Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar

RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post By MAXX (Guest Post) (06/18/2008) I would suggest all of the above, if budget permits. 7 Days a week, use each day for something different and maximize on profit potential. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post By Dragas (Guest Post) (06/07/2008) We have a box of random hats for Hat night, a box of tie's for tie night, we have great success with bands, look they are out there ! The bar I work at only holds 80 people and its a small community but we have a blast ! 80's night is coming up and another one is "oldies" night, all oldies all night. Its almost like a sing along. I am also brewing up an "Air Band" competition ... Report Spam or Abuse Cost of beer and liquor... Post By Lindy (Guest Post) (05/14/2008) Hi, I am thinking of buying a bar, it's just a local pub with regular customers...nothing too large! My question is how much does the beer and liquor cost monthly. I know it would vary but if someone could tell me approx what this costs, that would be a great help! Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post By Matt (Guest Post) (10/29/2007) I own/run a bar in a small yet seasonal tourist area in the pacific. I have found live entertainment is always a winner. Trying this on a week night also helps. Similar around the world Fridays and Saturdays are always a night out for punters so to get them in on the odd nights (Mon-Wed) will certainly help the cashflow. If able to get good bands this will create a regular night for your bar outside the busy fri/sat. Pub quiz is also a winner appealling to all age brackets, lots of work but worth the effort. Being a mexican bar i also sell $2 taco's on Tuesday, they are smaller meals with small margin but it gets them in the door, and am yet to see someone just eat 1. In previous pubs we also ran a live mic session, either with bands/singers or comedy nights. Theres plenty of young talent out there waiting for their 15min of fame. You never know you could give the next big star their break.... Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post By norma (Guest Post) (09/22/2007) I'm just about to manage a bar for the first time. The one thing my boss has always said is the lighting and music creates the atmosphere, so keep lighting low and the music not too loud but loud enough so people can dance if they want and also other people can still hear each other talk. Hope this helps, good luck Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post By Hank (Guest Post) (09/04/2007) Hey, I own two bars, one a honky tonk bar in Brooklyn the other a reg martini bar. one of our busiest nights can be the Mondays which typically you need to work hard on drawing people out. Do a pub quiz, people who drink or not love it. It can be a lot of work but it can be rewarding also, keep the questions fun and pop culture minded, remember your target audience. another one we are trying and its actually working is a white elephant sale on the weds, its like e-bay live, people bring there stuff and you have an auctioneer with gabble and all hawk there goods, good to keep it fun. Hope these suggestions might help good luck in your venture. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post By Justin (Guest Post) (07/29/2007) Unlike what some of the responses have suggested above, do NOT promote themes or events targeted at people not of legal drinking age. Here are some problems - Younger people cannot purchase alcohol. If you compare your potential sales of soda and juice at full capacity, to that of an average night of alcohol sales, they will probably not even be close. - Younger people love to party too, which means that they will often show up already intoxicated and will not provide any benefit to your business. - Younger people love to fight and start fights, thus you will need to hire and staff additional security to keep everything going smoothly. I have worked in a bar which occasionally would book 18+ events and it was always a horrible night for profits and for everyone who was there. Hope this helps. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and PROMOTING a Bar Post By VAkUS BAR GUADALAJARA (Guest Post) (06/19/2007) You need to meditate, evaluate and define your market first. Once you've done that, mentalize and think about your Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats on this subject (promoting and public relations), I recommend you to hire PR staff, one general PR manager that knows people and understands your bar, and 5 more that you will pay with discounts, young people are ideal for this job. Once you get this, now you can start thinking about promotions, opening more days, happy hour, cocktail night, girls night, nyc night, promoters night, get a supplier to give you free stuff, promote events for companies around your area... etc... ONE VERY IMPORTANT THING IS, FIRST THINGS FIRST, YOU CAN HAVE LOT'S OF DISCOUNTS AND PROMOTIONS BUT IF THE PEOPLE ARE NOT THERE WHO WILL BUY DRINKS? Hope is helpful, if you will like more info rduenas AT vakusbar.com http://www.vakusbar.com Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post By charlie (Guest Post) (05/05/2007) I have been managing a small pub for some time. It has always been quiet, putting a happy hour on really helped but what really got customers in was buy one get one free happy hour . you dont really make money in that hour but youve got people in there and they will stay Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post By leigh whittaker (Guest Post) (05/02/2007) if ya got a pool table have an early week pool comp....trivia nights are also good....there are lots of companies who run them....you pay them to come and do it and reap the bar sales....maybe associate it with cheap meals on that night....a good pub meal will always keep business going....with the meal do maybe the meal and a drink for a special price...have a good range of drinks behind the bar...a good selection is crucial so choose carefully and look at the area and the age of people you want to attract and choose appropriately...umm....lots of different things can factor into how successful a bar is....i hire my staff on personality not skills necessarily.....you can teach skills....i hope i have helped somewhat....good luck with it all Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post By Miranda in Missouri (Guest Post) (09/11/2006) Hi, I own a nightclub in a rural area of Missouri. Some of the main things we do here are: Mardi Gras night~of course in February it absolutely packs the house. Be careful of course with your states laws there. We have womens mud wrestling, turtle and frog races and also dildo races. You may think this sounds peculiar but it will be a great night of fun and your customers will laugh so hard they cry. I have mens hot buns contest, we have to give the girls a little fun for doing those wet tee shirt contest you know! I have a happy hour every day and an insane drink night on Fridays where I change the drink specials every 30 minutes. We have horseshoes pits outside in our beer garden where in the spring and fall we do regular pitching tournaments. We do bow shoots around spring and fall bow seasons. Definately try the ballgames as well as buying the UFC fights on PPV they pay my bills every month. Even if you have to go short order on the food it will help out alot; hamburgers, fries, chicken wings(is big), pizza, etc. This may bring you in a regular afternoon crowd as it does me. Make sure if you do a Mardi Gras to sell beads and also have a bead contest. The extra revenue from the beads may blow your mind. Hope this helps some. Good luck to your neice! I'm sure she will do great. