For New York event planners, email is an essential channel for client communications. And it’s a pillar method for generating interest, selling services, and landing new clients. But if you’re not getting the responses from your emails that you’re hoping for, it could be that your strategy needs improvement.
You might be confident that your lead generation strategy is on point. You’re filling up your pipeline with potential prospects, and then it’s time to send the email. You know it’s important to keep your emails professional and informative. But you’re struggling to get responses and, in some cases, getting those top event prospects to even read what you’ve sent. These are the email structure and component suggestions you need to see. Create a checklist to evaluate your sales emails and ensure these elements are included. The better you get at crafting compelling emails, the more engaged your prospects will be. The more emails that get opened, the more opportunities you have to get in the room, land the client, and grow your business.
Start By Reviewing Your Subject Line Strategy
You only have a few brief seconds to capture your recipient’s attention and inspire them to open your email. The subject line you choose with your sales introduction emails will need to do just that to avoid the trash folder. How are you deciding on your subject lines? Would you open the email if you received it from someone you don’t know? Here are characteristics of the most engaging subject lines, so you can go forward in creating great statements that make your prospects want to see more.
Personalization is key. Don’t copy and paste generic subject lines when you can customize the statement to the recipient specifically.
Keep it short. Don’t elaborate in a subject line. It should act as a sneak peek into what your email has to offer.
Be interesting. Boring, general statements will be glazed over quickly. Use unique language and conversational sentiments that recipients will find interesting.
Questions are great. Many event planners succeed with subject lines that pose questions in line with common pain points. Your email, in those instances, should provide the solution.
Provide value in the subject line. Subject lines should not be salesy or sound like clickbait. Instead, mention keywords that represent the value of your email and be specific.
Sense of urgency works. Be mindful not to use too many exclamation points, but creating a sense of urgency or FOMO can be compelling for prospects to take action and read further.
Two camps regarding emojis. Some digital experts suggest spicing up your subject lines by using emojis. Others warn that trending sales emails are overusing them. Consider emojis with your emails only when they make sense. And A/B testing may be best to determine your best path forward.
Greetings and Salutations Matter
The days of “Dear Sir” emails are long gone. And many of the digital marketing experts say even professional greetings, like “Hello Mr. Smith,” are becoming too vague, as well. If you want your event prospects to treat the email like a conversation, you’ll need to be conversational with your greetings and salutations. This means addressing by first name, in some instances, is entirely acceptable. And if you feel you need to stick with the prefixes, try changing up the greeting to be more like “Hello, Mr. Smith!”
An Engaging Opening Line
Don’t jump right into your event planning services and lengthy copy. Instead, draft one engaging opening line separate from the greeting and before you get into the meat and potatoes of your email’s main body. An opening line should be something you might say to the person should you be shaking hands in person. These can be well wishes, reminders of a past meeting, or introductory in nature. When drafting your opening emails, consider these elements to make the best impression.
- Asking Questions: “Are you stressed about planning your ABC event?”
- Accolades: “Congratulations on your recent award!”
- Well Wishes: “I hope you’re doing well and having a great summer.”
- Dangle the Carrot: “Can you use some help planning your corporate holiday event this year?”
- Introduction Follow Up: “It was great to see you speak at the ABC meeting last month.”
- Introduce Yourself: “I’m with ABC Events and had to reach out to share a few insights.”
What the Body of Your Email Should Include
When it comes time to write the body of your email, remember to keep it concise and brief. Avoid long sentences with an overuse of adjectives. In general, it’s recommended that these sales-related emails should not be longer than 200 words. Instead of regurgitating all of your event planning services, consider short intro sentences with a link to more in-depth descriptions. Many professionals consume emails on mobile devices, so separate paragraphs into digestible groups of two or three sentences for easy reading. And remember, the email should be more about them than about you.
Here are some other email body tips to consider:
- Use data and stats if you have them. Numbers make an impact.
- Don’t be loud, and be mindful to avoid overuse of all-caps or exclamation points.
- Verbs sell, adjectives describe.
- Connect your brand to their problem, need, or interest point.
A Strong Call to Action
What are you asking (or hoping) the email recipient to do? If you don’t know, your call to action isn’t strong enough. The gurus suggest you’ll get the most response when you focus on one CTA that is a compelling and convenient step to take. Don’t overwhelm them with your calendar link asking for a time to meet, a link to sign up for your newsletter, and a blog you’d like them to read. Instead, choose one purpose for each email and only ask readers to do one precise thing. You can then follow the metrics to test which action performs better than others. Don’t focus on instant conversions or immediate event planning hires. Instead, use your email CTAs to generate awareness and authority. If the goal is to get in the room, your CTAs can build trust and confidence with smaller requests over time.
Reminders for Tone, Style, and Feel
As a New York event planner, you’re in the relationship-building and people business. Your sales efforts are rooted in trust, problem-solving, and memorable experiences. Tap into those components with each email you send. Keep it customized, and don’t be afraid to A/B test different subject lines, opening lines, and CTAs, to find the formula that works best for you. You can keep these reminders on hand as best practices to improve your open rates and responses.
- Be conversational and engaging.
- Be local by infusing comments about local events, reminding recipients you’re in their backyard.
- Be clear, and don’t dilute your core message.
- Be empathetic to demonstrate you understand their industry and event planning needs.
- Be liberal with added value offerings.
Incorporate some of these ideas with your email strategy and start seeing results! Get more sales-related insights from our ongoing blog series. And to really grow your event planning business, make sure you attend The Event Planner Expo 2022. Contact our team about remaining exhibitor spaces and sponsorship opportunities, too!
