Ideas

Think you know your Christmas party tunes? Put your knowledge to the test.

This is the season to be jolly! Christmas has inspired numerous well know hits over the past decades from Bing to Frank, Slade to Wizzard and Coldplay to The Darkness and not to forget Cliff!
We've created 10 questions to test your knowledge of Christmas Party Hits. Have a go and don't forget to share your result.

Exciting news for 2019! We are proud to announce that BookEntertainment have been awarded a place on the Ignite NI Propel Pre-Accelerator.

Earlier this month BookEntertainment's founders Keith and Denis pitched for investment and a place on the programme to the panel from Invest NI and Ignite NI. The competition was high but the investors seen the potential of our platform and awarded us a place on the team of 20 new startups.

Joining Propel will enable BookEntertainment to scale rapidly across the UK and prime us for global success. It all starts in January and we are looking forward to the mentorship, networking and new opportunities that the program will offer.

We look forward to an amazing 2019!

#Propel19

Discover wedding entertainment ideas and inspiration for your big day in Northern Ireland / Ulster. Get the low down on prices for bands, DJs, musicians and other ideas to make your wedding a little different.

Just add your name and email into the box below to get a copy sent straight to your inbox.

In this video we will be talking about reviews. 

Why reviews matter?

When was the last time you bought something online?

I bet you read some type of review on that product? 

Well the same goes with booking entertainment. As part of the sales process, potential clients will view your media, check availability and your price. If they are happy with everything there will be one more thing that they will do:

a: Want to see you perform live or 

b: want evidence to prove that you are as good as your media and write up says you are.

People, especially brides may want reassurance before they book entertainment for their big event.

Sometimes it can be bad manners to invite strangers to gate crash an event that you are performing at, so having positive, genuine reviews will give the potential client evidence on how good you really are and help sway them in your favour to make a booking. 

Did you know that a survey by brightlocal found that two thirds of customers form their opinion of a business after reading just 4 reviews. 

Word of mouth

Have you ever heard of the term word of mouth marketing? It really is the best form of marketing

However, As the years move forward, the next generation of clients have been born with the internet and what's happening? No one speaks to anyone anymore!

You probably have noticed that young people will enquire via writing a message or email rather than actually calling you. The same thing is going to happen with word of mouth marketing and the digital equivalent to a word of mouth recommendation is having positive, genuine review.

BookEntertainment has a reviews section built in to every profile and we will ask your customers to provide you with a review after every booking. BookEntertainment will also give you the chance to ask previous customers for a review to help give you a head start. This way not only will you have positive reviews, your profiles will appear ahead of others when customers filter by star rating.

How to get positive reviews?

Now you know that reviews really do matter, i'm going to give you some advice on how to always get a positive review.

Keep in touch with your client before and after the event - Something a simple as contacting the client before their event will reassure them that everything is ok with the booking.

Especially with wedding bookings, an email a few months before the gig date, confirming all details and asking if they need help with anything will give your clients peace of mind. You can also contact the client after the event to wish them all the best and ask them to write a review.

Arrive on time - Make sure you plan your travel well so that you arrive at your gig on time. If your running late due to unforeseen circumstances, call your client straight away and explain the situation.

If its a wedding, call the manager of the venue or the wedding planner if you are running late as the bride and groom generally won't be contactable on their big day. 

Etiquette on the gig - I shouldn't really need to tell you this as its just good manners. Don’t get drunk or let musicians/ staff get drunk, be polite and don't go near the buffet unless the client asks you. Again this is just good manners

Presentation - Make sure you present yourselves in the best way possible. If you need to load gear, try and wear a dark polo shirt and black trousers with a dark coat - don't be arriving at a gig in gym wear. How bad would it look if you are dressed in a neon tracksuit to load gear into a wedding. You could brand up your loading in outfit with your logo etc.. for extra presentation points. 

On stage make sure you and your musicians or staff are presentable and dressed appropriately for your type of event. Finally make your gear nice and tidy, velcro or tape down loose hanging wires and always keep backup essential items like a spare amp, leads mic’s etc..  just in case something breaks during the performance.

