When it comes to marketing for your event planning business, the rules are constantly changing. The goalposts always shift, making it harder to keep up with an effective strategy. And this dynamic applies to email marketing most of all. Should you use fun emojis in your subject line or not? Should you incorporate videos, or will they flag your email as spam? And what about buying mailing lists? Is that a good practice or a bad idea?
Keep reading as we dive into the very latest email marketing do’s and don’ts that today’s event planners can trust.
DO: Quality over quantity every time
When you’re sending marketing emails of any kind, make sure you’re offering quality information that informs, entertains, and educates. Consider having others review your content before sending to get a neutral opinion of your messaging. Just don’t be sending emails for the sake of sending. Make sure you have something relevant to say.
DON’T: Send too many emails in one week
Email marketing can be so lucrative that some companies get “send happy” and start blasting their contacts more frequently. Avoid burning out your contact list with too many emails over the course of one week. If your contact list is fewer than 2,000, don’t send more than eight emails each month.
DO: Keep A/B testing for each audience and results
By the time you read this blog, the rules for email marketing formats could have changed again. But the best way for event planners to stay on top of these shifts is with continuous A/B testing. Send emails in tandem, with one variation to gauge results. Test message lengths, subject lines, and the use of emojis. Those formats that deliver clicks and results will help you carve your best campaigns.
DON’T: Use overly spammy content
No matter what the current email marketing trends are, there’s always one rule of thumb to adhere to – avoid spammy content. Don’t oversaturate your message with exclamation points and all-caps. Avoid overuse of the word “free” or “sale.” And don’t get weird with your fonts.
DO: Follow the 5 T’s
Email marketing effectiveness continues to be driven by the five T’s. Develop your sequences in a way that:
- Teases
- Targets
- Teaches
- Tests
- Tracks
DON’T: Buy email lists
When you buy email lists, you run the risk of getting bad contact information. This alone could result in a higher bounce rate on your emails, harming your chances of avoiding the spam folder. Some lists can be curated that make sense in smaller numbers. Just verify before you buy that the email addresses are valid and current. And it’s always best to create your own email marketing databases of contacts with organic campaigns, referral marketing, incentives, social media, and networking.
DO: Be honest and transparent with your messaging
Keep whatever message you’re sending authentic. Be honest about trends and challenges. Your content should read aloud like a conversation, transparent and friendly. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, and don’t offer information you can’t back up with knowledge and experience.
DON’T: Be a salesperson
Unless you’re an eCommerce store selling widgets, your email campaigns should not be salesy. Event planners are using email campaigns to generate interest in their services. Your content should solve your target audience’s problems, provide insights, or share local information. The goal is to prompt a conversation with those contacts that leads to a sales process and a new event client. Don’t try to sell someone blindly in an email.
DO: Make it easy to opt-in
Once you have someone’s attention with an email, make sure they have a clear and super-easy path to take the next step. Whether it’s subscribing to your event planner newsletter or visiting your website, the opt-in process should be convenient and prominently displayed where your reader can find it.
DON’T: Forget a call to action
Along the same lines as providing an easy opt-in, don’t forget a clear call to action step. Your emails could all land in the inboxes, get opened, and read without conversion if you’re missing a strong CTA. Make sure those links work, too, and display them in the body of the email in a favorable way.
BONUS DO’S:
Here are a few bonus “do’s” to add to your email marketing strategy:
- DO: Balance text and images throughout the email
- DO: Know which email targets are most active
- DO: Get fun and maybe even a little silly with your content
- DO: Get creative with subject lines using questions and simple statements
- DO: Choose an email marketing platform that provides proper unsubscribe methods
As you create and improve your email marketing strategies, consider these do’s and don’ts. And there’s always marketing advice among the many networking circles of professionals at The Event Planner Expo! Get on the waiting list for 2023 to be the first in line for announcements, sponsorship, and exhibitor opportunities!
