TL;DR

An email marketing campaign starts by building a targeted list with optins and lead magnets, then setting clear goals for sales, signups, or engagement. From there, segment your audience to personalize messages and choose an email platform with automation and analytics. Next, map your workflow to plan the sequence and timing of emails, and focus on writing subject lines that drive opens. Pair those with persuasive copy and a clear CTA, and make sure your emails are mobile-friendly and accessible. Finally, A/B test and optimize key elements like subject lines and CTAs, then launch and monitor results so you can keep improving with every campaign.

Email marketing remains one of the most profitable digital marketing channels, returning up to $36 for every $1 spent. But there’s a catch: only well-planned, targeted campaigns deliver those kinds of results.

At OptinMonster, we’ve helped over 235,000 marketers and business owners build high-performing email campaigns that drive leads, conversions, and long-term customer loyalty. If you want your small business to reach this level of success, you must learn how to create email campaigns that will move you toward your company’s goals.

In the sections below, we’ll walk you through the 10 essential steps to create an email campaign—from strategy to send—and show you how tools like OptinMonster can help you launch faster and grow smarter.

Exclusive Bonus: Level up your email marketing! Click here to get the free checklist + BONUS resources and see your results skyrocket.

How to Create an Email Marketing Campaign in 10 Simple Steps

Below are the 10 proven steps we use at OptinMonster to help 235,000+ marketers create campaigns that get results.

Step 1: Build Your Email List with Targeted Optins

Use high-converting signup forms and lead magnets to grow a list of subscribers who want to hear from you.

Use popups, embedded forms, and lead magnets like checklists or discounts to attract qualified leads. Exit-intent popups work especially well to convert abandoning visitors into subscribers.

 How OptinMonster Helps:

With OptinMonster, you can start growing your email list right away. It only takes a few minutes to add stunning optin forms to your website. And you can target them to the right people at the right time.

Here are just a few of OptinMonster‘s signup form options:

• Welcome gates, which appear when people arrive on your site. You can also use our page slide feature so people can get straight to the content when they’re ready.
• Lightbox popups can appear on any page and temporarily blank out the rest of the content to focus on the optin. These convert very well.
• Exit-intent popups, which appear when people are about to leave the site. That’s a good time to offer your lead magnet.

But did you know that 50% of website visitors leave your website without interacting at all? And that some websites have a bounce rate of over 90%?

We recommend using exit-intent popups to convert those abandoning visitors into subscribers and customers.

Exit-intent popups detect user behavior to prompt them with a targeted campaign when they are about to leave your site forever. This smart technology can skyrocket your conversions.

What can an exit intent popup do for your business? See our case studies for examples:

• How BrianTracy.com Increased Its Email List 150% Using Content Upgrades
• How SnackNation Adds 1200 Segmented Leads Every Week
• How Wild Water Adventures Recovered $61,000 in Sales Using OptinMonster

Step 2: Set Clear Campaign Goals

Know exactly what you want to achieve—sales, signups, engagement, or reactivation.

All good marketing starts with setting goals, and email marketing is no different. Consider what you want to achieve to run a successful email marketing campaign.

Typical goals for an email marketing campaign include the following:

• Welcoming new subscribers and telling them about your business and values, so you build a relationship with them.
• Boosting engagement with your content and your business, whether promoting a webinar or trying to make an initial sale.
• Nurturing existing subscribers by providing something they’ll value.
• Re-engaging subscribers who haven’t been particularly active.
• Segmenting your subscribers so you can send more targeted email marketing campaigns.

You can also set email marketing goals according to your conversion goals.

Step 3: Segment and Understand Your Audience

Group your subscribers by interest, behavior, or lifecycle stage to personalize messaging.

Start with basic segmentation like demographics or engagement level, then refine with behavioral triggers such as page views, downloads, or purchase history.

 How OptinMonster Helps:
OptinMonster allows you to use Page-Level Targeting, Geo-Location Targeting, and OnSite Retargeting® to segment users before they even hit your email list. This ensures every subscriber enters your funnel with context.

Step 4: Choose the Right Email Marketing Platform

Pick a platform that supports automation, segmentation, analytics, and integrations.

The best email service providers have tools to help you create more effective email marketing campaigns. Look for features like:

• Easy drag-and-drop campaign creation.
• Features such as automation, templates, and workflows.
• Integrations with software you already use, like WordPress and OptinMonster.
• Ways to segment your audience.
• In-depth analytics on email campaign performance.

For instance, Constant Contact offers robust and easy-to-use email automation features.

In their example above, Constant Contact shows how you can easily create an automation workflow to send subscribers a special offer for their birthday or anniversary. Constant Contact also lets you create SMS text campaigns, making it a robust marketing platform.

Learn More: What Is Email Automation? A Beginner’s Guide to Email Marketing Automation

 How OptinMonster Helps:
We integrate seamlessly with top ESPs like Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, Brevo, and 70+ others. You can send leads to segmented lists or tags automatically.

Step 5: Map Out Your Email Workflow

Plan the number, sequence, and timing of your emails in advance.

Since email is vital to your overall digital marketing strategy, you want to approach it in an organized way

Here are a few things to plan for:

• Email frequency, which we’ll look at below
• The types of emails you’ll be sending
• A rough idea of content
• The main action you want subscribers to take (such as signing up for an event, following you on social media, or buying a product)

You want your emails to be timely, relevant, interesting, and valuable.

For example, many companies welcome new subscribers with a short email series to help them get to know their products and services.

Asana sends a series of 4 emails. The email subject lines are:

1. Welcome to Asana
2. What do you need to get done this week?
3. Plan your day with Asana
4. Hit your next deadline

The first is a welcome email with three key tasks you can accomplish in the software. Three days later, another email asks what you need to get done and encourages you to start using the product. Two days later, there’s an email talking about the Asana dashboard. The series ends with an email two days later highlighting the calendar view.

Don’t overwhelm your subscribers by emailing too often. That will send them straight to the spam button. Instead, stick to the schedule you’ve told them about so they know what to expect.

Feel free to ask for subscriber input on email scheduling via a poll or survey. You can also offer an “opt down” option for those who love your emails but don’t want to get them as often.

Once you’ve outlined your email plan, it’s time to start writing.

Step 6: Write a Click-Worthy Subject Line

Craft subject lines that get opened without sounding spammy.

A good starting point for any successful email marketing campaign is the subject line, which is crucial in getting people to open and click on your emails. Like the headline on your blog post, an email subject line has to get attention so people want to go further.

You only have a few words to make an impression, so your email subject line length is critical. Campaign Monitor’s data shows that most subject lines range from 41 to 50 characters. Even less of your subject line shows on mobile screens, so putting the most important parts at the start is wise.

Best practices for improving your subject lines include:

• Telling people what they’ll get when they open your emails. No need to be clever or witty unless that’s your brand’s personality.
• Adding personalization, such as including people’s names in the subject line, can keep users more engaged.
• Avoiding spam trigger words, so your emails make it to the inbox.
• Borrowing one of these high-converting email subject lines and adapting it for your own use.

Step 7: Write Email Copy That Converts

Focus your message around one goal, use a conversational tone, and include a clear CTA.

Next, it’s time to write your email marketing copy. You’ll want to create a hook right at the start that will get people to want to read on.

Keep email marketing copy short for best results, and avoid pitching your offer too early. You want people to get comfortable first.

Address subscribers by name, and write in a casual, friendly tone. Write like a person talking to another person.

Other items to consider for your email copy include the following:

• A personal story. Being human never hurts a company and often helps people connect emotionally. Some of the most successful emails we’ve seen use this technique.
• Something of value to your readers. That can be a piece of content, useful information, or the resource you’re promoting. Make it clear how this will help them. The example below from Semrush underlines the potential benefit in the first line of the email.
• A poll, survey, GIF, or video keeps readers more engaged.

Of course, you don’t have to put all of those in every email. Ideally, your emails should be short, with only a couple of main points within each one. If you do decide to go longer, make your email scannable with heading a white space.

The last part of your email marketing copy is the call to action (CTA). Your CTA reflects the one thing you most want people to do when they’ve read your email.

CTAs usually appear multiple times within your email marketing copy. While you don’t want to pitch to readers too soon, there’ll likely be a CTA near the start, middle, and end.

The best calls to action are short and clear. With the right copy, it should be a no-brainer for subscribers to click your link.

Learn More: Email Copywriting That Sells: 17 Simple Ways to Write Better Marketing Emails

Step 8: Design Mobile-Friendly, Accessible Emails

Use responsive templates and alt text so your emails look great on all devices and are inclusive.

Email design matters in any successful email marketing campaign. If your emails look terrible, that reflects poorly on you and can make people stop reading. With more people than ever reading emails on mobile devices, it’s important to use a responsive email template, so your email resizes automatically whether people are reading it on a phone, tablet, or desktop.

It’s also important to make sure your important information is in text, not hidden in images. This is vital for email accessibility. Remember to use alt tags to describe images so people using screen readers will know what your images show.

Step 9: A/B Test, Analyze, and Optimize

Continuously improve your campaigns with data-driven tweaks.
Test different subject lines, CTAs, content blocks, and send times. Monitor open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and unsubscribe trends to optimize future campaigns.

Finally, emailing is just the first step in achieving email marketing success. To nail it, you’ve got to collect data to improve future campaigns.

That means A/B testing everything: design and layout, email marketing copy, subject lines, and calls to action. Consider testing emails with different segments and experimenting with email send times.

You’ll also want to monitor email analytics from your service provider relating to opens, clicks, unsubscribes, and forwards. This will enable you to figure out what’s working and what’s not with your email marketing campaigns.

Another issue to monitor is your sender’s reputation, which affects email deliverability. Use Sender Score to see if any red flags might stop your emails from reaching subscribers’ inboxes.

Step 10: Launch and Monitor Your Campaign

Send your emails at the right time and monitor delivery and performance in real time.

Use your ESP’s analytics dashboard to spot issues quickly, such as deliverability problems or sudden drop-offs in engagement. Follow up with retargeting or next-step sequences.

What Are the Types of Email Campaigns?

There are various types of email marketing campaigns that businesses can use to achieve their goals. Some common types include:

Newsletter Email Campaigns

Email newsletters are a great way to keep subscribers engaged and informed about the latest news, updates, and industry trends related to a brand. Newsletters can include various content types, including articles, blog posts, videos, and images. They can also be customized to target specific subscriber segments based on interests or behaviors.

Learn more: 29 Awesome Newsletter Ideas That Will Keep Subscribers Engaged

Promotional Email Marketing Campaigns

Promotional emails are designed to promote a product, service, or event. They often include information about a sale, discount, or exclusive offer. They also include announcement emails for new product launches. These emails can be highly effective in generating immediate revenue and encouraging customer loyalty. Promotional emails can also be personalized based on subscriber behavior, such as past purchases or website browsing history.

Learn more: Mastering Promotional Emails: Best Practices, Examples, and Templates

Welcome And Onboarding Email Marketing Campaigns

Onboarding emails are sent to new subscribers, welcoming them to the brand and introducing them to its products or services. These emails can set the tone for the subscriber’s relationship with the brand and provide a valuable opportunity to make a positive first impression. Welcome emails can also include incentives, such as pricing discounts or freebies, to encourage subscribers to purchase.

Learn More: How To Write the Perfect Welcome Email Series

Abandoned Cart Email Marketing Campaigns

Abandoned cart emails are sent to people who left items in their online shopping cart without making a purchase. These emails encourage potential customers to complete the transaction by reminding them of the things left in the cart and providing incentives such as discounts or free shipping.

Learn More: 14 Abandoned Cart Email Examples Proven to Boost Revenue

Re-engagement Email Marketing Campaigns

Re-engagement email campaigns encourage inactive subscribers to re-engage with the brand. You can send them to people who haven’t opened your emails in a while. Or, you can send them to people who have canceled a paid subscription with your company. These emails often include incentives, such as discounts or exclusive content, to encourage the subscriber to take action.

