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<p>I recently returned from a whirlwind trip spanning three weeks across three states, and I attended five live events!</p>
<p>As an introverted copywriter, I expected to be overwhelmed, but surprisingly I was inspired, excited, focused, and definitely not overwhelmed.</p>
<p>After this experience, I can totally vouch for the impact that live events can have on one’s community and brand.</p>
<p>With more entrepreneurs adding events to their mix of offerings, chances are you’ve been looking at events too and maybe want to host one this year.</p>
<p>After all, events are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Great for building community</li>
<li>Excellent to add the “face-to-face interaction” element</li>
<li>Amazing trust and authority builders</li>
<li>Wonderful for generation buzz and interest in your brand</li>
<li>A happy addition to your revenue portfolio</li>
</ol>
<p>Yes, it makes sense to host an event, but THAT is just the first step. The second and more important step is selling out that event.</p>
<p>Today, I’m going to show you just how to do that using a carefully crafted sequence of conversion-optimized emails that will not only <a href="https://convertkit.com/how-to-use-discounts">boost sales</a> but also ensure live attendance and keep up that post-event buzz!</p>
<p>I’ve based this sequence of emails on the ones I’ve written for live events that were sellouts/ And yes, I’ve helpfully included ready-to-use template for you too.</p>
<p>Sidenote: DO you sense how overly helpful I am? I’m an ISFJ….I like to help!</p>
<p><a id="“guest_resource”" class="btn btn-sm btn--green" href="https://www.contentbistro.com/convertkitreaders">Download Your Exclusive Set of Plug-and-Play Templates.</a></p>
<p>These templates include the examples here, complete with subject line options for the entire sequence of emails that sell out events with ease.</p>
<p>Okay, let’s dive in.</p>
<h2>The email marketing plan to sell out live events</h2>
<h3>Pump up the sales with pre-event emails</h3>
<p>These emails are usually sent to everyone on your list to share your event and get them excited and ready to buy tickets.</p>
<p>There are five types of pre-event emails. At the very minimum, you should send one of each to ensure you create enough buzz and generation sales for your email.</p>
<p>For my clients, I include two to three of each type since we usually have a lead time of almost nine months before the events. So for those cases there were a total of 12 pre-event sales emails.</p>
<p>These five types of emails are:</p>
<h4><span class="heading-icon"><img decoding="async" loading="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12211 lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/03/BBjGadsv-get-in-line.png?fm=png" alt="email marketing event emails" width="110" height="110" />The “Get in line” email (for segmentation)</span></h4>
<p>This is the very first email to segment your list so you can identify folks who are interested in your event and those who don’t want to hear about it.</p>
<p>In this email, you’ll pull back the curtain slightly on what you’ve been planning and share with them some of the details about the event– when, where, for whom it’s happening.</p>
<p>Even if you don’t have details like ticket costs, a speaker lineup, or the venue organized, send out this email so you start generating interest and yes, segment your list.</p>
<p>To start segmenting your list, Include a link trigger in this email so when they click the link to be notified when tickets go on sale, they’re tagged as “Interested in My Event” in your ConvertKit account.</p>
<h4><span class="heading-icon"><img decoding="async" loading="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12212 lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/03/yHndHBT9-save-big-bucks.png?fm=png" alt="email marketing event emails" width="110" height="110" />The “Save big bucks” email (for early bird sales)</span></h4>
<p>The second email in the sequence must be an early bird/save big email that’s designed to get your early adopters on the event train.</p>
<p>You can offer an exclusive low price for folks who buy tickets and get those first seats all filled up easily!</p>
<p>I like to include three “Save big bucks” emails in my clients’ sequences since these emails had the most appeal and happily proved my point since they also converted the best.</p>
<h4><span class="heading-icon"><img decoding="async" loading="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12213 lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/03/vfFlDJDu-rush-the-doors.png?fm=png" alt="email marketing event emails" width="110" height="110" />The “Rush the doors” email (for nudging fence-sitters)</span></h4>
<p>The third email in your sell-out-the-event sequence is a “Rush the doors” email that talks about the benefits of attending your event so folks can’t help but rush through the doors waving their wallets at you.</p>
<p>In this email, you want to highlight what attendees will walk away with and how attending the event will change their business or life.</p>
<h4><span class="heading-icon"><img decoding="async" loading="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12214 lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/03/qRyk5E4l-friends.png?fm=png" alt="email marketing event emails" width="110" height="110" />The “Friends” email (for social proof and endorsements)</span></h4>
<p>One of the reasons the sitcom Friends was SO popular was because the characters were relatable and they shared their stories with plenty of humor and emotion.</p>
<p>The fourth email in the sequence is the “Friends” email and it’s just that– introducing relatable characters who share their stories with humor and emotion.</p>
<p>In market-speak, this means testimonials from your past events. But not those boring, template-style testimonials that are all fuzzy and feel-good. These are fun and intriguing ones. Videos if possible!</p>
<h5>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 jump on the event train.</h5>
<h4><span class="heading-icon"><img decoding="async" loading="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12215 lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/03/WbBD0cku-last-dance.png?fm=png" alt="email marketing event emails" width="110" height="110" />The “Last Dance” email (for last calls for tickets)</span></h4>
<p>Finally, this is the email where you invitingly and tantalizingly let your email list know that it&#8217;s the very last chance to get those tickets.</p>
<p>But you do it without resorting to icky, FOMO-inducing tactics. You do it delicately and yet, persuasively.</p>
<p>You want to recap the benefits of attending as well as shine a bright spotlight on the uniqueness of your event as compared to everything else out there.</p>
<h3>Build buzz and create community with your pre-event show up emails</h3>
<p>Once attendees have snagged those tickets, you don’t want to let them simmer and stew. You want to get them all excited and charged up about attending your event while continuing to generate buzz for those who’re still on the fence.</p>
