Do you organize events for your company?

Whether it’s a launch event, a conference, or a networking event, the success of your event is directly proportional to the number of people who attend.

What exactly is an email invitation to an event?

An event invitation email is a campaign that promotes your event and encourages people to attend.

Invitations have been used in society since before the time of Roman History. Email event invitations are simply the digital-modern equivalent of traditional handwritten scribe invitations.

Indeed, 40% of event creators say that event invitation emails are the most effective event marketing materials, according to Eventbrite and Emma.

Here are some examples of event invitation emails:

What is the process for creating an email event?

The first step in sending out email invitations is to plan the event to which you are inviting people.

When you’ve finalized all of the details, the fun part begins: creating the event invitation emails.

You will customize a personalized event invitation email template to send to subscribers in order to create your email event.

Is it necessary to use event invitation email templates?

Yes. Event invitation email templates are useful because they save time, provide consistency, and allow you to connect your branding to your emails. Templates enable your emails to have high-quality design elements that do not require hand coding, allowing event invitation email creators to do less work while receiving a higher return.

Furthermore, customized event invitation email templates allow you to convey event details using a combination of text and images (again, without any hand coding).

Here are some sample event invitation email templates:

The six essential components of an effective event invitation email

In order to get the maximum amount of awareness and attendees from your event invitation email, try including these 6 different elements in your campaign.

Try including these six different elements in your campaign to get the most awareness and attendees from your event invitation email.

A specific list

Depending on how you compiled your email list, it could include people from all over the world.

However, if your event is in downtown San Francisco, it’s unlikely that people from Australia will be able to attend (unless it’s a major event worth traveling for).

To maintain high open, click-through, and response rates, segment your list and send your campaign only to those in your immediate vicinity.

Our recent Future of Email Marketing event in London, UK, is a perfect illustration of this.

We did this to ensure that only those who could attend the event received the campaign, and that those outside the area did not receive irrelevant information about an event they couldn’t attend.

So, the next time you create an event invitation campaign, consider segmenting your lists using features like geographical segments and sending the campaign solely to subscribers who can attend. As a consequence, you’ll get fewer unsubscribes and greater open, click-through, and response rates.

Proposition de valeur

The value proposition in an event invitation email should be a brief sentence that outlines why the receiver should attend the event.

Take a look at the value proposition in this Fairline Boats advertisement as an example:

The email has a conspicuous value promise, “Fairline’s new 48 range.”

This value proposition is successful because it does not only notify people about an event, but instead emphasizes on the advantages of attending: a hull design so brilliant that it has transformed itself into three outstanding boats.

This informs readers about the benefits of attending the event and enhances their incentive to do so.

Detailed account of the incident

Now that you’ve piqued your subscribers’ interest with your value offer, it’s time to deliver.

Now that you’ve piqued your subscriber’s interest with the value proposition, it’s important to back it up with a full description of the event that details precisely what attendees can anticipate to see and do at the event, as well as what they will gain by attending.

This corporate event invitation email campaign from Hudson Ranch and Vineyards provides an example of a fantastic event description:

This email includes a thorough event description outlining what participants may expect to enjoy during the event.

Make sure to offer a clear description of the event in your next event invitation email. You should strive to address prospective attendees’ queries, such as what will happen at the event, what they will learn, who they will see or hear from, and so on.

Time, location, and additional event details

Despite your best attempts to choose a convenient venue and time, not everyone on your list will be able to attend.

By giving event specifics, such as time and location, in your invite email, you help people quickly determine whether this is an event they will be able to attend and boost the likelihood of them clicking through to your site to RSVP or buy tickets.

Fred Perry, a British fashion company, executes this effectively in their event invite email for their popup shop.

This email clearly specifies the location of the event as well as the various hours it will be open, allowing individuals to determine whether this is something they can attend and begin making preparations to go.

Social Evidence

Even if your event is free, individuals are paying with their time and may be hesitant or anxious to come.

This may be caused by a variety of factors, including:

• Fearing that your event will not be worth their time and/or money,
• Fear that your event will not be relevant to them.
• Doubt that your event will provide the value you promise it would.

So, in order to get them to click through from your email, buy tickets, and attend your event, you must first alleviate their fear.

Try to add social proof features in your next event invitation email, such as testimonials from prior attendees, expert evaluations, or even attendance figures from your last event, to lessen worry and persuade readers it will be worth their time and money.

A visible call to action button

Now that you’ve given them all the information they need about your event, add a conspicuous call to action to entice them to take the next step.

While it may be tempting to just tell people about your event and hope they come, there is a far better chance they will come if you persuade them to commit to it via a registration or ticketing procedure, even if registration or tickets are free and the process is essentially random.

This is due to the fact that, according to famous psychologist Robert Cialdini, when people commit to doing something (such as attending an event), they are far more likely to follow through, even if the penalties of not doing so are modest.

SXSW recognizes this and uses it to their advantage in event emails:

They are able to commit to going by having a conspicuous call-to-action button inviting people to RSVP for the event.

Conclusion

One of the most significant email campaigns you can send to boost the efficacy of your events is the event invitation email.

So, the next time you make one, make sure it has the following six elements:

1. A targeted mailing list
2. A value statement that emphasizes benefits
3. Event information that is compelling and highlights what people may anticipate at the event
4. Event specifics such as time, venue, dress code, and so on.
5. Social proof elements to reduce anxiety about the worth of your event
6. A visible call to action to persuade the receiver to act

By including these six aspects, you can guarantee that your event invitation campaign yields the greatest results possible and attracts a big number of guests who will help your event succeed.

After you’ve confirmed that your event invitation email campaign has these six features and has been delivered to subscribers, send a reminder email, but not too many.