Flexibility - Sometimes events run late and as an entertainer you have to just deal with it. You may rock up at a gig only to find that the full event is running 2 hours late. If you use a contract you are probably entitled to perform only to the set times in your contract. 

But really? Is the risking your reputation worth it? I have heard horror stories from clients who have booked a bands for their wedding and their wedding ran behind by an hour. 

The band where booked to play for 1 hour and 30mins and because the wedding ran late the band only played for 20mins and refused to play any longer. You need to work with your client and try to compromise with late running events. Would you rather have a great review on how you where really helpful or a bad review because you where black and white with a contract?

Put on a good show! - If you are genuinely talented at your profession or you if your an event hire pro - put on a great service then you should have no problem whatsoever at getting great reviews. 

But if you can talk the talk but can't walk the walk and your show is rubbish then it doesn't matter how nice you are, it's the entertainment business and you will get bad reviews. Don't over sell your act to avoid disappointed customers - There more on this at the end of the video.

All these steps will help satisfy your client and turn them into a raving fan! If they don't give you a review straight away, don't be scared to reach out to them after the gig and ask for a review.

Why fake reviews don't work?

Since the dawn of the internet, people have been trying to be something they’re not. Unfortunately some musicians, bands, DJs entertainers and event hire services are no exception when it comes to playing this game.

Most of us have read product or service reviews online and have probably noticed fake ones! Despite the anonymous nature of reviews, clients are smart and can usually spot out non genuine review. Maybe you are tempted to add some fake reviews? Well they don't work.

Firstly, research from the wall street journal shows that purchase likelihood spikes at 4.5 stars. That's right 4.5 not a perfect 5 stars! That's because potential clients like to weigh the pros and cons and make their own decision. They don't care if there are a few negative aspects about the service as long as their own needs are fulfilled. Reviews that are always 5 stars seem suspiciously too imperfect.

Second, too many fake glowing reviews can then cause bad reviews in the future as clients will have over inflated expectations. If your show or service is not up to the standard in your fake reviews then the client will be disappointed and will leave you bad feedback in the future. 

Finally, it's just the wrong thing to do. Buying fake reviews is unethical and does not help you truly improve as and act in the entertainment industry. You should provide media, write up and reviews that allow the client to make the right choice and have clear expectations. If those expectations have not been met, maybe you should watch my video on how to price your act up and listen carefully to the value section.

How to deal with a bad review?

Its every acts nightmare! A blotch on your record that could potentially turn customers away! It will eventually happen at some stage no matter how good you are, because you can't please everyone. 

But Don't let the negative review just sit there, you have the power to respond and if you respond the right way, you can turn it into a positive!

Look for commonalities:

• Firstly it's important to note that not all client feedback is beneficial. Taking each and every review into consideration may actually harm your service. 
  
• When you start reading through reviews, start by looking for any themes or repeated complaints. The most common word in negative online review is “disappointed”. 
  
• This implies that client had higher expectations of your service. Once you have identified the patterns, figure out what aspect of your service is causing the the issue with your clients.
  
• Upon determining which aspect of your service needs improvement, brainstorm solutions and weigh up the outcomes. 
  
• For example if you are getting complaints that your band members or staff are causing issues then consider setting policies, providing extra training, speaking with them or ultimately replacing them.

The most important thing is to learn from the negative feedback and don't take it personally.

The next thing to consider is responding quickly.

• Respond to complaints quickly and in a professional manner. When client go to the trouble of submitting a review they expect an answer fast.
• Make sure you thoroughly read all the reviews people post about your service and don't let anger and frustration take over.
• Let cooler heads prevail. Apologise, if need be and say sorry for their experience and explain how this is unusual to get bad feedback. 

Offer your client a goodwill gesture to show that you actually care, this could be a partial refund, a gift or if applicable money off their next booking.

