Event Marketing Invite Ideas

Event email marketing is a way of reaching out to potential guests and turning them from potential guests into ticket-holders. It’s a relatively inexpensive way of promoting your event and can be effective for boosting ticket sales.

What is event email marketing?

Event email marketing is an email or series of emails that you write and send in the lead-up to an event. These are often called ‘campaigns’ which refers to coming up with a series of emails related to the one topic, which you send out over a period of time.

A well-thought-out event email campaign aims to increase awareness of the event, target potential guests and boost ticket sales. It is also a great way of opening up a channel of communication with those who might not be able to make this event but would be interested in similar events in the future.

Why is nailing the event email invitation important?

An event email campaign involves a variety of emails, but the most important one is the event invitation. Why?

This is your chance to introduce people to your event, and convince them to buy a ticket. It creates a first impression of the event and can determine whether someone will hand over their hard-earned cash in order to attend.

It’s also a chance to make certain people feel special. If they are on a VIP or early-bird list, you can use an invitation email to let them know they are part of an exclusive selection of people who get first dibs on a ticket. This boosts sales and creates buzz while making them feel special.

Steps to Creating an Event Email Invitation

Step 1: Create a mailing list and segment your audience

The first step for any successful email campaign is in creating a mailing list.

Segmenting your audience means creating a few parameters around who you want to reach. If you are hosting an event in Sydney, it won’t make much sense to reach out to those who live in Palo Alto.

You can also use other parameters to segment an audience, such as subscription preferences and age groups. Some examples of other segments include:

• Subscribed contacts who opened any of your last five email campaigns
• Subscribed contacts who didn't click in your last email campaign
• Contacts who have previously purchased a ticket to an event
• Contacts who live in a certain location

Using a service like Mailchimp allows you to easily segment contacts to create campaigns, and with Humanitix you can sync data from guests with your Mailchimp account.

Step 2: Create an email invitation timeline

Developing a timeline is important so that you can ensure you give people enough notice ahead of the event. It will also mean you have more than one opportunity to reach out to potential guests about an upcoming event.

There are three stages:

• Event registration email
• Official event invitation
• Follow-up after invitation

It’s a good idea to start your campaign 3 months before a large event. Of course, this timeline will depend on how large the event is, how much planning it will take for people to attend, and knowing your audience. A week-long music festival in remote bushland will probably require a bit more notice than an impromptu drinks night.

Event registration email

This is an optional step, but a good idea for larger events. There is a simple psychological reason for sending out a registration email ahead of launching tickets: once someone has made a commitment – even if it is just registering their interest in the event – they will be more likely to follow through and actually attend. That’s why sending an invitation before tickets are on sale can be a powerful tool to entice people to attend. If you want to use this extra step, you can send a follow-up email with a link to purchase tickets after they have registered.

Step 3: Craft the perfect email

Elements of an invitation email

Crafting the perfect email invitation takes a little bit of planning and some time. The key to a successful email is writing engaging copy that converts attendees. The invitation email is the perfect opportunity to explain what your event is all about and get people interested.

An invitation email will have the following parts:

Subject lines and sender names to improve open rates

These elements are often overlooked, but essential. A few simple tweaks can increase your open rates significantly.

Remember to make your subject line snappy, and actionable. Use the addressee’s name in the subject line (don’t worry, this can be automated). Words like “Open”, “Exclusive”, and “Look inside” can all help with open rates. The other thing? Including an emoji!

[Name] open for your exclusive invite to opening night 🍸

Double-check the sender name too and ensure it is from a recognisable source, as the name of your company or brand (instead of your personal name).

Body copy

It’s best to keep the copy short and sweet. For an invitation email, some of the basic elements you will want to think about are:

Why someone should attend the event:
A snappy, eye-catching statement that entices someone to attend the event (also known as a value proposition). This could be something as simple as “Delicious cocktails for a great cause”, or “The biggest outdoor music festival in Australia is here”.

Event details:
Event name, location, date and the type of event (some incredible graphics to showcase the event should also be included)

Call-to-action:
The call-to-action can be as succinct as “register” or “buy”, and it never hurts to use a colourful button. Make it prominent and easy to find. And don’t forget to remind people that places are limited, or that tickets are selling fast.

Follow up email

It is common that half the amount of your ticket sales happens in the week leading up to your event. People often aren’t totally sure if they are free until the actual week. While this is stressful for certain Type A’s out there, don’t freak out if people haven’t clicked attending a month ahead.

Make sure you use this to your advantage and send out a reminder email a week out and in the few days before your event, gently nudging commitment-phobes towards nabbing a ticket. If this just isn’t realistic (because you need numbers well ahead of the event, like for a gala dinner make it crystal clear what the final date to register will be.

Just make sure you limit the number of emails you send. Some people will unsubscribe if there are too many, so it is all about striking a balance. A carefully crafted email is worth more than 5 quickly dashed off missives in an attempt to remind people you exist.

Now it’s your turn

Get started with your own email campaign today. Sending out the invitations is one of the best parts of planning an event, and if you build an effective campaign it will help boost ticket sales and build anticipation ahead of the big day.

A fun, snappy, well-designed invitation is always a treat - who doesn’t want to be invited to a great event? Get creative, and also stay strategic and you are well on your way to a successful campaign.

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