Mad Men of yesteryear could only dream of a marketing strategy as effective as email marketing. For every dollar you invest on email marketing, NYC event planners can expect to receive roughly $36 in revenue. But that doesn’t mean email marketing is easy money.
Rather, it’s a skill with a long list of best practices that will make your email campaigns successful. And when it comes to potential event clients teetering on the edge of the sales funnel, you need an email campaign with finesse that will inspire them to take the leap. In this article, we have email marketing insights to stay top-of-mind with potential NYC event clients.
Segment Your Email List
Segmenting your events email list is the practice of dividing your large email lists into smaller lists grouped by recipient attributes and sending content customized for each segment. For example, you could divide your email recipients by their geographical location within the boroughs, their age, and the type of events they’re likely to book, such as corporate events or social events. Thanks to Big Data, it’s easy to segment your email list based on any number of traits.
According to Instapage, segmented email lists have, on average, 46% higher open rates. Those higher open rates are a powerful indicator that potential clients are engaged and journeying through your sales funnel.
Personalize Your Email Marketing
Personalizing your email marketing is the art of making the recipient feel seen, understood, and valued based on her unique identity. Personalization is a powerful email marketing tool with an ROI of 122%.
Segmentation is just one way to personalize your email marketing. Other ways include:
- Using the person’s name in the email greeting
- Celebrating important dates, such as the recipient’s birthday.
- Making your content less stuffy by being more casual and friendly
Be Mobile-Friendly
Your event marketing emails will likely be opened on a mobile device. And this is especially true with clients at the start of the sales funnel who are casually scouting NYC event planners while they kill time on the train. If your email campaign and website aren’t mobile-friendly, you’ll immediately alienate these potential clients.
Deliver Value with Engaging Email Content
Give potential clients a reason to keep opening your emails by sending them engaging content that offers value. Your potential clients may not be ready to buy, but they’re always ready to learn more about how to host the ultimate dinner party or choose the most flattering gown for an event gala.
Regale your potential clients with your know-how for all things event-related, and you’ll be at the top of the list when it comes time for them to host their own shindig.
Use Incremental Steps to Move Clients Through the Funnel
More often than not, potential clients are afraid of commitment. So, don’t go for the million-dollar ask in every email. Instead, develop a series of incremental steps they can take to move closer to your brand and, eventually, book your event planning services. Some examples of calls to action that gingerly nudge them along the sales funnel include:
- Download free material, such as a wedding planning checklist.
- Click to learn more, which then takes them to more content and keeps them on your site.
- Follow me on Instagram for more party-planning ideas.
Use A/B Testing, Rinse, then Repeat
A/B testing refers to a strategy in which you send different versions of the same campaign and then track the results. By using A/B testing, you’re able to hone in on the email marketing strategy that is most likely to produce results. Run your A/B testing like a true scientist with these tips:
Identify your goal, such as improving click-through rates.
- Develop a hypothesis, such as “I think my marketing emails will have more click-throughs if I include more images.”
- Create an email to test the hypothesis.
- Send the new email to a small group of potential clients, and send a version of the old email to another similar group of equal size.
- Don your favorite pair of smart and sexy eyeglasses and comb through the results. White lab coat optional.
Mine the Data
Whether or not you use A/B testing, you should measure the results of your email campaign and make adjustments as necessary. According to Constant Contact, marketing emails in the entertainment industry have an open rate of 36% and a click-through rate of 1.21%. Your rates might be higher (or lower) depending on the type of events you plan.
Get the Latest Marketing Strategies for Event Planners at the Event Planner Expo
With perhaps the highest ROI in the history of advertising, email marketing is a wellspring that will help you bring in more clients. The key is creating email campaigns that meet your clients where they are. And if for those who are just learning about your brand, you want to create email content that gently pushes them through the sales funnel.
The key to marketing, however, is taking advantage of all of the marketing tools available. You can learn more about the most effective marketing strategies for event planners when you attend The Event Planner Expo. Get on the waitlist for 2025 now!