Fake negative reviews

Finally in the last section I mentioned fake positive reviews, sometimes you can get malicious fake negative reviews. For whatever reason, people may decide to leave you a malicious negative review. The best thing to do about this is report it to the administrator of the reviews service that you are using.

Explain the reasons why the review is fake and justify why you want it to be removed. While you wait for the administrator to sort it out, reply back to the malicious review and state that you haven't done business with this person and believe the review to be fake.

Summary

• Customers will look for reviews of your service to help them make a decision to book
• To get positive reviews, consider things like communication with the client, punctuality, etiquette at the gig, presentation of your show, flexibility with timings and the quality of your talent
• Don't be tempted to use fake reviews as you will get caught out
• If you do get a bad review, use the information to help improve your service and turn the negative into a positive 
• And report malicious negative reviews to the administrator

Let's hear what your thoughts are by leaving a comment below

Happy Gigging!

Keith

In this video we will be discussing how to price your act up. Whether you run a Band or your a musician, dj, entertainer or you run an event hire service - Your running a business and you need a proper pricing structure for your gigs. I will be talking about how you perceive your value, how to create packages for your customer, how to factor in your running costs, competitors and how best price up your travel.

Value

Before you price up your act, you need to work out your value.

What is value? The extent to which your service is perceived by your customer to meet their needs. Its  

Basically : What are you worth?

Lets give you an example: You are cooking a romantic meal for your loved one and lasagna is on the menu. Its £1 for Tesco value lasagne or £5 for a Waitrose lasagne.  Why would you buy the Waitrose lasagne? You perceive the value in the name, packaging, marketing and you want to impress your other half and a Tesco value lasagne isn't going to cut it. Other brands are available.

What's this got to do with entertainment? Do you want to be a cheap budget act or at the top end of the market?

Some points to consider to work out your value:

• How much experience do you have?
• How talented are you?
• Do you have a record to prove your worth it? Have you got an extensive list of real reviews from your past customers?
• Is your equipment the best in the industry?
• Are you doing business the right way with proper insurance cover and are fully compliant with tax?
• Have you invested in top class photos and videos to showcase your value?

Think about all these factors to help you work out what you are worth

Running Costs

Remember - whether you like it or not, you are running a business and like any business you need to cover you overheads and make a profit. In my career as an entertainment agent, I have seen acts price themselves far too cheap just to get gigs and they don't make any profit - They are busy fools and won't last - especially if they are taking bookings up to 2 years ahead. 

You need to take the following running costs into consideration:

• Band members / Deps / Staff wages
• Insurance, telephone, website, bank fees
• Accountants cost and tax
• Motor vehicle costs
• Cost of purchasing or maintaining equipment like pa
• Cost of consumables that you may use

Have a think about what things cost you over a year, then work out what you need to charge per gig to not only cover these costs, but make yourself a decent living too. Don't price yourself too cheap to get gigs and Dont play for free - Exposure won't pay for your bills!

Competition

What are competing services like your act charging for a gig? Again think about the previous 2 points, value and running costs. Don't try and be the cheapest as it's a race to the bottom.

Some acts are apprehensive about displaying the price online as competitors will see it. Well I can set up a fake email in one minute and mystery shop you for your price. Your competitors already know your price anyway and customers will shop around google and contact at least the first 10 search results for price anyway. 

Some people will advice you not to display prices as you can email your customer and close the deal better. - This actually doesn't work anymore - customers will make their decision to book by looking at your media and reviews. It doesn't matter how hard you try to persuade them in an email, they just want price and availability and will make the decision themselves. 

Give the customer what they want and don't be afraid to display your prices

Packages

So now you will have worked out your value, running costs and what competitors are charging. It's time to work out your prices - The best way to do this is by structuring your prices into packages - Customers absolutely love packages!

Create your packages based on performance times and exclude travel for now.

You could start with a package for your basic service for your standard performance times and then create additional packages for things like extra performance times, additional options or an enhanced service.

It's also a good idea to create 3 levels of packages like silver, gold and platinum. Research shows that most customers will not want a basic package and will always opt for the middle or top end package this means that if you price it properly you will make extra profit per gig.