Re-engagement emails can also be used to gather feedback from subscribers about why they have been inactive and what the brand can do to improve their experience.

Learn More: 10 Win Back Email Examples (Plus How to Launch Your Own)

Email Marketing Campaign Examples

Here are some examples of successful email marketing campaigns that businesses have used:

Promotional Email From Dropbox

Dropbox’s referral program is a classic example of how email marketing campaigns can be used to grow a business. Dropbox offered its existing users free storage space if they referred their friends to use Dropbox.

The referral program was promoted through email campaigns, and users were encouraged to refer their friends through personalized referral links in their emails. This successful email marketing campaign generated over 4 million new users for Dropbox.

What worked: The referral program was simple and effective, and Dropbox leveraged the power of word-of-mouth marketing through its existing user base. The personalized referral links made it easy for users to refer their friends, and the free storage space incentive was a powerful motivator.

Email Newsletter From TheSkimm

Our next email marketing campaign example is from TheSkimm, a daily newsletter that delivers news and information in a conversational and engaging tone. TheSkimm has over 7 million subscribers, and the newsletter generates revenue through affiliate partnerships and sponsored content. TheSkimm’s email marketing campaigns focus on growing its subscriber base and engaging its audience.

What worked: TheSkimm’s email marketing campaigns are highly personalized and targeted, and the newsletter content is designed to resonate with its audience. With their huge number of subscribers, you knowTheSkimm has tons of data to optimize every part of their email campaigns.

Promotional Email From Charity: Water

The last successful email marketing campaign example is of a nonprofit organization. Charity: Water uses email marketing to promote its campaigns and drive donations. Charity: Water’s email marketing campaigns are focused on storytelling and emotional appeals, and the organization uses personalized emails to connect with its audience and build relationships.

What worked: Charity: Water’s email marketing campaigns are highly emotional and engaging, and the organization uses storytelling to create a personal connection with its audience.  The organization’s focus on transparency and accountability also helps to build trust with its audience and encourage donations.

See More Examples: 10 Brilliant Email Marketing Examples and Why We Love Them

FAQs

Why Are My Emails Going to Spam (TL;DR):

If your marketing emails keep landing in the spam folder, it’s usually because of one (or several) deliverability issues. The most common causes include low engagement rates, poor sender reputation, spam trigger words, misleading subject lines, or incomplete authentication (missing SPF, DKIM, or DMARC). You may also be sending to unverified or inactive subscribers, using bought email lists, or failing to follow CAN-SPAM and GDPR compliance rules.

“Why are my emails going to spam?” Do you often find yourself asking this question? Well, you’re not alone.

Getting marked as spam can quietly destroy your email ROI even when you’re doing “everything right.”

In this guide we’ll walk through the 15 most common reasons why emails go to spam (based on real data and campaigns), and show you exactly how to fix them.

Video Tips for Avoiding Spam Filters

If you prefer written instructions with more details, then please continue reading.

Understanding Spam Filters

Spam filters are software programs that scan incoming emails for unsolicited or dangerous emails and classify them as either spam or legitimate. There are different types of spam filters, but they all have a common goal, to protect users from unwanted and potentially harmful emails.

Spam filters use various criteria to determine whether an email is spam. These criteria may include the following but are not limited to:

• sender’s reputation
• email content
• presence of attachments
• email’s format
• recipient’s behavior

If an email meets the spam filter’s criteria, it’s classified as spam and sent to the recipient’s spam folder.

 “Mailbox providers like Gmail use hundreds of signals to determine whether an email is spam — including user behavior, domain reputation, and authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.”
— Litmus, Email Deliverability Basics

First, let’s start with all the reasons why emails go to spam in the first place. Then, we’ll dive headfirst into some actionable solutions to get your emails back in your subscribers’ inbox where they belong.

Why Are My Emails Going to Spam

Let’s take a detailed look into the 15 reasons why your emails aren’t getting past the spam filters and are going to the spam folder.

1. You Aren’t Targeting the Right Audience

Low engagement from the wrong subscribers signals spam filters. Target only your ideal audience.

Why is this a problem?

When your emails are inaccurately marked as spam, it could be because you have low engagement rates. One of the tell-tale causes of low engagement rates is having the wrong audience on your email list in the first place.

Every marketer tries to grow their email list as large as possible. And considering the importance of email marketing, they should improve their email list as much as possible.

But rather than simply getting more subscribers, marketers must focus on getting the right subscribers. How can they do that?

Here’s the solution:

By using targeted optin campaigns with OptinMonster:

OptinMonster allows you to create optin campaigns that target exactly the audience you’re looking for. Because we offer many different targeting options, you don’t need to cast out a net to get leads blindly.

Instead, you can set up various display settings and triggers to make sure you’re only adding people who fit your buyer persona.

As a result, your engagement rates will rise, and your emails will be sorted to the right place.

2. You Don’t Have Permission to Email Subscribers

Emailing people without consent often leads to complaints — a fast track to the spam folder.

Why is this a problem?

The #1 rule of email marketing is to get permission to email first. Along the same lines, you should never buy a list of email addresses. When you email people who didn’t choose to subscribe to your list, a lot of them will flag your messages as spam. This will signal to email servers that you’re not a reputable sender, and they’ll likely start filtering your emails directly into spam boxes.

Plus, many countries legally require you to attain explicit permission before sending marketing emails. For example, in the European Union, you must make sure you maintain GDPR compliance in your email marketing.

Here’s the solution:

To get permission, you’ll need an opt-in form on your site that clearly indicates that visitors are subscribing to your email list.

Here’s an example of OptinMonster’s sidebar optin form:

When a user fills out this optin form, it’s crystal clear they’ll be joining OptinMonster’s email list.

Another way that marketers harm their email campaigns is by manually adding emails that they get from business cards collected at a conference or from social media.

Let’s be clear on this: Don’t do that.

While you may think they would appreciate your newsletter, sending emails to them violates the CAN-SPAM Act because they did not give you permission.

Instead, you should send those leads personalized emails rather than templated newsletters. Follow up with a separate drip campaign, personal email, or autoresponder series designed just for those leads and give them a chance to optin to your newsletter.

3. Your IP Address Is or Has Been Used for Spam

Shared IPs with bad senders can hurt your reputation. Use trusted email platforms.

Why is this a problem?

Even if you never send spam yourself, your emails could get flagged if your IP address was used for spam in the past.

If you send your campaigns through an email marketing service, your email is delivered through their servers. So if even one other customer sends spam, it could also affect your deliverability.

Here’s the solution:

Only use that every email marketing service which is vigilant about keeping their reputation intact. They have strict procedures and regulations to prevent this type of thing.

You should be fine if you stick to a reputable ESP (email service provider). And while we can’t verify every ESP in this post, we recommend Constant Contact, Drip, and Brevo (Sendinblue).

We know for a fact that these three providers take email deliverability seriously. Thus, they don’t let spam connect to their server’s IP address.

4. You Have Low Engagement Rates

Low open or click rates tell inbox providers your emails aren’t wanted. Keep lists fresh and content relevant.

Why is this a problem?

We already discussed the importance of getting high engagement rates.

Top webmail providers have stated that they look at how many emails are opened and how many are deleted as a factor in spam filtering decisions.

So if you have low open or read rates, your emails are at higher risk of being flagged as spam. You need to do everything you can to increase engagement.

Here’s the solution:

Other than targeting the right audience from the start, you can send your emails at the right time, perfect your subject lines, segment your list, and keep your list fresh by scrubbing it regularly.

For more detailed tips on how to increase your open rates, read our post on ten easy ways to improve your email open rate.

5. Your Subscribers Don’t Remember You

If subscribers don’t recognize you, they might mark your emails as spam. Stay consistent and branded.

Why is this a problem?

The second most common reason emails never reach the inbox is spam complaints.

Every time a subscriber reports an email as spam, the mailbox provider records the complaint regardless of whether or not the email was spam.

Once the complaints exceed a certain threshold, all future campaigns skip the inbox and get sent directly to the spam folder.

So why would a subscriber flag your email as spam if it isn’t?

Well, the most likely reason is that they don’t remember you. Even though they gave you permission to email them, they don’t remember doing it, so they think you’re sending them spam.

Here’s the solution:

To prevent this from happening, make sure that the branding in your emails is memorable and matches the branding on your website. This includes any images, colors, typography, and voice. Also, make sure the sender’s name is one they’ll recognize.

It also helps to personalize your email copy to the person you’re sending it to. Here’s an example from an OptinMonster email that includes:

• Our company’s name where the recipient can see who the sender is
• Consistent branding with our website
• Personalized introduction by first name

Even if subscribers forgot they signed up with OptinMonster, we use these small cues to remind them that we’ve started the relationship.

6. You Have Low Mailbox Usage

Inactive or abandoned email accounts drag down deliverability. Clean your list regularly.

Why is this a problem?

In their spam filtering algorithms, email service providers look at the ratio of active to inactive email accounts on your list. An inactive email account is an account that hasn’t been used for a long time or is rarely used.

If you’re mailing a campaign to a large number of email addresses that appear to be inactive, that’s a red flag to spam filters.

Here’s the solution:

To prevent this, clean up your email list periodically of any subscribers who haven’t engaged with your campaigns in a while.

You can do that by sending a win-back email to increase engagement. This is a way of giving your audience one last chance to start engaging with their company before you remove them from your email list. Here’s a good example:

Notice the email copy is direct and addresses the situation head-on. Then, the call to action (Yes, Keep ‘Em Coming) encourages users to reengage.

Depending on your email service provider, you can do this automatically. Some providers include a feature to purge any emails from your list that look inactive automatically.

7. Your Subject Line is Misleading

Deceptive subject lines create distrust and can violate email laws. Be clear, honest, and on-brand.

Why is this a problem?

As the CAN-SPAM act states, it’s against the law to intentionally mislead someone with your subject line to induce them to view the email message.

In a survey conducted by Litmus and Fluent, over 50% of participants stated that they’ve felt cheated, tricked, or deceived into opening a promotional email by a false subject line:

Here are some examples of misleading subject lines:

• Did I leave my jacket at your place? This type of subject line can be used as a trick to make it look like they know you.
• RE: CURRENTLY IN OFFICE is doubly sneaky because it can be mistaken for a reply to your email or a work-related email.
• Urgent – Update your information. If something says “urgent,” it had better be urgent.
• Thanks for your order! It’s super poor form to use a transactional subject line if the email isn’t actually transactional.

We know what you’re thinking. “Why would anybody do something like this? These are some super shady tricks.”

You’re so right. But there are also some gray areas you should avoid, too. Here’s one that recently came to our attention by Russel Brunson:

Now, don’t get us wrong. We’re big fans of Russel and the work he does with ClickFunnels. But this subject line seems conveniently misleading.

It says, bad news… I messed up and does a fantastic job building curiosity. The problem?

It’s clearly a sales tactic to create a sense of urgency. The idea is that there’s a big sale that you didn’t hear about because Russell “messed up.”

The reader is left feeling like they got a better deal from the error, and the subject entices them to open the message.

Here’s the solution:

This is a grey area tactic you should avoid. Instead, find a better way of creating strong subject lines that aren’t misleading and are 100% honest. Remember, Russel can afford to take that risk. He’s got millions of dollars in savings and a thriving company that could take a hit.

If you don’t have the same security, playing with email subject lines isn’t worth the risk.

8. Your “From” Information Is Inaccurate

Spam filters flag vague or misleading sender names. Use a recognizable and trustworthy sender identity.

Why is this a problem?

It’s also against the CAN-SPAM ACT to mislead anyone with your “from,” “to,” “reply-to,” and routing information.

For example, if you made your email look like it’s from the President, that would be illegal. It’s an extreme example, but you get the point.

Here’s a real-life example from a popular scam during the COVID-19 pandemic:

This email is falsely credited to the UK government. Shady practices like this are illegal and should be avoided at all costs.

