Whether you’ve just hosted a big conference or a small business meeting, sending a thank you email to your attendees after the event is a great way to show your appreciation and keep them engaged with your organization. This is an opportunity to strengthen your relationships with those who have expressed an interest in your work and to keep them up to date on any upcoming events. In addition to thanking attendees, you may also want to thank speakers, stakeholders, or sponsors.
What is a thank you email?
A thank-you email is a message that expresses appreciation or gratitude after a specific event or action, acknowledging someone’s effort, time, or support. It can be used in various contexts, such as a job interview, meeting, gift, or event. This post will highlight the importance of sending a thank-you email after an event and provide some tips for writing a memorable message.
Why do you need a thank you email?
Thanking attendees through a letter or email can boost loyalty and increase attendance by making them feel valued and more likely to recommend your events. It also builds credibility, professionalism, and trust, which can improve feedback, website traffic, conversions, reviews, and the overall success of future events.
Principles of writing a post-event thank you email
When writing a post-event thank you email, there are several principles to keep in mind to ensure that your message is effective and meaningful such as incorporating a professional email signature, sending the follow-up email promptly, being sincere and courteous, keeping the email brief yet appropriate in length, and always avoiding actions that could harm your relationship with the recipient. It’s important to keep these principles in mind when drafting a thank-you email.
Subject line
Creating effective subject lines for your thank you email is crucial, as it’s the first thing that recipients see and can determine whether they open the email or not. Despite being a small part of your email, it holds great significance. To help you create compelling subject lines, here are some valuable tips to consider.
Length of the subject line
For email subject lines, keep it short and sweet. A lengthy subject line may get cut off on mobile devices, causing confusion or disinterest. Stick to 4-7 words or no more than 40 characters to ensure clarity and readability while conveying your email’s main purpose. However, strike a balance between brevity and accuracy, ensuring that your subject line reflects the content of your thank you email and captures the recipient’s attention.
Personalization
To start your email, it’s important to decide if a formal or informal greeting is suitable. If you are uncertain or require a formal greeting, you can address the recipient as “Dear.” For an informal greeting, you may consider using phrases like “Hello/hi,” “Greetings,” “Hello there,” or “Good morning/afternoon.” Adding the recipient’s name to the greeting can personalize the email but ensure that the spelling is accurate before sending.
A/B Testing
The only way to determine which subject line is the most effective is to conduct ongoing research and experimentation. A/B testing, also known as split testing, comes into play here. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, A/B testing entails creating multiple variations of a subject line and determining which one produces the best results.
The body of the email
After the email subject line, the content of the email is the next essential component.
Tone of voice
To express gratitude to event attendees, it’s important to set the right tone. Avoid being overly friendly or excessively curt, and instead use a conversational yet positive tone. Including a few witty comments could also help, depending on your brand. Make sure to add event branding in the email and encourage attendees to follow you on social media for future event updates.
Selecting the opening statement
Choosing the right opening statement is an important part of writing a successful thank-you email. The first sentence sets the tone for the rest of the email and can influence whether or not the recipient continues reading. When deciding on an opening statement, consider the nature of your relationship with the recipient as well as the purpose of your email. Whether you choose a formal or informal tone, it is critical to express genuine gratitude for the recipient’s actions while remaining courteous and sincere.
Express your gratitude
To keep your message brief and effective, focus on expressing your gratitude for the recipient’s actions. You could thank them for their attendance, contribution, presentation, or any other services they provided during the event.
Include highlights from the event
Including event, highlights can add a personal touch to your thank-you email. Briefly mention any memorable moments or speakers and express appreciation for their participation. Consider sharing photos or videos but be mindful of the email’s length and purpose. Keep the focus on expressing gratitude and highlighting the recipient’s contribution to the event’s success.
Ask for feedback
One recommended strategy is to have a pre-designed email template ready to send a “thank you” message to event participants immediately after the event, while the experience is still fresh in their memory. This provides an excellent opportunity to ask for feedback and suggestions to improve future events. To collect feedback effectively, an event platform like Canapii can be used to create a survey form that is tailored to your specific requirements and can generate the most valuable insights. To incentivize attendees to complete the survey, a prize draw can be offered to those who respond.
Tell recipients about other upcoming events
As you conclude your email, it’s worth mentioning brief details about other upcoming events you’re organizing. It’s crucial to include a website link that provides additional information on these events and instructs your audience on how to register. Sharing this information can be an effective way to boost attendance at your future events.
Sender’s name
Sending an email from an unfamiliar sender name could make the recipient mistake it for spam. Avoid using a ‘no-reply’ sender name as it could prevent the recipient from opening the email and receiving a robotic thank-you message, which could make them feel unappreciated.
GDPR
The GDPR rules require you to be extra careful when emailing people and handling their personal data. You cannot send emails to event attendees who haven’t given their consent to receive them, and you should use BCC to keep recipients’ email addresses private. If you intend to use recipient data to shape future email campaigns, you must inform them and provide the option to unsubscribe from your mailing list.
Example of thank you email template
A professional thank-you email sample is provided below for you to use as a model after your next successful event:
Dear Myles,
We wanted to express my gratitude for your attendance at the Namaste Health and Wellness Expo! We had an outstanding turnout this year, welcoming a remarkable number of 720 attendees to our Annual Health and Wellness Expo. In addition, we had 12 breakout sessions with industry experts and raised more than $20,000 to continue partnering with local nonprofits.
To stay updated on our future events and initiatives, we invite you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@namasteexpo).
Once again, we want to thank you for your support and participation in the Namaste Health and Wellness Expo. We look forward to seeing you at our future events and continuing to motivate you to take care of your health and wellbeing.
We hope to see you soon!
Best,
Namaste Event Team
Manage your next event with Canapii
Canapii, a leading event software company, has designed event technology that caters to your specific needs. You can effortlessly send email campaigns to attendees, while we ensure secure management of ticket sales and attendee information, freeing up your time to focus on growing your brand. Canapii’s event platform supports in-person, virtual, and hybrid events, allowing you to plan, execute, and track each event all in one place.
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