Add the extra profit up over the year and it could be a substantial rise in your income.

Wedding price vs Party price

Some acts may price weddings more expensive than functions or venue gigs. If you want to do this its best to have a separate actname for for the wedding market so that you can justify the extra charge. 

For example your band for gigs at functions and venues are called “The Amplifiers” that wear casual dress on stage and have a party playlist. Then for weddings the band are called “The Wedding Band” wear suits on stage and have a playlist that's geared to weddings. Doing this will save any hassle with wedding couples trying to get your party rate.

Early setups

Also consider how long it will take to get setup. Some clients request that they need an early setup or late packup. The best way to do this is to create an early setup or late pickup fee and charge it per hour. Make sure that it covers you and other members or staff to wait around.

TRAVEL

After you have got your packages in order, then it's time to consider travel. Some acts do this on an as and when basis or charge per mile and the whole pricing setup becomes messy.

The best way to work out travel is to break your area up into each county and charge a fixed fee per county. For example you are based in Nottingham. So your county is Nottinghamshire offer this county for free and as you are right beside Leicestershire and Derbyshire offer these counties for free. Then charge a fixed fee for the neighbouring countries of South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Staffordshire, West midlands, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. 

Take traffic hotspots and travel times into consideration and price each county accordingly. If you are paying for staff, dep musicians or other band members, price up their fees per county and this will make it really easy to work out travel expenses to pay and save any arguments about extra fees for gigs.

Changing prices per date

Finally consider adjusting your price for for specific dates

You could increase your package price for really popular dates such as New Years Eve, Bank holiday weekends and Christmas party nights.

Or you discount your prices for quiet season like January and February, and quiet days like Monday-Wednesday. Just make sure that you cover your overheads and still make a profit when you are discounting.

Summary

• Its best to create a systemised, clear pricing structure for your act. It will make it easier to price gigs up and keep everything consistent.
• Make sure you price your act according to your value and what you are really worth
• Cover your expenses and make a profit that you can live on
• Make sure you are in line with your competitors prices but don't price yourself cheap
• Create packages for your customers to choose different options
• Have an early setup or late packup option
• Structure your travel fees per county
• Consider increasing prices for popular dates and discounting for quiet dates

I hope this helps you get a clear picture of how to structure the pricing of your act. 

Let's hear what you think by leaving a comment this post.

Happy Gigging!

Keith

In this episode we are going to be covering GDPR - and what to do with as a Band / DJ / Musician / Entertainer to make sure that your covered. 

There's so much scaremongering going on in the business community about GDPR - Im going to show that with a little bit of work, you will be compliant in no time!

Introduction

Im sure you have heard of GDPR and if you haven't this video will really help you meet the new regulations regarding Data Protection. You need to be compliant now! And if you hold any personal data i.e. email addresses, names, and phone numbers of european citizens you will need to comply with the regulation.

Even post brexit GDPR will still matter in the uk and if you don't have a proper policy in place and something happens -  you could face a fine. If you google gdpr you are going to find a lot of conflicting information and most of it will not apply to your entertainment business. 

Lets go through some of the main points that you will matter to your entertainment business.

The gdpr has 2 main objectives

"To give citizens and residents control of their personal data - Basically to give control of data back to the people"

and

"To put a single set of rules in place - There are lots of different data protection laws in place and its very messy, gdpr streamlines all the laws and regulations into one big policy to make everything clearer"

The gdpr is about privacy by default instead instead of privacy only if you opt out. With gdpr You are going to have privacy, unless you opt in. And you will have more rights to your information that businesses hold on you. This is good news if your a citizen, this causes a slight headache if you own a business. Even if you DJ at weddings as a part time business, your still a business and need to comply.

The gdpr understands that we respect, value and protect people's personal data and if you understand this, then you really don't have to worry about anything. You already might be doing the right steps to be complaint or maybe you need to knuckle down on a few things to get you over the line to comply.

The gdpr applies to all the personal data that you hold including suppliers, clients both past and present, employees (or band members both past and present), contacts and leads!

