Event email marketing: how to spark excitement for your upcoming in-person or online event

Have you ever thought about hosting live events?

Events—both in-person and virtual—are a great way for creators to give back to their audience and grow their business in the process.

And there’s no easier way to promote your event than through event email marketing.

What is event email marketing, and why should creators utilize it?

Event email marketing is when event hosts use their email lists to promote and build anticipation for their events.

With event emails, creators can:

1. Sell more tickets: Email lets you advertise your event directly to people who might want to attend. And according to research by ticketing company Eventbrite, creators say that 45% of their event ticket sales come from email. That means you can nearly double your ticket sales with a thoughtful email campaign.
2. Create buzz: Use emails to build anticipation for your event weeks before it occurs. Research by Eventbrite found that if you build up anticipation, ticket sales spike when they first go on sale.
3. Cultivate trust and authority: Build trust and authority for your brand by creating an exclusive space for you and your audience to interact in real-time.
4. Build a community: A community can be your competitive advantage and help lower customer acquisition costs and increase customer retention rates. Your business will benefit from your event even after it ends.

The type of events that thrive with an email marketing strategy

There’s no shortage of in-person and online events for creators.

Here are a few ideas—broken up by different archetypes—to get you thinking:

Examples of in-person creator events

• Author: conferences, speaking gigs, trade shows, book clubs, book tour/book signing, and book readings
• Coaches, consultants, and service providers: retreats, networking, book clubs, and workshops
• Musician: concerts, listening parties, and fan meet and greets
• Athlete: fan meet and greets, tournaments, and charity games
• Podcaster: podcasting conventions, podcaster meetups, and panel discussions
• Influencer: meet and greet events, brand collaboration events, social media conferences, and niche-specific events (like a runway show for a fashion blogger)
• Blogger: blogger meetups, content creation workshops, blogging conferences, and writing retreats

For example, food blogger Megan hosts a retreat for food bloggers to learn and grow:

Ideas for creator online events

• Author: Virtual book launches, online author Q&A sessions, and webinars on writing and publishing
• Coaches, consultants, and service providers: Online workshops, web-based coaching sessions, monthly meetups, and virtual networking events
• Musician: Livestream concerts, virtual album release parties, and online music workshops
• Athlete: Esports tournaments, online fitness classes, and virtual sports challenges and competitions
• Podcaster: Live online podcast recordings, virtual podcasting conferences, and webinars on podcasting topics
• Influencer: Live social media Q&A sessions, online influencer collaborations, and virtual brand and product launches
• Blogger: Virtual blogger conferences, web-based content creation masterclasses, and online blogging summits

For instance, email copywriter Aleia hosts monthly happy hours for business owners to connect virtually and talk shop.

Put together your email sequence for your event (+ motivating examples)

The three different types of event emails are:

1. Event invitation emails (5 emails total)
2. Event confirmation emails (3 emails total)
3. Event follow-up emails (2 emails total)

In total, you’ll send around ten emails. However, you don’t need to send all ten emails depending on your event and your audience. Use your best judgment.

Event invitation emails

To run a successful live event, you must get the word out and build excitement.

After all, how will your audience know about your event if you don’t tell them about it?

There are five types of pre-event emails. At a minimum, you should send one of each to ensure you create enough buzz.

You’ll want to schedule your event invitation emails four weeks before your event. This gives you enough time to advertise your event and gives your subscribers enough time to fit it into their schedule.

If you send multiple event invitation emails, send them out every three days. This should take you fifteen days to send out all five emails (which brings you around two weeks out from your event if you start advertising it four weeks ahead of time).

Here are the five emails we recommend sending:

1. The “get in line” event invitation email

This is the very first email you’ll want to send.

It helps you segment your list so you can identify folks who are interested in your event and those who won’t be able to make it.

In this email, pull back the curtain slightly on what you’ve been planning and share details about the event, like when and where it is and whom it’s for.

Even if you don’t have details like ticket costs, a speaker lineup, or the venue organized, send out this email to start generating interest.

Pro tip: To segment your list, include a link trigger in this email. Clicking the link will tag people who want you to notify them when tickets go on sale. That way, you’ll have a segment of subscribers eager to attend your event.

2. The “save big bucks” event invitation email

The second email in the sequence should be an early bird/save big email. This email is designed to get early adopters (those interested in your event) on the event train.

You can offer a discount for folks who buy tickets early. Or offer exclusive benefits, like VIP treatment.

Coach Nicky Christmas offers her audience early bird prices for her virtual summit.

