Event marketing is even easier whenever you benefit from email automation, which lets you schedule a series of emails upfront and frees your time to give attention to other marketing efforts. Make your next event a hit by automating the next seven emails designed to spice up attendance and drive ticket sales.
1. Event invitations
Begin your email series with an invite to your event. Your invitation emails should create excitement. Ask yourself:
- How is your event relevant to your audience?
- Why should they attend? What advantages will they get, and what experience can they expect?
- Where can they learn more?
- How can they register?
Common sense says your event invitations (and all of your event emails) must include the name, date, time and placement in addition to your event logo. But go the additional mile by telling your audience what’s in it for them.
2. Early bird discounts and incentives
What are you able to offer to individuals who register early? A reduction or freebie could be a powerful incentive that also helps you establish what number of attendees you might want to plan for. Ideas include:
- A reduction on event tickets purchased before a deadline
- A series of tiered discounts leading as much as the event
- A freebie in the event that they enroll by a certain date, equivalent to a T-shirt
- VIP seating or accommodations
- First dibs on the official event hotel
- Preferred parking or a free parking pass
- Backstage passes
- Food and drinks vouchers
Undecided which supply will motivate your audience? Consider A/B split testing against small segments of your list to see which gets the best response. Then, send that supply to your larger list.
3. Referral requests
Events are more fun with friends, so include referral requests as a part of your email series. You possibly can send emails that:
- Ask registered attendees to ask friends, and offer an incentive for each friend who registers
- Offer special incentives to groups of three or more to encourage multiple ticket sales
- Promote an in-event contest, equivalent to best group T-shirt or costume
- Offer hotel room discounts for multi-room bookings
- Offer free or discount parking for cars with three or more people
- Give attendees a social link to simply share and invite their friends
- Encourage attendees to forward your email invite to their contacts
Remind your audience how much they’ll enjoy your event if they carry friends along, and you’ll be able to easily double or triple your ticket sales.
4. Group sales emails
Use email to advertise group sales and earn a large spike in ticket sales. Ideas include emails that:
- Ask your audience to share your event with their groups, equivalent to nonprofits, church groups, clubs, sports teams, schools, Facebook groups, community organizations and another group they’re a part of
- Offer group discounts and incentives equivalent to reserved seating so groups can sit together
- Offer special incentives for nonprofit groups, equivalent to a portion of ticket sales donated to a given cause
- Promote a charity that groups shall be focused on supporting: They get to contribute and have an amazing time doing it
Consider which forms of groups are more likely to be focused on your event. Then, help them see why attending your event is a superb idea for his or her group.
5. Event newsletters and announcements
Send regular email updates to maintain your audience interested and excited. Ideas include:
- Entertainment announcements: Tell your audience who shall be performing as you ink contracts
- Food and vendor announcements: What treats can they enjoy at your event? Which vendors offer on-site shopping?
- Available experiences: Will your event have games, contests, obstacles and other experiences attendees can take part in?
- Helpful suggestions: How can they get in early? Where should they park? What are the very best directions? Where are the very best seats?
- Event schedule: Make it easy for attendees to print a schedule to maintain of their pockets
Use email newsletters and announcements to repeatedly create buzz around your event and increase registrations because the date draws near.
6. Social shares
Use email to ask your audience to share your events on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social accounts. A straightforward request can work, but you would possibly get well results if:
- You attach your email to a contest; for instance, promote a photograph contest prior to the event and let others judge the winners on social media
- You offer a special incentive for sharing your event, especially if those shares result in ticket sales
- Your event supports a cause, remind your audience about your event’s impact and suggest social sharing as an easy way they might help
Don’t underestimate the ability of social media for event promotion or the flexibility of email to drive social shares.
7. Product sales
Offering cool swag at your event? Let your attendees get it early with emails that promote product sales. Ideas include:
- T-shirts, hats and other apparel
- Wristbands or event bracelets
- Sunglasses
- Drinkware equivalent to tumblers, water bottles and occasional mugs
- Flying discs
- Umbrellas
- Tote bags
Even higher, create an official event swag bag filled with the necessities attendees have to “survive” your event. Sell it as an add-on to ticket sales or offer it as an early registration incentive.
Get even higher results with advanced event email automation
These seven forms of event emails are an amazing start for event promotion, but you’ll be able to take your marketing a step further with advanced automation. For instance, you’ll be able to:
- Mechanically segment registrants into recent lists and automate emails that give attention to referrals and product sales
- Mechanically segment your audience by demographics and promote unique selling points by segment; for instance, you’ll be able to advertise the charitable cause your event supports or the entertainment value of your event
- Mechanically segment VIP ticket holders from standard registrants and automate different emails in line with the experiences they’ll have — and promote unique upsells relevant to every audience
Remember, the more your emails speak to your audience, the more likely they’re to reply, share and register. Advanced automation can maximize ticket sales in your event.
Augment your email marketing with social automation
Email isn’t the one event marketing platform you’ll be able to automate. Augment your email promotions with social posts scheduled to coincide together with your emails. Doing so offers multiple advantages, including:
- Multi-channel marketing and repetition that influences registrations
- Social proof when your audience likes and shares your event
- “Set it and forget it” simplicity whenever you schedule your posts ahead of time
- The power to focus your efforts on recent event marketing opportunities because it draws near
Email and social automation are powerful marketing tools which can be proven to extend event attendance and boost ticket sales. Leverage the ability of automation to make your next event a roaring success.
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