Think about the last time you received an invitation to a business meeting or event. What was it about the invitation that encouraged you to attend? Was it the title? The branding? The speakers? Whatever it was, keep it in the back of your mind the next time you’re creating the invitation for your upcoming continuing education (CE) event.
Regardless of your firm’s reputation, sending out a dull, non-informative invitation can be a matter of “attend,” or “not attend” for your target market. To help you boost attendance at your next CE event, here are five key items to include on your invitation.
Draw advisors in from the get-go.
When utilizing email to send your invitations, your greatest asset will be your subject-line. As you know, the most successful emails are the ones that start off with an attention-grabbing subject line. This is the first thing your invitees see when the email hits their inbox, and it’s often the deciding factor on whether they choose to click into it, or not. With that said, be sure to use a subject line that will boost your open rates and ultimately draw more attendees to your CE event.
Enticing subject line examples:
- What could be better than free CE?
- Earn CE credit in less than one hour.
- Come for the coffee, stay for the CE credit.
- Sign-up before it’s too late!
- Grab your seat for this one-time CE event!
Sell your CE meeting with the title.
Outside of the subject line, your meeting title will be the next piece of information your invitees look at to determine whether they will continue reading, or forward your email to their deleted folder. A strong title shouldn’t just be catchy or informative, it should be both. Make sure your CE event title serves as the world’s shortest summary, while not boring your readers.
Catchy, yet straightforward CE title examples:
- Navigating the Challenging Maze to Retirement
- Surf the Wave with Roth 401(k)s and IRAs
- Shooting for PAR: Your Guide to Proper Annuity Registration
- Drilling Deeper into Employer Dental Benefits
- Red Rover, Red Rover, Send Social Security on Over
Give a shout-out to your speakers.
High-quality speakers are the key to any speaking event – especially when it’s a credit-earning opportunity for the attendees. If you want advisors to take time out of their day to attend your CE event, make sure the speaker/instructor is accredited and well-versed in the topic at hand. By providing an image, job title and simple bio for the speaker(s) on the invite, invitees will know who and what to expect on the day of the event.
Quick-hit information to include about the speaker(s):
- Name
- Headshot
- Job title
- Credentials
- Short biography
Clearly state CE offerings.
Regardless of what your meeting intentions are, your invitees want to know, “What’s in it for me?” Aside from your title, agenda, and speakers, make sure your invite clearly states which CE credit(s) will be available at the event.
Potential CE offerings:
- State Insurance
- Designation CE (CFP, CIMA, CPE/CPA, etc.)
- Dual Credit
Bring it home with a strong call-to-action.
The call-to-action, or CTA, is your last-ditch effort to turn invitees into attendees. You can keep your CTA short and sweet or throw in a little creative flare to try and boost your attendance. You may even want to A/B test a couple of options to see which CTA is most effective. Either way, your CTA is a small, yet very powerful piece of your event invite.
CTAs to help close the deal:
- Register now!
- Don’t miss out on this exclusive CE event.
- Ready to learn, and earn? Sign-up now.
- Save your seat!
To talk to a Quest CE team member about including CE delivery in your sales strategy, contact us here.