The adage, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression,” is true every moment. It is especially relevant when you are sending out email to visit your conference booth.
While surprising in and of itself to come from such a professional organization, it’s no surprise that I was greeted with this type of email solicitation. I thought rather than delete it, let’s learn from it.
I found at least 9 items of learning.
From: Person1Name@vendorname.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 1:35 PM
Subject: Pre Show List
Dear Meeting Planner, Please stop by Booth 21,578 to register for our prize at ASAE while in Chicago! Prize: Xbox One S, Driving Wheel, Second Controller, and 3 awesome games. Value $685.00 VendorName – Booth 21,578 See you there!
Person2 Name
Vice President
VendorName
(555) 123-5678
www.vendorname.com
Before reading my suggestions, what do you think you would do differently in crafting your email?
My suggestions, in no particular order:
- Personalize with my first name. If you are like me, you delete form letters
- Use a compelling subject line. Pre show list doesn’t communicate any urgency nor any connection
- Separate the body of the email into sentences or bullets
- Omit the prize information. Everyone has prizes at conferences. Attendees know they are gimmicks to draw you to their booth. See #5
- Share a compelling message. Not every booth will be of interest. Inspire me, your target audience, as to why I should visit your booth. We all have limited time on the conference floor, so COMPEL me to visit your booth first with a compelling subject line #2 then with a compelling message
- Don’t send out an email from a different address than your own (Person 1 sent out the email under Person 2’s name)
- Sign the email
- Include a little something about your organization’s story. Why you? Why should I care? Synch’s to #2 and #5
- Ensure the email is being sent to the right person. The Chief Storyteller®‘s company listing is under marketing not under meeting planner