Here’s the solution:

As a best practice, make sure you include a name in the “from” field that your subscribers are likely to remember and don’t change it too often. It could be the name of an individual, your company name, or a combination of the two.

Like we showed earlier, we send emails with a personal name from our General Manager and OptinMonster’s brand name:

Whichever you choose for your brand, shoot for memorability and consistency.

9. You Don’t Include Your Physical Address

Missing a business address violates regulations and triggers red flags. Add one to your email footer.

Why is this a problem?

Missing a physical mailing address in your emails can raise red flags for your subscribers’ email providers. This can result in your emails being blocked or flagged as spam, leading to bounced emails and complaints.

Here’s the solution:

You legally must include your physical address. That can be your current street address, a post office box registered with the U.S. Postal Service, or a private mailbox registered with a commercial mail-receiving agency established under Postal Service regulations.

Generally, you include your physical address in the footer of your email.

If you don’t have a business address because you work from home?

You should definitely get a PO box for business purposes so you don’t have to broadcast your home address.

10. You’re Not Adding an Unsubscribe Button

Making it hard to opt out leads to spam complaints and legal risk. Include an easy-to-find unsubscribe link.

Why is this a problem?

No matter how valuable you think your email campaigns are, you still need to give your subscribers a way out. If you don’t, you could get spam complaints at best or be slapped with thousands of dollars in fines at worst.

When you email subscribers and don’t include a link to opt out, you risk violating the CAN-SPAM Act and may be subject to penalties of up to $16,000. Oh, and that’s $16,000 per email.

That means if you’ve been sending an automated email series to people who haven’t permitted you, you’re looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

Here’s the solution:

At the bottom of your emails, include an unsubscribe link or a similar opt-out feature.

To make sure recipients don’t report you as spam, you’ll want to make your unsubscribe link easily accessible. That way, they’ll simply opt out of your list instead of flagging you as spam:

Notice how “easily accessible” doesn’t mean you’re encouraging readers to unsubscribe. Most email recipients are trained to look for the Unsubscribe button at the bottom of your email. So make sure it’s there, but don’t draw unnecessary attention to it.

Bonus Tip: Many people unsubscribe because they simply get too many emails. Alongside your “Unsubscribe” link, consider adding a “Manage Preferences” link that allows subscribers to choose their email frequency. For instance, you could offer an option to receive only one email a week.

11. You’re Using Spam Trigger Words

Certain words can trip spam filters instantly. Avoid common red flags like “Free” or “Act Now.”

Why is this a problem?

Specific words in the subject line or the email’s body trigger spam filters. Some spam trigger words are:

• Amazing
• Cancel at any time
• Check or money order
• Click here
• Congratulations
• Dear friend
• For only ($)
• Free or toll-free
• Great offer
• Guarantee
• Increase sales
• Order now
• Promise you
• Risk-free
• Special promotion
• This is not spam
• Winner

Your email provider may have a built-in tool that checks your emails for spam trigger words before sending them.

Keep in mind that the above trigger words are common examples. They may not be specific to your email service provider, however.

Here’s the solution:

Contact your provider directly to see if certain words trigger spam flags. Make a list of words to avoid in your subject line while crafting your email copy.

Some senders hide trigger words in images, as most spam filters do not process images. This tactic can lead to legitimate emails being marked as spam if they follow a similar pattern.

Avoid embedding important information or call-to-action phrases solely within images.

12. Your HTML Emails Don’t Follow Best Practices

Bloated or sloppy HTML can confuse filters. Keep your design clean and mobile-friendly.

Why is this a problem?

If you’re sending text-only emails, you don’t have to worry about this. Text-only emails are the kinds that you typically send to friends and family. Here’s an example of a text-based email:

However, send HTML emails from your business. That way, you can include some branding elements that make your emails more memorable and helps with engagement.

You can include your brand name at the top:

As well as a compelling call to action button at the bottom:

We’ve tested plain text versus branded emails with our email list and found that the branded emails get higher engagement.

It’s definitely a good thing to try with your own list.

However, you need to follow some best practices for sending HTML emails so they don’t get marked as spam:

• Use a maximum width of 600-800 pixels
• Keep your HTML code as clean and straightforward as possible
• Keep your image-to-text ratio low
• Optimize your images
• Don’t use obscure fonts
• Optimize for mobile

To give you an example, here is one of the branded HTML emails that our subscribers love:

See how simple it is? We include our logo at the top for brand recognition, but most email is text.

We also use a simple visual cue, the gray box at the bottom, to highlight the “You are receiving this email because…” area.

This makes the email scannable and reminds subscribers about the benefits of being on our email list.

Alright, so all of this information has been awesome. And now you know why your emails are going to spam instead of to your subscribers’ inboxes as they should.

But let’s turn our attention to seven ways to be proactive and ensure you’re getting higher engagement rates.

13. Your Email Isn’t Properly Authenticated

Without SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, inboxes can’t trust you. Set up authentication properly.

Why is this a problem?

Lack of proper authentication is a common reason why your marketing emails end up in the spam folder. It also makes it easier for spammers and phishers to use your brand to send deceptive emails, including malware or attempts to fraud.

Here’s the solution:

By implementing smart email authentication standards, you can protect your domain and help email clients distinguish between legitimate emails and spam.

To troubleshoot spam issues, start by ensuring you have set up SPF (Sender Policy Framework) correctly. SPF establishes a list of approved sending IPs for your domain.

Additionally, make sure your emails are signed using DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), a security standard that verifies message integrity.

Lastly, correctly configuring DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) can prevent phishing attempts and scammers from using your domain, safeguarding your domain reputation and deliverability.

14. Your Email Attachments Trigger Spam Filter

Attachments can signal malware risk. Link to downloads instead of sending files directly.

Why is this a problem?

Including attachments in your emails can sometimes trigger spam filters, especially if the attachments are of types commonly used to spread malware (like .exe files).

Here’s the solution:

Be cautious when sending attachments, especially to new subscribers or recipients. Instead of attachments, consider providing links to download files from a trusted source or cloud storage.

15. You’re Sending Emails Inconsistently

Inconsistent send patterns look suspicious. Establish a steady rhythm to build sender trust.

Why is this a problem?

If you send emails at irregular volumes, especially if there’s a sudden spike, it can trigger spam filters.

Here’s the solution:

Try to maintain a consistent email-sending frequency. Avoid sudden spikes in email volume, which can be seen as spammy behavior.

Spam Risk Comparison Table

Here’s a quick-reference matrix ranking the spam risk for each reason and how to fix it.

How Do I Stop My Emails From Going to Spam

Now that you know the theory behind email deliverability issues and the 15 reasons why inbox identifies your message as spam email, you’re ready to take action. Follow our seven tips to get into your customer’s inbox.

1. Use OptinMonster’s Lead Verification System, TruLead®

A major benefit of using OptinMonster to grow your list is that you can use their original lead verification algorithm, TruLead®.

TruLead® lets you verify your users’ email addresses to make sure that only the highest quality leads are making it to your list.

With their lead verification system, you can block email submissions with:

• Specific IP addresses
• Special characters, strings of characters, or patterns
• Free email accounts (like Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail)
• Role-based emails (help@, info@, support@, and so on)
• And much more

Verifying your leads with TruLead® saves you tons of money in the long run. That’s because most email service providers charge by the number of contacts on your list.

If half of your list is made from spam submissions, then you’re paying extra money for worthless leads.

Plus, TruLead® helps you earn more money over time. That’s because all your email campaigns will go to the right people, so you can expect to generate higher conversions.

Finally, deliverability rates will increase because more people engage with your email campaigns. Higher open and click-through rates will ensure that your emails go directly to your customers’ primary inbox where they belong.

In the end, OptinMonster is the best tool for making sure that your emails don’t end up in your user’s spam folder.

Want to see OptinMonster and TruLead® in action? Sign up for your risk-free OptinMonster account today!

Then you can sign up for TruLead® for 30 days, totally free. This lets you try out the lead verification system at zero risk.

2. Target the Right Customers From the Start

We’ve already touched on this at the start of the post. But it’s the best way to make sure you don’t get your email campaigns flagged as spam.

You need to use OptinMonster to target the right audience to your email list. Fortunately, we make that ridiculously simple. You have SO many options for targeting your ideal buyer persona, including:

• Referrer Detection
• Geo-Location Targeting
• Page-Level Targeting
• Cookie Retargeting

And more.

But then we also have a list of triggers that help you identify the right subscribers by their interactions with your site.

For example, you could show your optin campaigns after a user has scrolled a certain length of your blog content. Or you could trigger campaigns based on which social media platform your user is coming from.

With OptinMonster, you can make sure that you’re only adding subscribers to your list who are genuinely interested in your content, products, or services. That will reduce the chance of your emails getting marked as spam and increase engagement rates.

3. Use Double Optins From the Start

Another way you can use OptinMonster to prevent your emails from going to spam is to use our double optin feature.

A double optin asks your users to confirm that they would like to be added to your email list after they optin. It looks something like this:

This helps because sometimes you can get false subscribers by spambots. When that happens, you can expect your open rates to plummet.

By using OptinMosnter’s double optin feature, you can make sure the people on your email list are only those who genuinely want more of your content, products, or services.

4. Use WP Mail SMTP

Many of our clients choose not to use an email service provider. Instead, they send their email campaigns directly through WordPress. If you’re in a similar boat, then you need to use WP Mail SMTP:

Over 1,000,000 websites have used WP Mail SMTP to make sure email campaigns go to the right place and are not marked as spam.

It’s also easy to configure. The WP Mail SMTP team will set everything up for you, saving you hours of headaches. Then, you simply need to craft the right email copy and hit send.

Wp Mail SMTP will make sure your emails are appropriately authenticated and sent via trusted 3rd parties. This will guarantee your email campaigns aren’t incorrectly labeled as spam.

5. Tell Subscribers to Whitelist Your Emails

When you send welcome emails to your new subscribers, tell them to whitelist your emails. This is basically asking your subscribers to tell their email client you aren’t spam.

Not sure how to set that up? Check out this resource on how to whitelist an email address with Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo.

This is a simple action that helps in a couple of ways.

For starters, subscribers can be sure they’ll keep receiving the emails they signed up for. Also, having more people whitelist your emails will increase your sender reputation, and your inbox delivery rates will be higher overall.

Again, you’ll want to do this in your welcome email. Your readers are still excited about the content they just signed up for, and your brand is fresh on their minds.

This is the perfect time to ask them to whitelist your future content.

6. Tell Gmail Users to Drag Emails from Other Tabs to Primary Inbox

Even if your email didn’t go to spam, Gmail users might still have trouble finding your emails because they have been filtered into other tabs like Social or Promotions.

We classify these as spam because, let’s face it, people rarely look in these folders either.

To prevent this, simply ask your subscribers to drag your emails from their Promotion folder to the Primary folder.

Here’s what that looks like from an email we got from MemberPress:

Now, your Gmail subscribers will always receive your emails in their primary inbox.

7. Teach Subscribers How to Keep Your Emails Organized

Your emails are important to your subscribers, but they also get a lot of other emails. Help them find your emails easily by teaching them how to organize them into a special folder.

Also, remember that engagement significantly affects your inbox placement rates. Helping your subscribers keep track of all your future emails will help keep your emails out of spam for good.

Give your subscribers these instructions to help them organize emails from you:

How to Organize Emails

1. Create a special folder where you can archive emails after you have read them.
2. Don’t set up filters to automatically direct emails into these folders, or you may miss something.
3. After you’ve finished reading an email, manually move it to the folder.

You would be surprised how many of your readers would gladly set up this special folder for your future emails. One of the biggest reasons many people don’t organize their inboxes this way is that many companies fail to ask.

Now that you have seven ways to prevent your emails from going to spam, we’ll look at a few more resources to help you stay in your readers’ inbox.

We’re talking, of course, about running your emails through spam filters before hitting Send.

