The problem
Quiz nights, live music and Sunday roasts only fill the room if locals hear about them, and posts on social media reach only some of your followers. Writing and sending a weekly email by hand takes 45 minutes, which is 194 minutes, about 3.2 hours a month (x 4.3).
What the AI does
Brevo is an email marketing platform. Its site lists a drag-and-drop editor, email templates, forms to capture sign-ups, segments, and an AI content generator that drafts subject lines and email copy. Put a sign-up form on a QR code on the bar and in your website with clear wording that people are signing up for the pub's what's-on emails, and keep the sign-up record. Each week, build the email from a template, let the AI draft the copy from your event list, and check it before sending. Every email needs your details and a working unsubscribe link, as the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) require.
A worked example
A pub in Frome has 450 locals who have opted in through a QR code on the bar. The manager sends one email each Tuesday with the quiz, music and Sunday roast details.
Before
45 minutes to write and send each week: about 194 minutes, 3.2 hours a month, and reaching only some followers on social media
After
About 20 minutes to adjust the template and send each week: 86 minutes, about 1.4 hours a month, to everyone who opted in
What it's worth
About £387 a month in extra gross profit if each email brings 10 extra visits a week at £15 a head: £150 a week x 4.3 is about £645 a month, and 60% of that after cost of sales is about £387, plus about 1.8 hours a month saved (108 minutes). That response is an assumption, not a promise. Brevo Starter is £6 a month (500 contacts at 5,000 emails) and shows the Brevo logo; removing it is an £8 add-on, and Standard at £13 includes it, so the cost is £6 with the logo or £13 without. Brevo's free plan sends up to 300 emails a day, so a 450-contact list is too big to send in one go on Free; that is why this is priced at Starter. The 10 visits and 60% are assumptions.
How to set it up
- Create a Brevo account and set up a sign-up form that says exactly what people will receive and how often.
- Put the form on a QR code at the bar and on your website; never add people from a purchased or borrowed list.
- Build one email template with your logo and a standard 'This week' layout.
- Each week, give the AI tool your events and prices, edit the copy, check dates and times, and send.
- Remove anyone who unsubscribes at once, and keep the sign-up records.
What goes wrong
- Marketing emails need consent under PECR and UK GDPR, with an unsubscribe in every email. Don't email people who only gave their number to book.
- Starter allows 500 contacts at the 5,000-email level; more contacts need a higher tier, so check the cost before your list grows.
- The AI tool can get event details wrong. Check every date, time and price, and don't promote drinks in ways that encourage irresponsible drinking, which your licensing conditions restrict.
- Starter emails show the Brevo logo; removing it costs £8 a month extra or comes with Standard at £13. Decide whether the logo matters to you before you choose.