Whether it's a virtual meeting, a webinar or a larger physical function, putting together a great business event takes a large amount of hard work and dedication. For this reason, when it comes to promoting your event, you need to have a good strategy in place to ensure all your hard work pays off.

Why should I use email to promote my business event?

Email is a great tool you can utilise as part of your overall event marketing strategy. In comparison to unsustainable flyers, fleeting social media posts, and expensive ads, sending a stylish HTML email is a cost effective way for you to advertise your company's next big event whilst also including all key information for stakeholders and invitees.

In this guide, we're sharing some key best practices with you that you should consider when working on emails to promote your next big event.

Email Marketing Best Practices for Business Events

Use clear branding

Generally, hosting an event is a way for your business to show its expertise in a certain area, as well as demonstrating professionalism and attracting potential new clients. For this reason, it's critical that your event emails are representative of your corporate identity.

When designing your initial announcement emails, be sure to tie in all your usual branding elements. On a visual level, this includes your logo, typeface, color scheme, email layout etc. However, it's also important that your email copy reflects the tone and standard of the copy used on your website and other marketing literature.

Creating a consistent brand image in your emails will only work in your favor, as both potential and existing clients will be more able to form a connection with you.

Although simple, this email perfectly matches the overall branding and style of F8.

Tip: Mail Designer 365 has all the tools you need to truly customise your email designs for your brand. With support for custom color schemes and over 1000 available web fonts (including easy import options for custom fonts), your emails will be truly reflective of your brand's core identity.

List all key details in the email

No matter the size of your event, the initial invitation / announcement email will be the main point of reference for your invitees.

Ensuring all the key event details are listed in one place is a good way for invitees to know exactly where and when your event is taking place, as well as other important information such as:

• How to register for the event / purchase tickets
• Online events: Where to access the webinar/livestream/meeting/etc.
• Equipment needed
• Travel and accommodation tips
• Contact information for support and questions

Clearly presenting this information in your email will make it much more useful and informative to the recipient.

Create an event agenda

One way to get invitees really excited for your event is by including an appealing event agenda in your email - this is particularly effective for bigger events like conferences, launch events or retreats.

Not only does this help registered attendees plan for the event and know what to expect, it's also a fantastic way of convincing those on the fence that your event isn't one to miss.

Zapier include a useful breakdown of what to expect in this webinar, including the estimated duration.

Tip: Using a bold table layout is a great way to clearly present an event agenda, as shown in this Event Agenda Design Idea -  exclusively available in Mail Designer 365:

Attach calendar event

Most leading calendar services allow users to export events as a practical ICS file that others can import into their own calendars. Attaching this file to your email is a great way to make it easier for invitees to keep track of your event.

Here's how to attach a calendar file or link to your Mail Designer 365 email.

Tip: Include a reminder with the event file to ensure invitees don't forget!

Share exciting content from past events

If your event is a recurring one (i.e. an annual conference or monthly webinar), you may want to consider sharing some highlights from previous years. This could include video snippets, presentations, or podcast recordings from successful events of the past.

Not only does this give those first-time invitees a sneak peek of the kind of thing that's in store, it also helps reinforce the value of your event to previous attendees by reminding them of how interesting and entertaining it was the last time!

Include social media cross promotion

Utilising social media is an effective way to generate a buzz around your event. For example, coming up with a dedicated event hashtag allows attendees, hosts and guest speakers to network before the event and also can help attract the attention of those who have not yet registered or purchased a ticket.

Use your event marketing emails to simultaneously promote your social media platforms and encourage guests to join the online conversation. This will also help you grow your social media following longer term!

Litmus do a great job of cross-promoting their Twitter account with a dedicated event hashtag.

Tip: Mail Designer 365 has all the resources you need to build eye-catching social media call-to-actions and direct readers to your Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, etc.

Send out reminders

Even with an automated calendar invitation, sending out a final reminder email is a friendly way to give attendees all the last minute information they may require before the event.

If there were any final details missing from your previous emails (i.e. specific start times, last minute changes), this email is your chance to keep invitees informed and up to date.

CI Radar provide invitees with a really useful overview in this reminder email.

