How to Write Effective Reminder Email for an Event

Now that customers are used to receiving tons of promotions, only sincere concern and appreciation may attract their attention to an email marketing campaign. And event reminder emails are a good way to do it.

Once people have already purchased your products, be it a ticket to a conference or a video tutorial, you may think that your mission is done here. But humans, being extremely busy, tend to forget about any kind of event. And we need to politely remind them to show up for a concert or a webinar. You may use our email templates to create a proper reminder. By sending reminder emails, we actually show our respect and concern. This way, we also keep in touch and build stronger relations with our customers.

We all know that trustworthy relations with subscribers indirectly boost your business.

How to write an effective reminder email for an event?

First of all, we need to remember, that an event reminder email never goes alone — you need to create a series to make these emails effective.

Also, the content of a reminder email for an event depends on the type of event per se. There are two major types of them: online and offline ones.

An event reminder email is preceded by an event invitation and is followed by a "follow-up" email.

• invitation;
• reminder/series of reminder emails;
• follow-up.

Online events

The most popular online events are webinars, and live streams. Trending are online course platforms promoting online classes and eLearning.

All need proper registrations and reminders. There should be at least 4 reminder emails in a sequence.

Email 1. Confirmation of registration

This is the first email that you send to your attendees right after registration to an event. Here you need to just confirm that the seat is reserved for a person.

And it would be nice of you to remind the subject and the date of the event.

This is a triggered email that should be right after registration. Do not make people wait for it for hours.

Email 2. Introductory information

The first friendly reminder email should be sent a few days after registration / two weeks before the event.

Let’s take a look at the example:

This event reminder email sample is called a good one because it contains almost all the necessary information we should mention when creating an event reminder letter:

• company name;
• webinar subject;
• date;
• panelists;
• the benefits people get from attending your event.

Let us provide you with more specific information regarding a proper event reminder email.

Subject line

All emails start with a subject line. To increase the open rate, some sites suggest that you write a catchy one or something really provocative. Personally, I would not feel convinced to open and read such an email. But when I know I am signed up for a webinar, a perfect line would be “Webinar_Name…” or “Reminder_Name”. Nothing else.

Date

When is it reasonable to mention dates? Always…
Exception: if an online meeting is scheduled for today, then it should say “Today at…” or “Today in 2 hours”. But in other cases, mention full date including the time zone.
A perfect option is “Monday, June 21st, at 6 PM PST”.

Note! All essential info on the first invitation reminder in a sequence is supposed to be placed on a banner.

Calendars

You can either create an event in Google or iCalendar and add your subscribers to it, or ask them to create one on their own. But it is essentially important to put a note on a calendar.

Note! Both Google Calendar and iCalendar are equally applicable to most of the desktop and mobile devices.

Countdown Timers

Add countdown timers to inform about the remaining time. Attendees need to know how soon your event starts.

For more informatio on how to add and design timers for your emails with Stripo, please refer to this blog post.

CTA buttons

Speaking of the buttons, I want to mention that currently in an invitation newsletter it is preferable to use the following CTA words:

• reserve my spot;
• get my seat;
• save my seat;
• grab your spot;
• sign up to Attend.

But now we send reminders to those who are already registered with us. Consequently, we may add a “share with your friend” button.

Benefits people get by attending the webinar

People read books, newspapers, blogs and visit webinars because they want to learn something new. Thus, it is appropriate to mention once again what they are going to achieve by attending the webinar or an online meeting.
It is at your discretion whether to place it on a bright banner or add as plain text.

Introduce the speakers of the webinar

Don’t forget to mention the panelists. First of all, it would be polite. Secondly, this is a good opportunity to grab subscribers’ interest. Mention the speakers’ names, some achievements, and links to the website for more detailed information on their projects.