Spam Filter Testing and Spam Checkers

Still worried that your emails might go to spam? If you follow all of the above tips, and you’re still having a problem with your emails getting sent to spam, here are some spam checkers that you can use to test your emails for issues.

1. Litmus

Litmus is a suite of email optimization tools that includes a spam checker. Here’s how it helps you keep emails going to spam:

• Scans your emails by all the major spam filters before sending to make sure that they pass
• Checks your reputation by looking at your IP addresses and any domain names used in your email and checking them against known blacklists
• Verifies that your email authentication, such as DKIM, DomainKeys, SenderID, and Sender Policy Framework, is set up correctly
• Gives you a spam score, which advises you on why you got that score and how to improve it

2. Mail-Tester

Mail-Tester is a free spam-checking tool that gives you an easy-to-understand score out of 10 on a scale of spamminess.

You’ll have to check each email manually, but it checks to see if you’re blacklisted, DKIM, and the quality of your email message, as well as doing a SpamAssassin check.

3. IsNotSpam.com

IsNotSpam is a free spam checker that you can try if you don’t have the budget for Litmus.

You’ll have to check each mail manually, and it doesn’t have a comprehensive testing capability. Still, it will check your Sender Policy Framework, SenderID, and DKIM to make sure they’re set up properly, and it will do a SpamAssassin check to score your email content.

We hope that this guide helped you answer 2 key questions:

• Why are my emails going to spam?
• How to Stop Emails Going to Spam?

While numerous factors can land your emails in the dreaded spam folder, having a robust tool like OptinMonster can be a game-changer.

As the article highlights, OptinMonster is not just about creating captivating opt-in forms; it’s a comprehensive platform designed to enhance your email deliverability.

With features like targeted opt-in campaigns, lead verification, and double opt-in functionalities, OptinMonster ensures that your emails are sent to genuinely interested subscribers, reducing the chances of being flagged as spam.

Moreover, its analytics can provide insights into subscriber behavior, helping you refine your email strategy for optimal engagement.

So, if you’re looking to elevate your email marketing game and ensure your messages land right where they should, OptinMonster is the tool you’ve been searching for.

Don’t let your efforts go unnoticed; choose OptinMonster and make every email count!

FAQs

At OptinMonster, we help over 1.2 million websites grow their email lists, and one question keeps coming up from our users: “When is the best time to send my emails?”

We’ve seen it across industries, from eCommerce brands running flash sales to SaaS companies announcing feature rollouts. The timing of an email can make or break engagement.

Spoiler: There’s no one-size-fits-all. But the data is clear, certain days and times consistently outperform, and we’ll help you understand how to apply those patterns to your audience.

Quick Reference Chart

When Is the Best Time To Send an Email

Most emails perform best on weekdays between 9 AM and 11 AM, with additional engagement peaks in the afternoon and early evening.

According to research, the best time to send an email is between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Additional engagement peaks can occur in the early afternoon (1–2 p.m.) and evening (5–6 p.m.).

For B2B emails, sending during work hours (especially mid-morning) yields better results. In contrast, B2C marketers can experiment with emails during weekends or evening hours because that’s when individual consumers are home and able to check personal emails with more focus.

Studies on the Best Time To Send Email

We scoured the web and compiled open rate data from the most authoritative research studies before confirming that Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9am and 11am are the best times to send email. But there is nuance to that answer that could be helpful for your unique business, so we’ve also summarized those studies before so you can make the best decisions for YOUR business.

Here’s what they say:

1. Brevo’s Insights

If you just glance at the chart above, you’d think that you should send all important promotional emails on Wednesdays.

However, Brevo’s full study emphasizes the importance of industry-specific timings.

Different industries vary in terms of the best workdays and times of day, although midweek emails perform best for most industries. Saturdays and Sundays are the worst days among all the industries Brevo included in their study.

Here is an overview of Brevo’s findings:

• Best time to send email by business type:
  • B2B Professional Services: Monday or Tuesday, 8-10 a.m.
  • E-commerce: Tuesday or Thursday at 10 a.m.
  • SaaS (Software as a Service): Tuesday or Thursday, 2-3 p.m.
  • NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations): Tuesday or Thursday, 3-4 p.m.
  • Marketing Services: Wednesday at 4 p.m.
  • Offline Retail or Hospitality: Thursday, 8-10 a.m.
• Recommendation: Understand the nature of your business and the daily routines of your target audience. This will help you optimize the send times for better engagement.

2. GetResponse’s Research

GetResponse’s data suggests that while there are peak times for engagement, it’s essential to consider the nature of the email.

For instance, many people check their email on their phones as soon as they wake up or at their desks when they first get to work.

• Best time to send an email: One email in the early morning (4-6 a.m.) and a second email later in the afternoon (5-7 p.m.).
• Recommendation: Monitor your metrics and adjust your strategies based on results. Testing different days and times can help in optimizing email campaigns.

3. Omnisend’s Study

Omnisend’s research highlights an important point: The best time to send an email varies depending on your primary goal for that campaign.

Omnisend’s data charts are divided based on the goal: open rate, click-through rate (CTR), and sales conversion rate.

For instance, the chart above shows users are most likely to make purchases through your emails on Fridays. The best days for CTR are Friday and Sunday, while open rates are best on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

This study goes beyond comparing different weekdays. They also have data on each day of the month. Open rates and CTR go up and down throughout the month. Sales conversions, however, are definitely highest on the first day of the month

While there are general patterns, Omnisend also points out that individual behaviors can be quite unique. That’s why it’s so important to understand your target audience. The study also emphasizes the significance of combining emails with other channels, like SMS, for better engagement.

• Best time to send email:
  • Highest open rates: Tuesdays
  • Best for conversions: Fridays
  • Day of the month: You may also see better sales through emails sent on the first day of the month.
  • Best time of day: 8 a.m., 2 p.m., or 5 p.m.
• Recommendation: Determine the primary goal of each email campaign, and that will help you decide the best day to send it. Also, while general trends provide a starting point, always be ready to adapt based on your audience’s behavior. Multi-channel strategies can also enhance engagement.

4. HubSpot’s Analysis

HubSpot surveyed over 150 marketers in their email timing study. Their data underscores the importance of understanding the difference between B2B and B2C audiences. 

The bar graph above shows that 31% of the marketers surveyed get the best engagement on marketing emails sent between 9:01 a.m. and 12 p.m. EST. B2B businesses prefer the same time span but at a much higher rate of 47.9%.

So while 9:01 a.m. to 12 p.m. is the best time for both B2C and B2B, B2C marketers have more flexibility. Also, Monday emails are an exception: the best time for those is 6:01 a.m. to 9 a.m. EST.

• Best time to send email: Tuesdays between 9:01 a.m. and 12 p.m. EST. Emails sent after 6 p.m. get by far the lowest engagement, so late evening and night are the worst times.
• Recommendation: Segment your audience, and tailor your send times based on user behavior and demographics. This can lead to better engagement rates.

5. Salesforce’s Research

This Salesforce data from 2021 is a little older than the other studies on our list. However, it still provides insights you can learn from. Specifically, Salesforce emphasizes the dynamic nature of optimal send times.

Their system, built with Spark, scales for customers with varying data volumes and uses an assembly model structure to provide optimal recommendations.

• Best time to send email: 8-10 a.m. in the recipient’s local time zone is the best time to send emails.
• Recommendation: Consider the recipient’s behavior, timezone, and other factors. Personalization is key, and automated systems can help in determining the best send times.

6. Moosend’s Analysis

Moosend emphasizes the importance of metrics like email open rate, click-through rate, and conversion rate.

Their study also highlights the significance of refining subject lines and leveraging email marketing automation.

• Best time to send email: Thursdays have the highest open rate, followed by Tuesdays as the second-best day. 8-9 a.m. see higher open rates.
• Recommendation: While timing is crucial, other elements like content quality, email subject lines, and personalization play a significant role in the success of email campaigns.

While each study provides valuable insights, the overarching theme is clear: understanding your audience’s behavior is crucial.

Best Time to Send Emails by Campaign Type

Not all emails are created equal and neither is their timing. Based on aggregated insights from MailerLite, GetResponse, and our own analysis, here’s when to send different types of emails for maximum impact:

Newsletters

Best Time:

• Monday or Tuesday at 4–6 PM
  Why:
  Your audience is settling into the week and more likely to engage with informative, content-rich emails. Monday consistently shows strong open rates (MailerLite reports 53.4% average at 4 PM).

Works best for: Creators, educators, SaaS content marketing.

Promotions or Sales Offers

Best Time:

• Thursday or Friday at 6–7 PM
  Why:
  Subscribers are winding down for the weekend, ready to shop or explore deals. Engagement peaks late on Fridays (52.7% open rate at 6 PM, per MailerLite).

Works best for: E-commerce, product launches, seasonal campaigns.

Surveys & Feedback Requests

Best Time:

• Sunday at 9 AM or Wednesday at 4 PM
  Why:
  Surveys do better when subscribers aren’t distracted. Sunday mornings (Mailerlite: 49.6% open rate) and mid-week afternoons strike the right balance between attention and low competition in the inbox.

Works best for: SaaS, education, NPS follow-ups, event feedback.

Abandoned Cart / Reminder Emails

Best Time:

• Within 1 hour of initial trigger or at 10 AM next business day
  Why:
  For behavior-triggered emails, recency is king. But if you’re batching these, mid-morning tends to outperform early or late-day sends (as confirmed by multiple studies including Moosend and Omnisend).

Works best for: Retail, digital products, webinar no-shows.

Transactional / Product Updates

Best Time:

• Any weekday at 8–10 AM, based on user time zone
  Why:
  These emails are expected and functional. Send them when users are checking their inboxes with the intent to act.

Works best for: Order confirmations, app feature releases, usage reports.

Internal Company or B2B Emails

Best Time:

• Tuesday or Wednesday at 10 AM–12 PM
  Why:
  This is peak productivity window for many professionals, especially in B2B. HubSpot’s data backs this up with 47.9% of B2B marketers seeing best results mid-morning.

Works best for: Whitepapers, partnership outreach, investor updates.

Pro Tip: Use your email platform’s segmenting and smart send features to time each email type differently—don’t treat your list as one-size-fits-all.

Smart Scheduling Tools: How to Send Emails at the Right Time

Timing your emails manually is fine. But in 2026, AI-powered send-time optimization tools are changing the game. These tools analyze subscriber behavior to automatically deliver emails when each person is most likely to engage.

Here’s how the top platforms compare and how OptinMonster fits into the mix:

MailerLite: Smart Sending

What it does:
MailerLite analyzes historical open/click data for each subscriber and sends emails in staggered batches, timing delivery based on when each person usually engages.

Use case:
Great for creators and SMBs who want better engagement without guessing send times.

See how it works →

GetResponse: Perfect Timing AI

What it does:
GetResponse’s AI-based delivery prediction feature studies user behavior across time zones and content types. It uses that data to predict the optimal send moment for maximum opens and clicks.

Use case:
Ideal for mid-size to enterprise campaigns needing dynamic delivery windows across global lists.

More on Perfect Timing →

Brevo (Sendinblue): Send Time Optimization

What it does:
Brevo’s algorithm automatically selects the best hour and minute to send each email for every contact, based on engagement history. No rules or segments needed.

Use case:
Best for businesses with international audiences or time-zone-spanning newsletters.

See Brevo’s feature →

OptinMonster: Timing Meets Targeting

While OptinMonster isn’t an email platform itself, it plays a critical role in feeding smarter send-time systems. Here’s how:

• Behavior-based popups: Trigger opt-ins when visitors are most engaged—capturing active subscribers who will respond better to future sends.
• Lead tagging + integrations: Pass real-time lead activity and signup timestamps to your ESP (MailerLite, GetResponse, Brevo, etc.) so that Smart Sending tools get smarter.
• Geo-targeting and Time-Zone Logic: Use location-based campaigns to capture contextual data—which can be used by ESPs to optimize future delivery windows.

