Most conference organizers know that they should send thank-yous as follow-ups after a conference or tradeshow. However, most of these emails sent are painfully generic, and usually contain a few lines of text thanking the guest for attending with a few links to the conference home page and a general photo gallery. As an example, here's the email thank you for a conference I found.
SUBJ: "Thank you for attending the Datavox AV/PhySec/BTS Showcase"
BODY: "Thank you for Attending the Audio Visual, Physical Security, & Building Technology Showcase! The DataVox team would like to extend a huge thank you to all of our customers and sponsors who attended the 2023 DataVox Audio Visual, Physical Security & Building Technology Showcase!"
From the attendee's point of view, these types of generic messages add very little value and are often left unread. After all, why would I be motivated to open this email?
Why good event follow-up emails matter
A good email follow-up matters because they represent one of the few touchpoints an event operator has to interact with the guest in between events. They represent a way to continue the event experience and capitalize on memories of the day while they are still fresh in the attendee's mind, to drive an attendee towards an organizational goal such as a social media share to build exposure, or a membership/ticket purchase to future events. If conference organizers wait until their next event to reach out to the attendee, it may be many months to even years before they get a chance to do so! While a separate message to ask past attendees to purchase tickets for future events may feel spammy, most attendees expect to receive a thank you or recap email after attending an event. So making this email as high-quality as possible is a natural place to advance your organization's goals.
A better recap email structure
In our opinion, the best event follow-up emails tend to consist of the following components:
- A thank-you tied to an attendee's specific experience. For example, if you have data about a specific session they attended in your CRM, using that information in your email can help make the attendee feel more noticed. "Thanks for attending the XYZ Conference. We hope you enjoyed hearing from Speaker AB at the DEF session."
- A clear reason to engage, such as seeing personal photos taken of them from the event. Avoid making the attendee browse a giant gallery if the real goal is a more personal follow-up. For example, "We've included photos of you taken at the event for your perusal. You can access them via this link"
- Keep the call to action focused and easy to understand. For example, "If you enjoyed attending the XYZ Conference and would like to support more events like this, please consider registering to become a member at xyzconference.com or purchasing advance tickets for next year's event at a discount here."
A simple template to work from
A strong recap email often follows a simple pattern: (A) thank them for attending, (B) remind them of the value of being there in an ideally personalized way, (C) give them access to something personal from the event, and (D) make the next step feel easy. What matters most is that the message feels tied to their actual experience, not just the organizer's need to send a recap.
BODY: "Thanks for being part of the XYZ conference this week. We hope you also enjoyed attending our mini-networking session with ABC. We pulled together your event photos so you can revisit your favorite moments and share them easily. You can view them here (LINK). If you'd like to renew your membership for next year's event, please click here (LINK)."
Why photos are often the missing piece
Photos are powerful in recap emails because they make the message feel personal without requiring the team to hand-write hundreds of unique versions. The catch is that most teams only have a generic gallery link, which means the attendee still has to hunt for themselves. The more personal and direct the photo experience is, the more likely the email is to feel worth opening.
Luckily, tools like Portraiteer exist specifically for this purpose: to automatically tag hundreds of guests in thousands of photos and give each person a private page to view their personal highlight reel.
Want recap emails to feel more useful than a generic blast?
If your conference follow-up keeps pointing people to the same broad gallery or landing page, a short walkthrough can show a more personal approach.