Lets get your GDPR sorted:

You must know and understand all of the data you hold. Where did the data come from, where is it stored and how are you using it?

Where does this personal data that you hold on people come from?

Does it come from Wedding fayres, contact forms on your website , enquiries or competitions?

Under gdpr you need to how you ended up with that data.

If you use booking management software like Overture, DJ intelligence or giggo then you are already covered for gdpr and this makes life a lot easier. All bookings that will be done through BookEntertainment’s integrated booking system will be fully compliant too. 

If you are using a manual booking system then now might be time to change. If you are do email marketing to your customers you need to have some sort of gdpr compliant email marketing software like mail chimp to keep you covered.

As long as you take the time to set these up properly, you will know someone came into your world. Whether they are a wedding fayre lead, web enquiry, phone enquiry, social media enquiry etc..

Know exactly where your data is stored

Stop collecting data manually using your own systems, having booking management software and email marketing software that is already GDPR compliant means that you can run your business on their systems and let them worry about gdpr security. 

This means that all your personal data is stored within these systems and nowhere else and its sorted!

Using these systems will also answer other parts of GDPR such as the person's right to Access, Rectify, Erase or Move Data. 

How are you using the personal data you hold?

What are you doing with the data you hold? This has to be clear - People have given you details for lots of different reasons. Someone may of enquired about pricing a gig up which is a lead for you. You now have lots of personal data about that person. 

Under GDPR you can only contact them about their enquiry and NOT anything else. The same is for past and present clients. You can only contact them about gig details only and that's all. The days of automatically adding them to your email marketing list are long gone. Under GDPR this will be enforced and you contacts will be more aware and less tolerant.

Use your booking management software for clients data and use your email marketing software for email marketing lists. This way it keeps your clients gig data separate from your email marketing data. If you want to market to your clients you now have to get their EXPLICIT CONSENT to do so.

If you rely on consent to process people's personal data, that consent has to be clear, specific and explicit.

Whats process mean? It means your using their data to do something with it. 

If your sending out marketing emails out to people on file you could be doing everything ok but there are also a few things you need to tighten up. You can no longer assume that no one wants to hear from you unless you have their explicit consent and can prove that you have it.

Its no longer acceptable to ask people to opt out of your email marketing they now have to opt in and you cannot pre tick the box for opting in! When you are sending out email marketing communication you must have a clear unsubscribe button so that people can opt out. Again if your using email marketing software, this will come as standard.

You can encourage your existing clients past and present to be added to your email list by using your email marketing software to ask them to opt in. Just be clear in the email what they are opting in for. If they don't opt in then you can keep them on your booking management software and communicate about their gig info only. 

What about people already on your email marketing list? 

To be on the safe side you should send these contacts an email to opt in again for their consent, especially if you have taken the addresses without their permission. 

You should screen shot your website contact form and save the screenshots somewhere safe to have proof that you have had opt in forms in the past. Always better to have it now than look for it later! If you already know where your data has come from and you have always asked for consent before adding someone to your email marketing list. You will have nothing to worry about and all you will have to do is tighten up your process a little. 

Under the gdpr there has to be a clear record of how and when someone gave you their explicit consent to contact them. When you use an email marketing system this will be also be covered. 

Other things to consider:

Add a privacy policy on your website - you can find loads of templates online - make sure its gdpr compliant and make sure it covers you.

Conclusion

Email marketing is going to be a lot more tougher and I honestly think it's not going to be effective as it used to. But don't worry you can use BookEntertainment to promote your act online and take bookings without all the time wasting emails checking price and availability.

I hope this helps you get an understanding of GDPR and what you have to do to be compliant. 

Happy gigging!

Keith

In this episode i'm going to talk about organising your gig diary. 

Dates

Dates are the single most important element to your entertainment business. They need to be planned properly and your diary needs to be strictly organised. I remember as a mobile DJ a school formal assumed that they booked me when they didn't. I got a phone call out of the blue one Friday night asking me where I was? 

