The power of event reminder emails – how to hone yours to engage and inspire your attendees

It can be easy to overlook event reminder emails as a box-ticking exercise. But the truth is – a carefully thought-out email strategy in the run up to your event can have a bigger impact than you might think. 

These humble nuggets of communication can be powerful tools for driving attendance, building excitement, and making sure your event stays top of mind in the days (or weeks) leading up to the big day. Not only that – they can help ensure your attendees have a much more seamless and enjoyable experience at your event (all hail the FAQ-email). Plus, they’re a seriously underestimated weapon against no-shows.

Let’s get stuck in.

✨The benefits of a great event reminder email strategy

Event reminder emails are emails you send to your ticket buyers in the run-up to the big day. But they’re about so much more than reiterating the date and time of your event.

Sending a strategic string of emails to those who’ve got tickets to – or signed up for – your event is a powerful way to:

• Remind, remind, remind! Starting with the basics – an event reminder email makes tickets buyers less likely to forget or confuse the date of your event.
• Ramp-up anticipation – teasers and inspiring content can help build excitement among ticket buyers, helping reduce the likelihood of no-shows even further.
• Boost engagement – they can be used to encourage attendees to use hashtags, grab an event program, or purchase event add-ons.
• Improve your attendees’ overall experience – offering lots of useful information prior to your event can help reduce friction on the day, ensuring your attendees have a more seamless and positive experience. Think parking info, disability access, and food & drink availability.
• Reduce your admin time – by providing FAQ-style information, you’ll get less messages and requests from individual attendees in the run up to your event. So you’ve got more time to focus on making your event as great as it can be.

🤔How many reminder emails should you send?

There’s no set formula for a great event reminder email strategy. Got tons of important information and fun teaser content to share? It makes sense to plan your reminder emails to start further in advance so you’ve got enough time to fit everything in.

Otherwise, here’s a basic formula to get started:

1. Booking confirmation (immediately): Reassure them their ticket’s safely in their inbox.
2. One week before: Set the tone. Share essential info and build some low-key hype.
3. Three days before: Remind them what to bring, where to go, and tease any exciting updates.
4. The day before (or morning of): Bring the energy! Make sure they’re all set and raring to go.

👀Tip: Ticket Tailor’s Email Broadcasts feature makes it super easy to email all your ticket buyers in just a few clicks. Plus, you can schedule emails in advance – meaning there’s one less thing to worry about while you’re prepping backstage or wrangling deck chairs. Woohoo! 🎉

(Note that our Email Broadcasts tool is for operational emails and not marketing campaigns – for those, you can use our integrations with leading email solutions like Mailchimp, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Audience Republic, and Constant Contact.) 

✅ What to include in your reminder emails

A great event reminder email strategy builds hype, provides useful information, and creates a sense of community around your event. Which means including some essential ingredients:

Key information

All of your event reminder emails should include the date, time and location of your event. The more your guests see this core info – the less likely they are to mix up dates and locations!

FAQs

“Is there free parking?”
“Will there be food?”
“What if it rains?”

Whatever your guests are most likely to ask, answer it in your reminder emails. Not only will this ease your admin and reduce inbox clutter, it means your attendees will have a much smoother experience of your event. 

You can dedicate just one of your event reminder emails to FAQs, or you could include a short FAQ section at the bottom of each email.

👀 Tip: Using Ticket Tailor’s custom checkout questions? Even better – you can tailor info based on what people selected when buying their ticket (like dietary preferences or accessibility needs).

Teasers & inspiration

Drip-feeding exciting teasers for your event via reminder emails is a powerful way to build hype – and ensure your event stays front-of-mind for your attendees. Some ideas to try include:

• A teaser of the headline act or speaker
• A peek at your delicious street food lineup
• Links to related content – books, podcasts, playlists
• Links to social media content and YouTube videos
• A behind-the-scenes snap of your team getting things ready
• Inspiring footage of a previous event

You might send a couple of emails dedicated to teaser content alone. Or, you could include inspiring photos or links to other content where relevant across your string of reminder emails.

Social proof & community vibes

If this is not your first rodeo – it’s a wise move to harness any positive reviews your previous events have gained in your event reminder emails. A couple of short testimonial quotes here and there can go a long way in helping to build hype among ticket buyers. Photos of previous events can also act as inspirational social proof.

Upsells and add-ons

From interval drinks and snacks to deck chair hire, audience participation, and delectable picnic lunches – at Ticket Tailor we see a huge range of cool event upsells and add-ons. Your event reminder emails are the perfect place to plug any extras, giving ticket buyers the chance to level up their experience with pre-purchased add-ons.

Dedicate one reminder to all your cool add-ons – or plug them where relevant throughout your email run.

🎨 What should your reminder emails look like?

You don’t need to be a designer to make your emails shine – but a bit of formatting goes a long way:

• Use headings, bold text and bullet points for readability
• Include clear calls to action – like “Download your ticket” or “Add to calendar”
• Keep things mobile-friendly – most people will be reading your emails on their phones

💫 Final tips for impactful event reminder emails

A few extra tips to maximise the success of your event reminder email strategy ✨:

• Send from a recognisable name/email address – this will help increase open rates.
• Personalise when possible – use recipients’ first names, and reference their ticket type where relevant.
• Add a bit of personality – for example, emojis, gifs, and a fun tone of voice – or, warm, encouraging content that feels authentic and inspiring. You know your audience best!
• Test your emails – preview and send to yourself before scheduling so you can see how your emails look IRL. 

🎟️ Event reminder emails made easy 

Reminder emails might serve a very practical purpose – but they can also be harnessed as a creative and impactful tool for engagement. They help guests feel excited, informed and valued – which in turn leads to better attendance, smoother logistics, and more buzz around your event.

With Ticket Tailor, it’s easy to:

💌 Schedule and customize reminder emails using our Email Broadcasts tool

➡️Integrate with powerful email marketing platforms like Mailchimp, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Audience Republic, and Constant Contact

🎟️ Include ticket links and key info automatically

🙌 Build your audience’s trust with helpful, beautifully branded communication

👉 Get started with your free Ticket Tailor account today >