How do you get people to step away from their computers and come to events, using email outreach?

At Aspiration, we stress that Technology is for building and strengthening relationships; it is not a replacement for the same. With that said, online communication should drive offline action, just as you have suggested. Here are some Email best practices:

• The subject line of an email is arguably the most important part; People will see this even if they don't open the email. Keep it short yet snappy so that it stands out in the inbox and makes people want to open it; Give enough information to interest its recipients, but not too much. One testing technique is sending some messages with one subject and some with another, and then testing the open rates of these if your email tool will allow you to.
• Emails should have a clear goal/message; Don't try to do too much in one email. In this case the goal should be getting people to come to your specific event, so make sure to focus on this rather than overload your readers with extra information about your organization or other upcoming events.
• Make sure that you include all of the information that people need in an email before the event:
  • purpose of event
  • time and date
  • location, directions, map link
  • event cost
  • RSVP info and a phone number to call for more information
  • link to the event registration page
  • an appropriate fundraising "hook"
  There's no reason to announce an event if people do not have the information to attend it!
• Email is a casual and personal method of communication, so develop different roles and voices for different individuals within your organization. People will develop expectations for emails from these people, and recipients can feel a personal relationship with you this way that may further encourage them to come to your event. Also, make sure that your emails express a tone of excitement and involvement; Your recipients won't care if you don't!
• People do not read emails, they scan them. Be aware of where "the fold" is on the email (content is considered above the fold if users don't have to scroll to see it) and make sure all of the important information is above it. If that looks too crammed, use white space and good section headers to break up the information so that the message is still "skimmable" and your supporters can quickly find what they need.
• It is also important to have a good email pre-event narrative. Plan out your messaging so that you are sending emails to build up the event and giving your audience lots of opportunities to plug in.
• Ask your attendees how they found out about your event. If they found out through email, success! If they found out through other mediums, try harnessing these mediums to your advantage. There are lots of tools besides email you can use to engage your community!

How do you know if its working?
Email blasters give you analytics so you can see open rates of each Email you send through the program. Web site analytics can also tell you how many people are coming to the event registration through your Emails.

And last, but perhaps most important: Nonprofits should never forget who technology leaves out, and what it leaves undone.

Sources/Additional Resources:

• Email Composition Best Practices, Aspiration Slidedeck
• Designing Email for Function, Aspiration Slidedeck
• Building Online Community through Email Noodges, NTen