Be sure to include positive phrases such as "we are looking forward to seeing you there...", "can't wait to connect..." in order to generate more excitement around your event and also make guests feel reassured and welcomed.

Tip: Mail Designer 365 supports custom mailto, sms, and telephone links. Utilise these and add your contact information so invitees can easily get in touch. You can even add a pre-filled message and subject line to help your team keep track more easily.

Thank attendees after the event

Especially if events are a regular part of your business strategy - sending a warm thank you email to attendees is an important part of their overall experience with your organisation. A positive experience all round can also help ensure guests will return again for future events.

You can also use your thank you email as a way to gather feedback after the event has taken place. For example, including a simple star rating will give you a good idea of how satisfied guests were overall.

If you want to go one step further, you could even link out to a more detailed feedback form or survey - especially if there are particular elements of the event you wish to optimise. As an incentive for taking part in the feedback, you could create a giveaway or offer a discount or free gift. The more creative, the better!

Build Up Your Event Marketing Strategy with Mail Designer 365

We hope you will find these tips useful when planning the email marketing strategy for your next event.

Mail Designer 365 is an essential tool for creating stylish and functional emails for your business. As well as email templates for events, Mail Designer also offers a wide range of designs for dozens more use cases, including seasonal, sales, automated, and announcements. See all our HTML Design Ideas here!

Want to create your own design from scratch but don't have the time? Thanks to the intuitive drag & drop editor, Mail Designer 365 makes it easy to build flawless campaigns in no time. Try for free today and see what you can create for your business!

In particular for fashion brands, having an effective email automation strategy in place plays an important role in determining the experience customers have with your online shop. Setting up automated emails for certain key "trigger" actions is a great way to keep website visitors engaged and personalise their journey with your business.

Although it's great to get creative with your automation strategy, having a solid foundation in place is the best way to ensure you have all bases covered.

In this post, we're sharing 5 essential automated emails every online fashion retailer needs to set up to help boost sales and drive customer engagement.

Why Should I Set Up Automated Emails for My Online Store?

Big name online fashion retailers such as ASOS, Boohoo, Zalando and Missguided have a lot in common, including an indestructible email marketing strategy.

As well as creating a more personalised experience for your customers, automated emails have a number of other advantages:

• Save time: Having an automated strategy in place saves you time in the long run and allows you to focus your efforts on larger campaigns
• Great ROI (return on investment): Building one set of templates won't cost much and will help you maximise sales
• Onboarding made easy: Welcome newcomers on board with a pre-made set of email templates
• Reduce support demand: Provide customers with useful billing and shipping information without them having to ask for it
• Reengage customers: Stop customers slipping through the net by chasing up lost sales and dormant subscribers

5 Automated Email Ideas for Online Fashion Retailers

Here are five useful ideas of automated emails to set up for your online clothing store.

1. Welcome Email

Sending a welcome email is a great way to introduce new customers to your brand. Typically, these emails will be sent following a customer's first purchase or when they first sign up to your email newsletter.

Remember to include a short thank you message to show your appreciation. In addition, a small welcome offer is often the perfect way to start off a new customer relationship on the right foot.

In these examples by Vivienne Westwood, new subscribers are sent two onboarding mails:

The first email is a standard welcome email with a direct pathway to their online store. However, in the second email, new customers instantly learn more about the iconic brand in a brief biography, helping them to quickly form a connection.

2. Abandoned Cart Email

Abandoned shopping carts is one of the biggest reasons for sales falling through. Oftentimes, this is caused by an interruption to the checkout process and not necessarily because the customer is no longer interested in your product.

Some common interruptions to the checkout process include:

• Loss of internet connection
• Entering an incorrect payment method
• Phone battery dying
• Receiving a phone call or message

To make sure you don't miss out on a sale for an avoidable reason, make sure to set up abandoned cart email reminders to draw those customers back in.

When creating these automated emails, remember to make the product placeholder nice and big so the customer instantly notices the product they originally wanted to purchase. Timing is also key, as sending the email too late could result in the customer losing interest.

