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| Path: Main Street : Resources & Library : Research Articles : Feature Article |
Mail vs. e-mail: The best way to send an invitation
By Judy Allen, author of the professional bestselling event planning series
April 9, 2007
Is it okay to send invitations by e-mail instead of incurring the printing and postage costs? Will RSVP and attendance rates be affected?
You have to know your target audience. How will they receive it? How will they perceive it? For example, if your primary donors are more elderly do you know if this will be off-putting to them or if they will embrace it as a sign of changing times. It is important to know how your sponsors will feel about it as well. You have to consider not only your perspective, but also that of your proposed guests, your suppliers who have donated goods and services, and your sponsors. An e-mail invitation may or may not be in keeping with their corporate image of how they do business, and if their name is attached to the event you need to take careful consideration of their viewpoint. They may even be willing to help pick up the extra costs in order to have it done in the manner they are most comfortable with.
Don’t forget, you want to build a lasting working relationship with your suppliers and sponsors and you don’t want to do anything unexpected that could be off-putting to them. Make sure that you keep them fully apprised as to how your fundraising event will be marketed and promoted.
Remember, too, that a formal invitation sets the tone of your event. An e-mail invitation may project the image of a more casual function. And, yes, it can impact RSVPs and attendance. What many organizations are doing is sending out a formal invitation, but offering the option of online registration or a call in/e-mail RSVP, with the event website printed on the invitation. Again, it is important that your RSVP website have the right look for your suppliers and sponsors.
What you may want to do - depending on your guest demographics and if they are the type who would use such services - is to check with printing companies that specialize in invitations to see if they would like the business marketing opportunity to do your invitations as a donation (mention any applicable tax benefits). In exchange, you would allow them to print their company name and contact information discreetly on the back of the invitations and receive mention in the program (or event tickets). This would give them the chance to put their product in the hands of their targeted audiences.
For you, invitations are an expense. But to the right design/invitation printing company - or party or event planning company - being given access to the right audience (your guest list is their potential customer) could be viewed by them as an incredible marketing opportunity that will bring them the exposure they are looking for to help grow their business. It is important to find the right match because to them it will be a business - albeit marketing - expenditure.
Judy Allen is the author several bestselling books about event planning: Event Planning, The Business of Event Planning, Event Planning Ethics and Etiquette, Marketing Your Event Planning Business, and Time Management for Event Planners. For paid professional event planning consulting - event design, site selection critique, venue and supplier contract review, budget analysis, strategic planning, event logistical and timing requirements, and on-site orchestration - contact Judy directly at Judy Allen Productions.
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