There’s nothing like the anxiety of sending out that first invite blast. It’s like asking several hundred people out on a date all at once (and they don’t even have to reject you to your face).
So how do you avoid being ghosted by your entire guest list? There are plenty of party planning softwares out there to help ensure that your next invitation looks clean, professional, and definitely gets your guests excited for your event. Check out some of these proven tips for getting that coveted RSVP.
Think mobile.
People look at 45 percent of all emails on their phones. If you want your email invite to get noticed, then it’s got to look good on a tiny screen. Why? Because 20% of all “yes” RSVPs happen on a mobile device.
So unless you want to spend the next several months living on leftover Buffalo chicken dip from your failed party, you’d better make sure your invite and event page look damn good on everything from a 5-inch Galaxy S6 screen to a 27-inch Thunderbolt display.
Tuesday is the new Monday.
It’s Monday morning. Are you in the mood to RSVP to a hip and happening event? No, you’re stuck in back-to-back meetings, and haven’t had a minute to cull through every unanswered message in your inbox.
That’s why Tuesday is the ideal day for email blasts. Why? Because 18% more emails actually get opened on Tuesday. Once an email is actually opened, you’ve got about an 85% chance of people RSVP’ing “yes.”
It’s all about the timing.
It doesn’t stop at the day of the week—you want to nail the exact right time of the day when people will be most likely to say hell yes to a party invite.
6AM, 10:30AM, and 4:30PM are the golden hours for email, and 24% of all emails are opened within an hour of being sent. After that, the open rate drops to a measly less than 8%, making the RSVP rate basically zilch. So stick to the schedule!
Simplify, simplify, simplify.
Try to hold onto your faith in humanity, because the average person has an attention span of 8 seconds. Yeah. That’s slightly less than a goldfish. So your invite should get right to the point, with clear info and no clutter, or your invitees are going to see something shiny and get distracted before they have a chance to click YES. So make the RSVP process simple.
Do the math.
Most people like to assume that about 25% of their guests are going to RSVP no, or just not respond. But think about who you’re actually inviting: 83% will likely say YES, so buy extra napkins.
Are some of them out-of-towners? How much cash do they have on hand? 55% is a safer estimate of “yes” RSVPs if you’re dealing with far-off guests.
Try different tactics.
Use more than one platform to reach out to your invitees. Almost 85% of Facebook event invites are ignored, so don’t rely on this method. You will probably want to launch a campaign on several different fronts. Splash, a DIY party planning software, is a great (free) option. You can use it to design a custom event page, send email invites, manage check-in and much more.
Be an original.
When your invite and your event webpage have the same chic design scheme, people are 15 times more likely to RSVP with a resounding YES. So pick a stand-out design, and then stick with it.
Plus, a little creativity never hurts. Find that perfect color combo or Beyonce GIF to take your invite to the next level, and watch the RSVPs roll in.
About the Author
Ben Hindman is the co-founder and CEO of Splash, an event marketing platform that helps event planners make their events look as amazing online as they do in person.
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