Events Should Stop Using Email

The title of this post likely has you thinking, "he can't be serious." I am. Serious. But let me clarify. I encourage event organizers to evaluate the true cost of email and how its use in connecting event sponsors to attendees is impacting the long-term value of the event itself.

The events industry is alive and well. In our digital-crazed world, people seek out quality opportunities to connect in the *real* world to learn, grow and drink a few beers!

An unintended consequence of growth, however, is competition. The number of events for attendees and sponsors to consider continues to expand, which means event organizers should be in a state of continuous improvement.

One place to start is the method by which your event helps connect sponsors to attendees. The most common method for making this connection is email, typically in one of three forms:

1. Shared Email – the least offensive for your audience and the least effective for your sponsors. This approach groups multiple sponsors/exhibitors into one email with links to their respective websites or landing pages.
2. Dedicated Email – moderately more effective for sponsors, but more offensive to attendees because of the volume of messages received. This approach also puts more work on the organizer as it requires them to aggregate content from multiple sources and manage a more complex communications calendar.
3. List Share – Providing the attendee list, with contact info, to sponsors/exhibitors prior to the event so they can email attendees. This certainly minimizes work for the organizer, but is by far the most offensive to attendees. The conundrum is that the perceived value of this method for sponsors/exhibitors is high (notice we say “perceived value” not “actual value”). This approach also has significant, negative long-term impacts to the most valuable asset owned by an event.

Consider the experience of your attendees in the 2 weeks leading up to your event. How many sponsor-related emails do they receive from you? Two … Ten … Twenty … MORE? From the attendee’s perspective, is email the most effective way to receive information from sponsors?

2 Reasons to Stop Using Email

There are two important reasons for events to find alternatives to email when connecting their sponsors to their attendees, especially prior to the event.

REASON #1: It is Eroding the Value of Your Event

Sometimes it is easy to forget that your email list is actually people. People whose trust you have earned. One of the most valuable assets your event owns is the privilege and ability to communicate with these people, most frequently via email.
If you lose the ability to communicate with these people, either through unsubscribes or simply unopened emails, then you have potentially lost the Lifetime Value (LTV) of that person.

Email is not free. Quite the opposite. The opportunity to email your database is actually one of the most valuable assets in your event portfolio as it is the primary vehicle for you to build a relationship with attendees.

REASON #2: Mobile Forces Simplicity

Did you know that over 50% of emails are now opened on a mobile device? This change has had a profound impact on behavior. It is not just about a smaller screen, it is about simplicity.

It is very difficult for a sponsor to communicate their message in a mobile-first, super simple email. That is best done on the web, where one can benefit from the dynamic, interactive nature of the medium.

Take a minute to look at your recent email communications involving your sponsors. Are they in a mobile-first format? Are they simple (e.g. one image and less than 200 characters)? Is there one call to action?

What Are the Alternatives?

Email is a fantastic messaging tool, but today it is one of many communication channels (social, website, mobile notifications via apps, etc.). The goal is to find a way to connect your sponsors to your attendees that uses *all* of these vehicles to provide choice to attendees and results to sponsors.

The other consideration is aggregating and/or building content. This is, by far, the most difficult part of any digital solution. When is the last time you sent out specs for content and got back what you wanted, when you wanted it. Just sayin’

Lastly, the promise of digital is that you can measure everything. But all this data can be overwhelming. What action does it drive for you and your sponsors? How is it collected so that it can be easily reviewed and distributed to sponsors?

Creating, sharing and reporting on sponsor content are the key points we considered when developing Virtual Event Bags, a tool for event organizers that leverages a mobile-first, web-based structure.

Nearly every event uses email for all of its communication needs. But just because you can doesn’t mean you should. In the spirit of continuous improvement, it is time to explore alternatives.

To read the full article, visit the Virtual Event Bags Blog.