Invitation email with 7 samples and a template

You’re invited to read the best invitation email guide online. RSVP if you’re interested in learning more.

In this guide on how to write invitation emails, we break down the writing process into simple steps.

Then, we provide 8 invitation email examples for information and inspiration. By the end, you’ll understand the building blocks to write the best invitation emails.

How to write an invitation email

Email marketers, event organizers, and interviewers all know that invitation emails are hard to write.

Get it right, and you’ll have a room full of happy faces. Get it wrong, and you could find yourself all alone.

We’ve written a lot about formal writing at MailMaestro, but invitation emails are a chance to get creative and write compelling messages that demand a reply. It’s the best way to secure a slot in the calendar.

So, ready to get started?

What are invitation emails (and why do they matter?)

Invitation emails are, as you’d expect, used to encourage someone to do something. It could be an invite to an interview, an event, a meeting, a webinar, or a sales presentation.

In each case, the purpose of the message is to inspire action – generating attendees for your event, candidates for your interview, or meat in your meeting.

These aren’t sales emails (we’ve written about those before) but messages to someone you know (or who will know you). As such, you don’t have to go too hard on the sales and push the promo, but be clear about what you’re inviting the person to and why. 

The bottom line is to ensure every message has value to the person receiving it. 

Benefits of sending invitation emails

Sending invitation emails is a crucial step in organizing and promoting any event, whether it's an upcoming webinar, corporate meeting, or social gathering. Here’s why sending invitation emails should be an integral part of your event planning strategy:

1. Boost engagement and attendance

Email invitation templates provide a direct line of communication to your audience, ensuring they receive all the important details about your upcoming event. A well-crafted invitation email can significantly boost engagement and increase attendance rates. By including a compelling email subject line and a brief introduction, you can capture the recipients' attention and entice them to register or RSVP.

2. Provide key details of the event

An email invitation template allows you to clearly convey all the necessary information about your event. From the event date and time to the venue or virtual meeting link, these templates ensure that your audience has all the key details at their fingertips. This helps to avoid any confusion and ensures a smooth experience for your attendees.

3. Professional and consistent communication

Using email invitation templates ensures that your invitations maintain a professional and consistent look. This not only reflects well on your brand but also helps build anticipation and excitement for the event. Whether you are inviting colleagues to a business meeting or customers to a promotional event, a professional email invitation sets the right tone.

4. Personalization and customization

Email invitation templates offer the flexibility to personalize and customize your messages. You can tailor your invitations to different segments of your audience, making the communication more relevant and impactful. Personalization can include addressing the recipient by name, highlighting specific details that might interest them, or including a personalized message from the host.

5. Streamline the invitation process

Creating and sending invitations manually can be time-consuming. Email invitation templates streamline this process by providing a pre-designed format that you can easily edit and send. This saves time and ensures that your invitations are sent out promptly, allowing you to focus on other important aspects of event planning.

6. Track and measure response

Sending invitation emails allows you to track and measure responses. You can see who has opened your email, clicked on the registration link, and RSVPed to the event. This data is invaluable for understanding your audience's engagement and planning follow-up communications.

7. Boost brand awareness

Every email invitation is an opportunity to reinforce your brand. By incorporating your brand's colors, logo, and voice into your email invitation template, you boost brand awareness and create a cohesive brand experience for your audience. This consistent branding can help to build trust and recognition among your recipients.

8. Ensure legal compliance

Sending digital invitations also helps ensure legal compliance, particularly in terms of data privacy and opt-in regulations. By using email templates, you can easily include necessary legal disclaimers and opt-out options, ensuring your invitations comply with relevant laws and best practices.

By leveraging well-designed email invitation templates, you can effectively promote your events, engage your audience, and ensure a higher turnout, making your next event a resounding success. With these resources, you can save time, personalize your messages, and streamline your email campaigns, ensuring your invitations reach the inbox and not the spam folder.

Before we illustrate this with examples, let’s email the ideal invitation email format. 

Invitation email format

Invite emails are easy to write (if you follow this format). First, a strong, simple subject line spells out what you want.

That’s followed by a body copy that offers value and contains all the details people need (such as date, time, and location). Finally, you finish with more information on how people can sign-up and a positive sign-off. 

Let’s show you how that works… 

1. Invitation email subject line

Your subject line should get straight to the point. You’ll want to grab the reader’s attention and explain to them what the message is about (and why they should care). In the case of interviews or meetings with colleagues, the process is pretty straightforward:

• Interview Invitation – 25 Jan @ 9:00 am 
• Meeting Request – 2023 Strategy & Planning – 25 Jan @ 9:00 am 

Simple, clear, and straight to the point! That works for this type of invitation, where people will know who you are and what you’re asking. It gets a little more complicated when writing emails to people you don’t know (what marketers call cold emails).

