Ashley Hill — July 24, 2019 — July 24, 2019
If you’re looking to drive attendance for an upcoming company event, one of the best tools you have at your disposal is email. An overwhelming majority of people check their email daily: an incredible 89% of people check their mail every day, to be exact. Americans check their phones on average, once every 12 minutes, and with mobile email, an email marketing campaign is the best way to publicize your event.
Think that younger age groups aren’t using their email as much? Think again. Even 79% of 18 to 24-year olds are checking their email regularly, and they are doing so primarily on their phones. Just like our phones, email isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so now’s the time to incorporate it into your event marketing.
You can capitalize on this widespread use of email for your next marketing campaign. Here’s how.
Compose a Dynamic Subject Line
Maybe you’ve heard of “FOMO,” or “The Fear of Missing Out.” It’s definitely a real thing, and it can actually work to your advantage in the marketing world. Sometimes, the hardest part of your event email marketing campaign is just getting people to open and read your email. So, your job is to create an exciting subject line that will entice people to click on your email and check out the details of your event; to create a “fear of missing out” on your event.
If you inspire urgency with your email subject line, it’s much more likely to get opened and read, and much less likely to be marked as spam. Let customers know that tickets are going fast, or a sale is only happening for a limited time, and the chances of your email getting noticed and received well will dramatically improved.
These email subject lines do a great job of staying true to each company’s brand and also creating a sense of urgency. Whatever subject line you end up using, make sure it’s a reflection of your company, and that is sure to catch your recipient’s eye in the midst of the hundreds of emails they probably receive each day.
Make Sure Your Email Looks Great on Mobile, Too
Of course we all take the time to think about how our websites translate to mobile devices, but it’s time to start thinking about how our emails read on a mobile device as well. Today, more than half of all emails are now read on mobile devices, and the majority of email users say that mobile devices are their preferred platform for reading emails.
You are much more likely to get a better return on your email campaign if it is just as clear and easy to read on a mobile device as it is on a desktop computer.
If the formatting makes it hard to take in the entire invitation for your event without inching through it because the graphics don’t fit or the text doesn’t adapt for a mobile device, chances are most of the recipients will give up on your email, and your event. Take the time to check how your invite reads on a mobile device before you hit “send.”
Make Your CTAs Hard to Miss
Every call to action (CTA) should be inspiring and motivating, but in an email invitation for an upcoming event, it’s also important that they are highly visible and hard to miss. Your CTA should stand out from the rest of the email, so if they need to click on an embedded link to register for the event, make sure that information is bold and easy to locate.
A CTA button embedded in the email, encouraging people to sign up or read more about your event is a great way to engage readers, and convert leads into attendees; it makes it that much easier for them to take the next step and sign up. With one tap on their screen, they can read more, or register for the event. Here are 20 Exceptional Event Marketing Examples: You’ll notice that in every one, the CTA is bold, engaging, and jumps off the screen.
Don’t Be Afraid to Re-Send to the People Who Didn’t Open the Email
People receive, on average, 121 emails per day. As a society, we are extremely busy, and not every email gets read every day. If recipients have signed up for your emails, they’ve already expressed an interest in your company, so if your email invite doesn’t get opened, don’t feel bad about re-sending the email to recipients who didn’t get a chance to open it the first time.
Think of your second email about an upcoming event to be a friendly reminder, so they get another chance to open the email and sign up for your event. Using a reliable email marketing platform, resending emails to reach more of your subscribers should be a cinch.
Combine Original and Curated Content
Creating new blogs and pages for events is a great way to get attention for an upcoming event, and it’s important to include links to this content in the event’s marketing campaign, but you should also consider using pre-existing content in tandem with your new content. Not only is this a great timesaver for you, but it gives your event credibility, and connects your event to the world outside your company.
For example, if you are bringing in an expert guest speaker, embedding a link to their blog, TV interview, news article, or TED Talk is a perfect way to drive enrollment in your event and boost attendance. Your event gains credibility, piques interest for your invitees, and gives them a sneak peak of the relevant knowledge they’ll gain by attending your event.
Build Anticipation
In the days and weeks leading up to your event, you can take advantage of the time to send relevant information to your ticket holders and registrants. This will create excitement and anticipation for the big day, remind your guests that they’ve signed up for the event (people get busy!), and may even inspire them to invite a friend as well.
If you haven’t started using email marketing for your events, now’s the time. Email reaches your customers where they are, and with thoughtfully curated content, you’re sure to boost attendance for a successful event.
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