You might think that email is considered obsolete in the digital age, but nothing could be farther from the truth! In fact, email marketing has one of the highest returns on investment of any type of marketing, generating an average of $36 for every $1 spent!
Of course, if you want to see that ROI for your speaking events, you have to do it right. Here are six effective email marketing tips to promote your next speaking event.
Optimize your layout with email templates
Your marketing emails are a representation of your brand. If you use boring text-only emails, what do you think recipients are going to think about your speaking presentation?
Make sure anyone who reads your emails knows your speaking event will be an exciting event with amazing email layouts. And the best way to get amazing email layouts without needing professional design skills is to use templates.
There are hundreds of free speaker email templates available from websites like PosterMyWall. Simply choose the one that best fits your brand, customize it to perfection in the easy drag-and-drop editor, and you’re ready to send to your contact list. Building professional email layouts has never been easier!
Include all necessary information
People don’t want to attend a speaking event (or any event for that matter) they don’t know anything about. And generally, the more information someone has about an event, the more likely they’ll be to attend.
So when drafting your email messaging, be sure to include all the relevant information potential attendees might need to make an informed decision about attending:
- Date and time
- Location (or website if virtual)
- Your bio and background
- Speaking topics
- Guest speakers (if applicable)
This list is by no means exhaustive. The more information you can provide that might encourage people to attend, the better!
Send regular emails
While you might need to include a good bit of information in your emails, you don’t have to do it all at once. Spreading out information over several emails is a great way to help increase excitement and keep your speaking event top of mind for your readers.
Most marketing professionals suggest sending two to four emails per month. That’s enough to keep your event top of mind without irritating your readers with constant messages. Simply provide a new piece of information in every email to keep the messaging fresh, while still offering valuable information.
Write an engaging subject line
The subject line is the make-or-break moment for any email campaign. You could have the best email layout and best message in the world, but if you don’t have a good subject line, your amazing email will likely end up unread in the trash.
The key to a great subject line is showing value up front. What is the benefit someone will get from reading your email? Why would someone click on it? If you can answer that question quickly in the subject line, your open rate will go through the roof!
For example, if your speaking event is about finance, your subject line could be something like “Achieve financial independence and learn the keys to success.” Who doesn’t want to achieve financial success!? Anyone would want to click on that email to learn more.
Include a strong call to action
The goal of your email campaign isn’t to get people to read your email. Your emails are simply a stepping stone to the final goal: getting someone to sign up for your speaking event. So at the end of your email, include a strong call to action (CTA) to encourage readers to take the next step in the process.
In most cases, the next step will be to register for your event. But you can have other CTAs like visit your website, make a donation, or learn more about your topic of interest. Whatever you want the readers to do next, make sure you show them the way at the bottom of every marketing email. The easier you make it to take the next step, the more likely your readers will follow.
Utilize email segmentation
Different audiences react differently to certain messaging. For example, younger people prefer informal and even humorous writing, while older demographics prefer a higher level of professionalism — especially from expert speakers.
If you want to reach both audiences, you might need to write two different emails. Email segmentation is just that: splitting up your contact list and sending personalized emails to each segment.
Email segmentation is the best way to ensure you’re speaking directly to your target audience, helping you maximize your conversion rates. If anyone understands the benefit of speaking directly to their audience, it’s a professional speaker!
Fill every seat at your next speaking event
Email might be the oldest form of internet communication. But even in 2024 it’s still going strong! If you want to launch a successful email marketing campaign for your next speaking event, start with professional email templates, provide all the information attendees would need, send regular emails, write engaging subject lines, include a strong CTA, and segment your contact lists.
With an effective email marketing campaign, you’ll definitely fill more seats at your next speaking event.