Event Marketing: 11 Event Invitation Email Examples Proven To Work
Looking for promotional inspiration? This list features event invitation email examples that show what goes into turning invites into attendees.
But how do you create the perfect invitation email? The short answer: There is no such thing as a perfect email. That said, email marketing success is possible when you craft an email around a goal, such as generating event registrations or downloading a new piece of content.
Whether hosting a virtual event or getting back to in-person events, your event email invitation is your ticket to convincing and converting.
The Benefits of Reviewing Event Invitation Email Samples and Examples
Looking at samples of event invitations before writing your own can be incredibly beneficial for several reasons:
- Inspiration and ideas: Event invitation samples showcase different approaches, styles, and formats that can help you brainstorm and generate creative concepts for your invitation.
- Best practices: You can identify common elements and best practices used in successful event invitations by reviewing examples. This includes the placement of crucial information, effective use of visuals, tone of the message, and overall presentation.
- Tailoring to your event: Samples can serve as a reference point for customizing your invitation to suit your event. You can adapt the email’s wording, design, and content to align with your event’s theme, tone, and purpose, ensuring that your invitation accurately reflects its unique attributes.
- Time and effort savings: Using event invitation samples can save you time and effort by providing a starting point and structure for your invitation. Rather than starting from scratch, you can leverage the samples as a foundation and modify them to suit your needs, saving valuable time during creation. (But don’t forget about ChatGPT, a great way to save time and effort!)
- Professionalism and effectiveness: Examining well-crafted event invitations can help you understand how to create a professional and effective invitation that conveys the necessary information clearly and persuasively. Samples can offer insights into a compelling CTA, generating interest and motivating recipients to attend your event.
Ready? Take a look at these next-level event invitation email examples.
1. SaaStr: Championing the In-person Experience
One of the biggest tech conferences in the United States, SaaStr went completely virtual in 2020, hybrid for SaaStr 2021, and SaaStr 2022 is scheduled to be in-person in September 2022. SaaStr’s messaging gets straight to the point with excitement and eagerness and features an array of engaging images. In addition to a video with an animated GIF overlay, the email also features user-generated content (UGC) from last year’s event to drive home the “don’t take our word for it” concept.
Key takeaway: Work smarter, not harder! Put social posts and other UGC to work to sell your event and drive registrations. Build a networking event invitation by showing the networking in action!
2. INBOUND: Going Hybrid
INBOUND 2022 is all-in on hybrid, and we raise our glasses to the HubSpot team for choosing the most far-reaching option for its flagship event. To celebrate the exciting inaugural hybrid event, INBOUND sent out a clean, crisp email with clear CTAs and a simple charge: Register! The email also includes a section about pass perks but ultimately tells the reader to head to the event website, the hub of information for everything you need to know about what to expect, who the speakers are, what the health and safety precautions are, and more.
Key takeaway: Sometimes, simple is best. Always, leaning on your event website to do the heavy lifting is the best way to get the details in front of the right eyes at the right time.
3. Willo: Virtual Happy Hour
Whether you’re hosting a full-on conference or a one-off virtual happy hour, you can’t underestimate the power of faces in your event invitation email! Willo knows that its customers and fans want to know what (and who) to expect, so they put the speakers and panelists (if you have them) front and center. It also helps to put faces to names so when people do show up, they have a bit of a head’s up on who is who.
Key takeaway: Use your speakers and panelists in your email invitation to entice readers to register and attend.
4. Sumo Webinar: Obvious Value Proposition
When attending an event or webinar, the most valuable investment an attendee makes is not their money, but their time. Thus, a focus in all event invitations should be to clearly explain exactly what the reader will get out of the event if they attend. Doing so will drive action more quickly and effectively.
This email wastes no time in telling the reader the value they’ll receive from attending the webinar. By boldly stating that the webinar will help increase eCommerce revenue by 50%, the reader immediately understands the benefit of attending the webinar and thus spurs them to take action more quickly. The sooner the reader knows what’s in it for them, the faster they will decide whether or not they want to end.
Key takeaway: Let the reader know, as soon as possible, what they’ll get out of the event. Making the value prop clear and specific will help to drive action.
5. SXSW: Remember Us
Arguably one of the most popular conferences in the United States, SXSW takes place in Austin, TX, and is multiple conferences in one, featuring tech, education, music, and more. After canceling the event in 2020 and going all virtual for 2021, SXSW is ready to get back to in-person in 2022. The event might be months away, but that didn’t stop the fantastic event marketers at SXSW from sending out a little reminder once participation opportunities were ready to go live.
