6 Email Marketing Tips for Virtual Event Promotion

January 27, 2022

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Krishnan MLN

Did you know, 76% of event marketers agree that emails are an effective tool to drive registrations for a virtual event. But how does one do that?

We have put together the best email marketing practices that will help you maximize your marketing efforts to make your next ‘virtual event’ a success.

 

Best E-mail marketing practices

1. It’s all about identifying your TG

Who is your attendee: Every event is unique, hence appealing to the right target group is the key. It is important to plan your e-mail content and incorporate personalization tools in a way that it resonates with your target audience. If your event is about “Latest Trends in Information Technology” build a list of relevant attendees (people in IT domain) and send out personalized emails.

Keep your database accurate: Segment your email list on parameters such as location, industry, designation, and so on. You do not want an e-mail intended for a potential attendee to go to your panel of speakers.

2. Ace your content and design

Personalize content and engaging design: Most people have short attention spans. When planning your email content keep the following data points to keep in mind:

  • Keep your emails crisp and to the point
  • Keep the intent clear
  • Short paragraphs, not more than 2-3 lines
  • Adding relevant images and a table of content 

Make sure the subject line is ‘catchy’: The email subject line must clearly mention the purpose of your email. This is the first thing the reader will see, so having a catchy and innovative subject line is important. Few examples: 

Subject : Keep Calm and Keep Resolutions…

Subject : Step out, or not to step out?

Include images & gifs : Visuals always grab attention and generate interest. Add relevant and catchy images to your email.

Social proof to build credibility: Showcasing how other people have benefited from your past similar events builds confidence and encourages your target audience to attend. Include social proof the right way in your emails. Some ways to do it could be: 

  • Put social proof of real people rather than a brand (it could be of an industry veteran, celebrity) add example like who attended the event
  • Put their words as testimonials
  • Add photos

Have a clear CTA (call to action): The motive behind sending an email is to direct the recipient to your ‘event’s landing page’ or ‘ registration page. Thoughtfully design and place the CTA button in the email. Ways to design a noticeable CTA:

  • Button instead of a hyperlink
  • The button should be visible with a color that easily catches the readers eye and nudges them to take action
  • Short CTA text using action words

Both mobile and desktop-friendly: 81% of people prefer to check their e-mails on mobiles. Ensure your e-mail design is both mobile and desktop-friendly. 

A/B testing: A/B testing helps you test various components of an email like:

  • Subject line
  • Layout
  • CTA
  • Personalization
  • Image
  • Send time/frequency

It helps determine which methods are well received by recipients, which helps in identifying strategies worth replicating in the future. You could roll out two distinct email subject lines and evaluate which subject line receives the most clicks.

3. Rely on analytics

After you launch your first email campaign for your virtual event start measuring  the performance of the parameters listed below to optimize your marketing strategy basis the response rates:

  • Track open rates, click-through rates
  • Days of the week when the response rate is better
  • Subject line response
  • Response on images/gifs 

The open rate of the emails gives you an insight into your email list as well as the subject line. A low open rate could mean the time and day the email is sent is not working for your audience, the subject line is not catchy enough, the contact list is not relevant, or the segmentation of the audience is not right.

The click-through rate of the emails is an indication of how well your email copy is clicking with your audience. 

4. Calendar your campaign

When designing your email marketing strategy have a calendar in place. No one likes to be spammed with too many emails conveying the same message. 

When to send the first invite: You could send the first e-mail one month prior to the actual event.

Frequency of emails: Sending 1 email or a maximum of 2 emails per week is enough. Time your emails strategically. Include ‘early-bird’ registration offers in these emails. 

Action basis analytics: Make a list of recipients who have still not opened or not actioned on your email. Follow-up on these leads by sending a secondary invitation email to sign-up for your event.

5. Use automation tools 

Trigger emails (registration confirmation sent to attendee once he registers), password updates etc. can be automated. Automation tools help to create a sequence of emails,  take care of scheduling, and the analytics feature help track metrics that matter. There are many E-mail marketing tools to suit your requirement and budget. Some popular tools:

  • Hubspot
  • ConstantContact
  • MailChimp

Besides, your virtual event platform partner can also help by sending notifications to your target audience.

6. Don’t forget the follow-up strategy

Even if your event is over, you still have a reason to share a post-event email. Here’s what you can share in post-event emails:

  • Feedback questionnaire
  • Survey or audience polls
  • Pictures and explainer videos of the event
  • Provide links to recorded sessions and on-demand content
  • Thank-you note or image
  • Summarize relevant information about the event
  • Information about the next upcoming event

How to avoid your email going to SPAM?

You surely do not want your e-mails to end up in the recipient’s spam box. How do you ensure that? Here are a few tips:

  • Get permission to send e-mails
  • Abide by the laws that govern email marketing
  • Proofread your emails
  • Do not use subject lines that read like a ‘spam’
  • Use a reputed email marketing tool
  • Remove email addresses that have unsubscribed 
  • Use a spam-checking tool

A report by campaignmonitor.com suggests that a whopping 64% of small businesses use e-mail marketing to reach customers. As on-site event marketing shifts to virtual event marketing, organizers can design creative e-mail marketing campaigns to create unique and engaging experiences for attendees

 

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