New York event planners often tap into the power of email for a number of reasons. There are incredible benefits when using email marketing for your own brand to help introduce your services and land new clients. But emails are also great ways to reach potential guests on an event invite list, too.
If you’re routinely sending emails, this is the read you need to see. There are ways to improve your messaging, open rates, and bounce rates. And based on some of the industry success stories so far, these insights can help improve your event planning efforts and bottom-line business revenue, too.
1. Know & Stick to the Rules
We can’t, in good faith, talk about email marketing without first addressing the CAN-SPAM guidelines. You should know them and definitely abide by them. Violations could result in fines, email domain blacklisting, and lost connections.
We are NOT lawyers and encourage everyone to connect with a legal professional to better understand the definitions and implications regarding the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing act passed in 2003.
You can view the official rules via the FTC website. Here’s an outline of HubSpot highlights to help.
- Each email must include a physical postal address.
- Provide recipients an easy-to-spot and obvious way to unsubscribe or “opt-out.”
- Each email must have a clear “to” and “from” to identify the sender.
- Prohibited use of “no-reply” based emails, which don’t allow recipients to opt out.
- Don’t sell or transfer email addresses from one list to another.
2. Personalize Each Email
We want to first suggest that email templates, especially when you’re sending multiple campaigns, are brilliant and efficient. However, it’s mission-critical to drop in any personalization effort you can with each, including addressing the recipient by name. If the goal is to make a trustworthy impression, any additional text you can include that will customize or personalize the message, will deliver better than a standard, generic template.
3. Provide a Clear CTA
Sometimes, it’s easy to forget to add a strong call to action with your event planner emails. You’re trying hard not to be salesy, or maybe you’re just sharing industry news. But there’s always room to ask the reader to take another step, even if it’s not to make a booking decision. Consider providing links to past events you’ve hosted in New York or asking for feedback with a survey. Those CTAs can provide great metrics, too, when you sit down to evaluate your email campaigns.
4. Emojis Can Animate the Message
Drop some emojis in your subject line or throughout your email content. Emojis are widely well-received and can add personality to a bland message. There are some who suggest not using emojis for fear of triggering a spam filter. But if you avoid over-emoji-ing your message, you’ll be pleased with the results. The presence of emojis, often used via text correspondence, can create a more relaxed and casual messaging exchange.
5. Subject Lines That Inspire ‘Opens’
How good are your subject lines? If you’re struggling with open rates lately, it could mean your subject lines aren’t prompting recipients to open their emails. Consider changing things up and A/B testing different types of subject lines in smaller batches. Try asking a question instead of making a statement. Avoid too many exclamation points or all-capped formats.
6. Add Social Sharing Buttons
Each email should offer more than one way to engage with your event planning business. Of course, you’ll already have your phone number and return email available. But don’t forget to drop in links to your social media profiles for the business, too. You can use your emails to help grow your social media engagement. You can put together some ready-made tweets, too, for simplified sharing.
7. Preview & Test Your Email Campaigns Before Hitting Send
Always review your email sequences before you officially send them out to event guests or target customers. And if you drafted the emails, send the test email to someone else on your team for a fresh look. Grammar and other mistakes can send the message that you don’t care, causing you to lose engagement. Make sure, too, that your email is mobile-friendly for those who do opt to open your email via a mobile device.
8. Try Sending at Different Times
There are different opinions about what day of the week and what times of day are best for sending emails. And as an event planner, your target audiences are going to vary with each campaign. The most effective way to find the best times and days of the week to send yours is by testing small batches at different intervals. Try afternoons. Sample mornings. And go ahead and send a few weekend emails if you’d like to see the metrics. Finding your own “ideal” frequency will depend on your testing results.
9. Don’t Ignore Your Metrics
You might have a few really responsive email campaigns. But don’t presume they’ll all be that successful. Stick to your metrics and keep watch on your open rates, delivery rates, and feedback. You could make your email marketing better by just adjusting a few things. But you won’t know if you don’t keep tabs on your email metrics.
Improve your email marketing with these insights and suggestions. And if you still need help developing yours, let EMRG be your guide!
And don’t forget to get your tickets to The Event Planner Expo & 10-Year Anniversary Celebration!