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post By Big T (Guest Post) (09/05/2006) Hey-ya, I've been a bartender for many years, and even though I have not owned my own bar yet I have managed a few! What you need is a few very simple things. I may cost a little extra but it's so so worth it in the end! Trust my words. Get some friends, family, staff in fact to get out there and hand out very simple cheap flyers with your bar's details. Name some things your bar offers such as live bands is must if your keen in that kind of thing. Other stuff is ladies night! That's a huge one! it will get your patrons in quick smart. Be gentle on ladies drinks on ladies night if budget permits! It will blow your quiet night sky high! Hope all goes well.......Good luck! Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post by a406 (16) | (01/21/2006) Contact beach volleyball league cornhole tournament poker tournament kids night just a couple Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post By Angelique Farmer (Guest Post) (01/21/2006) I don't drink but love to dance and wish more places would make their dance floor and entertainment areas more friendly to those who don't drink. Aside from this you could recreate some shows from Tv like american idol or RockstarINXS. This would take alot of planning and effort but would probably definitly be worth it. Get local radio stations involved and sponsors for the event. Talk to your vendors see what promotional items they can give you for free. I don't know what your local laws about Sunday's are but you could open the business up to teen night (of course no alcohol). I'm not sure who your targeted customers are and what the vision was when opening the bar. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post By (Guest Post) (01/20/2006) If it's a smaller town like the ones around us, then offer a free ride home to people who've had too much to drink. A local bar does this and not only does it let the customer know the bar cares about them, but it also keeps someone from driving a car that had drank too much. I'm not sure how often they actually drive someone home, but it is still a nice gesture to the patrons. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post by ThriftyFun (3739) | (01/20/2006) Profile | Blog! | Contact These are all good tips and ideas. One that wasn't mentions was a happy hour. It gets people in the bar. Because they are new owners, it might be good to put a sign saying it has new ownership. If the old ownership had a bad reputation, it could be keeping people away. Good friendly service is very important. People like to feel like it is their bar. This is one area where newspaper advertising is useful. It costs a lot but advertising for a month with an ad in the same place in the paper would probably be useful. Mention in the ad to "Mention this Ad" for 10% off or something like that. Then they know how many people are actually seeing the ad for their information on whether or not the ad is bringing in new customers. A friend of mine with a restaurant would give out coupons to his employees. They were to only be used by their friends or family and only a one time deal. So much off on an order or a free entree. It gets new people in and family and friends of the staff can be new customers. He would use business cards and write on the back of them so he knew the offer was his. This only costs the discount on what is sold there. Susan from ThriftyFun Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post by cookwie (1027) | (01/20/2006) Profile | Contact salty snacks, karaoke night I have heard that TH night is a standard for discount drinks. Kid's birthday parties for Sat and Sun. lunches Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post By Esther from NJ (Guest Post) (01/19/2006) In the bars I've visited due to friends who have a band, I noticed the bars filling up quickly with patrons. There are a lot of young unknown bands out there. Post an ad in the paper, or if you have a sign outside, post it there. There could be free nights for any band that wants to entertain. No cost to owner. Those bands want recognition, so they are willing to perform for that, in the hope of getting hired. Also, you can post an ad for paying bands, but, they have to give you a demo, so you can judge to see if the band is good. One bar I went to, had different bands for different groups. One band played oldies for older folks, another night, they had slow dance type of music. Some nights, they had sing along bands. There are endless possibilities. Entertainment is always a plus. My friends get invited to different bars to do their gigs. They invite me all the time and it is a big difference from bars that don't have that quality. Good Luck. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post by meoowmom (1224) | (01/19/2006) Profile | Contact Sports on TV are great fun, I used to go and watch my baseball games as I did not drink not was I intresed in meeting a guy in a bar ( I mean think about it a guy that drinks?)anyway my girlfriends drank so I DROVE and one bar used to give me free sodas as I was the driver, I got a little kiddie braclet put on and kept it on and my sodas were free. This one place had turtle races for a few dollars you buy your racing turtle and it has number painted on it and you see if it wins those were big draws for all. Having snacks at bar is great like hot wings, fries with chili cheese somthing like that might help. Good Luck. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Ideas for Running and Promoting a Bar Post by kidseatfree (109) | (01/19/2006) Profile | Blog! | Contact I guess you could go with the standards: Karaoke Night Nights set aside for price specials Is it just a bar or a bar and grille? Then I would suggest... a Kids Eat Free ;) Night? 1/2 price appetizers Night Dart Tournaments T.V.'s? Sports Nights? I guess I'm thinking THEMES here. :) Report Spam or Abuse