What makes Nicky’s email great

Nicky offers two discounts for different price ranges. Alongside the discount, she includes a countdown timer so subscribers know how long they have to purchase tickets at the discounted price.

She also includes a video that highlights her summit from the previous year. Prospective attendees can watch the video to get a glimpse of what it might be like to attend her summit.

3. The “rush the doors” event invitation email

The third email in your sell-out-the-event sequence is a “rush the doors” email highlighting the benefits of attending your event.

After reading this email, folks should want to rush through the doors waving their wallets at you.

In this email, highlight what attendees gain from attending your event and how it will change their business or life.

Creator Morgan DeBaun’s “rush the doors” email is a great example:

What makes Morgan’s email great

Morgan packs her email with information on speakers, off-site activities, and information for booking hotels.

Plus, it’s visually appealing and includes plenty of imagery to showcase her event.

4. The “friends” event invitation email

The fourth email in the sequence is the “friends” email, where you introduce relatable characters to share their stories.

In market-speak, this means testimonials from your past events.

Wyzowl conducted a survey and found that 90% of people trust what a customer says about a business more than what a business says about themselves.

So, let your past event attendees do the selling for you and use this email to send out testimonials.

Pro tip: Don’t have any past events that you can pull from? Interview early ticket buyers for this event and ask them what made them decide to attend your event. Their insight can relate to other people who might be unsure.

5. The “last dance” event invitation email

In this email, you let your email list know it’s their last chance to get those tickets.

Use this email to recap the benefits of attending your event. Try to shine a spotlight on the uniqueness of your event and how it differs from other events.

Creator Tara Paige expects 1,200 people to attend her three-day conference for outdoor spaces. She used this simple email to drum up last-minute ticket sales:

What makes Tara’s email great

In the above event email example, Tara gets straight to the point. She lets her audience know that this is the last chance they have to buy tickets.

Her email doesn’t feel salesy, yet it’s enough to nudge any fence-sitters.

Event confirmation emails

Once a subscriber has purchased a ticket to your event, it’s time to make them feel like a VIP. Each attendee should feel special—no matter who they are or what price point of ticket they purchased.

You can think of this sequence as an onboarding process for your attendees. It will familiarize them with everything they need to know about your event before they get there.

Emails in this sequence can include:

• Hotel locations and pricing options
• Airfare/other transportation options
• General FAQs about your event (what to wear, what weather to expect, are any meals provided, etc.)
• Agenda announcements
• Details about any kind of pre-event workshops or parties
• Fun things to do in the town where your event takes place

6. The “you’re in” event confirmation email

This is the first email attendees will get as soon as they buy their tickets.

Use this email to welcome and excite event attendees. Doing so can remove any chance of buyer’s remorse your ticket holders might feel. And you also solidify your brand’s commitment to attendee success and growth.

7. The “community cheerleading” pre-event email

This email is all about recruiting your community cheerleaders.

Use this chance to highlight any communities—like Facebook groups or Slack channels—you have for your event. This way, people can get to know each other and feed off one another’s excitement.

Jenny Melrose is a business coach who frequently hosts virtual events that rack up thousands of attendees. Here’s an example of how she builds a community via email:

What makes Jenny’s email great

Jenny’s email links to her Facebook group and Instagram profile so attendees can get social with one another.
She also encourages people to invite a friend, which furthers the community aspect (and grows her event in the process).

8. The “event reminder” email

Here’s the final email you’ll send to people attending your event.

This email reminds people of what they need before attending your event takes place.

For live events, include important info like:

• Hotel address and directions
• Hotel room booking details
• Airport closest to the event
• Details of any pre-event meetups
• Details of any included meals or, if meals aren’t included, where attendees eat and where can they find coffee and snacks
• Dress code (if any)
• Special outfits for costume parties or formal dinners
• Things to carry like notebooks, laptop, phone, camera, power banks, etc.
• WiFi details for the events
• Live-streaming instructions

Since there is a fair amount of information that you need to include, you can easily split this email into three to four emails. Or send variations of the same email a few times (so people don’t miss it).

If you’re hosting a virtual event, you should include:

• Links to community groups like Facebook groups for people who missed them in the last email
• Links to access the event (plus instructions for when access will open)
• Information on what to do if attendees can’t attend the event live (i.e., will there be replays?)

Event follow-up emails

Just because your event is over doesn’t mean there’s nothing else to give your attendees. There’s always an opportunity to deliver valuable content even after your closing party.

Here are three emails to continue delivering exceptional value post-event.