In this abandoned cart email by Kate Spade, the product takes center stage and draws the reader in straight away. In linking to their new in items, Kate Spade also offer the reader an alternative enticement onto their website:

3. Shipping Information Email

Giving customers peace of mind after they place an order from your store is super important. As well as an order confirmation email - which is standard practice for any online business - providing detailed shipping information is also essential.

Knowing how long an order will take to arrive and being able to plan for the delivery both make things much easier for your customers. For this reason, it's a good idea to include a tracking link to your delivery service as well as an estimated delivery date.

As well as being a useful service for your customers, it will also help reduce the number of support enquires you receive about delivery times, freeing up your team's time for other tasks.

This tracking email by Timberland is a good example of best practice. In addition to including all the relevant information about the order, Timberland also include a prominent tracking link which the customer can use to follow the progress of their order.

4. Feedback Email

Receiving reviews for your store and products is valuable for every business owner. Feedback emails are really easy to integrate into an email automation strategy and can be set up to send after any purchase from your store.

Browse through our top tips for putting together excellent feedback emails

In this example, ASOS sent an interactive feedback email to make it easy for customers to rate items they have recently purchased. Not only does this help the brand learn more about what their customers like, it also helps other undecided shoppers to determine if the product is right for them.

5. Happy Birthday Email

Last but not least is the Happy Birthday Email. This is another really effective email to add to your automation strategy and only takes a moment to set up in your ESP.

Celebrating with your customers by giving them a discount or special offer for their birthday reminds strengthens the relationship and reminds them you appreciate them.

It's also really likely your shoppers will be in the mood to treat themselves to something special for their birthday - whether it's a new outfit for the big day or that one item they've had their eye on for a while - your birthday promotion could be the final push they need to make that final purchase.

In this fabulous birthday email promotion, New Look give their shoppers more than enough time to scout out their birthday treat and get 20% off! The bold countdown at the top of the design also adds a sense of time pressure, encouraging the customer to buy sooner rather than later:

Setting Up Automated Emails for Your Online Clothing Shop

We hope you've been inspired by these automated email ideas. Setting up email templates for your automation strategy is easy in Mail Designer 365:

1. Open Mail Designer 365 or download for free on your Mac
2. Create a new email design with the responsive, drag and drop editor or choose from one of our automated email templates
3. Export your finished design directly to Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor or another email automation tool of your choice. Find a list of all compatible services on this page

Abandoned Cart automated email template - exclusively available in Mail Designer 365

Use Mail Designer 365 to create a stylish range of email templates to use together with your email automation platform.

Until next time!

Your Mail Designer 365 Team

The start of a new year offers you a clean slate and a chance to start looking at your email strategy. With email trends changing so quickly, the last year alone has presented tons of new ideas for emails which you can easily adopt into your own plan.

P.S. Have you got your hands on our 2021 Marketing Calendar and Email Campaign Planner yet? Get yours free here to ensure perfect email planning for 2021.

In this post, we're showcasing 5 must-have marketing emails  for 2021, plus tips on how to recreate them for your own business.

5 Marketing Emails You Need to be Sending in 2021

Freshen up your email strategy right in time for the New Year! Here are 5 inspiring ideas for marketing emails you need to be sending in 2021. Discover examples ranging from automated mailings to standalone campaigns...

1. Abandoned Browse Emails

We all know of the abandoned cart email, but the abandoned browse email takes things one step further. With online shopping becoming a significant part of consumers' everyday lives, your automated sales workflow needs to be taken up a notch.

This abandoned browse email by Vivienne Westwood packs a punch and catches the reader's attention by reminding them about products they've recently viewed. Adding a "you may also like" section gives the customer even more relevant purchase options and can help tempt them back to your online store for another look:

Abandoned browse emails go the extra mile for boosting online sales.

What to consider:

• Timing: Don't wait too long to send these emails, as you risk the customer losing interest or finding an alternative elsewhere.
• Design: A bold CTA (call-to-action) leading to the product page plus eye-catching product images really are all you need.
• Subject line: Mention the product in the subject line or use an emoji to quickly pique interest.

