Halloween Emails and Best Practices

Happy Halloween from KIDBOX!

Sent by KIDBOX

Halloween and animations are made for each other, but just any old animated GIF won’t do. We love the kid-friendly Halloween icons in the Kidbox logo and the sheer happiness on the face of the adorable jumping model. Showcasing some Halloween fun is a good alternative to the goth-and-scary Halloween marketing imagery, especially for the youngest fans. There is barely any black in the email but with the orange background, this email still uses one of the main Halloween colors.

SAVE 20% on Halloween Costumes Today Only!

Sent by Halloween City

This email by PartyCity uses the colors black and orange as well as a scary-looking hand to create a Halloween theme.

The Halloween deals (20% off and flat-rate shipping) are listed at the top of the email while everything else is design to make the recipient click: the CTA buttons near the top, clever animation, the call to action that says “Get inspired” and the prominent “Find a Store” button. Halloween City does a great job promoting its Halloween sale. Track them in MailCharts to see a company that gets everything right about Halloween.

Last chance for 20% off Nuzest 👻

Sent by Nuzest USA

Supplement brand Nuzest creates a sense of urgency both with its Halloween email subject line and its email copy. First, it increases its chances of good open rates by telling subscribers it’s their last chance to enjoy the Halloween sale. Then, the email copy urges them not to get haunted by what could have been and to make use of the final hours of its Halloween sale.

This email is also a great example of how you can achieve a lot with just a few elements: clear use of colors, great copy, and the spooky Halloween character that appears both in the subject and the email body.

Happy Halloween! 🧛

Sent by Josh’s Frogs

As the emails above have already shown, you can celebrate Halloween regardless of the types of products you sell. All you need to do is get creative with your Halloween campaigns. This purveyor of exotic pets nails it with everything from a teeny costume on the office mascot to a parade of little monsters (or creepy pets and the dressed-up office crew.

Another smart thing they did is create an “All Things Halloween” category on their website just for the holiday.

Give them pumpkin to write about.

Sent by Crate and Barrel

This Halloween email example shows adults who are more “Interview with the Vampire” than “Friday the 13th” how to have a romantic night with some Halloween spirit. It starts with a clever subject line (“Give them pumpkin to write about.”) and goes on to show how to combine Halloween products with items you can use all year round.

Also note how Crate & Barrel keeps it classy. Its copy uses terms such as “high style” and “soiree” while avoiding Halloween clichés such as “spooktacular deals”. In fact, when selling higher end items, you don’t need to offer discounts to have a successful Halloween.

Do you dare enter the boo-tique?

Sent by ModCloth

Many brands use puns in their Halloween subject lines. It’s risky as you don’t want to use the same ones as your competitors, but we think ModCloth pulls it off with their “boo-tique”. Their email is simple, with a Halloween-themed color scheme, and an animated Ouija board hint to start shopping. Lastly, the call-to-action (“Shop the boo-tique”) refers back to the subject of the email, creating a consistent reading experience for the recipient and generating some magical clicks.

Easy Jack-O-Lantern Stuffed Peppers & Pumpkin Coaster Pattern

Sent by Bluprint

Video-on-demand service Craftsy get subscribers hooked by including links to Halloween-themed tutorials in their email content. From how to make a stuffed Jack 0′ Lantern to crafting your own Halloween decorations and sewing pumpkin roasters: Craftsy’s campaign includes plenty of incentives for subscribers to click through. And because of the Halloween colors in the email images, the brand can use a simple white background while still creating that Halloween feel.

How to Keep Baby Safe This Halloween  

Sent by BabyEarth

While Baby Earth does sell Halloween costumes for babies and moms, their Halloween holiday email leads with a blog post on how to have a fun and safe Halloween with your little one. The cheerful image of a toddler helping to carve out a pumpkin gives the parents an idea of the joy they can expect if they follow the tips in the post.

This is another example that your Halloween emails don’t need to be highly promotional to work.

Parents can use all the support they can get, and by sharing useful information, Baby Earth shows its subscribers it’s there for them.

Halloween costume = Free tea 👻

Sent by DAVIDsTEA

While DAVIDsTEA does run email campaigns for its online store, this email offers a special treat (free tea!) to recipients who show up at one of their physical stores in a Halloween costume. Not only will this promotion create good Halloween memories for anyone participating, it also helps DAVIDsTEA stand out during that time of year when everyone is bombarded by emails that ask them to shop online.