We’ve all been there. You have a big announcement (maybe tickets just went on sale, or a headliner was just announced) and you want everyone to know. So, you write one email, select "All Contacts," and hit send.
It feels productive, but in the marketing world, we call this "spray and pray."
While email "blasting" is better than nothing, it’s often the least effective way to communicate. Why? Because your attendees aren’t all the same. The die-hard fan who buys a VIP pass the second they go on sale needs a different message than the casual fan who only buys if there’s a discount code on the day of the event.
In the latest installment of our Event Marketing Basics series, we’re talking about Email Segmentation: the art of sending the right message to the right person.
When you send the same generic email to everyone, two things happen:
Open rates drop. If a customer receives three emails from you that don't apply to them, they will ignore the fourth one.
You miss upsell opportunities. You can’t convince a General Admission ticket holder to upgrade to VIP if you’re sending them a generic "Buy Tickets Now" email. They already bought tickets!
You don’t need a complex algorithm to start segmenting. Start with these three simple buckets:
The Alumni (Past Attendees) These people came to your event last year but haven’t bought tickets for this year yet.
The Message: "We miss you! Here is a discount code for returning fans."
The Goal: Loyalty and retention.
The Early Birds (Current Ticket Holders) These people have already purchased tickets for your upcoming event.
The Message: Stop asking them to buy tickets! Instead, send them "Know Before You Go" info, or try to upsell them on merchandise, drink tickets, or VIP upgrades.
The Goal: Increasing revenue per attendee.
The Window Shoppers (Newsletter Subscribers) These are people who signed up for updates but have never bought a ticket.
The Message: Social proof. Show them photos of the massive crowds and fun from last year. Give them FOMO.
The Goal: Conversion: get them to buy tickets now.
At Passage, we give you the data you need to make this happen. Here are a few ways you can manage your lists today:
Need to tell attendees about parking updates, weather changes, or gate times? You can email ticket purchasers for any upcoming event time slot directly through the Passage admin panel. This is perfect for logistical updates to ensure your guests have a smooth experience.
Passage integrates seamlessly with Zapier, allowing you to automatically sync your customer data with email platforms like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or HubSpot.
Prefer to do it manually? You can always export your ticket purchaser data to a CSV file from your Passage dashboard. This allows you to sort by ticket type (e.g., filter out all your "VIP" purchasers) and upload that specific list to your email marketing tool for a targeted campaign.
We know that moving data between platforms takes time. That’s why we are incredibly excited to announce that a brand new email marketing feature is coming soon to Passage!
Very soon, you won’t need to export CSVs or use third-party integrations to send marketing emails. You will be able to email any past ticket purchasers or future attendees directly within your Passage dashboard. Whether you want to blast a newsletter to everyone or send a targeted promo to last year’s VIPs, you’ll be able to do it all in one place.
Stay tuned—we’ll be sharing more details on this launch very soon!