Email is one of the most powerful tools in the toolbox. Today, we’re going to show you how to use email to promote your association’s events.
Give advanced notice
Who do you know that’s not busy? Exactly. No one. Send people a “save the date” email so they can put your event on their calendar. Don’t worry about giving your recipients all the details about your event, just simply get it on their radar.
Create a landing event for your event
Make sure that your landing page provides recipients with the key details – what, where, when and who. Give them a compelling reason to take the time to come to your event.
Last quarter, our parent company, ArcStone, held an event discussing web accessibility. We worked with experts in the community to inform marketers, designers and business owners the importance of web accessibility.
Below is the landing page we used for the event. You can see it clearly calls out the details of the event and a reason to come.
Image Credit: ArcStone
Send your invite and remember curiosity is your friend
Now that you have a landing page for your event, it’s time to send your invite. Pique your audience’s interest by using subject line that compels them to click. They’ll most likely recognize who the email is from so you can be more creative than if you were sending an email to a stranger.
I try to keep my work email clear of promotional messages, shopping discounts, and other miscellaneous content by sending that information to my personal email. As I’m sure yours is as well, my inbox is flooded with so many messages every day that I barely open 1/3 of them. I will open messages, however, that have an enticing subject line. Check out this one I got yesterday –
Now if you’re not a Game of Thrones fan, you may not see the cleverness here. This message is from BiteSquad, a food delivery company. Last night was the long awaited premiere of GOT, Season 7. Lots of people had viewing parties and what goes hand in hand with that? Food! BiteSquad used the anticipation and excitement of GOT to capture readers attention and entice them to order with this clever subject line.
Use personalization
Personalized emails are key. Take the extra two minutes to use personalization. It’ll make your audience feel like you really want them to come to your event and that they’re important. Statista reports the open rate for emails with a personalized message was 17.6%, compared to 11.4% without personalization.
From is key
Open rates are higher when a real “from” address is used. Don’t use a “no-reply.” Make sure that your “From” address matches your “From name.” People want to know the message isn’t coming from a robot. When you open a message from someone who isn’t in your network, you have to think twice about the “from” address. But if the sender seems friendly and has a legit email address, there’s a much higher chance the message will be opened.
Use clear calls to action
Make sure your calls to action are clear and that they stand out from the rest of your email content. You can do this by creating CTA buttons that use contrasting colors.
Here at the AMO / ArcStone office, we used Trello to manage to-dos and collaborate with other team members. Here’s an example of an email I get from them periodically. The CTA’s provide clear actions and contrast in color to the purple and orange.
Image Credit: Litmus
Pay attention when you hit send
Sending messages at an opportune time can make a big difference. Get in the head of your audience. When are they the most likely to have time to open and take in what you have to say? According to HubSpot, 10am CST has the highest clickthrough rate for email sends.
Send a reminder email
Don’t send too many emails. It’s easy to become noise that gets ignored. Sending a reminder email 1-2 weeks before your event, however, is good to do. If possible, highlight guest speakers or share an exciting prize you’re offering at the event. Share a highlight reele from last years event.
Measure your results
Track your email open rates and clicks as well as your website sessions to understand the results of your email campaign so you can improve the next time.
Rinse and repeat
As is the case for nearly everything else, practice makes perfect. Building on your email marketing experience makes things better and more effective for the next time.