How to write a friendly reminder email

Once you’ve got your event all planned and sorted, a weight will have been lifted from your shoulders. All that remains is for you to turn up and enjoy. Oh, and to make sure that your guests do, too! Chances are that they won’t have forgotten about it – that they’re looking forward to an evening out, the party that’s been organised for a while, or that conference that means a day out of the office, just as much as you are. Saying that, it never hurts to send a friendly reminder.

There are certain ways of doing it though. People will generally appreciate it, but if you go too far, you run the risk of putting people off.

Here are some pointers on how best to compose your reminder email.

First of all, why might you send a reminder? Well, it can happen, whether the initial invitation was sent out months ago or just weeks before the event, that some people do genuinely forget. These are the people who will really appreciate a reminder.

Others may have been undecided at the time of the invite. Sending a reminder with a RSVP will give you a more accurate figure of attendees.

Why might there have been some non-RSVPs in the first instance? Could the email have ended up in any of the recipients’ spam folders? Avoid using words like “free” in the subject line, as some mail clients will automatically mark these as spam.

The subject line should be clear and to the point. The name of the event and date will do. Add a short creative twist if you like, but don’t go over the top.

If you want to hold your recipients’ attention in the body of the email, the key is to not GET REALLY REALLY SUPER EXCITED AND USE LOTS AND LOTS OF CAPITALS AND EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!!! No, no, no. Try using some visuals instead. A natural yet eye-catching image of the venue, of a fun looking gathering or of something mouth-watering will be much more effective.

If you’re stating a change in the reminder, such as an updated time or venue, make sure that this is where the emphasis goes. Using bold font will draw the eye to that important change.

Include some useful information like venue contact details in case anyone runs late and you won’t be able to take the call. Add public transport info and driving directions and details on whether there is parking or not. If you do this kind of leg work for your guests, they will probably be very grateful! If you have a large number of delegates coming, some of whom you may not know such as at a corporate event, bear in mind that any one of them could have a disability, so brief accessibility details can be really useful.

If your event is a conference, perhaps include an itinerary, so that delegates know what to bring or how to prepare if necessary. If you’re hosting a dinner party, include the menu. This gives your guests a chance to think about what to order, if a choice is available from a set menu.

Space out your points clearly. Whilst this all may sound like a lot of “filler”, it isn’t. What is it that you essentially want to get across? The date, time, venue, brief additional information such as preparation necessary and directions. Add an image to hold attention and include a RSVP button if you can, for that one-click ease!

Worded correctly, your guests will appreciate this friendly reminder and once you have all your RSVPs, all that’s left for you to do is to get this party started!

Here are a few different style examples to give you an idea:

Images from basecamp.com, help.eply.com and coroflot.com