Best Email Marketing Tips and Ideas to Boost Your Event Promotion

You're organizing the perfect event; you've selected the best venue, invited reputable speakers, and chosen leading companies to partake. Now you only need to figure out how to advertise your networking event and attract the right audience!

There are a lot of b2b event marketing ideas using sophisticated software, but the best and easiest way to promote your event is through e-mail campaigns. Email campaigns enhance event attendance, engagement, and even ticket sales if done right.

Before we further explain how you promote an event through email, let us first clarify what email marketing is.

What is email marketing for events?

The goal of event email marketing is to promote an event with multiple marketing emails. Even with a wide range of digital marketing tools at your disposal, email marketing remains the most efficient channel for reaching customers who are already interested in your company. But event-related emails aren't just for advertising. Building on the momentum after an event with email marketing lets you improve your next event by gaining valuable information.

The b2match b2b event management software allows you to compose and send e-mails to participants, imported contacts, and other organizers directly through the software.

b2match also offers customizable event promotion email templates that contain relevant information for your participants, as well as links and buttons for direct access to an event page. Each template corresponds with the event marketing timeline, meaning templates are designed for each stage of the event. The email templates for participants are:

• Publish Marketplace Opportunities – sent to motivate users to establish Marketplace Opportunities and showcase what they have to offer or are searching for
• Booking Phase – sent to encourage attendees to schedule additional meetings
• Join Matchmaking Sessions – sent to remind your attendees to register for matching events so they can schedule meetings
• Join Agenda Sessions – sent to instruct your participants to sign up for regular sessions
• Participants’ Personal Agenda - sent to provide participants with instructions on how to access their agenda, which contains the sessions and meetings they are attending
• Feedback – sent to participants to fill out your Event Survey or rate their meetings
• Post Event Matchmaking – sent to inform participants about extending the matchmaking phase

How to promote an event through email?

It doesn't matter how much time, effort, and money you put into planning and organizing a successful event if the right people don't come. One of the benefits of email marketing is connecting with people who are already interested in your brand. But what are the most effective ways to do this? Event email marketing goes beyond just sending one email to your list. You must announce in advance and maintain interest by sending out many emails.

1. Announce the event

Although you might believe you must have everything ready before you even begin to promote your event, you don't. Send out a pre-event email to attendees while you're busy organizing the event behind the scenes, on your event networking platform. Include the name, date, and location of the event, along with a note encouraging your readers to check back for updates.

2. Build the Excitement

Following your initial save-the-date, send out a series of event promotion emails that staggers various event details. While you should send out certain information in advance, such as registration deadlines, venue and accommodation details, and other logistics, you can withhold some information until the event's date is approaching.

As the event date approaches, you can gradually reveal more information. Teaser emails are a fantastic way to get people excited about your event. Include teasers that will make your subscribers feel a sense of urgency. You may, for instance, tease out the keynote speaker that the attendees will be most interested in seeing.

3. Exclusive offers

Making an offer to participants is one of the simplest methods to get them to commit to attending your event. That could be a discount for early-birds, free merchandise from the vendor, or even discounts on food or beverages at the event. Consider including a special offer not just for early-birds but also for "last-minute-birds" in your marketing plan. If you intend to use an exclusive deal, be sure to make it available only for a short period of time. You should clearly inform customers that the deal won't last indefinitely; you don't have to utilize countdown timers.

4. Social Proof

Social proof greatly influences the attendance and promotion of your event. You can include social proof in your email marketing campaign by including reviews, endorsements, and other user-generated content. Social proof is a concept that says people will do something because others have already done it. Essentially, it is peer pressure for marketing. With the help of social proof, you can persuade potential attendees to sign up for your event.

5. Answer FAQs

In addition to ensuring that your emails are educational and include all the details your subscribers need to know about your event, you'll also want to provide them with an opportunity to ask questions. Using a contact form is usually the fastest and easiest way to accomplish this.

Just post the link with your subscribers and on social media, letting them know they may contact you with any questions. When you post about your event on social media, pay attention to the questions people post there. Use these inquiries to dispel any concerns someone might have before they register. You might also want to consider making a website that answers frequently asked questions about the event, such as how to get tickets, how much they cost, how parking is at the venue, and more.

b2match event networking software gives you the opportunity to design and create an event landing page that holds all the specific information the potential attendees require to decide whether to register for the event.

6. Keep Participants Informed

Provide regular updates to those who have registered for your event and those who have not. You might include details on speakers, the agenda, event vendors, etc. to people who have registered for your event. You can still share this information with others who haven't signed up, but make sure to include pricing and registration details too.

Sending attendees reminder emails is another fantastic event marketing strategy. In addition to fostering relationships and encouraging guests to spread the word about your event to their networks, this also aids in promoting upsells and cross-sells.

7. Thank Attendees after the Event

An event without attendees isn't truly an event, even though event organizers undoubtedly put a lot of work into ensuring it's enjoyable and well-attended. Due to this, it is crucial to express gratitude to your attendees. Furthermore, it might inspire them to return the following time!

In your follow-up email, you may also collect valuable data through follow-up surveys about what worked well so you can reproduce and improve on it later. You may also learn which areas need development by posing relevant post-event assessment questions.

Event invitations are a helpful tool for promoting your event and increasing brand recognition. Their effectiveness comes from striking the right balance between providing enough information to interest people and keeping them from feeling overwhelmed. For comparison, you might want to look at some event email examples from your competitors.

Hopefully, you will find ways to use the abovementioned email marketing methods and the possibilities an event management platform can offer you, to make your next event a success.