Pro Tip: Use OptinMonster’s lead tags + webhook integrations to sync user behavior directly to your email platform’s smart scheduling engine.

Want help building your first smart-timed campaign? Explore OptinMonster integrations with top email platforms.

How to Find Your Best Time to Send Emails

While industry studies can point you in the right direction, the most effective send time is the one that works for your audience. That’s why testing is essential.

Here’s a proven, step-by-step methodology we recommend at OptinMonster considering you’re using an email marketing platform with A/B testing or smart scheduling capabilities:

Step 1: Segment Your List

Start with basic segments like:

• B2B vs B2C
• Time zone
• Past engagement (high vs low openers)

Segmenting helps ensure your test results are actionable and not diluted across vastly different behaviors.

Step 2: Choose Your Variables

Focus on one timing variable per test:

• Morning vs afternoon
• Tuesday vs Thursday
• Send immediately vs Smart Sending

Don’t test time + subject line + content in the same split—you won’t know what caused the change.

Step 3: Set Up an A/B Test

Most platforms let you send the same email at two different times to a portion of your list (e.g. 20% of recipients). The winning version is then sent to the remaining 80%.

Example Test:

• Version A: Sent Tuesday at 10 AM
• Version B: Sent Thursday at 4 PM
• Winning metric: Click-through rate

Step 4: Use Auto-Resend for Non-Openers

Many subscribers will miss your first send. Use auto-resend features to follow up:

• 24–48 hours later
• New subject line or slight tweak
• Same core message, timed when they might be more available

Step 5: Layer in Behavior-Based Triggers

After timing, the next best optimization is contextual relevance. Use:

• Link triggers (send follow-up emails when a subscriber clicks a certain link)
• Browse abandonment or time-on-page logic from OptinMonster to sync email triggers with real-time behavior

Step 6: Track & Adapt

Use your email platform’s analytics to track:

• Open rates by time/day
• Clicks by campaign type
• Conversions from follow-up sends

After 2–3 rounds of tests, you’ll have your personal timing blueprint.

Expert Tip: Integrate OptinMonster with your ESP (like MailerLite or GetResponse) to pass real-time signup and engagement data, which improves send-time predictions over time.

FAQs

As promised, here are even more resources to help you improve your email open rates and click through rates.

• What is a Good Open Rate (and how to measure yours)?
• What is a Good Click Through Rate?
• How to Create an Effective Email Autoresponder Series
• Small Business Email Marketing: 7 (Easy) Tips for Growth
• 13 Benefits of Email Marketing: Why (and How) to Grow Your List

What are the best times to send emails times for you? Let us know in the comments below.

TLDR

Best places to add signup forms on your website are:

Splash Page – Make signup the homepage focus
Welcome Gate – Full-screen popup on entry
Floating Bar – Persistent top/bottom bar
Above the Fold – Visible without scrolling
Blog Posts – At end or middle of content
Sidebar – Traditional widget placement
Timed Lightbox Popup – After time spent on site
Slide-In Scroll Box – Appears while scrolling
Footer – Bottom of every page
About Page – One of most-visited pages
Sign Up Landing Page – Dedicated conversion page
Exit-Intent Popup – When users attempt to leave

Key Best Practices: Keep forms short (minimum fields only), ask only for necessary information, use affirmative consent, segment subscribers, A/B test messaging, and track conversions.

Do you need help finding the best places to add signup forms on your website for optimum conversions?

Your email signup forms play a crucial role in growing your email list. And email is an important digital marketing strategy you should pay attention to.

But just as important as the form’s design or message is the location. It can be tricker to decide where to add signup forms forms on your website.

In this post, we’ll tap all that experience to share 12 of the highest-converting places to put your online signup forms.

What Is a Signup Form on Your Website?

A signup form, also known as a registration or subscription form, is a web form that collects information from website visitors. The information is typically used to create an account, subscribe to a newsletter, or sign up for a service.

The form usually contains fields for visitors to input their personal information, such as their name, email address, and password, and may include additional fields depending on the form’s purpose.

Signup forms are critical for website owners who want to build an email list and engage with visitors, convert them into customers, or provide targeted content.

A well-designed signup form can help increase website conversions, enhance the user experience, and ultimately drive business growth.

Let’s dive straight into our list of where to put signup forms on your website.

Best Places to Add Signup Forms on Your Website

1. Splash Page

Do you use a splash page to highlight your signup form? If not, it’s time to jump on the bandwagon. Many smart marketers are now using splash pages to make their optin the first thing visitors see when they land on their homepage.

An excellent way to structure your splash page is to move the main navigation from the top of the page to the bottom of the page. Then, devote everything on your page to displaying your email signup form, along with an enticing incentive.

This ensures that your email signup is the main focus of the page. If visitors want to see other parts of your website, they can still do so via the links at the bottom of your splash page.

This is a great marketing strategy for bloggers who don’t have products to sell but still need to grow their email list.

Tim Ferris uses the headline “Start Here” to clarify that signing up for his email list is the first step visitors should take. The email signup form is the clear focus of the page, but users can still browse the site with the navigation buttons at the bottom.

How To Add an Email Signup Splash Page

The quickest way to add a splash page to your site is by using SeedProd – WordPress’s best landing page builder.

SeedProd has 150+ pre-made templates, so you don’t have to start from scratch. You can choose one that suits your brand and goals and easily customize it with the drag-and-drop builder.

You can use smart sections and blocks to create unique pages. SeedProd has many elements, like countdown timers, optin forms, giveaways, animated headlines, and more.

And when your design is ready, you can integrate the page with your email provider to grow your email list and send automated campaigns to subscribers.

This is one of the best methods for boosting newsletter subscriptions for your website.

Learn more: What Is a Splash Page & How To Create One (With Examples)

2. Welcome Gate

A welcome gate is similar to a splash page, except it’s a full-screen popup, rather than an actual webpage. It obscures the web page’s content as soon as the user visits the page or perhaps a few seconds after. The welcome gate, also called a welcome mat, asks the user to take an action, such as sign up for an email list.

Here’s a quick video on fullscreen optin campaigns:

Many welcome gates have a simple headline and a signup form on a colored or plain background. Sportique, however, used a beautiful photo for their welcome gate background.

They used OptinMonster’s fullscreen campaign option to offer visitors a 10% off coupon in exchange for signing up for their email newsletter. Sportique saw an excellent 4.92% conversion rate on this welcome gate. This strategy, combined with other OptinMonster campaigns, helped Sportique grow their email list by 300%!

How To Add an Email Signup Welcome Gate to Your Site

Setting up a welcome gate takes just 5 minutes with OptinMonster.

When you sign up for an OptinMonster account, you’ll get access to 700+ templates to create all sorts of lead generation campaigns, including welcome mats.

Then you can customize the campaign using OptinMonster’s drag-and-drop builder. You can add custom fields like radio buttons, phone fields, text areas, number fields, lists, and more to your campaign.

You can also choose between tons of targeting rules to control where, when, and to whom your welcome gate appears.

Learn more: How to Create a Welcome Mat Popup to Increase Conversions 

3. Floating Bar

A floating bar is a great way to ensure your email signup call to action (CTA)  stays in clear view. The bar may be located at the top of the page above the header or at the bottom. It stays in view as the visitor scrolls, making it accessible and unobtrusive.

Here is an example of a floating bar from Cosmetic Capital.

They added a countdown timer to their floating bar to create a sense of urgency for visitors. The email signup form is prominent, and the CTA button is a bold color that stands out.

With this one floating bar campaign, Cosmetic Capital captured over 18,000 new leads!

Clearly, floating bars can be an extremely effective way to display your signup forms to your website visitors.

How To Add an Email Signup Floating Bar to Your Site

If you sign up for OptinMonster, you can create stunning floating bars designed to convert.

There are beautiful templates to choose from, including ones for holidays and big marketing days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

You can choose which pages you want your floating bar to display on. You’ll also select whether it appears on the top or bottom of your page.

Learn more: How To Create a Floating Bar Campaign 

4. Above the Fold

Above the fold is a term for website content you see before you scroll. It’s an excellent place to put an email signup form because visitors can see it immediately without having to scroll down your page.

Michael Hyatt featured an image of his free eBook, which you could get when you signed up for his email list. The blue background contrasts nicely with his hero image and is consistent with his page’s overall call-to-action color.

How To Add an Email Signup Form Above-the-Fold

OptinMonster’s floating bar option is your best bet for adding a campaign above the fold. By default, the signup bar appears at the bottom of the screen and is pinned in place.

So as the user scrolls, the bar stays in position. It doesn’t disturb the user’s browsing experience and gives them a chance to sign up anytime while scrolling through the page.

5. Blog Posts

Another excellent place to put an email signup form is at the bottom or in the middle of blog posts.

Why are these forms effective? If a visitor reaches the very bottom of your blog post, they’ve enjoyed your content enough to read the entire post. This is when they’re perfectly primed for opting into your email list.

Chris Lema’s blog post signup form looks like this:

With its dark background, this optin form stands out amid his otherwise light color palette.

But don’t just include an optin form at the bottom of your posts. You can also have opportunities to sign up in the middle of your posts.

Neil Patel includes a variety of calls to action sprinkled throughout his blog post content. This way, even casual readers will likely see one of his optins as they scan his blog content. He also often offers lead magnets, such as the example below:

How To Add an Email Signup Form in Blog Posts

You’ll create an inline form to add a signup form inside a blog post. You can do this with OptinMonster.

Inside the OptinMonster dashboard, select the Inline campaign type and choose a template.

Then you can customize and integrate the design with your favorite email service provider. When your campaign is ready, you have several options for placing your inline signup form exactly where you want it in your post.

For instance, if you have a WordPress site and use the Gutenberg block editor, you can simply drag and drop the OptinMonster block.

Search for the block inside your page builder and select your inline campaign from the dropdown menu.

Learn more: How to Use Inline Optins for Strategic Email List Building

6. Sidebar

If your website design includes a sidebar, then you have the perfect place for an email signup widget. This is another example of placing your signup form in a place where users expect to see it. Then, while they’re enjoying your content, they’ll know exactly where to look when they decide to subscribe.

Here’s an example of a sidebar signup form from OptinMonster’s site:

The text in the signup box says, “Join Over 235,335 Subscribers to get free conversion optimization tips and resources.” This statement both leverages social proof and explains the value of our email newsletter.

Alternatively, you can use MonsterLinks to create a CTA button that triggers a signup form popup.

You could even redirect users to a case study that converts traffic into subscribers. This will help you turn casual website visitors into loyal and paying customers.

How To Add an Email Signup Widget to a Sidebar

There are 2 perfect tools for creating sidebar signup forms: WPForms and OptinMonster.

WPForms is the best WordPress plugin to build forms for your website.

WPForms has a lite version so that you can get started for free. If you want access to more advanced features, you’ll want to sign up for the premium version.

Then you can choose a template and create the signup form.

When it’s ready, you can choose any location for your form, including your sidebar.

WPForms is a particularly good choice if you need to create a lot of different web forms, such as contact, payment, registration, and survey forms.

Get started with WPForms today!

You can also create stunning signup campaigns with OptinMonster and add them to your sidebar widget similarly.

Doing so will help you show your newsletter signup forms across every blog post or site page. As a result, you could easily add hundreds of subscribers to your list each year, with only 5 minutes of prep work!

Learn more: How to Create an Email Signup Widget in WordPress to Get More Subscribers

7. Timed Lightbox Popup

When it comes to getting email signups, timing is everything. A lightbox popup is the traditional popup you’re most used to seeing on websites. These popups display a signup form or special offer, while dimming the web page’s content.

They also are timed to pop up after a user has spent a designated amount of time on your website or web page.

So instead of bombarding your visitors the second they land on your site, they will get to look around a little and enjoy your content before you ask them to subscribe.

