How to Create a Post-Event Email: Examples And Directions

Strike while the iron is hot!🔥

A post-event follow-up email should land in the guests’ inboxes within a day, while their interest is close to the peak and impressions are still strong. 

The right post-event email campaign is a natural extension of a successful event. This brief time frame is best used for measuring the event's success, lead nurturing, and building closer relationships with prospects.

However — the balance between flooding their email and underperforming is quite delicate.

Our guide to post-event email follow-up will help you find the sweet spot and create a high-performing sequence.

9 Writing Tips for Post-Event Emails

We’ll start with useful tips that will help you learn what kind of emails will make the best impact for specific audiences, and craft the messages that cut through the noise.

1. Study the event data

There are several stages at which you’ll collect the event data:

1. Registration — Demographic and professional information, but also how they found out about the event (links they clicked to land on the registration page, or a question you can ask in the registration form), at what specific time they’ve registered, and how many people have registered in total.
2. From registration to the event — How they interact with the materials you’ve provided for registrants: log-ins, open times for emails you’ve sent, time spent on websites provided, etc.
3. Behavior at the event — How many people showed up, which session garnered the most/least attention and engagement, the questions they had for speakers, and other behavior during the event.

Be sure to follow through with the GDPR rules when collecting the attendees’ information!

2. Audience segmentation

Based on the data you’ve gathered, you can now create specific attendee groups. 

Here are some of the broad category examples you can start with:

• No-shows
• All attendees, regardless of their engagement level
• Guests who attended only specific parts/sessions
• Most active and interested guests, warm leads

Audience segmentation will help you tailor custom, relevant messages for each group, and automate the post-event email campaign.

3. Designate a specific purpose for each email

Don’t attempt to do it all with a single email: it will either be too long or disperse their attention with too many CTAs to look at.

Instead, you can create smart combinations such as:

1. A thank-you/sorry we missed you note + event materials (photos, videos, presentations, etc) — a memory and a shareable piece of content for some, and a little FOMO and an incentive to show up next time for others.
2. Post-webinar evaluation survey that unlocks access to exclusive perks or digital credentials they’ve earned.
3. Dedicated follow-up for warm leads with a contact form and an answer to their post-event requests.

4. Personalize the messages

When creating emails, keep in mind the information you’ve gathered about the attendees in mind and deliver something that resonates with their needs and interests. 

5. Use friendly, yet professional tone

Marketers often use too casual language and slang when it’s not necessary to get closer to recipients. Overfamiliar playful rudeness is especially off-putting and known to backfire.

If you’re unsure, it is always in style to be pleasant, courteous, and attentive.

6. Express your gratitude

A simple thank you goes a long way!

Let the attendees know that their presence contributed to the success of the event. Show your gratitude with a heart-felt note, or a custom certificate of appreciation. 

7. Write brief and engaging email copy

It is recommended to use up to 50 characters for email subject lines, so you have about 7 words to capture their attention and explain what the email is about. 

Maintain clarity in the email copy; use clear language and keep things short to get to the point fast.

8. Be careful with AI

Artificial intelligence is still more A than I, and most people can sniff out AI-written content pretty well. If they do, some may take offense or deem you unprofessional, or uninterested past the point of charging for the attendance.

Use AI wisely when crafting these emails and take everything it delivers with a grain of salt. It’s perfectly safe to use it to “bounce the ideas” and ignite the inspiration, but never copy its exact output without heavy editing and revision, and don’t let it make decisions instead of you.

9. Track the success of your email campaign

An email-tracking tool will reveal how well your emails perform. 

Monitor open rates, click-through rates on links and attachments, and times and locations for email interactions. The data will reveal what you need to change so your future post-event emails garner even more success.

Post-Event Email Examples — Here’s What to Send

There are several types of emails you can send following the event; you can combine their elements and add a survey to the thank-you email, offer a reward for survey responses, target the no-shows…

Here are the most useful post-event emails to send.

1. Post-Event “Thank You” Email

Starting with a classic — a thank-you email serves multiple purposes besides expressing gratitude:

1. Confirmation of a successful purchase/action (placing an order, filling out a survey, etc);
2. Opening the door for the future exchange — after the recipient leaves their email address, you can use it to share useful and promotional content with them.

In the case of the post-event thank-you note, the main focus will be on showing you’re grateful for their presence.

Since it’s the first email they’ll receive post-event, it will likely have the highest open rate. Use this opportunity to strategically place the most important CTA and share event materials such as photos, videos, eBooks, and other resources.

2. “We Missed You” Emails for the No-Shows

People miss the event they’ve registered for for one of three reasons:

• They wanted to, but something unexpected and more pressing came up;
• The perceived value of your event wasn’t high enough for them to show up (...or plain ole laziness);
• They forgot about the event and regret it.

A “we missed you” email is more than a thoughtful gesture — it is also an opportunity to:

• Find out why they haven’t shown up — create a questionnaire and an incentive for them to fill it out honestly (discounts, freebies, event content, and different assets); when you learn what’s behind the no-shows, you can adjust your event promotion tactics in time for the next event and decrease the number of empty seats.
• Console the ones that missed the event — Don’t let your prospects beat themselves up for the missed opportunity! Show that you’ve thought of them too, and pour some of the event atmosphere into their inbox.
• Convince the ones that lack the enthusiasm — Technically, your playing field is open until they explicitly unsubscribe. A “we missed you note” is another chance for you to reach out and show how beneficial their attendance would be for them.

3. Post-Event Follow-up Email

A post-event follow-up email can include a more detailed recap of the event, links to resources or materials mentioned during the event, and a call-to-action for the next steps — this could be:

• An invite to register for your next event;
• Sign-up form for your newsletter;
• A proposition to follow your organization on social media.

4. Post-Webinar Follow-up Email

After a webinar, a follow-up email can provide attendees with a recording of the webinar, answers to questions asked during the Q&A session, and additional resources related to the webinar topic. 

5. Post-Event Evaluation Email

A post-event evaluation email is a great way to gather feedback from attendees. 

This email should include a survey or questionnaire asking attendees about their experience at the event. 

Here are five survey questions you could include in a post-event evaluation email:

• Overall Satisfaction: “On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your overall experience at the event?”
• Session Quality: “Which sessions did you find most valuable and why?”
• Event Organization: “How would you rate the organization of the event (registration process, event schedule, etc.)?”
• Improvements: “What aspects of the event do you think could be improved for next time?”
• Future Participation: “Would you be interested in attending similar events in the future?”

The feedback you gather can help you improve future events and better meet the needs of your attendees.

6. Personalized Follow-up Emails for Warm Leads

For attendees who showed a high level of interest or engagement during the event, personalized follow-up emails can be very effective. 

The emails should be tailored to their specific interests and needs and can include targeted offers or calls to action. 

A personalized approach will increase the chance for conversion and help you build a strong relationship with leads who still need more time to convert. 

Pro tip: at this point, you should get your sales team involved. Schedule a call between leads and sales pros, and let them take over the conversation.

7. Digital Credential Emails

If your event includes a training or educational component, sending an email containing digital credentials is a great way to recognize attendees’ achievements. 

The email should include a digital certificate or badge that attendees can share on their social media profiles or digital portfolios. 

This not only provides attendees with a tangible record of their achievement — but also helps to promote your event or organization.

Here’s a free template library to get you started. 🥳

It takes several minutes to adjust them in our Digital Certificate Maker, and they’re ready for free download. 

However — going digital is a better idea. 

We have a 7-day free trial for all the plans — and a possibility to automate credential delivery to Zoom webinar attendees!

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