8 Email Copy Templates to Sell Out Your Next Event
To stand out in an eventgoer’s noisy inbox, your event emails need to be concise and compelling. Of course, emails are also critical to your communications strategy. As the events landscape continues to evolve, remember to keep attendees looped in on any change in event plans or protocols. To stay up to date on all event safety protocols, check out our COVID-19 Event Safety Playbook.
In the meantime, it’s time to press send on ticket sales. Here are eight emails you should be sending to drive ticket sales and engage attendees — complete with copy you can use as your template.
1. Ticket or registration sales launch
Use this template when:
You’ve just published your event page, and sales have launched.
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Subject line
[Event name] presale starts now OR Just released: [Event name] tickets
Email body
Today, we’re excited to open early bird sales for [Event name] and reveal a taste of our amazing lineup. [1-2 sentence summary of event highlights]
Early buyers receive a €50 discount on the General Admission ticket price.
CTA
Buy now
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Not offering early bird tickets? You can send the same email without mentioning a discount. Maintain the sense of urgency by instead including a sentence like, “Last year, tickets sold out in one week, so don’t miss out!”
Read Our Best Tips for Designing Successful Automated Emails to learn how to automate a welcome email to people who join your email list by RSVPing to an event.
2. Pre-event announcement
Use this template when:
You’re about a month away from your event and have a new announcement (about your lineup or location, for example) to share.
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Subject line
The countdown is on…
Email body
[Event name]
[Event date]
[Event time]
[Event location]
[Event name] is only one month away!
We’re excited to introduce [new activities/upgrades] at this year’s event, in addition to the traditional fan favourites like [previous activities].
CTA
Buy now
This year’s activities include [Activity #1], [Activity #2], and a performance from [Headline performer or keynote speaker, linking to their Spotify, YouTube, or social media profile].
Link: See the lineup
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Providing the basic logistical information about your event at the very top of your email will help readers make a decision quickly. For those who do need more convincing before buying tickets, include more information about the event below. You should continue to highlight this information in all other promotional emails you send.
3. Urgency-driven email
Use this template when:
Your ticket or registration prices are about to go up. Or, if prices aren’t going up but you still need to drive urgency, use this template to warn event-goers that tickets or registrations are close to selling out — after all, “close” is relative.
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Subject line
Prices increase tonight … OR Only 100 spots left before prices go up…
Email body
You only have ten hours left to secure your spot at [Event name] at the current price. Don’t miss your chance!
CTA
Book now
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4. Targeted email to drive VIP sales
Use this template when:
You want to encourage previous attendees to buy tickets to your event, or you want to upsell previous attendees into deluxe ticket packages.
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Subject line
Your VIP experience awaits…
Email body
You want to encourage previous attendees to buy tickets to your event, or you want to upsell previous attendees into deluxe ticket packages.
We’re excited to introduce [VIP perk #1] and [VIP perk #2], and more — in addition to all the activities you know and love from the past.
CTA
Get the royal treatment
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Instead of sending this offer to your entire database, target only the most valuable members. For instance, you could send this offer to previous VIP attendees and people who have attended at least two of your events before.
MailChimp has found that segmenting your email list in this way can drastically increase engagement with email campaigns, driving double the clicks that broad campaigns do. Managing this segmentation manually isn’t easy — but you can use integrated tools to simplify the process.
5. Event reminder to attendees
Use this template when:
You’re less than a week from your event and your attendees need to know the vital information.
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Subject line
Important information for [Event name].
Email body
We’re excited to see you at [Event name] on [Date/time] at [location].
Here are a few things to keep in mind to ensure that you have the best possible experience:
- Best time to arrive
- Parking/transportation information
- Bag size restrictions or other security information
For more, check out our FAQ page.
See you soon!
—
Make this email as skimmable as possible to increase the chance of attendees reading it. Put any vital information in bold, and keep the information short — you can add any other common questions to your FAQ page.
Read How Long Should You Run Your A/B Test? to find out how you can use A/B testing to figure out the best time to send attendees your event reminder email.
6. Post-event thank you and survey
Use this template when:
You’re less than one week post-event and ready to collect feedback.
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Subject line
Thank you for attending [Event name], [Attendee name]!
Email body
Hi [Attendee name],
Thank you for attending [Event name]. We hope you enjoyed the event as much as we did!
We’re always seeking new ways to make our events the best they can be. Can you take two minutes to give us your feedback?
CTA
Take the survey
A special thank you to our sponsors, [Sponsor names], for making this event possible.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with future events.
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Once an event-goer has come to your event, it’s time to send a more personal email. Personalising a subject line with the recipient’s name or city can increase open rates by 20%. If you use Eventbrite and Mailchimp, you can sync your accounts to import attendee data directly into Mailchimp. Then, you can use Mailchimp’s platform to pull in attendees’ first names into your email copy, and increase their likelihood of taking your survey.
7. Event safety protocols
Use this template when:
You need to communicate about COVID-19 protocols. With pandemic restrictions constantly changing, this template is important for letting your attendees know how you’re working to make your events safe.
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Subject line
Important [Event Name] COVID-19 safety update.
Email body
Hello friends,
We’re excited to see you at [Event name] on [Date/time] at [location]. Per [local restrictions (i.e., current guidelines issued by your local public health authority)], all attendees must [specific safety precautions – i.e., wear face masks, keep a social distance, provide proof of vaccination]. Here are a few things to keep in mind to ensure that you have the best possible experience:
- Guidance on mask wearing
- Guidance on social distancing
- Guidance on proof of vaccination
- Most importantly, stay home if you’re not feeling well!
Thank you for your help in keeping each other safe!
[Your name]
[Your title, Event company name]
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8. Event postponement or cancellation
Use this template when:
You’re sure you have to cancel or postpone your event. With COVID-19 restrictions likely to be part of our lives for a while, this is especially crucial. This template is written for an event cancellation, but can easily be adapted for an event postponement.
—
Subject line
Important [Event Name] update
Hello friends,
Following a [reason for cancellation — i.e., a storm warning], [organisation name] has made the decision to cancel [event name], scheduled to take place on [date] at [location].
After careful consideration, we believe that this decision is in the best interest of our attendees. [Optional additional sentence explaining necessity for cancellation, reiterating that the well-being of your attendees is your number one priority.] We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to greeting you next year.
We are issuing full refunds and you’ll receive an email within the next 1-2 days to confirm your refund has been issued. At that point, it’ll take 5-7 banking days for your funds to be available for use. Only primary ticket purchasers will receive a refund. For questions, please contact us: [contact us URL].
Thank you for understanding,
[Your name]
[Your title, Event company name]
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Be clear about refund amounts, when you’ll start processing refunds, and when attendees should expect to see refunds credited to their accounts. Lastly, sign off the email with a name and title (i.e., “Jenny, Event Director”) instead of your event’s name to add a human touch.
Read Does the Perfect Email Template Exist? We Used Data to Find Out. to learn how to design an email that matches the look and feel of your event brand.
Putting your templates into action
Compelling email copy is only one half of an effective email marketing strategy. To drive sales most effectively, you need a ticketing or registration platform that syncs with email marketing technology like Mailchimp or Eventbrite Boost. That way you can sync attendee information into your database (removing the chance of human error) and save significant time.
To learn how to turn your email marketing into a sales-generating machine, get in touch here or call 1800 200 552.
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