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A single invite doesn’t fill a room. The events that hit their numbers are promoted as a sequence, with each touch doing a different job, from the first heads-up to the morning of the event.
This post lays out the full promotion timeline, the one reminder most teams skip, and what to do when registrations are behind where you want them.
The Promotion Timeline
Plan on six touches, in this order:
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Save-the-date. A short, early note that puts the event on calendars before anyone is asked to commit.
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First invite. The full invitation with the details and an RSVP button right in the email.
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Second invite. A follow-up to everyone who hasn’t responded, since many people open the first email and mean to come back to it.
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Week-of reminder. A nudge for registrants and non-responders, when the event becomes real for most people.
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Day-before reminder. Venue, time, and what to expect, so there is nothing left to figure out.
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Day-of reminder. One last note that morning.
Each touch has a purpose. The save-the-date protects the date, the invites drive registrations, and the reminders turn registrations into people in the room.
The Reminder Most Teams Skip
The day-of reminder is the one that gets dropped. By then it feels like the work is done, and sending one more email feels like overkill.
It isn’t. This is the last touch before someone looks at their afternoon and decides not to leave the office. A short note with the time and location is often what tips them toward coming. Don’t skip it.
When Registrations Lag
Even a well-run sequence can fall behind. When it does, the recovery plan has two steps, and the order matters.
Step one: send another wave of mass invites. Reach back out to the people who haven’t responded, and add contacts who weren’t on the original list. Change the subject line and lead with the reason to attend, since the first message may have simply landed on a busy day.
Step two: move to individual outreach. Have reps reach out personally to specific contacts they want in the room. A short, direct note or call from someone the contact knows usually does more than another mass email, and it tends to work best on the people you most want to see.
Putting It on the Calendar
Work backward from the event date. Put every touch on a calendar with an owner and a send date, so nothing depends on someone remembering to hit send. Build in time for the second wave of invites and rep outreach, so you aren’t deciding to recover the week of the event.
Track RSVPs as you go. That number is how you judge whether the plan is working.
Build the Invite List Before You Build the Sequence
The best promotion plan still depends on inviting the right people. Dakota Marketplace lets you build targeted lists by geography, allocator type, and contacts, so you reach the people who belong in the room.
Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace can power your next event invite list.
