Events are a great addition to any promotion mix. Whether it’s for entertainment, networking or conferencing you can leverage email platforms to enhance your event’s level of engagement and success. With consistent open rates and advanced functionality that isn’t reliant on an algorithm to deliver information, mail a great touch point for delivering personalised invitations and updates right to audiences’ inboxes.
First things first is your list. You may already have a database of subscribers, however if not, have no fear! You can create data capture forms on your homepage, or via Facebook, to collect user’s details. From here, you can begin designing your ‘save the dates’ or invitations. The template will need to be attention grabbing and mobile responsive considering that 66% of emails are viewed on mobile devices.The often forgotten subject line is just as important, if not more. It’s the preview to what’s within. If audiences liken it to ‘Junk Mail’ subscribers will trash the message straight away. Try split testing subject lines, to sample groups before sending out to your entire database.
When it comes to RSVPs and ticketing, marketing automations can be a HUGE help to event planners. Automations assist with managing and tracking audiences’ behaviour for simple segmentation. For example, you can set up rules to move attendees to a ‘Guest’ list who will receive auto-generated confirmation replies, any event updates or FAQs. Depending on the duration of your event, you could even send daily or weekly recaps.
Meanwhile, invitees who decline can be moved to a ‘Not Attending’ list, whilst others who don’t respond can be shifted to a ‘No Response’ list. You can touch base with the ‘No Response’ list at a later stage with a reminder campaign about ‘last chance for tickets’ and an incentive to drive urgency of purchase.
Additionally, having an ‘add to calendar’ option is a small but great tool of convenience for your subscribers to have the event electronically diarised.If your business is active on social media, you may consider integrating your strategy across social platforms with a Facebook event and paid advertising to increase event reach.
As a rule of thumb, personalise as much of your campaigns as possible to produce better click rates and engagement. Consciously or subconsciously, audiences love nothing more than reading about themselves or things that interest them. Therefore leverage any CRM data you may have to customise emails with names, company names, interests or product preferences. Alternatively, you can take advantage of the subscriber capture form to ask a question, or two, to gain more insightful information about your audience. It could be anything from location, to drink of choice, as long as it will help segment or tailor your content, event or product offering to suit the target market.
Alternatively, you can offer current or dedicated clients early bird tickets to engage customers and build loyalty. This fosters your relationships and makes the consumer feel special. Event planners are in the business of crafting experiences, and experiences are enhanced by positive customer relationships and taking note of consumer behaviour.
Last but not least, post-event follow ups are essential. Thanking your attendees for the participation will make them feel appreciated by the brand. You could include things like a survey for feedback and have an incentive to win tickets for future events or message to stay tuned for early bird access for future events. Just be mindful of not overload subscribers’ inboxes with excessive emails during the course of your event – keep it to engaging and necessary information for readers.
Now that we’ve covered the ins and outs of using email to your advantage – how are you going to shake things up for your next event?