Save The Date Event Email Marketing Explained From A to Z

Introduction

If you are an event planner there is a lot that you got to do to make the event a success. There is a myriad of physical activities that are to be performed. The good thing is that getting the word to the people is not as hard as it seems. You can easily focus on the logistics to ensure that event goes smoothly. Event Email Marketing strategy, first of all, includes an enterprise-grade dedicated email server. Then comes the email marketing tools that are used to spread the word among the people. These tools are so important that about 40% of the total event marketing agencies admit to using email marketing to get results. 

The best part of email marketing is that it is scalable to large contact lists and can get results for all sorts of businesses. When integrated with an enterprise email marketing server it can do wonders for your business.

What Event can Email Marketing do for you?

If you want to know how to be successful in event planning then consider the following points to be at the top of the game. 

• Charge up your audience even before the details of the events are finalized.
• Encourage your audience to get early tickets and offer discounts.
• Always remember that promotions will promote your event.
• Set a countdown to buy the tickets and remain in touch with your audience.
• Send confirmation emails regarding payments or successful registration.
• Always tie your audience with what is about to happen at the event.
• Communicate clear and concise info about the event venue and timetable.
• Share event pictures in the memories and follow-up emails to get the element of nostalgia. 

In the following details, we will show you how event email marketing works. From setting up the campaigns to the overall management of the event everything will be discussed in great detail. We will also guide you about the enterprise email marketing server and why it is a must-have for your event marketing. It is a completely practical guide that you can apply to the coming event that you organize. Event email marketing is not a complex topic at all. There are some points that you need to focus on to make your campaign a success. If it is done correctly then you are good to go. 

How to Gather People? (Most important)

Now you have scheduled an event and plan on promoting it on a massive level the first question is who will be at your event. In other words, how will you gather people for your event? List building is one of the most important steps that you have to take even before the event is finalized or even thought about. Newsletter subscription is the key to success in this regard and many massive event organizers do so to build a list of potential people that will attend the event. 

There is no need of sending the email every week but the only thing you need is signup or opt-in form. It will make sure that the people genuinely willing to be a part of your event give you all the necessary details. Every time your page is visited you get more potential leads and event attendees. Once the details of the event are finalized you already have a list full of people that want to hear from you. 

Effective Signup Forms 

The signup forms should be such that they convey the message in full and promptly. It should be clear enough to answer the questions like why people should sign up. What are the advantages and why people should be attending the event? If all these questions are answered completely then it means that your signup form has all that it takes to be the best. 

The Outlandish Way

Just hold a pre-event gathering and ask the people to sign up for the email listing by jotting down their email addresses. The consent and why they are giving away their email address is also important to create a level of trust. In all such events, you can also have special booths to make sure that you gather all such data from the users that are visiting. Special tablets or booths with tablets and laptops can be set up to encourage the users to enter the data that they require. A reward, as a result, will get you fiery results that you cannot even imagine. 

Automated Emails do the Trick

Whether it is an online webinar or a full-fledged trade show automated emails are a very important part of the campaign. Now there is no need to bombard the inbox with emails as it is a turnoff for many users. A couple of automated emails will get you the desired results that you want to have. Consider the following points to set up your automated emails campaigns:

• An announcement is all that stirrup the ambiance so it should be alive and kicking.
• Make sure that you provide discounts on tickets in form of sales and email is sent in this regard as well.
• FOMO usage in the message headlines will increase the CTR of your emails.
• Use transactional emails to send the tickets.
• Reminder emails are too important and must be sent to keep the audience intact.
• A recap email that highlights the best parts and promotions of the event is also important.

It might sound like a lot of work but it is not like the latter part of this article deals with an enterprise email server. You will get an idea of how easy it is to set up campaigns of this sort.

The Seven-Step Process

Step 1: The announcement Email

This is the first interaction that you do with the attendees. It should be spicy and enticing as much as possible. All you need to do is to spark curiosity as much as possible. If the event is a conference the announcement email will be weeks before and in the case of the festival this period is of months. Using catchphrases will also increase a sense of personalization with the attendees and it will also make sure that you get the best results. Also, make sure that you keep the event details as vague as possible to keep the element of surprise. Do keep in mind that you give an idea that why your event is important and what value it will provide to the people.

Step 2: Event Email

This is the email that should erase all the cloudiness that you created using the announcement. It means that you get the complete information to the users that what they can expect from this event and they are about the have the time of their life. The headline should say it all or it should be killer to explain everything to the user. 