9. The “thank you” event follow-up email

In this email, you’ll thank attendees for coming to your event. You can also:

• Give them access to event slides or recordings
• Include recaps and key takeaways
• Thank your sponsors

You’ll also want to include an event feedback survey. This survey helps you prepare to make your next event even bigger and better.

For our Craft + Commerce event emails, we include a survey and thank our sponsors.

But don’t wait too long to send out this email. You should send your “thank you” email 24 to 48 hours after the event and post-event meetups have finished.

10. The “let’s do it again” follow-up event email

Your last event email is where you invite attendees to buy tickets for next year or encourage them to get on the waitlist.

This email can be sent out one to three weeks after the event once the dust settles.

Even more, this email can help you segment your list (by identifying those eager to attend again). It can also give you social proof by letting you showcase how many people are already waiting in line to buy tickets.

Plus, you can get early bird ticket sales to help fund next year’s event.

How to set your event email marketing campaign on autopilot

When you’re busy planning your event, the last thing you want to do is remember to send off your emails.

Using Kit’s Automations, you can schedule each email to send to the right people at the right times.

Just follow these steps:

1. Login to Kit and click Automate > Visual Automations
2. Click the pink + New automations button and then click the Start from scratch button
3. Click Start building
4. Adjust your automation to include your email sequences, links to purchase your event tickets from Kit Commerce, and your dates

Or you can use our pre-made event email automation. Just remember to adjust the dates, emails, and add in your own product.

Grab our event automation here

With your automation, you can focus on your event while your email marketing sells tickets for you in the background.

Tips to craft an even better event email marketing strategy

The below best practices will help you get the most out of your event emails.

Come up with alluring subject lines

A clickable subject line can drive up opens and ensure more people know about your event.

Eventbrite’s research found that the average open rate for event emails is 28%. However, subject lines with a sense of urgency or exclusivity can boost open rates to 22%.

Even more, personalization can boost rates by 20%.

Each event email subject line template below has been crafted with personalization, urgency, or exclusivity in mind to help you get the highest open rates possible:

Templates for event invitation email subject lines

1. Join me for an unforgettable [day/evening/weekend]
2. Your invitation is here!
3. You won’t want to miss the [event name]
4. We’d love to see you at [event], [name]
5. Your personal invitation to [event name]

Templates for event confirmation email subject lines

1. Your reservation for [event name] is confirmed
2. Can’t wait to see you at [event name], [name]
3. Get ready: [event name] is almost here
4. You’re officially in, [name]!
5. Everything you need to make the most of [event name]

Templates for event follow-up email subject lines

1. Thank you for joining me at [event name], [name]
2. Stay connected, [name]: [event name] follow-Up
3. The journey continues: [event name] recap
4. I’d love your feedback on [event name], [name]
5. Are you ready for next year’s [event name]?

Personalize each and every event email you send

Email personalization makes subscribers feel like you care. And it’s not hard to add a touch of personalization to your emails.

Personalization can be as simple as addressing your subscriber by their name (in the subject line, the greeting, and the body content of your email).

Beyond that, use tags to segment your subscribers for your event emails.

For example, tag any people who purchase an early bird discount. Then, in your thank you email, mention how you appreciate them being an early bird ticket holder.

Attendees will appreciate your attention to these small details.

Create a dedicated landing page for your event

A dedicated sales page gives potential attendees one place to get all the information they need for your event.

And A/B testing elements like headers, call-to-actions (CTAs), and imagery can help you design the best—and highest converting—landing page possible.

Ask your subscribers and network to share your event

Asking people to share your event can drum up more attendance. Because according to Nielsen, 88% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Ask attendees to invite a friend
2. Add a footer to each event email with a short sentence that asks subscribers to share the landing page for your event
3. Use Kit’s Creator Network (reward those who send you event attendees with paid recommendations)
4. Create a referral program where subscribers can unlock special gifts when they refer more people

Coach Jenny Melrose does this by asking attendees to invite a friend to her virtual events:

Track your event marketing numbers

Tracking your landing page and email marketing metrics helps you spot what’s working—and what’s not—so you can improve your event for next year.

Keep an eye on things like:

1. Email open rates which help you determine if your subject line was enticing
2. Sales page conversion rates so you know how well your sales page converted
3. Email click-through rates so you know if your CTAs were compelling

Then, use those numbers to improve your event emails year after year.

Sell out your next event

Email marketing is the key to selling out your event on auto-pilot.

And with Kit Commerce, you can schedule your emails and sell your tickets all in one place.

Ready to give it a try? Try Kit today.