Crafting cold emails is a big challenge, with millions of words written about how to optimize them. But it boils down to finding words that grab someone’s attention and gets them to click.

Here are a couple of examples:

• Do you want priority access to our latest event? Open your invitation here!
• We’re looking for a legend. Could you be our latest guest speaker?
• Want to play a part in our industry-leading podcast?

These examples (and millions more you can find online) attempt to hook you in with a tasty proposition.

2. Invitation email body

All email invitation body copy works similarly, with the same structure. It goes a little something like this:

• Intro to you/your business
• Explanation of why you’re emailing
• Details of the invite
• Dates, times, and attendance info

Following this format will ensure you have all the essential details in your invitation email. You don’t need to be boring; you can get creative if you want – but always include everything from the list above.

You can see how we do this below in the 8 invitation email samples.

3. How to end an invitation email

You’re inviting someone to something, right? So you’ll want them to confirm their attendance. So spell it out in a clear CTA. Something like this can work well:

• Please confirm that you can attend. You can email me at (insert address) or call me at (insert number). 

If you’re inviting someone for an interview, this will be enough. However, for an event, you may want to add an incentive or put a time limit on it.

• Sign-up today, and you’ll receive a 25% discount!
• Places are strictly limited, so sign-up today (or prepare to be disappointed).

You’ll also need to include contact details or links to an online form where people can sign-up for the event. Don’t forget to add your name, job title, and company information.

Need to write a good invitation email? Try MailMaestro for free!

MailMaestro can help you draft a professional invitation email in seconds. One of our standout features is the Improve existing email option. You can input your draft and MailMaestro's AI email assistant will refine it, making it more professional, concise, and compelling.

🪄 MailMaestro tip:

Use MailMaestro's Improve existing email feature. Customize any of the email examples below to suit your needs. Or, enter a quick sentence explaining the message you'd like to convey. After filling in the placeholders, use MailMaestro's Improve existing email option. Then, paste your draft into the text box. Make sure to select your preferred email tone and length. And just like that, you'll have a polished email ready to send!

7 invitation email examples

OK, we’ve come to the part where we stop telling and start showing!

Here are 8 invitation email examples that cover some of the situations you might need to write one. We’ve got a simple invitation example, an interview email, and an invitation to an online video call, among others.

If you want to use these examples, you can cut and paste them, but always change them to suit your circumstances. 

1. Simple invitation email sample

Let’s start with a simple invitation sample. This covers the basics and is a standard and (if we’re honest) quite dry approach.

Of course, if you want, you can liven this up – but even if you use it as-is, it will get the job done.

2. Reply to the interview invitation email sample

In this reply to the interview invitation sample, we provide a ready-made template to agree to the interview time and date. Good luck!

3. Event invitation email sample

When writing an event invitation email, you’ll need to be more creative and create a compelling case for someone to attend. You should explain what your event is about and its relevance.

You should provide details of why the person should attend and, as outlined earlier, offer an incentive or introduce some peril. 

4. Meeting invitation email sample

If you’re employed anywhere, you’ll probably spend most of your life in and out of meetings (and probably get hundreds of meeting requests a year).

This meeting email invite is more than a simple placeholder; it provides information on the meeting and why someone would want to attend. Your recipients will thank you for this level of detail.

5. Zoom invitation email sample

This Zoom meeting invite is similar to the meeting request above but includes login information and tips to get the best out of a Zoom meeting.

How many Zoom meetings have you been to that don’t start on time because someone’s camera isn’t working or the sound isn’t on? Exactly. Tell people about the behaviors you want to see (and be sure to embody them!).

6. Webinar invitation email sample

Webinars are an effective way to showcase your products or services, share insights, and build an audience.

Like the event template above, you must provide reasons for someone to give up their time and attend – which we do here.

You’ll need to try and find what will motivate your audience to engage with you.

7. Guest speaker invitation email sample

Guest speakers are a great addition to your event, but how do you hook one in?

By using our guest email invite template! Anyone brave enough to stand up in front of a crowd will have an ego, so providing a few compliments alongside the context of your event is a good thing.

Set out what you want them to do and when you want an answer.

Proven invitation email template

OK, so we can’t guarantee this initiation template will work, but it follows all our rules and recommendations, so it’s about as close as you can. So fill in the gaps, and focus on providing the details, and you’ll get the results you want from every message.

Final words

We started by saying that writing invitation emails isn’t easy, but if you follow our advice, it is.

The crucial thing is to follow the format and ensure that you include everything – including dates, times, and essential details. Focus on cracking the structure, use the tips outlined above, and never try to be funny!

Master that, and your invitation emails will ensure you’ve got people queuing around the block for a bit of the action.

Better still, why not try MailMaestro's AI email writing features to get it done right, faster, and better? You can try it for free, by following this link for Outlook and this link for Gmail.