Create Online Theme Parties
If you’ve read our blog post 5 Reasons Why Theme Parties Should Be Your Go To, you probably already know that you want to run theme parties, but you might not know how to do it. Don’t sweat it, we’ve got you covered! Follow along as we teach you how to create your own theme party from start to finish. There are several components to consider when creating a theme party. There’s the theme (obviously), deciding on a layout, writing the content, creating the graphics, and pulling it all together into a party. We’ll walk you through the process step-by-step to help you get started. So, what’s first? Step 1, of course.
The very first step in creating a theme party is picking your theme. While this sounds like the easiest part, many people get stuck here. Our best piece of advice is to not overthink it! There are lots of ways to decide which theme you want to use. Perhaps there is a special event you’d like to celebrate such as your anniversary with your company, or an exciting life event for your hostess like a new house or a new baby (hello ‘housewarming’ and ‘baby shower’ themes). You may want to run a party with a seasonal theme, which is great for things like Summer, Christmas or the Fourth of July. Your hostess might be really into a particular hobby like camping or crafting or perhaps she’s known for her love of an object like pelicans or cactuses. The best part about picking a theme is that absolutely anything can be a theme. The tough part is deciding which one to choose!
3 Tips for choosing a theme
- Pick something the majority of your party guests will enjoy. If you choose something overly specific, you may have trouble getting your guests to participate because they don’t know enough about the topic. For example, a ‘Great Outdoors’ theme is more likely to catch the attention of your party-goers than a ‘Chicken’ theme (unless of course, you have a group of chicken lovers). Pro Tip: Choosing a theme that relates to the hostess is a great way to increase engagement because your hostess is the one thing your guests all have in common.
- Choose a theme that you can write a full script for. Selecting a theme is great, but you have to be able to run an entire party around that theme. If your party averages 24 posts, you need to be able to write at least 20 different things about your theme. So, be sure to select a topic you can create lots of content for. Pro Tip: Google and Pinterest are invaluable here. Start a board on Pinterest for each theme you have in mind. Start pinning the content you find and like, to give you ideas for your own party.
- Running a successful theme party is like taking your guests on an adventure! The more cohesive your content and graphics are, the more enthralled people will be with your party. Creating your own graphics is a big part of your party, and we’ll get into detail about that later. For now, just make sure you select a theme that you are able to create lots of graphics for. Pro Tip: Every post should have a corresponding graphic, video or gif as having something visual helps keep guests engaged.
Once you have your theme selected, you’re ready to get started on creating your content! Step 2 – I before E except after C
So you’ve talked to your hostess and settled on a theme. Wahoo! Step one is done. Now it’s time to start getting into the nitty-gritty of creating a theme party. This is where things start to get more complicated but also fun (well that’s what we think). Step 2 is all about creating your layout. It’s the meat and potatoes part of your party, so there are a lot of things you’re going to need to consider:
- How long do you want your party to run?
- How many posts are you going to have and what will those posts be about?
- How many games are you going to play?
- Do you want to include any extras like a music playlist that corresponds to your theme?
- How many product posts are you going to have?
- Will any of your posts be videos?
- What kind of schedule will you use for making posts during the party?
- What calls to action will you include?
- Where will you place your shop, host, join posts (beginning or end of your party)?
The layout is a big part of planning out your create online theme parties, and it’s also very important. It’s the easiest way to ensure you know what you need to focus on and make sure you don’t miss anything when creating your party.
Pro Tip: Save your more ‘risk heavy’ posts like hosting a party or joining your team for the end of your party, so that you’ve had a chance to build a relationship with your guests.
Step 3 – I Spy With My Little Eye
Now that you’ve got your layout, it’s time to create your content. We can break content down into 2 parts – post content and graphics. As much as possible, you want each post to relate to your theme! Think outside the box and look for things like quotes, jokes, ‘this or that’ posts, interesting facts, recipes, etc. Keeping an open mind and a wide-eye is going to make coming up with enough themed content much easier! Creating your own graphics is an important part of your theme party.
You want your party to stand out, and having matching graphics is an excellent start. It’s also very important to consider the possibility of copyright infringement when pulling images from search engines like Google. It’s easy to accidentally use something that could get you into trouble down the road. Stock images are a professional and easy way to start creating your own graphics, and there are countless free stock photo options available.
Pro Tip: Make sure the stock images and fonts you choose are for commercial use and do not require attribution. Step 4 – It’s Show Time!
Now that your theme party has been created, it’s time to get this show on the road! You can set up the group/event that you’re going to use for the party, invite your hostess and her guests, and run your party! Creating online theme parties is not difficult, but it can be time-consuming. If you’d like to get some inspiration for themes, check out our Scripts page. And hey, if you have a theme you’d love to see, but don’t have time to create yourself, send us a message or post it on our Facebook page!