Here is an example of this type of form from Runner’s World:

How To Create a Timed Lightbox Email Signup Form

OptinMonster ranks #1 when it comes to timed lightbox popups. Our software has more lightbox features and targeting rules than any other lead generation tool on the market.

From the OptinMonster dashboard, select the Popup type and choose the template you want.

Then customize the design and create display rules to control where the popup appears.

OptinMonster automatically enables lightbox mode for every popup template. That means you don’t need any coding knowledge or technical skills to create a lightbox optin for your site.

Learn more: How to Open a Lightbox Popup on Page Load (The Easy Way)

8. Slide-In Scroll Box

A slide-in scroll box is an even more “polite” version of a popup that appears in the bottom right-hand corner of the page as the visitor scrolls down.

By presenting the box while the visitor is scrolling, you can display a highly visible signup form without obstructing the visitor’s view of your content and without interrupting their natural flow.

How To Add a Scroll Box Email Signup Form to Your Site

OptinMonster lets you create slide-in scroll boxes as well. You can customize the design and add a personalized message.

Plus, you can control how the slide-in appears to visitors. It can appear as a slide-in popup or a collapsed box at the bottom of the screen.

Users can click on the collapsed box to open the sign-up form, much like a chatbox.

With OptinMonster’s slide-in scroll boxes, you can trigger your form to display a different message based on time spent on the page, location on your website, and even referral source.

9. Footer

Once a visitor hits the very bottom of your page, you can be sure that they are very interested in what you have to offer. Also, web users know that the footer often contains important links. Therefore, take advantage of this opportunity to present them with a way onto your email list.

Above, you can see a footer that we’ve used in the past at OptinMonster. The signup form for our email list was right there in the footer, making it easy for people to subscribe.

How To Add an Email Signup Form to Your Footer

This process is similar to the sidebar signup widgets we discussed earlier. You can create a signup form in either WPForms or OptinMonster and place it in your footer.

Learn More: How to Add a Contact Form Footer (With a WordPress Widget)

10. About Page

Did you know that the about page is one of the most frequently visited pages on any website? Make sure you are capturing new subscribers here too!

Jeff Goins uses a straightforward email signup form within the context of his about-page copy. This way, it flows seamlessly as you read and feels like the natural next step.

How To Add an Email Signup Form to the About Page

You can use OptinMonster’s inline campaign type here, too. Just follow the same steps listed in #5 on this list.

11. Sign Up Landing Page

Consider creating a designated landing page just for email sign-ups. This way, you can direct undecided traffic to this page and convince them that they should sign up for your list.

Here’s an example of a very simple sign up page from Workplace by Meta:

How To Add an Email Signup Landing Page to Your Site

To create a dedicated signup page, we recommend using SeedProd. It has stunning Lead Squeeze templates to build a beautiful signup page in minutes.

These templates are designed to increase your conversion rate and boost engagement on your site.

Learn more: How to Design a Sign Up Page (+7 Examples)

12. Exit-Intent Popup

You’d be surprised how many email signups you can gain when you make just one last attempt.

Exit-intent popups detect when a visitor is about to leave your site. Exiting visitors will then see your signup form right at that critical moment.

These popups are perfect for growing your email list, building your social media followers, reducing cart abandonment (for eCommerce stores), and much more!

Here’s an excellent exit-intent popup from Shockbyte.

Their popup acknowledges that the user is leaving the site and offers a huge discount in exchange for an email address.

How well did it work?

Shockbyte’s popup saw a HUGE 13.73% conversion rate, and they now attribute over 50% of their sales to OptinMonster campaigns.

Read the full Shockbyte case study.

Exit-intent popups aren’t just effective. They give you one last chance to serve your potential customers and, in doing so, will increase the user experience (UX) across your site.

Be sure to limit the number of form fields, though, as you’re engaging with people who were prepared to leave your site. That means you should limit the information you ask to just their email address and possibly their name.

How To Add an Exit-Intent® Popup to Your Site

OptinMonster has a powerful built-in exit detector. You can decide the sensitivity level of exit detection as well.

When you enable the Exit-Intent® trigger, OptinMonster will detect when visitors hit the ‘X’ or back button in their browser.

It will display your campaign to get them to sign up before they’re gone for good.

Exit-Intent® campaigns are proven to be powerful. You can learn more about it here:

Learn more: How To Create Exit-Intent Popups That Convert

Best Practices for High-Converting Signup Forms

Regardless of where you place your signup forms, here are a few best practices you can follow to boost your conversion rates:

1. Keep your signup forms short. Long forms look overwhelming and intrusive to the visitor, so limit the number of fields to the absolute minimum.
2. Ask only for the information you need. Customers value their privacy and want to avoid being bombarded with marketing. For instance, you generally shouldn’t ask for a phone number unless you send SMS messages.
3. Practice affirmative consent. Your signup form should be an optin, not an opt-out. Customers should actively click a checkbox or button to receive your emails. They should not be added by default because they bought from you or visited your storefront.
4. Segment your new subscribers. You’ll see higher conversion rates when you sending relevant content based on subscriber interest, behavior, or needs. There are many ways to automate lead segmentation.
5. Use A/B testing to find the most effective messaging. OptinMonster makes it easy to test different variations of the same campaign to see what works best.
6. Track your form conversions to identify areas for growth. OptinMonster tracks conversions automatically, but you can also set up form submission tracking in Google Analytics using a different signup tool.

If you’d like some visual inspiration, check out our list of best lead generation form examples.

That’s all we have for today. This article has given you new ideas for strategically placing your email signup forms. Knowing when and where to present your signup offers will help you convert many more visitors into email subscribers.

Want to grow your email list with stunning optin campaigns right away?

OptinMonster is the perfect solution! Our software is available as an easy-to-use WordPress plugin and a standalone SaaS product for other website-building platforms.

Click below to start your 100% risk-free subscription today!

As a marketing copywriter, there’s nothing worse than staring at a blank screen when a deadline’s looming. Coming up with new ideas every day is a challenge, whether you’re writing email campaigns, social media posts, website copy, or any other marketing copy.

So how can you get some new ideas, fast?

Copy templates, as well as copywriting examples from other successful marketing campaigns, can inspire you and breathe new life into your marketing copy.

Of course, finding those copywriting templates takes time, which is the one thing most busy marketers and small businesses don’t have.

That’s why we’ve put together this resource!

We’ve scoured the web to find the best templates and swipe files for copywriters, covering the most important areas of marketing copy. And we’ve focused on resources you can easily adapt for your own use, not just examples.

Our list of copywriting templates and copywriting formulas is subdivided for easy navigation.

Use this table of contents to jump straight to the area where you’re looking for inspiration:

• Headline Copywriting Templates
• Email Subject Line Templates
• Email Marketing Copywriting Templates
• Call to Action Copywriting Templates
• Product Description Copywriting Templates
• Social Media Copywriting Templates
• Welcome Email Templates
• Cold Email Templates
• Sales Email Templates
• Other Copywriting Formulas and Swipe Files

Headline Copywriting Templates

Let’s start at the top, with the copy that determines whether people will keep reading your website copywriting. If you want to write better headlines, these templates will jumpstart the process. These guides will help you title your blogs, articles, tutorials, and more.

1. Copyblogger’s 22 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work – For many people, Copyblogger is a go-to resource for copywriting advice. If you want to try some different headline templates, check out this guide.

2. Copyblogger’s 11 Best Sales Headlines that Use Proven Formulas – Copyblogger also offers this more specific list of headlines optimized for sales. Direct response copywriter Dean Rieck shares his favorite sales headline copywriting formulas and explains why they work.

3. CoSchedule’s 50+ Headline Formulas & Templates – CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer is one of the most helpful headline tools available, so you can trust their advice in this list of helpful templates.

4. Blog Marketing Academy’s 58+ Headline Formulas – This list of formulas is subdivided into headlines for tutorials, list posts, and other types of copy. The article also includes guidance on using emotional words in headline copywriting.

Email Subject Line Templates

For marketers, email subject lines are just as important as headlines for other content. The purpose is the same: to get recipients to open emails and read more. This section contains email marketing swipe file examples you can use to nail those subject lines.

5. OptinMonster’s 184 Best Email Subject Lines And Why They Work– This is a handy resource available from our own blog. We also cover the psychological reasons why certain subject lines work and give plenty of examples you can use for inspiration.

6. DigitalMarketer’s 101 Best Email Subject Lines – This list was last updated in 2020, but it’s still a great source. The list starts with their top 10 email subject lines of 2020, and they provide open rate data and analysis for each one.  The post also links to their Ultimate Email Subject Line Swipe File. This lead magnet includes over 600 of their best subject lines from 2013-2020.

BONUS: Check out this case study on how DigitalMarketer boosted conversions with OptinMonster!

7. HubSpot’s 150 Sales Email Subject Lines That Get Opened, Read, and Responded To – Writing sales emails? Then check out this list from HubSpot. They also explain when and how to use each email subject line.

Email Marketing Copywriting Templates

If you want to write better emails, it’s essential to nail the body copy. In this section, we look at a few resources to help you do that.

8. SmartBlogger’s 4 Bombproof Formulas for Openings That Grab Readers – Smart Blogger’s list is intended for bloggers, but it works for email marketing, too. This guide walks you through how to grab readers’ attention after they read your headline or open your email.

9. DigitalMarketer’s Best Email Body Copy – There are some great email swipe examples to adapt in this roundup. The DigitalMarketer team shares what’s worked for them. You can use their experience as a starting point to create your own email copywriting templates.

10. AWeber’s 45+ Fill-in-the-Blank Email Templates – When you sign up for this lead magnet, you’ll get an 86-page PDF guide to email copywriting. It’s practically a full online course for email marketing copywriters!  The course includes 45 fill-in-the-blank email templates that you can start using today. These copywriting templates are organized by the goal or purpose of the email.

11. SuperOffice’s 23 of the Best B2B Email Marketing Examples – SuperOffice provides email copywriting examples that are specifically tailored to B2B marketers. You don’t just get examples here. You also get an implementation guide. That makes it easy for you to apply these copywriting formulas in your own campaigns.

Call to Action Copywriting Templates

The call to action (CTA) is an essential element of successful, high-converting copywriting. In this section, we showcase some CTA copywriting formulas you can use to inspire your audience and customers to subscribe, sign up, or buy.

12. OptinMonster’s 130+ Email CTA Examples That Can Boost Your Conversion Rate – We offer our own comprehensive list of text you can use for the CTA buttons in your email marketing campaigns. The copywriting examples are organized by the CTA’s purpose, such as sales, newsletter signup, and abandoned cart recovery.

13. HubSpot’s 14 Real-Life Examples of CTA Copy YOU Should Copy – HubSpot explains exactly why each example works and which features you should emulate.

14. Crazy Egg’s 21 Captivating Call to Action Examples to Steal – The Daily Egg, which is Crazy Egg’s blog, provides examples of several types of CTAs. They also provide analysis for each copywriting example and advice on how you can create similar CTAs.

15. CoSchedule’s 54 CTA Words and 6 Examples – CoSchedule highlights the science of writing effective calls to action and gives examples you can copy in your marketing. This post also includes 54 words and phrases that are effective in CTAs.

Product Description Copywriting Templates

Product descriptions help buyers imagine using your products so they want to buy them. That’s why they’re such a crucial element of product pages. Here are a few copywriting templates to help you write better product descriptions.

16. BigCommerce’s How To Write Product Descriptions To Grow Online Sales – This resource by BigCommerce includes a simple copywriting formula for effective product descriptions:

[Paragraph(s) of Prose] + [Bulleted List of Specs or Product Features] = [Engaging Product Description]

Beyond this basic formula, they also provide tips and steps for crafting the best product descriptions for your target audience.

17. Made Urban’s Product Descriptions that Sell: Template & Sample – Made Urban provides a small hub for optimizing your product description copy. The hub links to 2 articles to help you understand your customer base. Then, they offer a handy PDF worksheet as a lead magnet. This PDF includes 9 copywriting templates for your product descriptions.

