Getting people to open your business event invitation email can be a challenge.
Especially as you’re up against people receiving an abundance of daily emails.
Corporate event planning hinges on nailing your invitations right so people open them and get excited about your event.
Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place.
Here at Eventbrite, we support event organizers in planning and promoting a huge range of business events all over the world.
Read on to find out what a business event invitation should look like and why they’re important, and download one of our seven free professional event templates to kickstart your ticket sales and make your corporate event a huge success.
7 business event invitation templates
1. Corporate event invitation template for customers
2. Business event invitation template for cold prospects
3. Business event invitation template to promote early-bird pricing
4. Professional invitation template for networking events
6. Invitation template for a business dinner
7. Follow-up email to send to attendees after an event
What is a business event invitation?
A business invitation is a communication you send to potential attendees when you’re hosting an event like an industry conference or a networking event.
There are a range of ways to make a splashy announcement when you’re planning a business event — including mailers, flyers, or social media posts.
But with an email marketing platform like Eventbrite, you can quickly and efficiently send out automated event invitations to existing contacts or new potential attendees — and effectively engage with any responses you might get.
Why should you send email invitations to your professional events?
Business events will be bigger and flashier this year. So there’s no better time to revise your invitations to your business events than now.
A great business event invitation will lure people in from the subject line, communicate all the key event details, and convert leads into ticket sales — and here’s why email invitations are a must-have in your marketing arsenal.
Email invitations make the most of your existing contacts
When you’re sending emails, it’s normally to leads or connections you already have.
This is considered low-hanging fruit and the easiest way to generate ticket sales because the people you’re contacting already know about your brand. If you’re emailing contacts on your guest list, you know they’ve already expressed interest in what you offer.
For example, let’s say you’ve sold tickets for a business event in the past using Eventbrite. By leveraging Eventbrite’s integration with Mailchimp, you can seamlessly pull email contacts from your Eventbrite dashboard onto Mailchimp to send out a series of email campaigns to your stored contacts.
Here’s how to connect your accounts:
Email invitations generate excitement
You can start sending out business event invitation emails before tickets are available to increase anticipation for your event.
Let potential attendees know if they’ll get perks such as early-bird pricing or special VIP deals so they watch their inbox for your follow-up messages.
Email invites set the tone
A business event invitation gives potential attendees an idea of what they can expect from the occasion.
It also opens up the lines of communication and allows you to demonstrate to your contacts how you will check in with them in the lead-up to the event.
Email invitations make it easy to expand your network
Encourage your contacts to send your business event invitations to other people they know who may be interested.
This allows you to reach your target audience without researching contact information in advance.
5 Business event invitation email strategies to know
While there isn’t a perfect blueprint for a corporate event invitation that’s 100% successful, there are some best practices to apply so your email doesn’t go unread.
If you’re looking for an email marketing strategy that’ll prevent your email from ending up in a spam folder or getting ignored, check out these five top tips.
1. Send your emails from a recognizable source
Let your reader know you’re trustworthy at a glance and avoid the spam folder by sending your corporate invitations and email reminders for events from a familiar source, like your event brand or company name. Add your brand’s color scheme to the invitation design to ensure readers recognize you.
Make sure to use your company email if you have one. If not, change the “From” label in your email client settings to something along the lines of “[Your Name] from [Your Company Name].”
💡Pro tip: Planning to send out future emails to a particular subscribers list? At the bottom of your email, encourage recipients to add your company to their “safe senders” list. This will ensure your business event invitations never get stuck in the spam folder.
2. Place essential event information front and center
According to researchers at Litmus, the average email user has an attention span of about 11 seconds. That means you can’t afford to waste time waffling. Your invite needs to get to the point fast.
Make sure you’re placing all the essential information at the top of your message so users will know exactly what it is, when it is, and why they should register.
💡Pro tip: The best way to ensure your audience gets all the information they need is to follow the inverted pyramid. The inverted pyramid is an old journalism trick that places the “who”, “what”, “where”, “when”, and “why” at the very beginning of your copy.
3. Lean on fear of missing out with early-bird pricing
Everyone loves a good deal.
You can appeal to people’s fear of missing out and their budget by experimenting with early-bird pricing.
💡Pro tip: Want to take your early-bird pricing to the next level? With Eventbrite, you can create multiple ticket classes to offer followers different tiered experiences to your special event. For example, you could create VIP tickets that can only be purchased using an access code you’ve sent out in your email invitation.
Here’s how to do it:
4. Use speakers and panelists to create excitement
The big names of the people giving presentations or talks at your event are one of your greatest assets when it comes to enticing potential attendees to buy their tickets.
