Promotional Email Examples & Strategies

Have an environmentally conscious company? Consider touching on how a product’s materials are sourced or how the product and its production process benefit others or the environment. For example, this email from Bellroy focuses on the recycled aspect of their bag and features a GIF showing a fun transformation from empty plastic bottle to bag. It’s a great way to show rather than tell their email subscribers what their new collection is about.

Everlane uses consumer-generated content and quotes from its existing customers to promote its bestselling sneaker. The promotional message of this email is built entirely around what their customers have to say about the Tread sneaker, from a big quote at the top of the email to the sneaker’s rating and photos by customers on social media. The single call-to-action – to shop the trainer – makes it easy for the recipient to know what to do. Lastly, notice how the subject line (“Tread: the reviews are in”) makes clear that this isn’t just any promotional email – it contains the reviews of actual customers.

“Benefits over features” is an important rule of copywriting and this marketing email by bag brand Coach is a great example of how you can apply that rule in your email marketing. By listing five reasons to love The Charlie Bag, it speaks directly to its target audience. Each benefit is illustrated by a product image and all of this against a simple white background, keeping the focus on the product.

Good Pairs Day uses a curiosity-inducing subject line (“Cool things you may not have noticed”)to get email recipients to open their promotional email.

In it, they share information about what makes it worthwhile to be a GPD customer: great packaging, customized wine selections, a rewards program, a community of wine lovers, and a handy app.

We also love the clear CTA button at the bottom: “Start your wine adventure today”.

Blume uses the dreamy cloud icon in its subject line to match the text (“Daydreaming ’bout that glow”) and the name of its Daydreamer cleanser. The hero image showcases the product while the brilliant Mrs. Doubtfire GIF grabs the reader’s attention and is relevant even for those who haven’t seen the movie.

Lastly, the call-to-action invites readers to nourish their winter skin, which sounds much more appealing and less salesy than the typical “shop now”.

Is your product a great gift for an upcoming holiday? Or maybe there’s a national day that allows you to celebrate your products or customers? Send an email that talks about the holiday, get customers excited, and promote your best sellers. See how Sugarfina used National Green Juice Day to talk about green gummy bears – cute emoji, strategic copy that talks about healthy ingredients, and fun CTAs.

Think of ways your promotional email campaigns can help old and new customers alike use your products, like clothing brand Petite Studio does here. Its email highlights five seasonal products by listing outfit ideas for an entire week. The subject line “5 days, 5 looks” hints at what’s inside and is repeated at the top of the email in bold letters. Images, GIFs, and quick styling tips entice customers to click and buy. Also note the multiple CTA buttons throughout the email that link to each of the five products and help increase click-through-rates.

If you have products that are a bit harder to use or a little more “out there”, consider creating an email campaign to reassure your subscribers. oVertone knows that their customer base may be hesitant to dye their hair silver, so they emphasize that “it’s worth it” and add a link to a blog post that includes tips on how to make the color work for you.

The second CTA is a simple “Shop now”, allowing readers who are already convinced to take immediate action and buy their new hair color.

Men’s care brand Harry’s starts this promotional email with a cheeky subject line (“You like us, you really like us”), followed by a twist on the “You’ve got mail” phrase at the very beginning of their email. These elements work together with the concise copy at the top of the email to introduce the four products this email promotes by pairing them with customer reviews. It’s a great way to let your customers do your marketing for you.

REI sent this promotional email in the run-up to the winter holiday season so it could promote products as “snow-friendly gifts for snow-friendly people”. Instead of focusing on a single message, REI aims to get more sales by promoting different categories of snow-related products. To help its subscribers, it also includes a gift guide that promises to help them find a great gift in just a few clicks.

This email by Poetry is a good example of how you can use photography to let your products speak for themselves. The copy contains just enough information to set the tone for the story that’s told through the photos and to inform the recipient of the materials used for this spring and summer collection. The subject line “Blue skies ahead” refers to the pleasant time subscribers can expect to have in Poetry’s clothes and ties in nicely with the CTA that invites them to “Shop the story”.

Use your marketing emails to keep subscribers up-to-date on the latest trends like Astley Clarke does here by stating bold jewelry is out, and the ultra-fine design of their Polaris Mini collection is the new way to go. Up-close images and an animated GIF show what the jewelry looks like up close, enticing the recipient to start shopping. This is a strategy that works great for collection and product launches.

The subject line of this email leaves no doubt about it: there’s an exclusive preview inside. Giving your subscribers a sneak peek of a new collection or product is a great way to make them feel special and increase customer loyalty. It also allows you to promote different types of products that will become available around the same time, and include multiple CTAs to drive engagement like The Reject Shop does here.