The following blog post was originally published on 1/9/19, but updated on 5/12/20 for added value.
When leveraging your event email marketing strategy, there are five types of emails that should be sent to maximize your event’s potential and create a proper channel of communication. Think of each email as an opportunity to promote your event, even when attendees are already confirmed. This type of strategy will provide value for your audience, create trust with your organization, and keep your event top-of-mind.
Below, we’ll dive into the What, Why, Who, and When for each type of email, as well as give you some tips for success to make the most of each email opportunity. Make sure to read to the end for two bonus emails that can help take your event email marketing strategy to the next level!
Email 1: Announce
What it is:
- An announcement email is the critical first step in your event email marketing campaign. Simply put, it’s a “save the date” — it provides the What, When, and Where. Don’t worry if you don’t have the details hammered out yet, this is very basic information so that your potential attendees can go ahead and put it on their calendar.
Why send it:
- The announcement email is important to send because it let’s your audience know what’s on the horizon and gets them excited! It also helps you gauge the level of interest if you’re debuting a new event without any previous data to leverage.
Who to send it to:
- Past event attendees
- Anyone on your email list
When to send it:
- Sending your announcement email 3 – 6 months before the event will give your attendees time to make any travel preparations if needed. However, depending on the size of your event, you may need to send out this email even earlier.
Tips for Success:
- Keep this email short and sweet. It should serve as a teaser to wet your audience’s appetite.
- Just because this email is strictly informational doesn’t mean you can’t leverage a Call To Action button! We recommend adding a CTA that says something like, “Remind Me” or “Notify Me When Registration Opens.” You can then leverage this list of “hot leads” to send a 2nd email reminder 24 hours before registration opens.
Email 2: Invite
What it is:
- The invitation email is where you give your audience the opportunity to register for your event. It’s the “sale” in the event email marketing process, so make sure you include a compelling and inviting Call To Action that converts.
Why send it:
- Hopefully you’ve sent some warm up emails that give your audience the details they need, provide value, and make them want to attend. The invitation email should be the closer that they’ve been waiting on to finally sign up!
Who to send it to:
- Past event attendees
- Anyone on your email list
When to send it:
- This one depends on your timeline, the size of your event, and when you’ve announced the event, but a good measure is 3 – 6 months, or 2 – 3 weeks after the announcement email.
Tips for Success:
- Try using language that moves the viewer along a journey that ends with signing up. This can be done by providing 3 high level value props followed by a Call To Action.
- Provide multiple opportunities to convert with multiple Call To Action buttons, each with their own unique phrasing/wording.
Email 3: Confirm
What it is:
- The confirmation email basically works as a receipt to confirm their enrollment and can be automated in your event email marketing timeline.
Why send it:
- The confirmation email gives your attendees peace of mind and affirms their choice to attend your event. It will generate trust and excitement!
Who to send it to:
- Registrants who just signed up
When to send it:
- This email should be sent immediately after the attendee registers. It’s best to use automation to make this seamless, especially since signing up is top-of-mind for your attendee.
Tips for Success:
- Use positive and exciting language when crafting this email! Congratulate them on signing up and give them some details on what to expect/get excited for!
- This is an opportunity for you to plug resources, blogs, and tools to keep your audience engaged with your website. Provide links with Call To Action buttons that ride the wave of excitement for having signed up!
Email 4: Remind
What it is:
- The reminder is a soft-touch email that reminds your attendees of the upcoming event and any need to know for the day-of, including frequently asking questions.
Why send it:
- Reminder emails are a highly effective part of your event email marketing strategy and can provide great opportunities to plug event highlights such as your keynote speaker, particular sessions, and activities to generally increase the level of excitement in the days leading up to your event.
- If you’re hosting a free event or a virtual event, this email is another way to provide value so confirmed attendees don’t drop.
Who to send it to:
- Confirmed attendees
When to send it:
- Send your first reminder email 3 days before the event. Additional reminders can be sent 2 days before and the day before the event, but should be used strategically.
- If you’re hosting a virtual event, make sure to send an additional reminder email the day of your event and the hour before the event.
Tips for Success:
- With any and all reminder emails, make sure that you’re communicating value that affirms the registrant’s choice to attend, excites them for what’s to come, and gives them the details they need to attend (address, time, virtual event link, etc.).
Email 5: Follow-Up
What it is:
- The follow-up email is a great way to create an additional touch point and has myriad potential.
Why send it:
- Event promotion doesn’t stop just because your event has ended. The follow-up is a prime event email marketing opportunity to send a post-event survey or ride the wave of post-event excitement to drive sign-ups for next year’s event!
Who to send it to:
- If you’re sending a post-event survey, send this follow-up email to all who attended.
- If you’re opening registration for next year’s event, send this follow-up email to everyone on your list. Those who missed it this time around will have serious FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and are likely to sign up!
When to send it:
- If you’re sending a post-event survey, the follow-up email should go out as soon as your event ends. The most accurate data will come when the experience is fresh in attendees’ minds.
- If you’re driving registration for your next event, wait 2 – 3 days before sending your follow up email. This gives attendees a chance to breathe, time to reflect on their experience, and opportunity to share their enthusiasm with coworkers and friends. That last point is key — when your follow up email arrives, you may get more sign-ups from your attendee’s word-of-mouth promotion!
Tips for Success:
- Start with a “Thank You.” Make your attendees feel appreciated and valued and they will continue supporting you.
- Leverage highlights of your event. Include some photos, a video, and a post-event blog to remind them of all the great things that happened!
Email Extras
Depending on your event, audience, and your overall event email marketing strategy, you may want to include the following emails into your pipeline to maximize your event promotion.
Pricing Email
Who to send it to:
- Early Birds
- Email listers who are interested, but haven’t signed up yet.
Why send it:
- Early Bird promo pricing is a great way to fill seats fast and early.
- If you still have open spots close to the conference date, you might want to consider sending a flash sale email letting those on the fence sign up for a great deal (within 24 hours).
When to send it:
- If you’re doing an early bird promotional pricing, send it before the invite email.
- Flash Sale emails should be sent 1 – 2 weeks before the event to provide last minute sign ups the opportunity to change their schedule if need be.
Conference App Email
Who to send it to:
- Registrants who have paid
Why send it:
- A dedicated Conference App helps drive the visibility of event sponsors, can deliver personalized itineraries to your attendees, and gives you a way to send push notifications to communicate any changes in real-time.
- Your attendees will appreciate the reminder and are more likely to download if your Call To Action button takes them straight to the download, especially if they’re opening the email on mobile.
When to send it:
- Although this one could be included/combined in the Reminder Email, we highly suggest sending this as a stand alone email 2 – 3 days before your event.
- Send a final Conference App Email reminder on the morning of your event to ensure that everyone has downloaded the app.
These emails are a great way to set up your communication pipeline. If you’re looking for an easy email template to use, or want some creative ideas for additional email communications to send, check out our 10 Best Event Email Templates!
Looking for a dedicated event management software platform? We’ve got you covered! With ePly, you’ll be able to create exciting and memorable event experiences while streamlining the promotion, planning, execution, and evaluation processes.
Your event email marketing strategy is just one of the many steps in the event promotion lifecycle. Throughout the process, you’ll need to keep track of attendee management, ensure the on-site experience is top notch, and drive engagement on event day and beyond! To learn more about maximizing your event promotion the ePly way, check out our quick guide:
How to Successfully Promote Your Event
While important, email marketing is just a small slice of the whole event promotion pie. For more tips, check out the guide below.