By sending out a simple, on-brand message, SXSW was able to create excitement about its return to Austin and drive early interest in everything from sponsorships to volunteer opportunities.
Key takeaway: Not every event email has to point to registration. Build up interest in your brand by messaging the value of your event early and often.
6. EMS: Bold Design
You probably can’t tell by looking at this email screenshot, but this email featured a live counter to create urgency and FOMO. We’re also loving the bold and vibrant colors and layout of the email that guide the reader from the celebratory header down to the “Register Now” button. This email feels like a confetti party delivered straight to your inbox, doesn’t it?
Key takeaway: Don’t be afraid of going bold with your color scheme, even if it doesn’t match your primary brand. Sometimes, to reach a wider audience, you have to step outside the box and veer away from what people know or expect.
7. Marketing Optimization Week: Memorable Logo
This webinar invitation stands out because of its unique branded logo. With so much talk about on-brand emails, it would make sense to emphasize the importance of the brand itself. A week of online workshops hosted by Unbounce is sure to cover many different topics, but the simplicity and clarity of the logo make the reader feel that the workshops will be neatly presented in a consumable format. A logo does a lot to affect an event invitation so spending enough time and effort to ensure that it is a good one is a worthwhile investment.
Key takeaway: Unique and memorable logos go a long way to keep an event invitation fresh in the minds of the reader.
8. Livefront Augmented Reality Demo: Less Is More
There’s a difference between simplicity and intentional lack of information. This invitation by Livefront is meant to promote their augmented reality demo event by giving as minimal information as possible. While they give the date and time of the event, they leave out the location and specific details of the event to induce a sense of curiosity within the reader. The consistent bubble theme throughout the email makes this message both clever and memorable. Combining a clever, unified theme with a slight lack of information to encourage a CTA button click is what makes this invitation email successful.
Key takeaway: Withhold certain information from the reader to make them want more information, nudging them closer to the CTA button.
9. Gainsight: The Streaming Experience
With a clean design and plenty of images, Gainsight promoted its virtual event in a very Netflix-reminiscent way. The copy of the email makes it clear that there is a ton of content to choose from, and even the header and CTA button feel more like a streaming experience than an event from a tech company.
Key takeaway: Take your time with design. You don’t always have to get fancy, but a clear and clean visual layout will help you stand out in the inbox.
10: WWDC: Dark, Mysterious, and Enticing
Apple’s developer conference is one of the most popular events that Apple runs, and in 2021 the event was entirely virtual. This invitation email offers an air of dark and mysterious (classic Apple), but also exudes excitement with the memoji figures in the header. The great thing about this email is that it succinctly shares what attendees can expect, from the keynote and 200+ sessions to an awards ceremony and more. But the best thing about this email is that it parallels the event website to a tee, creating a seamless and consistent experience.
Key takeaway: Make sure your event website and event invitation email deliver a seamless visual and textual experience.
11. MozCon: Transparent Purchasing Process
Invitations are not only supposed to generate enthusiasm for the event but are also meant to effectively convince readers to attend. One such tactic of persuasion is to justify the costs. Attending a conference is a sizable investment for companies since each ticket can cost hundreds of dollars, not to mention the time spent at the conference and away from the office. To help justify these costs to attendees, the event team at MozCon decided to create a ticket breakdown to illustrate exactly how their dollars were being put towards the event. This is an effective way to not only be transparent with attendees but to help them justify to their managers that attending the event will be worth the investment.
Key takeaway: Readers will appreciate transparency when it comes to ticket pricing. This will help justify the costs not only to themselves but to their managers as well.
4 Event Invitation Email Templates
Using a template for an invitation to an event offers several benefits. Need help writing a networking event invitation? Writing an email announcing your event’s outstanding speakers? Here are three event invitation templates to get you started building your own.
Event Invitation Sample No. 1: General Event Invite
Subject: You’re Invited! Join Us for an Exciting Event
Dear [Name],
We are thrilled to invite you to [Event Name], where industry experts and thought leaders will share their knowledge and experiences on [Event Theme].
Date: [Event Date]
Time: [Event Time]
Location: [Event Venue]The event will feature engaging keynote speeches, interactive panel discussions, and valuable networking opportunities. It’s a fantastic chance to connect with like-minded professionals and gain fresh perspectives on [Event Theme].