I had to literally drop everything, including my girlfriend and frantically load up the car and drive really fast to the venue. I was one hour late and wasn't organised or dressed properly to do the gig and it just wasn't a gig that I would be proud to do.

Luckily it was the organisers fault as I had a system in place to confirm every booking in writing and they actually did not confirm the gig properly. This was the client's fault, but imagine if you didn't run your diary properly and it was your fault. What a disaster that would be to your reputation.

Another aspect of being in this game is that we are weekend warriors and the weekend is where our family and friends have parties, get married etc.. So we have to miss out on these occasions as we are usually working at other people's occasions. 

Plan your diary in advance

When do you get your bookings? If your scene is the pub and club scene, usually up to 6 months in advance, if your in the Wedding and corporate scene it can be sometimes up to 3 years in advance. So you have to plan your life in advance.

Book your holidays well in advance and then block book it off in your diary. Have you got children at school? Take a look at school events such as christmas plays, sports days etc. and book it off in your gig diary in advance.

Do your run a band? Make sure you organise your members diaries for their holidays and events. Or make sure you have deps organised for their absence.

Type of diary

When I was a dj I had to buy paper diaries a few years in advance. If i got an enquiry from a customer and I wasn't beside my trusty collins diary I had to call the customer back.

If i lost my diary I would of been screwed.

This manual diary system is slow, unreliable and is stuck in the past century. As an entertainment agent, I still have acts running their diaries this way where I have to text them to check availability. Its too slow and It costs them business as other acts that use an online calendar can get booked quicker and will get more gigs.

If you're using an online diary such as google calendar, well done to you. If you're still using a paper based diary you are going to have to change for the future.

Why use an online calendar for your gig diary?

Its with you all the time-  On your smartphone you can instantly access your calendar and check or add bookings. It's backed up, Lose your paper diary, lose all your information. Lose your phone? The diary is still there on the cloud.

Sharing - With google calendar, you can share your availability with agents and only let them see busy/available without any further details or you can share your gig diary with your band or staff members to help organise everyone the right way.

With sites like book entertainment, you need to have your diary organised online and sync your availability so that customers can fill in the blank dates with paid bookings. If you still don't want to ditch that leather bound paper diary, you can always run the two methods together as a hard backup.

See: how to sync your google calendar with BookEntertainment

Summary

• Plan your year or years ahead including holidays and family events.
• If you have other staff members or musicians, make sure they also plan their year in advance and plan your deps in advance to cover them.
• Ditch your old paper diary and go online

Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below:

Happy Gigging!

Keith

Party planning guide - When you’ve been placed in command of organising the next big birthday party, family anniversary, or staff do, it can all get a bit overwhelming - especially if it’s the first party you’ve ever organised. Party planning is daunting enough, but if you’re a first time party planner it can feel like you may as well be stood at the bottom of Mt. Everest in flip flops with a handful of elastic bands. Fear not, however, because we’ve put together a step by step guide for first time party planners to take the dreaded hassle out of organising a fun and memorable party.

First things first: get your planning hat on well in advance.

It’s human nature to put things off. We’ve all left something important to the last minute, promised ourselves it would be different next time, and, when next time rolled around, once again indulged in a little last minute terror. Normally things are a little rushed, but they get done all the same. Sadly, this is not the case when it comes to organising a party. The fact of the matter is that the earlier you start planning, the better your party is going to be. It’s tempting when you’re organising a party for adults to just tell everyone to show up with enough beer to do them, stick on your own music and leave people to their own devices. For a casual house party this is probably the way forward. But if you’re considering in-depth planning, a casual house party is probably not what you’re going for. 

Even if you’re not naturally inclined to being a planner, you have to step into those shoes if you want your first party to go off without a hitch. Make some lists – but be sure you don’t go overboard. You’ll want to write down everything to do with budget, guests, and times...but if you’re producing a list detailing what you want everyone to be doing at any given time for the entire duration of the party, there’s a chance you’ve gone a bit overboard. As a first time party planner, you’re going to feel like you’re in that area when you’re making lists full stop, but you definitely need them if you’re going to get anywhere. You’ll need a few basics: a guest list, a budget list, and an ever-evolving to-do list that you will no doubt happily burn once the party is over. 