Email 3. Questions to discuss with attendees

Send this reminder a week prior to the webinar.
It should contain all the previous information, plus:

Questions for further discussion

Involve attendees in the preparation for the webinar. Either ask them to answer the questionnaire on the webinar topic, of course, if you plan to thoroughly work with the results and discuss them during the session, or ask them to read some articles on the given topic. Mention, that all the questions that will arise after reading, will be discussed at the webinar.

 Also, a good thing to do is to ask people which specific subjects they'd love to investigate more closely.
Btw, this is also a good way to warm the subscribers’ interest.

Emails 4. Just remind 

Here the main goal is not to warm the interest but to simply keep the audience. 

The fourth message of the sequence should be sent early morning on Day X. People schedule their plans for the day. So, it will be really kind of you to politely remind them about the meeting. Before they appointed a business meeting for this time.

It should be simple, include the link to the webinar and if you like say a few words why the webinar is worth visiting.

Important to note:

Send a Viber/WhatsApp/Messenger message notifying your subscribers that you have sent an email with detailed information.

Email 5. Last reminder

Send the last email of a sequence an hour before the start. You will urge and give attendees time to finish their errands. Add the link to the meeting.

Even for the last message, the subject line should say “Reminder”  or “Webinar”. E.g., “[Webinar_Name] Starts in 5 minutes.
Also, it will be a good idea to send a web-push message with the link.
We do it with eSputnik.

Follow-up message

Even if you have done everything properly, some of the people who signed up for the webinar will not be able to attend it. It will be really kind of you to offer them a recording.

Maybe even those who visited it would like to watch it again to refresh some moments in their memories.

Ask people for feedback. Always useful to know their opinion about the meeting.

And to those who found time to answer the questions, you may send a message with another offer.

We want to remind that you can embed surveys in your emails with Stripo. Please, see here how to do it.

Offline Events

By an offline event, we mean a live concert, exhibition or a seminar, etc. A vast majority of offline events are conferences and concerts.

How many reminders should you send here?
We recommend just three…

Email 1. Confirmation

Here, you need to send either confirmation if this is a free event, or tickets if this is a paid event.

Email 2. Complete information and instructions

The first reminder email goes with general information. Make sure you send it a week or even a few weeks before the event.
Most important information, like date and time, should be displayed on a big bright banner.

But here people need even more of your concern and help.
Here is the list of information you should also include to the message:

Map

If the event will take place in the subscribers’ own town, then they will need just a map how to get there.
But what if people need to travel across the country or across the world?

Your help will be highly required: with a hotel, transfer, sights, which airport better to use in order to get to the hotel faster, and some local events.

Prepare people for some unusual local traditions to get acquainted with the region. Like, in Greece they say “Ne”, which actually means “yes”.

Plan

Add a meeting plan to the message. Mention when the conference starts, when it is over, whether there will be a lunch break. Will the attendees be provided with food and drinks? If no, where can they find a cafe nearby?
Look at the proper example below.

Dress-code

Let people know the format of the meeting. What clothes appropriate to wear: shorts or smoking and a tie. In the conference reminder email, notify if the laptops and notebooks are provided for work during the meeting. Or ask people to bring in their ones.
Send out all this information at least a week before the meeting.

Instruction

Inform people what they should do first upon arriving. Whom they may contact in case of emergency.

Email 3. Contact information and directions

This is going to be the last reminder letter for an event you send before the in-person meeting.
Send it a day before the meeting, if the attendees are your compatriots. If this is an international event, send this reminder 3 days before the meeting.

An offline event reminder should include: the day, the title, QR/individual code for all the participants, a map with directions, your cell phone number, not a social net link, and a confirmation button. Place all this info on a thematic banner.

Note! Send an SMS, as well, with brief information, in case the participants are on their way and do not have an internet connection.

Seems like this is it.

Watch our new video on how to create an event reminder email with our editor:

Final thoughts

• send reminders to show your concern;
• build a sequence of emails to make emails effective;
• additional info on sights, weather, and the transfer will endear you and your company to the visitors;
• design of event reminder email templates does not matter. You only need to highlight the most important data.

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below or join us on Facebook.

I sincerely wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors!