- Keep the Design Clean and Simple: The purpose of an invite is to deliver relevant information in as simple a way as possible. To ensure that your invitation gets the message across clearly, keep the design clean and fresh. This aesthetic is modern and appealing and will make it easy for people to absorb the information without having to struggle with too much information on the page.
- Make Highlights Easy to Read: Why should someone come to your event? What special things will take place? Highlight these key details about your event and make them easy to read. A person that is invited should be able to look at an event and understand what it is about and why attending will benefit them, within 30 seconds of looking at the page. If you are hosting a business conference, highlight the theme and the keynote speakers. If you are hosting an education event for new parents, highlight the types of information that they will learn and which brands will be in attendance sharing products.
- Be Clear About the Basics: While you may be busy thinking about design aesthetics and keywords to feature on your page, don’t forget the basics. There is nothing more annoying for attendees than to sign up for an event and then when the time comes to access the basic details they can’t be found. Be sure to be clear about the day of the week, the date, the time of day and if necessary, specify the time zone.
- Use Strong Visuals: Do you have videos of the keynote from last year’s business conference? Or perhaps you have images of the bridal gowns that will be showcased at this year’s bridal fair? Use these rich media elements on your invite to help demonstrate what your event is all about. A picture is worth a thousand words and a video can help sell the experience. Images help tell the story to potential attendees that have never been to your event before and can connect the experience on a more emotional level.
- Include Testimonials: People that have attended your events in the past are a great resource to help you generate interest in your next event. Via email or social media, ask previous attendees to fill out surveys about what they liked and didn’t like about prior events. Ask these supporters for testimonials about their favorite parts of your events and then add these quotes to your invite. There is nothing like a recommendation from a real person with a similar background to help sell your event.
- Send Emails to Promote Your Event: Promote your event through emails. Use personalization if you can by including the recipient’s name and tailoring the content to their particular interests. Make it easy for people that have already logged into your event to sign back in if they click from your emails. A/B test your emails to ensure that you are sending the most effective messaging. You can test different subject lines, copy text, the time of day you send, etc. and then continually optimize based on your findings.
- Measure Your Outreach Campaigns: Take a close look at how your emails are performing. Measure open rates, click through rates and conversion rates. Look at which links people are following from your emails to determine which content is the most compelling in helping to sell your event.