7 must-know email marketing strategies for successful event promotion

#1. Generate a quality list

You’ve worked very hard to get 100 emails for your next big event. But what happens when only 20 show up? It stinks.

A big list might offer a quick spike of signups, but it doesn’t necessarily give you the most value for your buck. Instead, focus on quality. 

You connect with them and get them excited about the event, and you make sure they get all of their contacts excited too. Then, when your event comes around, you've got a better chance of getting people out of the gate because of this enthusiasm. 

#2. Generate interest among the audience with a launch campaign

Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a good event launch email. For example, when Solitaire Bliss sent an email about their inaugural gaming tournament, they started with a captivating headline, followed by engaging bullet points about why you should go to the event. 

Easy snipe? You betcha.

#3. Lure people to your event with exclusive offers

Once you’ve had a successful pre-launch, there are several ways you can build on your launch hype. One thing in particular that seems to make a big difference is to offer an exclusive deal that is only available for a limited time. 

Here’s how it works: you provide a small reward — something like a free 20-second video, cheat sheet, or discount code — to anyone who subscribes and confirms their subscription.

According to Billetto, the following is how a typical event ticket sales cycle based on different offers looks like. 

Image Source: Billetto

#4. Add FAQs to your ticket sales page

Even if you keep repeating the event details, chances are people will still ask for detailed information right before the event. So, give them an FAQ or contact form that you can fill out with any questions or comments.

For example, here are a few sample questions that you can proceed with:

• How much does the event cost?
• Is it possible to buy tickets online? If yes, how?
• If I buy an event ticket online, how will I receive it?
• Is there a parking lot, and how much does it cost?
• What are the various forms of payment that you accept?
• Is it possible to get a refund?
• What happens if the event is rescheduled or cancelled?
• Is it possible to bring your pet?
• Do you have any discounts for senior citizens, military personnel, or others?
• Is there a minimum age requirement? Is there any kind of identification required to attend the event?

#5. Encourage your recipients to invite their connections

Why not ask your attendees to bring some friends along? The more the merrier. 

A special invitation is a  powerful email marketing method that can help make your event more successful. It works by encouraging people to tell their friends and colleagues about the event, which in turn leads to higher attendance and further leads to your success.

There are two ways to use email as a source to spread the news about your event:

By organizing competitions

• Ask them to share your event with friends
• Tag a friend on social media
• Caption a photo with good writing

Remember:  Using social media is not just about getting likes or shares; it’s about creating real relationships.

By releasing group tickets

• "Bring Your Friends" offers are an effective way to sell more tickets

Image source: Attendstar

#6. Don't forget to send reminder emails

If you don't send reminder emails, you'll miss opportunities to build anticipation among attendees. This will make it harder for them to attend your event, and they may even forget about it entirely.

Schedule regular reminders - the final one should go out at least one week in advance. Make sure you also add a bold Call To Action (CTA) that points to registration at the end of your email. 

#7. Thank your event attendees

Post-event follow-up is all about customer retention. It’s where you can go back to your attendees, let them know how much you appreciated their attendance at the event, and ask for their feedback.

You can send them a thank you note through email, Facebook messages, LinkedIn messages, or any other social media.  The idea is to reduce the gap time post-event and refresh their memories by offering valuable content related to the event. 

Image source: Campaign Monitor

You can also add the following in your thank you email:

• Post-event updates: Be sure to let your attendees know how the event went. For example, mention the number of people who attended it, how their attendance made a difference and for fundraising events let them know how much money was raised and how it will be used.
• Get feedback: Soliciting feedback helps you know if your event was a hit or not.
• Offer takeaways: For example, for training events, presentations or talks, you may want to create a slide deck with speaker notes and have it made available for download.
• Announcement about your upcoming event: Promote your next event while everyone is still talking about the previous one. When people have just had a good experience with you, they're more likely to want to hear from you again.

Wrapping up your event Email marketing practices

Event invitations are a good way to broadcast your event while building awareness about your brand. They're effective because they strike the right balance between being informative enough to get people interested, while also being short enough to not overwhelm them.

If you have an upcoming event, you can put together the above-mentioned email marketing strategies to increase your chances of success. 

Raj Marwal is an Inbound Marketing Specialist at Branticles and has over 3+ years of experience working in marketing. He loves to write on a wide range of topics like digital marketing, tech, and many more.

Social Connections: LinkedIn | Facebook