Plus, TicketSpice’s email drip campaigns are smart. They automatically remove anyone who buys from getting future emails in the series, so you never send an awkward “last chance” email to someone who already purchased.

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In a recent TicketSpice live session, our founder and marketing team pulled back the curtain on what top event organizers are doing behind the scenes to drive millions in ticket sales using email strategies.

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🎥 Watch the full recording here 

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Whether your email strategy is a well-oiled machine or brand new, this guide will walk you through exactly what works (and what doesn’t) when it comes to high-converting email drip campaigns for events.

Best Practices: What Every Drip Campaign Needs

Regardless of your event type, every successful drip campaign has four key ingredients.

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  1. An Offer: This needs to be something real and compelling; a measly 5% off won’t cut it. Think of early access passes, limited VIP upgrades, or steep discounts for the first 100 guests.
  2. A Story: Are you planting your 100th apple tree, building a taller sledding hill, or adding another sea creature to the aquarium? Let your attendees in on what’s happening behind the scenes.
  3. Scarcity or Exclusivity: People love to feel like insiders. Consider making an offer only for past attendees, emailing a code, and password-protecting your ticketing page. 
  4. A Time Wall: It’s human nature: nothing moves people to act like a deadline. Put a time wall on your best deals and let people know the clock is ticking. 

The Perfect Structure for an Email Drip Campaign

At a minimum, your drip campaign should have these four types of emails:

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  1. Invitation – Let people know what’s happening; introduce the offer, tell a story, and link to your ticketing page.
  2. Follow-Up – Check in to make sure people saw the first email. Keep it short, friendly, and personal.
  3. Ending Soon – Remind them the deal is expiring, by saying something like “We’d hate for you to miss out.”‍
  4. Last Chance – This is the final push, where you let people know the offer is about to disappear.

Optional Bonus Emails to Boost Conversions

If you want to go beyond the basics, here’s a list of additional emails that can also help drive more sales. 

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➕Second Follow-Up - Take an approach of genuine curiosity. For example, “We were reviewing the roster and didn’t see your name. We'd love to have you—any questions?”

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➕Event Update with a Story -  Build excitement by offering another sneak peek into your event. If you’re hosting a Christmas parade, for instance, you might say, “We’re stringing the final thousand lights, and it’s about to be magical.”

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➕Sales Update - When tickets start disappearing, make an announcement. The subject, “only 50 spots left,” will trigger some serious FOMO.

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➕Extended Deadline - Reopen the offer for a short time (24 hours) and let people know: “We had a few requests for an extension, and the sale is back on until tomorrow night.”

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Pro tip: With any email strategy, be mindful of the timing and frequency that will resonate with your audience. A 30-day campaign may need more emails than a 3-day flash sale.

Common Mistakes to Avoid 

We’ve seen it all, and we’re here to save you from the most common email mistakes that kill sales.

❌ Image-heavy emails

Most inboxes don’t load images by default, and a giant graphic that can’t load is doomed to deletion. Instead, go plain text and add a select few images only if they support the story.

❌ Sending from a corporate name

Even if you run an awesome event, an email from “ABC Events Co” can feel too impersonal to open. Instead, break through the noise with your real name: “Jonathan Parker” or “Roger from the Ren Fest.”

❌ Spammy subject lines

While it might grab attention, using all caps and multiple emojis can look like junk and increase your spam score. Try these simple, personal subjects instead:

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➡️Can you make it this year?

➡️Re: End of Summer Festival

➡️Checking in

➡️Important email to our fans

❌ Corporate tone and polished “brand” copy

If your email sounds like it came from Legal, it’s getting deleted fast. Write like a person, not a robot.

Final Recap

You don’t need fancy designs, witty subject lines, or tons of photos to create a good email campaign. The best-performing emails are plain and personal, like they’re coming from a real human, and they follow the structure outlined above.

Need help setting up your first drip campaign? Reach out to our team to get started.

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Here to help you have the best event ever!

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– The TicketSpice team

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