Party Ideas: HOW to get people to come early?

[Sublim&All]

Give everyone who comes in before a certain time a lottery ticket and just raffle something nice.

At open parties at our student association, we do this sometimes raffling something such as a 7-day winter sports holiday. It's quite successful, it's something that's actually worth coming in earlier.

[dlove]

This question is the bane of my life, being primarily a warm-up DJ. It's hard, especially now everybody's skint. You want people to feel they're missing out if they're not there early...fine to get other music geeks who come just to hear the music, but you want party-heads in to make the atmosphere, too.

We have guest-lists and early bird tickets, and because it's a small town, we get to know people who generally show up early anyway, so they end up getting their own guest-lists.

I think the busiest nights are run by people who get out there and talk to people - In Real Life, face to face. With or without gimmicks, if you shoot the breeze with people regularly, they're more likely to come check what you're doing.

[Sigma]

I would go to a club early for 3 reasons: -

1. If it was packed full of women for me to ogle.

2. If drinks were cheap.

3. If the warm up DJ was playing wicked tunes.

Any 1 or more of those would do it.

[Pri yon Joni]

crazy drink special, over here in Des Moines, our thursdays are the busiest early and late in downtown for our buy 1 get 2 free drink special.........

also here's another thing we do

Instead of spending $500 a week on an ad in a local periodical in hopes to have people come, we give out $200 to $300 worth in bottle service to hot girls that guarantee the club to be packed.....people generally follow and its cheaper than putting up an ad.

[disparate]

Instead of spending $500 a week on an ad in a local periodical in hopes to have people come

Seriously? Most of the club/event listings here that I'd consult for club nights are free to advertise in. Other forms of promotion do cost a bit (flyers, PR teams, etc) but not adverts.

Then again I can't tell you when I was last somewhere the did "bottle service", different worlds and all that...

[Sublim&All]

I've been to this club in Germany where you paid your drinks inside with a pass. When entering the club everyone got such a pass, with some credit (read: money) on it already to buy drinks. And the earlier you got in, the cheaper the entrance became and the more credit for drinks you received for free. Getting in before 10pm meant paying about 8 euros and get 40(!) euros consumption credit. Believe me, the place was packed before 10.

We actually ran to that club, instead of walking

[Era 7]

make the first hour a happy hour. worked damn well for out last party.

[Grifff]

There's a bar in Liverpool called Peacock's, I'm not sure if it still does as I haven't been out in a while, but it used to do BBQs on a Friday night that were free. So it was usually fairly packed on a Friday night

[dlove]

I would go to a club early for 3 reasons: -

1. If it was packed full of women for me to ogle.

2. If drinks were cheap.

3. If the warm up DJ was playing wicked tunes.

Any 1 or more of those would do it.

Definitely! That's a major point; play to the girls.

[SimonSauter]

Great ideas so far.

From our experience unfortunately, cheaper drinks never worked That well. And tickets are not that $$ so it's not too much of an issue.

Definitely agree on the Girls part though, as well as the gays