notices

Now let’s move from retail business to entertainment business. Imagine you’re a circus company and you just arrived in town.

You set up your tent at the edge of the town and put up posters letting people know that the show is about to start in 2 hours

You do a great show but only 5-10 people out of 5000 show up.

Imagine how many people had the chance to notice oyur advertising of 2hours, and how many will be willing to change their plans for -you-

Now let’s come back to Gutter Trash Alley and see what you do wrong and what you should do and why

What do you do wrong:

• send out a group chat saying “party in 2 hours, or party tomorrow” and expect that anyone will show up. No!
• send out group chat telling people “tomorrow night” there’s a party. My nighttime is not the same as your nighttime. I have no clue to what hours you refer to, and even worse, what if i come on my nighttime and there’s no party, i will be dissapointed
• Spread rumours about a party, but nobody comes. Yeah ofcourse, it’s rumours
• Give up after 1st try. Success is build on failures and asking the right questions: what did -I- do wrong, how can -I- do better, what can -I- offer more ?
• Blame your failures on anything but yourself. “They don’t come”, “They hate me”, “They don’t care”, “I spend so much”, “I worked so hard”.  Is not a matter on who’s right or wrong, is a business perspective matter. You have a product and you try to sell it, if they don’t buy it, you must upgrade your game, not blame the clientelle.

What you should do:

• Prepare
  • Chose the time and date of the event. Ask Dee when there’s traffic here. In GTA most people are CET timezone, so a good time to do an event is from 11PM to 3PM.
  • Don’t do weekly events . NO NO . Events should be done max every 2 weeks min once a month. Yes. Maximum every 2 weeks , so don’t do weekly events, and at least 1 event per month. 
  • Don’t do events in close proximity to other past events. If another party took place yesterday, or two days ago, people won’t show up to your event as well. 
  • The working days are hard, so start early , but on Fri-Sat you can be more flexibles.
  • Don’t do events between 1AM SLT and 6PM SLT. Not so many people around, not even on weekends because daytime is for 1st life.
  • Chose the theme of your event in relation to:
    • to 1st life (check what National day it is, or what Celebration is in world).  What is Today?
    • Second Life Events (ex: grand opening, someone’s rez day, etc)
    • Location related events: Beach party, Ghetto Party, Sewer party. Yes you don’t have to stick to your club, your brand can go anywhere.
    • Sex is so mundane in SL, is not a thing anymore, so you can do it but not so often.
  • Get a good DJ or stream yourself. Don’t overdue the music. Popular international hits from a specific time is enough. Don’t do all metal or all techno. Your clientelle is all and any person. You must please the majority not the minitory of death metalists or rave fans. Add one or two underground songs, popular techo, acid jazz, black meta songs but don’t over do it.

• Advertise, Advertise, Advertise, Advertise, Advertise (spend the next 20 mins, repeating that word in your head)
  • Notice Format must contain at least
    • Location Name
    • Location SURL / Orientation
    • Date: DD.MM.YYYY (day.month.year)
    • SLT Timezone ( AM/PM or 24H format)
    • Event Name
    • Event Description
    • Event Poster
    • Optional: Prizes if any

• advertising should be done at least 3 days before the event via City Posters and Daily Scheduled group notices (talk to Dee for that) on all GTA Groups

• ask Dee to put your event in calendar (she loves to keep things updated)
• ask Dee or create yourself a Second Life Event 
• Advertise more:
  • one day before event, you must excitedly remind people about the one-in-a-life-time party experience tomorrow
  • on the day of the event you must excitedly remind people that the event is gonna happen at X PM/AM
  • one hour before the event you begin the countdown on group chat and in world
  • 30 mins before the event you remind the countdown
  • 5 mins before the event you must be fully ready and ready to host. Send another group chat memo
• Slow down but don’t stop
  • The 1st hour of the event is always for people gathering
  • Do max 2 group notices in the 1st hour (in 30 mins, and in 60 mins). The rest of the time focus on hosting
  • Starting with 2nd hour do notices every hour or 45mins, not sooner. If you’re not partying by now, call it a day and try again another time.
  • Focus on the party
• The party is over! But you keep advertising
  • Talk about the event in the following days
  • Share pictures and stories
  • Create rumours

Turning a location into a social spot

Out of the 20-30 people who join your events only 1 or 2 will be “your clientelle’. With every event you might gain 1 more patron, but in time you also lose clientelle.

Repetition without expectation

Repetition

3 times a week you create social nights, where you define a small theme “Happy Friday’, “Topless Tuesday”, “Games Monday” , “Gossip Thursday” , “Leather Wednesday” and show the fuck up. On those 3 days a week, for 1 hour you are there.

note: yes topless , leather, bdsm, fetish events are so…old they are no longer big events” 

You can do it ad hoc but even that msut be repetitive . Instead of 3 days per week, you say once a week i’ll do this.  You send memo one day before (1 memo), 30 mins before and 5 mins before.

No Expectations: 

These kinds of social events are not to keep the place live, but to let people know you’re alive, that you exist that you come to the market everyday and scream “fresh apples”. 

RL don’t allow you to do that? Then don’t do it, or don’t complain when you fail.

Out of the 10 patrons you won at last event, if your lucky 1 will come.

Keep going, don’t stop. Show people you’re alive and that you offer them something. Upgrade and addapt your offer based on what they want/need. Be flexibile, and be active, and be repetitive!!!

1st month is like the 1st hour of the event. Some show up, many leave, few remain. The numbers depends on the pool of people you won.

Your goal is that begining of 2nd month or in 6 weeks since your first event, in one social day, to get at least 5 people.