18. Marketing Labs’ Product Description Guide & Template– This article from Marketing Labs provides great advice on crafting SEO-friendly product descriptions. Plus, the article has a link to a downloadable guide, which includes 2 product copywriting templates.

Social Media Copywriting Templates

Social media can be a great way to boost engagement, conversions, and sales. Get some inspiration with these social media copywriting guides.

19. CoSchedule’s Best Social Media Copywriting Guide to Be a Social Word Ninja – CoSchedule showcases 90 social media copywriting templates you can use today, covering Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Instagram, and other social networks. This article also includes guidance on hashtags and character limits.

20. Smash Balloon’s 15+ Clever Types of Social Media Posts to Engage Your Followers – This social media guide comes from Smash Balloon, our favorite plugin for embedding social media feeds to your website. Under each type of social media post, they list at least one copywriting example to inspire your own posts.

BONUS: 9 Ways to Grow Your Email List With Social Media

Welcome Email Templates

Welcome emails are some of the most important emails you’ll ever send. They have a high open rate and set subscribers’ expectations about what you’ll deliver. Here are some copywriting templates you can use to create appealing welcome emails.

21. OptinMonster’s How to Write the Perfect Welcome Email Series – On the OptinMonster blog, we walk you through the process of creating the first 5 emails in your welcome series, and we include several useful examples.

22. Shopify’s Welcome Email Examples & Templates – Shopify outlines the welcome email copywriting process and gets your email swipe file started with 10 examples. They also provide copywriting templates for your welcome email subject line and body copy.

23. DigitalMarketer’s Perfect Welcome Email Template—According to DigitalMarketer, the perfect welcome email has 5 parts. This article describes them and shows how the company uses this process in its own marketing. There’s also a downloadable template for you to use.

24. Wishpond’s 6 Welcome Email Templates that Do More than Welcome – Wishpond outlines 6 welcome email templates and shows how and why they work, so you can choose the best one for your purposes.

Cold Email Templates

Sometimes you have to send an email to people who know nothing about you. That’s called a cold email, and it still has to be crafted so you get the results you want. Here are some examples of how to do that.

25. Yesware’s Best Cold Email Template To Crush Replies – Yesware gives 7 examples of cold emails that get replies. Each example includes annotations and a fill-in-the-blank template you can copy.

26. Close’s 15 Best Cold Email Templates (to Generate Better Leads) – This blog post describes cold email copywriting templates that can turn those cold prospects into warm leads. They also share some high-converting copywriting formulas for cold email subject lines.

27. Ryan Robinson‘s 5 Cold Email Templates for Freelancers – Marketing consultant Ryan Robinson shares the cold email templates he used to generate $107,500 in sales in a single year. And he did so with a freelance side business! The email copywriting templates are also available as a free download.

28. LeadFuze’s 10 Cold Email Templates to Boost Response Rate – LeadFuze has collected copywriting examples to use in different circumstances, such as following up after a voicemail. Since the article explains why they work, you’ll be able to apply these tactics to your own emails.

29. Criminally Prolific’s 30 Cold Email Templates – Dmitry Dragilev shares the impressive results he’s achieved with cold emails. He also provides copywriting templates and examples, and he explains how and why they work.

30.BDOW!’s Million-Dollar Cold Email Templates (Plus Cold Email Tips) – BDOW! (formerly Sumo) shares 5 simple email copy templates for business development, follow-ups, referrals, and more.

Sales Email Templates

As a marketer, your ultimate goal is to boost sales. Here are some copywriting templates for sales emails to help you do that. Hubspot’s templates feature heavily in this section, as their blog offers a lot of resources specifically for sales marketers.

31. HubSpot’s 30 Sales Prospecting Email Templates – If you’re prospecting for sales, Hubspot’s copy-and-paste email copywriting templates will get your marketing strategy off to a good start.

32. Yesware’s Ultimate Guide to Sales Email – Yesware’s sales email templates are collected inside a free downloadable ebook. You’ll need to opt in to download the tips on subject lines and body copy, based on data from more than half a million emails.

33. HubSpot’s 12 CRM-Ready Sales Email Templates – HubSpot’s got more sales email copywriting templates, this time focused on customer relationship management (CRM).

34. HubSpot’s 9 Urgency-Based Sales Email Templates – As we know, using urgency is a great way to improve your conversion rate. HubSpot’s got more email copywriting templates that use this tactic.

35. SuperOffice’s 12 Free Sales Email Templates Proven to Increase Response Rates – SuperOffice offers sales email subject lines and templates, along with guidance on using email to increase productivity. You’ll have to opt in to get them, though.

36. HubSpot’s 23 Sales Email Templates With 60% or Higher Open Rates – This collection of email swipe files from HubSpot is different. All the emails have open rates of 60% or higher, so you’ll definitely want to emulate them.

37. Pipedrive’s 5 Sales Email Templates to Get You Started – The Pipedrive blog includes 5 email sales templates, along with guidance on using them effectively.

38. Cirrus Insight’s 101 Sales Email Templates to Close More Deals – And finally in this section, Cirrus Insight has a list of 101 sales email templates and examples you can use to win new business. They’re divided into multiple categories, including cold email templates, discount offer templates, and more.

Other Copywriting Formulas and Swipe Files

This collection of copywriting templates and email swipe files doesn’t fit neatly into the categories above, but there are still some gems you can use to improve your marketing. Enjoy!

39. Swiped.co Swipe File Archive – This site is a community where marketers, copywriters, and business owners can share inspiration. You can sort information by niche and by type of copywriting.

40. Copyhackers’ Ultimate Guide to No-Pain Copywriting – Copyhackers has a huge copywriting guide that includes copywriting formulas and templates.

41. Zettasphere’s Irresistible Invitation Emails for Webinars and Events – If you’re running a webinar, you’ll want to check out this analysis of webinar email invitations.

Generate More Leads for Your Brilliant Copywriting

With these copywriting templates and email swipe files, you’re primed to write copy that improves conversions and sales.

Want to learn even more ways to improve as a copywriter? Check out these articles:

• Email Copywriting That Sells: 17 Simple Ways to Write Better Marketing Emails
• 700+ Power Words: The Secret Sauce of Successful Copy Revealed!
• 10 Expert Tips for Writing Landing Page Copy that Converts
• How to Write a Sales Page That Actually Converts

But how do you get more people to see all this great writing?

We can help!

OptinMonster is the best lead generation software in the world! You can use our precisely targeted popups to grow your email list and get website visitors to spend more time on your site.

With OptinMonster, more people will see your emails, product pages, blogs, and other content marketing.

Get started with OptinMonster today!

Quick Answer: How To Get More Email Subscribers Fast

Based on our work with over 1.2 million websites, the fastest ways to grow your email list are implementing exit-intent popups, adding inline forms at article ends, converting popular posts into PDF lead magnets, using content locking on premium sections, and deploying two-step opt-ins. Businesses using these methods, paired with mobile optimization and simplified forms, have increased signups by up to 1000%.

Do you want to learn how to get more email subscribers? Or maybe you’re wondering how to grow an email list from scratch?

In my career as a digital marketer, I’ve certainly felt the frustration of seeing my number of subscribers stay stagnant.

But luckily, it’s entirely possible to increase your email subscriber list. And to do it fast.

In fact, Aish.com increased their email signups 10x by making a few simple additions to their website. Many of these changes took 5 minutes or less.

Here at OptinMonster, we work every day to help businesses and organizations transform their lead generation. More than 1.2 million websites use our email signup popups to skyrocket their email newsletter audience.

You don’t have to figure out how to grow your email list on your own. Instead, you can learn from our decade of experience.

So if you feel like your email marketing is at a standstill, don’t worry!

In this article, I’ll share 17 proven tips to get more email subscribers. These are strategies that OptinMonster has either used for our own email list or has helped our customers implement. And we’ve seen their success again and again.

How To Get More Email Subscribers

To get more email subscribers, you need to optimize your greatest marketing asset: your website.

The key to successful email marketing isn’t just a large list. You need a list that’s full of high-potential leads who want to see your email campaigns.

Visitors to your site are already interested in your content or products. That makes them great leads for building an engaged email list. When your subscribers are engaged, you’ll see higher open rates, click-through rates (CTR), and overall conversions.

That’s why many of the tips below explore how to get subscribers on your website. You’ll also find a few tips for leveraging your social media channels to increase your email subscribers.

Let’s get started!

1. Add an Exit-Intent® Popup

Hey, did you know that over 70% of the people who leave your website will never return?

You can convert many of these abandoning users into email list subscribers with one simple trick.

When a website visitor starts to leave your site, you can show them a popup message that asks for their contact info before they leave. You can offer them a special coupon or offer in exchange for their email address.

Then, instead of a lost visitor, you have a new email subscriber.

But how do these popups work?

It’s called Exit-Intent® Technology. It detects user exit behavior, such as moving the cursor toward the back button. On mobile devices, it can detect when someone quickly scrolls back up to the top of the page. Then it prompts your visitor with an optin form just when they’re about to leave.

Exit-intent is OptinMonster’s specialty!

OptinMonster is hands down the best way to grow your email list. We provide you with the tools you need to create high-converting optin campaigns that you can target to your site’s traffic.

The best part is how easy it is. We offer dozens of premade templates that you customize with drag-and-drop builder.

OptinMonster lets you personalize these campaigns to make sure you’re showing the right optin form to the right person at just the right time in their customer journey.

Plus, you don’t need any coding or tech skills to get started. Our drag-and-drop editor will have you creating beautiful popups, floating bars, inline campaigns, and much more in a matter of minutes.

Want to check it out? Click below to sign up for your risk-free OptinMonster account:

Here’s How You Do It

You can create an Exit-Intent® popup quickly with OptinMonster.

Just follow our guide to create your first campaign. Then follow these steps:

1. Click the Display Rules tab at the top of the campaign builder.
2. Select the Conditions tab at the bottom of the page.
3. Click on one of the conditions listed.
4. Select When (Triggers).
5. Select Exit Intent.

Or, follow this easy video tutorial:

OptinMonster makes sure your popups are mobile-friendly so you can grow your audience no matter which device they’re using.

Don’t have OptinMonster yet? Click here to get started!

2. Add an Optin at the End of Articles

Readers who reach the end of your article are primed to act.

Your headline grabbed their attention. The introduction drew them in like moths to a flame. Your bullet points and anecdotes kept them on the edge of their seats.

Of the millions of articles they could have read, they read yours. And they read until the very end.

They like you. They really, really like you!

That’s why the end of your article is the perfect time to ask them to join your email subscription list.

Here’s How You Do It

Adding a call to action in your author bio and the end of each article is a great way to strike while the iron is hot. Here’s how Jeff Goins does it:

But what if your blog’s theme lacks an author bio section? What if your website has numerous authors?

Then you can use OptinMonster to create an after-content widget with some enticing copy to get more email subscribers. All you need is an inline campaign and a compelling call to action (CTA).

Lilach Bulloch uses inline forms to help her convert 57% of website visitors.

Readers who make it to the end of your articles are focused. They’re engaged and looking for direction.

Direct them to your email subscription list.

3. Turn Popular Posts Into Lead Magnets

If you want to earn a spot in people’s email inboxes, then you need to offer them something valuable

That’s where lead magnets come in!

A lead magnet is an exclusive offer or content that users receive in exchange for their email address. In other words, you offer something for free, and you get a new email subscriber in return.

Lead magnets can be a coupon code or special discount. Or they can be special content, like a PDF guide, free ebook, or white paper:

“Subscribe to our mailing list, and get our Ultimate Guide to the Top X Ways to Z!”

But here’s the thing:

Creating lead magnets can be tricky.

What if you don’t have time to write an ebook or create a PDF checklist? Maybe producing a video series is more than you can do right now. And, what if creating dazzling infographics is beyond your current skill set?

If this describes you, it doesn’t mean you’re resigned to sitting on the sidelines while everyone gets more email subscribers.

