The Bookend: A Post-Event Email
Last week, we talked all about the ever-important “know before you go” email. But we’re all about closing the loop, so now it’s time to explore its equally important counterpart: the post-event email.
This message is where you can really seal the deal. It’s your opportunity to drive your point home, share promised materials (or the ones you may have forgotten), and most importantly, start the engagement cycle all over again.
That’s right. Your end-of-event email isn’t the end at all. It’s your best opportunity to re-engage your audience and draw them into your next big project, whether that’s another event, a new opportunity, or an ongoing initiative.
Here’s what the best post-event emails include:
A genuine thank you.
It’s simple but easy to forget. Acknowledge the time (and money) your audience took from their day to show up and engage.
Materials from the event.
Slides, videos, templates, data – give them links to it all. Make sure they can easily find and use the content they came for.
Actionable ways to keep the momentum going.
Link to social posts and encourage them to share their own. If media covered your event, send those stories out, too. If relevant, share a press release about the event with customizable fields that attendees can send to local media. Anything that helps attendees talk about and amplify their experience is gold.
Here's the most important part: Now’s the time to keep them as a permanent member of your audience.
How? Clearly communicated next steps.
Hosting another event soon? Include the registration link.
Planning to repeat this event next month or next year? Give them the details to mark their calendars.
Building advocates? Ask them to write a letter to the editor or share a testimonial.
Trying to close a sale? Offer a discount code to get them to purchase stage.
Growing a network? Highlight partners or members and encourage new connections.
Timing matters.
We’ve all been there. You pulled rabbits out of the hat to make sure the event happened. You. Are. Tired. But your work isn’t done. Send your post-event email as soon as possible. Time is the biggest killer of engagement. Think about the last event you attended: when did you feel most inspired and energized? Not a week later, but as you were walking out the door. Capture that moment.
The goal of a post-event email isn’t to signal the end of a chapter. It’s to help attendees feel they’ve become part of something – that by showing up, they’ve joined a community, and this is only the beginning.