In the average IT VAR’s arsenal of marketing tools, events are a perennial favorite. They give you a chance to meet clients and prospects face-to-face, develop relationships and gather the information you need to advance toward a sale. Unfortunately, you’re not the only reseller who knows this. So, calendars fill up quickly, and IT buyers need to make choices. Your goal is to make them see the value in your event above the others and drive swift, decisive action.

To win a spot on an IT buyer’s calendar, your invitation needs to stand out. Tight, high-impact copy and a compelling design are crucial – but these aren’t always enough to differentiate your event. Below, you’ll find three ways to make your event invitation more actionable.

1. It starts with the event itself
The content of your invitation is driven by the content of your event. Choose a targeted theme that will resonate with your clients – from “greening” the datacenter to storage consolidation to compliance. Bolster it with topics that speak to pain points that roll up to TCO and ROI. If you go too generic, such as an ROI-themed event, you’re pushed back into the crowd.

2. Add value immediately: inform the recipient
Even if your target doesn’t RSVP, you still have the opportunity to market your services. Without forcing too much content into the invitation, provide access to resources related to your event’s theme, such as case studies and white papers. The most effective way to do this is to include a link to a resources page, where you have posted all the relevant supporting content. This can reinforce the value of the event, increasing the likelihood of a response. Even if the target doesn’t respond, you can use your web analytics platform to track the traffic, note the issues important to this prospect and use another form of outreach.

3. Build your list around your theme
Which sounds better: (a) an event on cloud computing targeting storage buyers or (b) an event on cloud computing for document retention compliance for IT buyers in highly regulated industries? Address a specific pain point, and your event becomes much more important to your target market. Granularity gets results.

Interested in more ideas on how to get the most out of your events? Shoot me an e-mail at tf@entermarketing.com for a free marketing assessment, and learn how you can pump up your marketing ROI.

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