Why the same email to everyone falls short
"Thanks for coming!" sent to someone who didn't come tells them nobody was paying attention. "Sorry we missed you" sent to someone who sat in the front row is worse. Attendees and no-shows are in different places: one group has a fresh experience to build on, and the other said yes and then something got in the way.
One note, two versions. It takes very little extra work, and it's the most useful split you can make.
When to send it
Send it within 24 hours, while people remember the session and the recording is still news. Most platforms take a little while to process a recording, so it's fine to send the note first and say the recording will follow, if the alternative is waiting days.
If it was an evening event, the next morning is ideal. If it ended on a Friday afternoon, Monday morning is usually better than a Friday night.
Check your data first
Before you split anyone, there's a trap worth checking. Attendance data is rarely complete. Someone who walked in without being scanned, joined with a different email or came along as a guest looks exactly like a no-show.
So a safe rule is to keep three groups rather than two:
| Group | What you know | What to send |
|---|---|---|
| Marked attended | They came | The attendee email |
| Marked no-show | You checked, and they didn't | The missed-it email |
| Unmarked | You don't know | A neutral version, or nothing about attendance |
If nobody took attendance at all, don't send a "sorry we missed you". Send the neutral version to everyone: "Here's the recording from Thursday" is true for everyone on the list.
Three templates
For people who came
Subject: The recording from [event name], and what we didn't get to
Hi [first name], Thanks for coming on [day]. The recording: [link] Three questions we ran out of time for: - [question]: [short answer] - [question]: [short answer] - [question]: [short answer] The one thing to try this week: [single takeaway]. If this was useful, [one next step: the next session / a short call / a reply telling me what to cover next]. [your name]
For people who missed it
Subject: The recording from [event name]
Hi [first name], You missed a good one, and that's fine: here's the recording: [link] If you've only got five minutes, start at [timestamp], where [speaker] covers [the best bit]. The next one is on [date]: [what it's about]. Your place is one click away: [link] [your name]
Neutral, when you don't know who came
Subject: Here's the recording from [event name]
Hi [first name], Here's the recording from [day]: [link] Most people asked about [topic]. That part starts at [timestamp]. Next up: [next date and topic]. Save a place here: [link] [your name]
What to include, and what to leave out
- One next step. A follow-up with four calls to action gets none of them.
- Answers to real questions. Nothing else shows as clearly that you were listening. The questions you skipped are a gift: they give you a reason to write.
- A timestamp. "Start at 22:40" is what turns a 60-minute recording into something someone will actually watch.
- Leave out the hard sell. If you've got a commercial reason to talk, offer a conversation to those who asked for one.
- Keep any survey to one question. A 0 to 10 score and one open question is plenty.
Follow up with speakers and partners too
Your speakers and partners are owed a note as well: thanks, what they brought, the recording. That note is how you get them back. It's also a good moment to ask the people who came what you should cover next. Their answers give you your next topic and your first registrants.
Doing this in Programmable Talk
The After tab sends the recording, a note, answers to questions and the next date, separately to those who came and those who missed it, and it can send itself. Someone left unmarked gets the "missed you" email only if attendance was recorded for that event and you chose to include them, so a person who came but wasn't on the list isn't told they missed it. People you mark come from the door, or back from Luma, Zoom and Eventbrite. Keep taking registrations for the recording if you want the event to go on working.