Email... still cool or is it old school?
You have plenty of options when it comes to choosing which channels you use to create buzz for your event and communicate with your attendees, one of them being email.
Is email too old school?
No! Email is still the preferred and most effective channel for sending and receiving direct event communications. Here's a few reasons why:
1. You collect one with each registration;
2. They are delivered directly to the inbox;
3. They can be dynamic, showing personalised content that makes them more likely to be read.
It's important to make sure you've got an email comms plan in place that includes who you'll be sending to and when.
What sort of event communications can we use email for?
In a nutshell, there are quite a few!
1. Save the date or to take pre-registrations;
2. Invitations with a direct response mechanism built-in (accept, decline);
3. Registration confirmation with a response mechanism built-in (Edit details or cancel);
4. Updates and reminders - don’t overdo it by sending every couple of days;
5. Joining instructions;
6. Survey requests;
7. Post-event follow-ups.
How about personalisation?
According to a recent study by Salesloft, the increase in response rate for a personalised email vs a non-personalised one can be up to 250%!
It's worth pointing out that personalisation done badly can have an adverse effect on response rates, so make sure you invest some time into getting it right.
When we talk personalisation, it’s much more than “Hi {{ first name }}”. We'll take it as read that it should include the basics, but where it comes into its own is where the content is dynamic I.e. tailored to the receiver based on what you know about them.
Confirmation emails could show some of their selections made during registration. For example, their dietary requirements, accommodation preferences, and session times. It's also an opportunity for you to go the extra mile so you could include things like links showing how to get there and local places to eat.
The point is to make sure it gets read. Relevant and interesting content makes that more likely.
Do event platforms have built-in email functionality?
Most event platforms have at least a basic capability to send emails with some having more advanced functionality like scheduling and template options (Mitingu falls into the latter category, but you knew we’d say that!).
My platform only has basic email functionality, what are my options?
Check with your provider to see if they have an API. An API makes it possible to automatically pass attendee data to your email marketing platform enabling you to send from there. That's not a five-minute job and you'll need the services of a web developer too.
If your platform has an export attendee data function, you could download it and then manually upload to your email marketing platform. It’s a bit long-winded but it’s a decent option if you don’t have the time or money to get an automated integration built using an API.
To sum it up
Email is still the most effective communications tool for your event if it's planned properly and the content is tailored to the attendee. Yes, it’s been around for a while but there’s a reason for that, it works.