This email must be sent the day after the event announcement email. If you have an enterprise email server setup then add triggers. Send the second blast of email to only those people that have opened the first email and are yet to take any action. Add a clear call to action in this regard so at least the users get to know where they need to register. 

Step 3: Last-Minute Offers

This will make sure that the recipients take quick action as we all know that things are missed at the last minute. It has happened to all of us at some point in life. The catchphrases are also to be used here such as the early bird offer expires tonight, the rates will go up, and only a few days left. Such phrases will instill a sense of urgency and the people will rush to get the tickets or attend the event that you are organizing. 

Make sure that the readers know the details that acting quickly will save them both time and money. Setting up these emails a few days before will make sure that your readers get an email that is nice and reminds them of acting or else it’s too late.

Step 4: Confirmation Email

This is the sales email that you will be sent to the customer and it is the most important email that you will be receiving. It should be short and must contain all the relevant information. Make sure that the email is sent as soon as the reader has purchased the ticket as customers now need proof of purchase.

Step 5: Event Insights

It is another important email that will ensure that your readers are kept intact and never feel deserted. It is one of the most important emails and must contain fun facts about the speakers or the event organizers. It is a sort of additional email that you need to send to the readers. It is important as it also contains a call to action for the readers that open the email but take no action.

Step 6: Remind the Readers

This becomes important if the event is not bombastic at all. You must keep the readers in the loop before the event starts and for the same reason send reminder emails. In case the event is online it is wise to send the reminder email right on the day of the event. If the event is offline then such emails must be sent 2 days before the event starts. It should mention what the attendee should be prepared for, what is the event about, location, date, time, and any other relevant information. 

Step 7: The Recap

Even if your successful event has ended it does not mean that your work is over. In this final step send an email to the attendees to gather feedback about the survey, recap, winners of any promotion, and a recap of what has happened. Segmentation is recommended so that only the actual attendees receive the post-event email to make the campaign more relevant.

Best Email Practices to make your Event a Success

There are some email practices that you need to follow to make your campaign a success. It means that you get the best results overall. There is a reason for which you want to focus on the campaign and the following points will prove it completely:

• About 75% of the event creators leverage the power of email marketing and about 45% of ticket sales are generated through email campaigns.
• The CTR of such emails is 28% and if a catchy subject is used then this percentage increase up to 2 – 3%.
• About 68% of event organizers are of the view that email marketing is getting them the desired results every time a campaign is run. About 69% are of the view that this is simply not the case.

• A Perfect Launch

An event launch is just like a product launch as both starts with informational emails. Now the events should be classified as hyped or simple and email marketing should also be of the same magnitude. If you are using other channels to promote the hyped event then keep the focus on email marketing as per the requirement. If email marketing is the only way of promoting your event then you must get the best out of it and use a professional email editor to add graphical elements to your emails.

• Offer something Exclusive

If the prelaunch is successful then you must make use of the email list you have totally. You can offer something small or a discount to create a sense of urgency. It will make your readers act quickly and make a purchase which will ultimately increase the revenue. You can also offer small merchandise to increase interest. It is a very important point as 89% of customers are of the view that it is the price that influences their decision completely. 

• Lively Content

While most of the events do not offer affiliate marketing but the fact is that it is the word of mouth that spreads the vibrancy of these events. This only happens if the event email has content that connects with the readers. The email content is something that encourages the users to invite their friends and family to the event and will also eventually increase the ROI. The more lively the content more will be the customer engagement leading to fewer efforts in making them realize the importance of the event.

• Do not leave out any Details

This is the most important part when it comes to event email marketing. It means that you got to send emails to two kinds of people. The first type is the one that has made the transactions and brought the tickets to the event so they get the transaction email. The second are the ones that have opened the emails but have not taken any sort of action. These people are might in need of information so that action is taken. Make sure that these people are targeted properly and they get to know more about the event. There is a possibility that once they have the information they make a purchase which is again a good sign to increase ROI.

• Make it Easy

The emails that are sent to people should not be complex at all. The information should be complete but to the point. Make it easy for people to inquire about the event that you are hosting. It will develop their interest and will also make sure that you get the best results in terms of sales. Encourage people to follow your email thread and also make sure that you should also reply to the queries in time for the email campaign to be successful. Please take into consideration the fact that 79% of people return once the marketing event has been attended for any brand or company.

