Email marketing is a popular (arguably the most popular) way to communicate with potential attendees to your event. Social media and snail mail are legitimate options as well, but email goes straight to recipients’ inboxes instead of going through a social media platforms’ algorithms and is cheaper than mailing physical brochures or registrations. Here are five tips to improve your email marketing.
1. Have Something to Say
As a marketer, there can sometimes be pressure to send out an email. The mentality of sends > content can take over and destroy your credibility. If I open an email that is nothing but a promotion, I don’t want to open future emails. Make sure you have something to say before you plan to send an email. Is registration opening? Is the speaker list finalized? There needs to be a reason to send an email to potential attendees. If you are sending emails based on a quota, you could be abusing the contact info of the very people you are trying to reach.
2. Sort Your Lists
Creating a more focused email can be much more effective than shooting a singular message out to an entire master list. Think about your target audience and how you could separate it to create messaging that better speaks to each section. Could you create a separate email for your attendees and exhibitors? Maybe you can sort by industry or region. Whatever it is, think about how to create a more focused and individualized message.
3. Edit Your Lists Before Every Send
The email list you are using will inevitably need to change between each send. When people register for your event, they should no longer be receiving emails to register for the event. This goes with the previous point. Sort registered attendees into a separate list so they are not getting blasted with messaging that doesn’t apply to them.
4. Offer Something New in Each Email
It’s okay to recycle some verbiage in each email, but the whole thing shouldn’t be the same every time. The messaging becomes redundant and you will watch your open rates drop. Each email should have its own highlight with it, along with the call for registration and sponsors/exhibitors. Ideas for messaging include highlighting a speaker, announcing the venue, giving a summary of the agenda, etc.
5. Make Sure it is Perfect
The last thing you want to do is do all your prep work and send out an email with an error in it. Whether it is an incorrect date or a broken link, it all reflects poorly on the association and on the event. Before hitting the send button, send a test email to your email so you can view how text and photos format and double check all the links included in the email. It’s also a good idea to preview the email on a mobile device. The email design will look different on a phone than it does on a computer screen. It’s important to design an email that looks professional on both.
Event marketing via email is much more than typing a message and sending it. If you do the prep work before sending, your marketing will be more effective and registration and sponsorships will grow.