How to Plan a Local Event Email Marketing Campaign
A useful local event email marketing campaign moves subscribers through five messages: save the date, registration open, early bird deadline, last chance, and a day-of reminder. The key is deciding who receives each one. Invite relevant subscribers, stop promotional reminders when they register, and send attendance details to confirmed guests.
Start with the outcome: enough registrations to support the event, followed by people actually attending. Opens and clicks help explain performance, but they are not the finish line.
Step 1: Give People a Clear Reason to Attend
Before writing emails, define what guests will get from the event. “Join our workshop” is vague. For a garden center’s patio planting workshop, “Leave with a planting plan for your small outdoor space” explains the value.
Create one event page containing:
- The main benefit and who the event is for.
- The date, start and finish times, and location.
- What is included, what to bring, and any attendance cost.
- Accessibility, parking, and arrival information.
- A simple registration form and clear cancellation instructions.
Test the page and registration process on a phone. Decide how registrations, cancellations, and attendance will be recorded before invitations go out.
Step 2: Build the Invitation List and Exit Rules
Relevance matters more than list size. Start with subscribers who receive your marketing emails, then narrow the audience using information they have provided or meaningful customer activity.
- Location: Select the relevant town, nearby area, or preferred store. Let the event’s appeal guide how far people might reasonably travel.
- Interest: Use stated preferences, relevant purchases, or previous event registrations.
- Relationship: Invite beginners to an introductory session and experienced customers to an advanced workshop.
- Registration status: Exclude confirmed guests from messages asking them to register.
AI can help suggest audience groups, but review the selection rules before sending. Avoid guessing someone’s location or interests from a single email open.
Connect the registration form to your email system where possible. Otherwise, refresh the attendee list before every send. Coordinate invitations with ongoing campaigns, such as birthday emails for local customers, to avoid stacking several promotions on the same day.
Step 3: Send the Save-the-Date Email
Suggested timing: Three to four weeks before an event that requires advance planning.
This message helps people reserve time. Lead with the experience or useful takeaway, then give the date, location, and expected duration.
Example subject: “Save the date: plan your patio garden”
Keep the action appropriate to this stage. If registration is not open, link to event details or a reminder signup. Explain when registration will open rather than sending readers to an unfinished form.
Use your usual sender name so subscribers recognize the business behind the invitation.
Step 4: Open Registration and Confirm Every Signup
Suggested timing: Two to three weeks before the event.
Now give subscribers enough detail to decide. Explain what happens during the event, who will find it useful, and what registration includes. Use one primary action, such as “Reserve your place,” linked directly to the event page.
Example subject: “Registration is open for our patio planting workshop”
A successful signup should trigger a confirmation email immediately. Include the event details, a calendar link, and a way to cancel or ask a question. Make the distinction between requesting a place and receiving a confirmed reservation clear.
The registration also moves that person out of the invitation sequence and into attendee reminders.
Step 5: Explain the Early Bird Deadline Honestly
Suggested timing: One or two days before a genuine early registration deadline.
This email gives undecided subscribers a specific reason to act now. State exactly what ends, when it ends, and what changes afterward. Send it only to relevant subscribers who have not registered.
Example subject: “Early registration closes tomorrow”
An early bird offer does not have to involve a discount. It could include an actual benefit tied to advance preparation, such as choosing a workshop session before general assignment.
If there is no genuine early bird benefit, skip this deadline message. A useful preview of the event is better than invented urgency.
Step 6: Send a Last-Chance Invitation
Suggested timing: Shortly before registration closes, leaving enough time for guests to arrange attendance.
Keep this email brief. Repeat the main benefit, the essential logistics, and the real registration cutoff. Address one likely hesitation, such as whether beginners are welcome or whether materials are included.
Example subject: “Last day to register for the patio planting workshop”
Check capacity before sending. Use a specific remaining-seat count only when it is accurate. If the event fills, stop registration messages and direct interested visitors to a waitlist if one exists. Cancellations need to update availability before another place is offered.
Step 7: Send the Day-of Reminder to Confirmed Guests
Suggested timing: Early enough for attendees to prepare and travel.
The job has changed from persuasion to attendance. Put practical information first:
- Start time and suggested arrival time.
- The full address and a directions link.
- Parking, entrance, and check-in instructions.
- Anything guests need to bring.
- A contact method for questions or cancellations.
Example subject: “Your patio planting workshop is today: arrival details”
Send this to confirmed attendees, excluding cancellations. An attendee reminder should not compete with unrelated products or offers.
Step 8: Measure Attendance and Connect the Follow-Up
Compare delivered invitations, event-page visits, registrations, and checked-in attendees. Low clicks suggest the invitation or audience needs attention. Visits without registrations point toward the event page, offer, or signup process. Registrations without attendance suggest reviewing logistics and reminders.
Afterward, send attendees useful materials or a relevant next step. Give no-shows a separate message rather than thanking them for attending.
At David Rivero, we treat email as part of a connected growth system. Search, maps, social media, video, and AI-powered search provide discovery opportunities. Website content and reviews help build trust. Clear registration pages turn interest into action, while automation and analytics connect follow-up to what people actually do.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the event is only a week away?
Combine the save-the-date and registration announcement. Send a closing reminder if registration has a real deadline, then send attendance details to confirmed guests. Compress the sequence rather than sending five emails in quick succession.
Is an SMS reminder useful?
A brief text can supplement the day-of email for attendees who have agreed to receive texts. Keep it focused on arrival details. An email subscription alone is not permission to add someone to SMS marketing.
What happens if the venue or date changes?
Notify registered guests promptly with a clearly labeled update. Correct the event page, calendar details, confirmation email, and scheduled reminders so old information does not continue circulating.
A Sequence Built Around the Guest’s Next Decision
Each message has one job: reserve time, register, act before a real deadline, or arrive prepared. Relevant audiences and accurate registration updates keep the sequence useful from the first invitation through the final reminder.