Not if you have 30 seconds to spare.

That’s all the time it takes to convert one of your popular articles into a handy, easy-to-print PDF file.

Go to Print Friendly and enter the URL of the article you’d like to convert. Click the “PDF” button. Click “Download.”

Then all you have to do is offer it and deliver it to visitors. And that’s a simple process with OptinMonster.

Here’s How You Do It

You can deliver your lead magnet with one of OptinMonster’s pre-made templates, such as the eBook Download template:

Go to the Optin View in the OptinMonster campaign builder.

Click the button on your optin and scroll down in the left-hand settings bar until you see Button Click Action. Choose Redirect to a URL.

Then, in the Redirect URL field, enter the URL for your lead magnet download. When users enter their email address and click the button, they’ll immediately get your lead magnet.

Alternatively, you can use email automation to simply email your link to every user who signs up through this popup form.

Here are some more ways to deliver your lead magnet when people sign up.

Pretty easy, right? Almost as easy as our next way to grow your email subscription list.

4. Use Gated Content (also known as Content Locking)

Want a quick way to get more email subscribers without creating new content?

Try gated content, or content locking.

Content locking is where you block off part of the content visitors are reading, and visitors have to subscribe to unlock it. This is easy to do with OptinMonster. In fact, Trading Strategy Guides added 11,000 new subscribers by using this technique.

Here’s How You Do It

First, identify which blog posts bring in the most website traffic. If you’re using WordPress, you can easily see your most popular posts in your dashboard by using MonsterInsights:

MonsterInsights is the world’s best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress. With this, you can get all the data you need to make smarter marketing decisions. In fact, that data is right there in your WordPress dashboard.

Then, you can identify your most popular posts and pages:

With that information, you can quickly turn your best-performing posts into exclusive content for subscribers only.

Start by creating an inline campaign, and then follow these steps:

1. Choose the Display Setting tab at the top of the OptinMonstercampaign builder.
2. Select the Actions tab at the bottom of the builder.
3. Scroll down and turn on the Enable Content Locking? toggle. You can choose whether to blur the content or remove it completely.

That’s it! Once visitors subscribe, they’ll magically get access to the content, and you’ll increase your email subscription list.

When visitors have email subscription benefits like this, they’re less likely to unsubscribe. It’s much easier to grow your newsletter subscribers when your new subscribers stick around.

For more detailed step-by-step instructions, see our documentation on content locking.

5. Use a 2-Step Optin

Want to know a neat psychological trick that’s proven to increase email subscribers? It’s the Zeigarnik effect.

This bit of human psychology just means that once we’ve started an action or task, we’re more likely to complete it. And it’s why OptinMonster’s 2-step optins are so successful.

2-Step Optins let users click a CTA button on your website to trigger your optin popup. Once they’ve taken the step of clicking your CTA, they’ll be more likely to complete the process of signing up for your newsletter.

US Student Loan Center increased sales by 10% by using 2-step optins. They added a CTA on their website, and this is what visitors see when they click the link.

Here’s How You Do It

Use our MonsterLinks technology to create a button, link, or image that triggers your popup!

For instance, you can have a CTA button that says:

“Get Our Best Articles, Right in Your Inbox!”

When the user clicks that button, they will get your popup to subscribe to your newsletter.

You can accomplish this with just a few clicks in the Display Rules of your campaign.

Details instructions are available here: How to Use MonsterLinks to Load Your Popup with the Click of a Button

You can also integrate the campaign with your favorite email providers, such as Constant Contact or Brevo (formerly Sendinblue). You can then set up an automated email series, so your subscribers will receive emails as soon as they fill out this subscription form.

You can send a welcome email and then follow up with product updates, new posts on your blog, and recent launches.

6. Run an Online Contest

Online contests are one of the best ways to increase email optins. You can instantly boost your email subscription list by offering a prize that your target audience loves.

Plus, with an online contest plugin like RafflePress, you can put everything on auto-pilot:

RafflePress is the best giveaway and online contest plugin around.

It lets you create various entry options such as following you on social media, visiting certain web pages, sending referrals to your contest, and, of course, signing up for your email subscription list.

With RafflePress, contest automation is easy. You can gather entries and declare winners just by clicking a few buttons.

The tool works great for any WordPress site, including eCommerce stores, business sites, and blogs.

For more information, check out this post on how to run an online contest to grow your traffic and generate leads.

7. Try a Different Button Color

What color is your optin button?

If you answered “I don’t know” or “What does it matter?” you’re potentially missing out on an easy way to get more email subscribers.

I’ve done a good bit of research on CTA color, and I discovered that there’s no specific color that converts better.

What matters is that your button colors are high-contrast, on-brand, and consistent.

Basically, you want to make it easy for website visitors to find where they’re supposed to click.

When you make your next newsletter signup form, experiment with button colors that really stand out from the background of your website.

Here’s How You Do It

If you’re using OptinMonster, changing the button colors in any campaign is pretty easy:

1. Click on the button in your campaign.
2. Select the Advanced tab in the left-hand editing bar.
3. Choose your color beside Background Color.

And while we’re on the subject of buttons . . .

8. Split Test Your Button Copy

Do you use generic copy such as “Subscribe” or “Sign Up” for your optin buttons? If so, we have bad news for you:

It’s actually your CTA button’s copy, not color or positioning, that matters most.

If you’ve never given your button’s copy a passing thought, it’s time to remedy the situation.

Provide value and relevance, but be sure not to exaggerate.

Keep it simple, but don’t be boring. It’s okay to use two sentences so long as they are short.

One particularly effective digital marketing strategy is to personalize your optin button.

Joanna Wiebe of Copy Hackers suggests writing button copy in the first person. By personalizing the words, they become more appealing to the reader.

Let’s look at a few examples.

Which sounds better?

What wording do you relate to?

Which button would you rather click?

The differences are subtle, but during her a/b testing, Joanna found first-person pronouns (“I” and “my”) beat the competition by a whopping 24%.

Sometimes, “subtle” can be huge.

To get the same data on your button, you’ll need to split test. This is easy with OptinMonster.

Here’s How You Do It

Login to OptinMonster, and click on the campaign that you want to A/B test. To the right, you’ll see different options for that campaign, including a Split Arrow Icon. Click this to begin setting up your Split Test.

Follow the prompts, and then change one element of your campaign, like the button wording. Save and publish the campaign, and OptinMonster will automatically divide your traffic and collect data, so you can learn which one works best.

Just follow the steps in this video:

9. Show Off Your Testimonials

Did you know OptinMonster is recommended by the likes of Michael Stelzner, Ian Cleary, and Yoast?

If you spend much time on our site, then you will learn it quickly.

OptinMonster prominently displays these heavy hitters on our homepage and Testimonials page. There’s no way you could miss them.

Why do we do this? Because it shows we’re the real deal.

People won’t give their hard-earned money or email address to simply anyone. They want to know you’re on the up and up.

Offering testimonials and case studies builds trust, and more trust means you get more email subscribers.

Here’s How You Do It

Go find a great endorsement you’ve received.

Look at the reviews and other social proof you have. Browse through your comments and emails. Search for mentions on social media.

Be A Better Blogger found its featured testimonial when the great Amy Harrison tweeted the following:

This tweet was turned into a testimonial that’s displayed whenever a reader clicks on one of Be A Better Blogger’s MonsterLinks:

That optin form? It’s currently sporting an awesome 26.09% conversion rate.

The takeaway here? Testimonial + OptinMonster = Get More Email Subscriptions.

Of course, all the awesome testimonials in the world won’t help you if readers can’t see them, so this next tip is a great one!

10. Remove Distractions

How many widgets do you have on your website’s sidebar?

Do you use several calls to action at the end of your articles?

How many choices are your visitors given?

If you’re overwhelming your readers with options, how can they be expected to take the one action you want them to take?

If you want to grow your email subscriber list, you need to cut down on the clutter.

Here’s How You Do It

The following screenshot from Henneke Duistermaat is a perfect example of a landing page that optimizes for one thing: get more email subscribers.

Per Henneke, this landing page has converted as high as 59.6 percent.

It’s easy to see why. Every aspect, from the headline to the testimonial, is designed to build an email list. There are no social media icons, advertisements, or anything else to distract readers from the task at hand.

What lessons can we learn from Henneke’s landing page?

• Remove distractions
• Don’t prioritize social media icons
• Stick to one CTA for each article.

We should get rid of anything that doesn’t help us get more email subscribers.

Focus on making it easy for visitors to share their contact information without distractions.

On that note, here are some more tips on how to build an email list.

11. Stop Asking for Too Much Information

What information are you asking potential customers to provide on your lead generation and contact forms? Name, email, phone, more?

Now, let me ask you another question:

Do you need it? Do you do anything with that information?

If the answer is “no,” you need to stop asking people to provide it. A/B test after A/B test confirms that the more information you ask from readers, the less likely they are to optin.

Keep it short and sweet.

Stick to the bare essentials with a simple subject line. Only ask for the information you need to get started. If you’d like other information, you can ask for it later.

This is called progressive profiling, and it really works to create an email list!

Here’s How You Do It

Don’t need names? Don’t ask for them. Have no use for phone numbers? Don’t ask people to input them.

Just keep it simple.

The less data you request, the more email subscribers you’ll earn.

Customizing your optin form fields is easy with OptinMonster, and it works on any campaign. Simply choose the fields you want on your signup form. It’s all drag and drop.

12. Share Your Campaign Everywhere

It stands to reason that the more places you can display campaigns, the more chances you have to build your email list.

You can share them on your company’s LinkedIn profile, in the descriptions of YouTube videos, in the show notes of any podcast episodes you appear on, during webinars you host, and more. You can even link to campaigns from Facebook ads and other paid advertising.

Luckily, this couldn’t be simpler with OptinMonster.

Here’s How You Do It

Once you’ve created a campaign you’re happy with, go to the publishing options. One of those is a Share Link.

Grab the link, and add it anywhere you want to show the campaign: social media, author bios, email signature, and more.

See how simple that was?

Using the MonsterLink functionality, you can boost your chances of getting more email subscribers fast.

13. Link to a Campaign in Your Social Media Bio

Right now, what information is in your X bio or Instagram bio? What information shows up on your Facebook page?

Your occupation? A personal quote that holds special meaning to you? Perhaps a hashtag or two or ten?

Why don’t you use that precious real estate to promote your email subscription list?

That’s how Brent Jones used his Twitter bio:

Simple, effective, and takes minutes to implement.

Here’s How You Do It

Every social media platform has some type of bio or about section. Simply edit that bio and add the direct link to your newsletter signup campaign. Get the direct link with the steps in our previous tip.

Here are some more ways to get leads from X (formerly Twitter). Does your audience live on Instagram? Here’s how to generate leads on Instagram.

14. Add an Optin Link to Your Email Signature

On any given day, how many emails do you send? 10? 20? More?

If you’re like most people, the answer is: “A lot. I send lots and lots of emails.”

What if we told you each of those emails you send is an opportunity?

You can turn your recipients into newsletter subscribers by placing a hyperlinked call to action in your email signature.

Here’s How You Do It

Each email provider is slightly different, but for Gmail, go to Settings » General. Scroll down, and you’ll find the Signature section:

The link in your signature could point to a landing page, your homepage (assuming it’s optimized), or an article with a particularly-appealing optin bribe. Or you can use MonsterLinks to link directly to your optin campaign.

15. Be More Social

Chances are you already spend several hours each week on various social media platforms.

That’s good! Social Media Examiner noted how a majority of marketers increase leads when they use social media for 6+ hours each week:

But it matters how you’re using those hours.

Sharing even high-quality videos of kittens and puppies won’t help unless your business is related to kittens and puppies. Publishing food photos won’t help unless you’re a chef or restaurant owner.

To see how to grow your email list with social media, you need to be purposeful with those 6+ hours.

Here’s How You Do It

Be helpful. Answer questions. Share worthwhile content. