As someone in charge of marketing at your community theater, do you ever feel that there is always an endless list of things to do, but never enough time to do it? That is why we LOVE automation. With most email marketing services (or any that you SHOULD be using) automation is something that is built in and will save you HOURS of work.
- “Thank You For Subscribing” email.
This is a standard email that notifies the user when they have subscribed to your email list. Did you know you can customize it? Exciting, I know. So many times I’ve seen this first touch wasted with the standard template email. At a minimum it should be branded to reflect your theater, but what would happen if you included a coupon? Or shared links to your social media pages? Don’t let this email go to waste. - “Hurray, It’s Your Birthday” email.
Everyone loves a birthday gift! Why not share a coupon or special note for their birthday? Buy one- get one ticket coupon, concession coupon, a special note from the theater director… Remember if you want to include this as an autoresponder, you’ll need to ask for the birthday (usually just month and day) when they are joining your email list. - “Thanks For Attending” email.
If your ticketing system is synced with your email marketing software, you can send out automatic “thank you” emails after a show wraps up – or even better, after the specific show they attend! Remember to include links to your Yelp, Google+ and Facebook page so attendees can leave a review. - “What’s New” email.
Do you have a blog? (hint – The correct answer is “yes”. If your answer is “no”… you need to start!) Set up an autoresponder to take your most recent blog posts and turn them into an email! This will keep patrons in the loop for what’s happening at the theater, even if they haven’t had a chance to check out your blog recently.
Although we can never seem to find enough time to get everything done, automation can be a marketers best friend. Utilize these auto-responders in your email marketing plan and save hours every month!