• Timing is everything

Make sure that you convey everything in time and there are no dates missed at all. The CTA should be there and there must be a sense of urgency to allow people to click on your links and register themselves. For big or small events do send emails in bulk before the actual date of commencement. It will keep the audience lively and will also ensure that you get to know any last time changes depending on the feedback from the emails. It is also a good idea to make people remind that the event is taking place soon and such emails must be sent a couple of days before the event is happening. Just a link to the event or tickets, a simple description, and the small text snippets are the only things that are required to make such emails a powerful tool of communication. Timing is undoubtedly crucial and therefore must always be considered in this regard even before the campaign is started.

• Post Event Emails

These are hands down the most important part of event email marketing. It means that the people get to know how the event was. Did they miss out on something, important takings from the event, and things like that? 

The most important part of this email is the feedback and you must ask for it. It will make sure that you get insight into how well you promoted the event and are there any shortcomings. Please make sure that you get this email spot on as 79% of the people to make a purchase based on such emails sent. 

Hacks that you can apply

Event marketing is more than just sending emails to the readers and inviting them to the event. It is more of a concise plan that will make sure that you incorporate the best tips that no one nowadays applies to their event email marketing.

• Personalization

It means that the reader feels like the email was sent only to him/her. Always keep in mind that 89% of email marketers saw an increased CTR once the personalization was incorporated into their emails.

• Right email at the right time

Sending the email at the right time is something that will make sure that you get an increased number of responses. Most of the industries follow Tuesdays and Fridays to send the emails and the CTR is increased on these two days.

• Automation is the key to success

Automated emails are designed using professional editors. Such emails use the best subject lines that are auto-generated and most important of all they must land in the mailbox i.e. the main one. Always consider the fact that automated emails have 119% more CTR than the common emails that are sent.

What Else do you have to do?

It is important that based on the industry you get all the information about email marketing gathered before starting the campaign. More effort means increased CTR and ultimately the ROI. Always employ the tips as under to make sure that you get the best and the most relevant results.

• Pre-launch emails are sent to make sure that you get the best results in terms of people attention-grabbing.
• Make sure that the people you are addressing get the full information about the event in question. The more they know the more they want to attend it.
• Marketing automation will make sure that you get the best and the most advanced tools to get going with the campaign. It also helps you garner the results that you want.

Catchy Titles /Subject lines

This is the most important issue that you have to deal with and it is directly related to CTR and ROI. It means that once the email has been written find a catchy subject line to make sure that people open it and respond. The titles make sure that a sense of urgency is created and it is a very important factor for the email marketing campaign. From AB testing to open rates, this is something that will ensure to get you the best results if done right. Be as creative as you can just to make sure that the overall impact is highly dominant on the customers. The titles must also be personalized and you can also configure the email system to be the same. 

Why should you consider Enterprise Email Server?

Email is the main part of whatever business you have. Now let’s be honest we cannot thrive without emails at all and we are used to them so much so that it is now our primary mode of communication when it comes to the corporate sector. While you do email marketing keep in mind that an adult in the USA spends about 2 hours per day checking his emails which shows how powerful this mode can be for you. Email is too convenient and if it is integrated with an enterprise email server the power increases as ever. Why you should have an enterprise email server for your event marketing company or campaign? The answer lies in the features that are explained as under:

• Security and Safety

The safety and security of the emails sent and receive for any campaign must be maintained. It can only be done if the enterprise-level server is there as it comes with enterprise-level security. There is no risk of a data breach, downtime, and compliance. Before getting enterprise email solutions for your company make sure that you get this point covered or else there could be legal issues as well. The best part is that the safety and security are always embedded while keeping in view the service levels so that they never get breached.

• Work as you Want

It simply means that remote work has been enabled and you can do work as per your needs and requirements. The best part of the enterprise email solution is that it can also be tweaked and configured remotely with ease. It also provides you with the power to work from anywhere. The pandemic has taught us so much and now we know that working remotely or from home is not only safe and secure but it also allows business operations to run smoothly. You can stay connected to the hub no matter the device you are using as working is too easy to perform on such a server

• AI-powered

There are many features such as a calendar and full-fledge dashboard that will ensure that you get the best email editing. With AI power, the enterprise email server takes your campaigns to the next level. The best part is that the providers also patch up the server which keeps this feature up to date and also adds new features. The enterprise email server will also suggest meeting locations based on email information such as flight times and hotel reservations.

• High-Level Support

With the high-level tech support and the updates that are provided from time to time the support of such a server is simply superb. It makes sure that your business is never left behind no matter what and therefore it gets you everything that you require to make your campaign a success. From cloud migration to onboarding support and from military-grade security to multiple inboxes you get everything that is required to be at the top of the game. With such a service you get 24/7 security and updates that protect and secure your data.