Begin at the beginning

Get your basics sorted first. It may seem silly, but ask yourself a few simple key questions before you bury your nose in the fancy notebook you bought specifically to house your party planning notes (a necessary purchase for the truly organised amongst us). You need to consider three main questions: who the party is for, what they like, and if they’re going to want all the things you want. It’s easy, as a first time party planner, to forget that this party isn’t actually for you. If you’re organising a party for your great aunt Josephine’s 70th birthday, it might be a good idea to take a step back and consider your key questions: does she share your passion for 80s hair metal? No, she doesn’t. It’s a good thing you double checked that before you hired in the Poison tribute act. No matter what the occasion is, the party recipient is the most important person to consider.

Once you’ve cemented who the party is for, you can pencil in a date and a time. Parties thrown during the week will definitely work out cheaper for you, but your guests will most likely need to be up in the morning for work, so they won’t be able to overindulge or stay too late. Maybe this suits the type of party you’re trying to throw. If it does, good news – if it doesn’t, then you need to rethink your dates. For first time party organisers, beware the coin-toss that is a Friday night party. It can go two ways: either your guests show up ready to have a good time after the stress of the working week, or absolutely wrecked from the culmination of five days hard labour.  

Time becomes a key player in party planning – more so than you’d probably think. It plays a huge role in both your food and entertainment choices. If you’re holding a party that starts at 6pm then you better feed your guests something decent, but if it’s an 8-til-late soirée then finger food will probably suffice. Chances are you don’t want a party DJ at a lunch time birthday party, and a balloon modeller probably won’t hold much attention by 11 o’clock on a Saturday night at your staff party. Once you have your date and time sorted you can move onto the real numbers game: your guest list. 

Having a solid guest number is integral to choosing a venue, as well as being an easy way to separate out your budget. You need to take some time to sort out your guests – take out that new special notebook you bought and make your first big list. Start off with your absolute must haves, and then go on from there until you have everyone you want to invite. As a first time party planner, chances are you’ve accidentally created an encyclopaedia of everyone you’ve ever met on your first go, so read through it a few more times to shave off a few non-essentials. Once you’ve got your list down to a reasonable level, make sure you contact your non-essentials straight away to make sure they’re available. If they can’t make it, and you can’t make it a party without them, then you may have to reschedule. Send your guests a quick text to let them know the party’s happening and it has a provisional date. Remind them later by email, or set up an event on social media to make sure they know about it. A good idea is to keep your finalised guest list with you, and update it when people contact you with their RSVP information, as well as other little details like food allergies or issues like epilepsy which could be an issue.

Pick a Price and a Place

Now that you have your guest list, you can sort out your budget. You’ve probably balked at the idea of setting a budget previously – you’re an adult, you live within your means, you’re not going to blow through money on a party! You’ve got more sense than that! Well, to put bluntly, you are. You’re a first time party planner, and you’re very much are going to lose track of yourself when you see all the amazing things they make for parties these days. If you don’t set a budget, stick to it, and studiously write down everything you buy, you will get carried away and bankrupt yourself. Poor self control in the presence of Really Cool Stuff is just human nature, and as such you need to sort out exactly what you need, and how much you’re willing to spend. Set your overarching budget first, and work downwards from there. 

Having set a budget that you’re definitely going to stick to, and a definite guest list, you can now start having a real think about a venue. If your party is small enough to hold at home, or if you’re lucky enough to have a party room in your house (which is, apparently, a thing that people literally have), you’re sorted. It may seem the easiest option but once again you have to ask yourself some questions: have you got enough chairs? Enough space? Enough patience to clean up after your guests the next day?