You can easily adapt Mail Designer 365's "Abandoned Cart" email template for an abandoned browse message.

Get this template here.

2. Milestone Emails

Whether it's an anniversary, a significant event, or you've reached a key goal  - sending milestone emails is a great way to celebrate achievements and special occasions with your customers.

Your subscribers opted into your email list because they have a genuine interest in your business. Keeping your subscribers up to date on exciting business milestones gives them a look behind the scenes and makes your brand seem more relatable.

In this email by Casper, the brand celebrate their 2nd birthday milestone with subscribers. As well as a fun design, the email is also great as customers are offered an exclusive $22 discount in celebration of their business anniversary:

Casper use email to celebrate a key milestone by offering customers an exclusive discount.

Here are some more examples of milestones you could celebrate in 2021:

• Donation milestones - $X raised for your charity
• Product milestones - X years of your product
• Customer milestones - X customers served / signed up to your service

All of these milestones could be used as an exciting email promotion, or a simple thank you email to customers.

3. Feedback Emails

Obtaining true, honest customer feedback is majorly important for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Knowing what makes your customers tick, and understanding their habits and preferences allows you to optimise your strategy for them.

Putting together an email survey that readers will respond to is a fine art and takes a lot of trial and error. However, when the valuable feedback starts rolling in, the hard work will certainly pay off.

In this feedback email by Campaign Monitor, customers are given a massive incentive to take part, in the form of a $20 gift card. They are also super transparent in advising how long the survey will take, and make sure to thank their customers in advance:

This feedback email by Campaign Monitor is super inviting.

Other incentives for taking part could include:

• Holding a giveaway
• A discount code for their next purchase
• A free gift

This personalised template gets straight to the point and offers readers an incentive to take part in the survey - exclusively available in Mail Designer 365

Get this template here.

4. Digest Emails

Content marketing is on the rise and more and more businesses are using email to showcase their latest content.

Whether it's a run down of your recent Instagram posts, a selection of relevant blogs, useful infographics or guides - sharing great content with your subscribers is an effective way to drive engagement and increase website traffic.

Wedding website service The Knot regularly share relevant blog content with their customers via email. The emails always come with an intriguing subject line and carefully curated content which is guaranteed to speak to the recipient and get them clicking through to their website:

Using email to share relevant blog posts with subscribers can help drive website traffic.

What to consider:

• Structure: Include a mix of images, article headlines and teaser text to make your posts more appealing - Mail Designer 365 has an array of practical layout options for this.
• Call to action: Entice subscribers to continue reading your post, watch your video, download your eBook, etc. with a bold CTA button.

5. Online Event Invitation Emails

2020 was undeniably the year that online events really took off; with businesses becoming more and more open to digital events, including webinars, online live classes, virtual conferences and trade fairs, and "Zoom parties".

If your business is looking to branch into the world of online events in 2021, you need to incorporate this into your marketing strategy. Sending online event invitation emails is a smart and efficient way to make subscribers aware of what you have coming up. It also provides them with a useful reference of all the key details.

In this email invitation by Litmus, recipients are shown the basics which will be covered in the webinar and the date and time it's scheduled to take place. A vibrant feature image showing the special guests is another way to quickly draw in potential participants:

Litmus tick all the right boxes with this informative and stylish webinar invitation email.

What to consider:

• Email copy: Keep this short and sweet. Discuss the main details of the event and what participants should expect.
• Call-to-action: Use a bold, central CTA button to give readers an easy way to sign up for your event.
• Branding: The event is all about you and your business. Include typical brand assets like your logo and signature typeface.

This email template offers a stylish layout to list the key details and selling points of your online event - exclusively available in Mail Designer 365

Get this template here.

Give your email strategy an upgrade for 2021

We hope these emails have given you some inspiration for your 2021 planning. Don't forget to secure your free marketing calendar and campaign planner for 2021!

Mail Designer 365 has all the creative tools you need to build amazing HTML emails on your Mac. For a full overview of all ready-to-send HTML email templates, check out our online gallery!

Don't have a Mail Designer 365 plan yet? Try it today for free!

Until next time,

Your Mail Designer 365 Team