<p>There are three emails in this sequence and again, ideally, I’d recommend sending out each email at least once.</p>
<p>Variations of the “Travel Checklist” email, for instance, should be sent out four times so folks get important travel and other logistical details and aren’t underprepared.</p>
<p>These three emails are:</p>
<h4><span class="heading-icon"><img decoding="async" loading="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12216 lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/03/J3dtWSSA-youre-in.png?fm=png" alt="email marketing event emails" width="110" height="110" />The “You’re in” email</span></h4>
<p>This is the first <a href="https://convertkit.com/money-making-events">email attendees will get as soon as they buy their tickets and sadly, this is the most ignored and underwhelming email most event organizers send</a> out.</p>
<p>However, for my clients’ events, we wanted the emails to be on-brand and as warm, welcoming, and exciting as the pre-event sales emails.</p>
<p>So, I crafted emails that endorsed their decision to attend and also highlighted what the action really truly meant.</p>
<p>By doing this, you remove any chance of buyer’s remorse kicking in and you also solidify your brand’s commitment to attendee success and growth.</p>
<h4><span class="heading-icon"><img decoding="async" loading="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12217 lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/03/9U9Qq9OA-cheerleading.png?fm=png" alt="email marketing event emails" width="110" height="110" />The “Community cheerleading” email</span></h4>
<p>This is the second email in the Show Up Sequence, and this one is all about recruiting your community cheerleaders.</p>
<p>If your event will have a Facebook group, Slack community or an app for attendees to join so they can start engaging with other attendees, you need to send this email out with those details.</p>
<p>Even if you don’t have social community for attendees (though seriously, you totally should!), you can use this email to generate buzz on social media.</p>
<h4><span class="heading-icon"><img decoding="async" loading="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12218 lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/03/t0ADd610-travel.png?fm=png" alt="email marketing event emails" width="110" height="110" />The “Travel checklist” email</span></h4>
<p>This is the final email in the Show Up Sequence and ideally, you’d want to send out four variations for this email &#8211; 30 days before the events, 15 days before the events, 7 days before the events, and 24 hours before the event.</p>
<ul>
<li>In these emails you’ll want to include important, unignorable information like:</li>
<li>Hotel address and directions</li>
<li>Hotel room booking details</li>
<li>Airport closest to the event</li>
<li>Details of any pre-event meetups</li>
<li>Details of any included meals or if meals aren’t included, where can attendees eat and where can they find coffee and snacks</li>
<li>Dress code (if any)</li>
<li>Special outfits- for costume party or formal dinners)</li>
<li>Things to carry- notebooks, laptop, phone, camera, power banks, etc</li>
<li>WiFi details for the events</li>
<li>Live-streaming instructions</li>
</ul>
<p>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 four times.</p>
<h3>Prime attendees for the future with post-event emails</h3>
<p>Next up are the emails that you’ll send out once the event is done, the attendees have returned home, and you’re ready to crawl into bed and try to get your voice back!</p>
<p>Yes, you need these emails because not only do you want to know what went well, you also want to know what could have been better, and more importantly start preparing for the next year’s events.</p>
<h4><span class="heading-icon"><img decoding="async" loading="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12219 lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/03/weCkJaeS-thanks.png?fm=png" alt="email marketing event emails" width="110" height="110" />The “Glad you came” email</span></h4>
<p>In this email, you’ll thank your attendees and give them access to event slides or recordings. This can also include a recap of some amazing moments or takeaways. But most importantly, you will also ask them to fill out the <a href="https://convertkit.com/how-to-create-online-course-survey" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">event feedback survey</a> to help you prepare to make your next event even bigger and better.</p>
<p>This email can be sent 24 to 48 hours after the event is over and the post-event meetups are all over. If you need to wait a week or two for the slides then you send out a second email once those are ready.</p>
<h4><span class="heading-icon"><img decoding="async" loading="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12220 lazy" data-src="https://media.convertkit.com/2018/03/dDnIgS6J-again.png?fm=png" alt="email marketing event emails" width="110" height="110" />The “Let’s do it again” email</span></h4>
<p>Finally, the last email in the sequence will be where you invite attendees to either buy tickets for next year, especially if you have the location and dates finalized, or encourage them to get on the waitlist to be the first to know when things are settled.</p>
<p>This email can be sent out one to three weeks after the event, depending on when you sent the “Glad you came” email.</p>
<h2>Create your own event sellout email sequence</h2>
<p>There you go!</p>
<p>All the emails you need to get the sales you need, the seats filled, and social networks on fire for your event.</p>
<p>Don’t forget your email templates! I’ve created just for you to help you write each of those emails I just talked about.</p>
<p><a id="“guest_resource”" class="btn btn-sm btn--green" href="https://www.contentbistro.com/convertkitreaders">Download Your Exclusive Set of Plug-and-Play Templates.</a></p>
<p>Let’s see you host your event to a room filled with raving fans and a waitlist ready for next year.</p>
<p><span style="border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: 20px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #ffffff; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; base64,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); background-size: 14px 14px; background-color: #bd081c; position: absolute; opacity: 1; z-index: 8675309; display: none; cursor: pointer; border: none; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Save</span><span style="border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; text-indent: 20px; width: auto; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: 20px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #ffffff; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; base64,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); background-size: 14px 14px; background-color: #bd081c; position: absolute; opacity: 1; z-index: 8675309; display: none; cursor: pointer; border: none; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;">Save</span></p>


These emails are a MUST for your event marketing plan

Prerna Malik

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