If your guest list is big, but not huge, consider a room in a restaurant or bar. But, if you’re planning a really big shindig, a venue room is probably the best way to go. If you’re going for a venue, make sure it’s a venue that everyone can enjoy Is it wheelchair accessible? Is it close enough to the city for people to actually find? How are they going to get home? Seasoned party planners know you never trust the pictures online when it comes to venue booking, so make sure you get a real life view of your venue before you make anything final. The quality of a venue can really make or break the party – you can have the nicest canapés in the world, but if the toilets are grotty people will still focus on that. 

Food and Drink

Whilst it’s tempting to try and get food and drink knocked off the list early, you’re flirting with disaster if you try and sort it before you’ve got guest numbers and a time for your party. Food and drink need to match up with your guests, both in numbers and needs. If your event is around dinner time, sink a chunk of the budget into putting on a proper meal, lest you have hangry (that’s hungry and angry) friends, family, or colleagues leaving early in search of real food. A later evening party is likely to get a bit boozy, so bring out the real greasy crowd pleasing nibbles. For a party during the day fresh veggies with tasty dips can be a good choice. Regardless of time, venue, or anything else, make sure you have at least three bowls of crisps circulating at any one time. Trust us.

When it comes to alcohol, if you’ve picked a venue with a working bar, there’s not much you have to do. If not, you need to put a little bit of thought into what you’re providing. Will it be self serve from drinks you’ve provided? Bring your own? A mixture of both? If you’re putting on the liquid spread yourself, make sure you provide ice, as well as non-alcoholic options for those guests who prefer to keep a clear head.

Entertainment

You need to book entertainment well in advance if you want to have options. Venue and guest list play a big role here, and by now you’re no doubt about either. If you have a big venue, and best guest list, then the next logical step is big entertainment. Since this is your first time planning a party, chances are it’s your first time sorting out entertainment on a large scale. Long gone are the days of the iPod disco, even for those of us with the excuse of being first time party planners.

If venue size permits and you need music that lasts the whole party, the easiest option is to hire yourself a DJ. For a musical showpiece, a live band is sure to impress guests. If you’re organising a smaller soirée, however, it’s possible to maintain the atmosphere that live music gives by hiring out a duo or trio to perform. It may not seem like much, but it really goes a long way and leaves a lasting impression, both of the party and of you as a now-experienced party planner. 

Remember however that entertainment doesn’t live and die with live music – consider hiring out other event services, or an excellent idea for either a venue or an at-home party is the addition of a fun casino night. Casino hire is popular enough that people aren’t going to be perplexed when it arrives, but still uncommon enough that it hasn’t become cheesy or overdone. 

Mix and mingle might be enough to keep your party afloat, but why take that chance? You can have a chat and a few drinks any night, and providing entertainment for your guests is an easy way to make sure everyone gets in the party mood from the outset. For a house party, set piece entertainment should be enough to keep everyone lively, but for bigger venues you’re probably going to want to hire something that’ll last you all night, or a few smaller pieces dotted throughout the evening. Don’t count out party games like twister, or plugging in a dance mat – they’re going to take everyone back to the excitement of those childhood birthday parties, and they’re not mandatory for those who’d rather sit them out. You’re a first time party planner, so no doubt the reams of results that your search engine threw back at you is seems insurmountable. Don’t be afraid to reach out to an entertainment booking website, they’re big, experienced, and there to help.  

To conclude

The key for any first time party planner is not to stress too much. Start your planning early, and make sure you stay organised and on top of things. Chances are this party is for someone you care it about, be it family member, friend, or colleagues, and they’re going to be pleased with the amount of effort you put in and appreciate it was all for them. Make sure when you’re endlessly planning that you plan to have everything sorted an hour before the party so you have time to unwind and enjoy the fruits of your labour. It’s tempting to go over elaborate with your first party, but remember – it’s about fun, not finances. People will come to a party you’ve organised because they want to, so they’re already looking forward to it no matter what you’re doing! Do the hard work in advance and don’t absolutely lose it over disasters – you need to be involved and present at the party, not crying in the kitchen because you’ve burned the sausage rolls. If you take your time, follow our guide, and stop for breath every now and again, your guests will remember your first ever party for all the right reasons.