Event Planning - Marketing (Part II)
- Sean Spence
- Oct 16, 2024
- 3 min read
Building your own email list is one of the most effective strategies for event marketing. While you may be tempted to purchase a list, nothing beats creating your own. Google can be a valuable ally in this endeavor, helping you identify potential attendees and their contact information. Make it a habit to continuously grow your email list for each event.
Here are some tips for making mass email work for you:
Make sure to customize the message extensively. Various online services can assist in simplifying this process, with Constant Contact being among the top choices. Sending a generic "Dear Friend" email and including all email addresses in the bcc: or, even worse, the cc: field is unacceptable.
Follow spam laws (in the United States, five main provisions apply):
It is prohibited to use false and misleading header information in emails. This requires that the "From," "To," and routing details, such as the originating domain name and address, must be correct and clearly indicate the sender.
It is necessary to offer opt-out options - Recipients should have a way to opt-out of receiving any further commercial communications from the sender. Moreover, these opt-out requests must be honored for a minimum of 30 days following the initial commercial email, and senders must cease sending messages to that address within 10 business days of receiving an opt-out request. No other entity is allowed to send messages to the opt-out requester on behalf of the sender.
Any commercial email should be clearly marked as an advertisement and must contain the sender's correct physical mailing address. Recipients must be explicitly notified that the email is an advertisement or solicitation, informed about the option to unsubscribe from future emails, and provided with a valid physical mailing address within the message.
Recipients need to be informed about sexually explicit content - The subject line of any message containing sexually explicit material must include the warning "SEXUALLY EXPLICIT."
Mass E-mail Services
Constant Contact has been the leading mass e-mail service for quite some time now. It is user-friendly, cost-effective, and widely preferred. It is advisable to explore alternative services and compare their advantages and disadvantages with those of Constant Contact.
Social Networking
Currently, there are a few social networking platforms that are recommended for promoting events, and more may emerge in the future. However, at this moment, the top choices are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Among the available options, Facebook appears to provide the most benefits to a large number of users due to its user-friendly interface, extensive features, and advertising capabilities that can potentially reach a significant portion of your target audience.
One effective strategy is to set up a Facebook event, which functions as a dedicated webpage for your event. Through this platform, you can invite your Facebook friends, who can then invite their own friends as well. Additionally, there is an email feature that enables you to reach out to individuals not connected to you on Facebook. The Facebook event allows you to share photos, messages, videos, and engage in discussions. This method simplifies the invitation process, encourages further invitations, and establishes a digital space for meaningful interactions among attendees.
At this stage, we suggest looking into Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest as other services worth considering.
If you're diving into event planning and marketing, having the right team on your side makes all the difference. For brands that want to create lasting impressions through professional event execution, I highly recommend The Ann Savva Group.