We truly believe this event will provide immense value to all attendees, and we would be honored to have you join us. Please reserve your spot by clicking on the registration link below:
CTA: [Registration Link]
We look forward to your presence at [Event Name] and sharing an enriching experience together. Should you have any questions or need further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Title/Position]
[Company/Organization]
Event Invitation Sample No. 2: Speaker Announcement
Subject: Save the Date! Announcing Our Stellar Speakers at [Event Name]
Dear [Name],
Don’t forget to save your seat for [Event Name], an extraordinary event that aims to inspire and educate professionals like you.
We’re excited to announce our carefully curated lineup of speakers who will share their knowledge and insights. Here’s a sneak peek at some of our esteemed speakers:
- [Speaker 1 Name]: [Speaker’s Affiliation]
- [Speaker 2 Name]: [Speaker’s Affiliation]
- [Speaker 3 Name]: [Speaker’s Affiliation]
These thought leaders will delve into various topics, covering the latest trends and innovative strategies in [Event Theme]. Their expertise will provide invaluable insights and help you stay ahead in today’s rapidly evolving landscape.
CTA: [Registration Link]
We anticipate a fantastic turnout and look forward to welcoming you to [Event Name]. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need additional information.
Warm regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Title/Position]
[Company/Organization]
Event Invitation Sample No. 3: Networking Event Invitation Template
Subject: [Event Title]: Networking Event on [Date] at [Venue]
Dear [Recipient’s Name],
We are excited to invite you to our upcoming networking event, scheduled for [Date], at the beautiful [Venue]. This is a fantastic opportunity to connect with industry leaders, gain insightful knowledge, and broaden your professional network.
[Event Schedule]
RSVP by [RSVP Deadline]: [RSVP Link]
We look forward to networking with you!
Warm regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Contact Information]
Event Invitation Sample No. 4: Event Reminder and Last Chance
Subject: Don’t Miss Out! Final Call to Register for [Event Name]
Dear [Name],
We hope this email finds you well. We wanted to remind you that [Event Name] is just around the corner. This is your last chance to secure your spot and be a part of this exceptional gathering of industry professionals.
Date: [Event Date]
Time: [Event Time]
Location: [Event Venue]This event promises to be a platform for learning, networking, and collaboration, offering you a chance to expand your knowledge and connect with peers in the industry. Learn from industry experts about the hottest trends and what you need to know about [Event Theme].
CTA: [Registration Link]
Time is running out, and we would love to have you join us at [Event Name]. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or need further information.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Title/Position]
[Company/Organization]
How To Create an Irresistible Networking Event Invitation To Boost RSVPs
Creating an engaging invitation for a networking event is crucial to boosting RSVPs. A compelling invitation entices potential attendees, reflects the event’s essence, and provides all necessary information. Here’s how to craft an irresistible invitation:
- Set a clear objective: Understand what you aim to achieve with the event, such as fostering connections or sharing knowledge. This objective should resonate through your invitation.
- Write an intriguing title: A catchy, relevant title can spark interest. Titles like “Exclusive Networking Evening with Industry Leaders” create a sense of exclusivity and value.
- Personalize the invite: Personalize invitations by addressing recipients by their names and mentioning how the event is relevant to them.
- Showcase event details: Include date, time, venue (or virtual link), and what to expect.
- Prioritize visual appeal: Use compelling visuals or graphics that resonate with the event’s theme.
- Offer social proof: Mention notable attendees or speakers and include testimonials from past events.
- Write a clear call-to-action (CTA): Make the RSVP process straightforward with a clear, bold CTA like “Reserve Your Spot” or “Join Us”.
- Always follow up: A gentle reminder a week before the event can help keep it on the attendees’ radar.
- Provide value: Highlight the benefits of attending, whether it’s the knowledge they’ll gain, the people they’ll meet, or the fun they’ll have. Consider including a one-pager that prospective attendees can share with stakeholders to get buy-in to attend.
- Measure, measure, measure: Evaluate the success of your invitation by tracking RSVP rates and attendee feedback, and use these insights for future events.
Wrapping Up: 5 Tips for an Effective Event Invitation Email
Short on time? Here are five tips for rocking your next event invitation email:
- CTAs: Make this CTA as clear as possible, and include the same CTA in multiple areas of your email to really drive the expectation for registration home.
- Branding: Event invitations are an extension of your event brand, so ensure that your brand is consistent and put on full display throughout the email.
- Design: Keep the design simple, but don’t be afraid to go bold.
- Innovate: Instead of sending the same emails every time you host an event, get creative and find inspiration on sites like ReallyGoodEmails.com.
- Share: Hosting an event and want to extend your reach? Submit it to our event directory!