Be sure to include those names in your business event invitation email, and consider linking to a landing page on your site where you embed clips of your top speakers and direct customers to buy tickets.
💡Pro tip: Make sure you liaise with your keynote speakers on social media to leverage their follower count. You’ll need to tag their accounts and encourage them to reshare your content — and then make sure you’ve got constant oversight on existing campaigns to monitor how influencers are engaging with your content.
That’s where Eventbrite Marketing Tools can make life simple. You’re able to plan, promote, and optimize event social media posts and then collaborate with your entertainment to boost the reach of each post.
Simplify your business event marketing.
5. Withhold information to drive clicks
Have you booked an amazing performer or surprising speaker for an upcoming ticketed event?
Tease these event details in your email with a link readers need to click on to reveal the information. This helps to increase engagement with your emails and brings potential attendees to your site.
For example, you might want to say in your email invitation that your event has a stellar line-up booked — but not actually namecheck each individual speaker. That leaves the recipient with some mystery and gives them a reason to click through to your event page.
💡Pro tip: Teasing subscribers in your email is a great way to get them wanting to know more about your event and luring them in to read future updates.
By setting up an event page on Eventbrite, you’ll be able to create a detailed and customizable event registration form that’ll answer key questions about your event time, event schedule, dress code, and high-profile speakers to give leads confidence in buying tickets.
7 Business event invitation templates
Sometimes, you just need an example (or seven) to help you kickstart the first draft.
Here are seven business event invitation email samples to help you write emails that engage your prospects.
1. Corporate event invitation template for customers
Corporate events are a great way for event organizers to reach out to existing customers — and because the people you’re reaching out to are already familiar with your brand, you can adopt a more casual and friendly tone.
Subject line options:
- The countdown is on…
- {{Event Name}} is here! Save your spot today.
- {{Event Name + Year}} is just around the corner. Are you in?
2. Business event invitation template for cold prospects
If you’re sending out a blanket business event invitation to less engaged subscribers, for example when promoting product launches and reaching out to all your contacts, you’ll need your email to be short, sweet, and to the point.
Subject line options:
- [Save the Date] {{Event Name + Year}}
- {{#}} days, {{#}} thought leaders, only at {{Event Name}}!
- 3 reasons to attend {{Event Name + Year}}
3. Business event invitation template to promote early-bird pricing
If you’re trying to kickstart ticket sales with early-bird pricing, your email invitation should create a sense of urgency. This will make sure recipients understand you’re giving them a great deal with an expiration date.
Subject line options:
- Don’t miss out, {First Name}!
- Early-bird pricing ends {{Date or Day}}
- Get your tickets now and save {Discount}, {First Name}!
4. Professional invitation template for networking events
Networking events create a range of opportunities for the professionals you work with — so your networking event invitation should pinpoint those advantages and what attendees can expect at the event itself.
Subject line options:
- Grow your network on {{Event Date}}
- Create new connections in your field, {First Name}!
- Are you ready to start networking, {First Name}?
5. Corporate invite template
Corporate invites tend to be a bit more formal and balanced. Make sure you strike a tone that will be appropriate for a wide range of your clients to ensure that everyone feels welcome and included.
Subject line options:
- Register for our {{Event Name}}, {First Name}.
- Get ready for {{Company Name}}’s {{Event Name}}.
- You’re invited to celebrate with us, {First Name}.
6. Invitation template for a business dinner
Business-to-business (B2B) dinner events offer amazing opportunities for clients to network and collaborate. Your business dinner invitation should promote those opportunities (and your delicious food, too).
Subject line options:
- Come dine with {{Company Name}}, {First Name}!
- You’re invited to join us for dinner, {First Name}!
- {First Name}. expand your network at our upcoming dining event.
7. Follow-up email to send to attendees after an event
Follow-up emails are just as important as your invites. They enable you to stay connected with your event attendees and turn them into repeat customers.
Subject line options:
- Next steps after {{Event Name}}
- {{Event Name}} was great! Here’s what’s next.
- Thanks for attending, {{Event Name}}! Let’s stay in touch.
Ready to send your next business event invitation?
Hopefully, one of these seven business invitation templates combined with our tips and advice is enough to get you started and finished creating your event invitations.
But if you didn’t find the right one for your event, how about you apply those best practices and use Eventbrite’s AI-powered email campaigns, event ads, and event pages to help craft your unique messaging?
By partnering with Eventbrite, you’ll be able to create custom event pages, early-bird tickets, and discount codes, send out emails, and curate your social media presence with AI.backed marketing tools.
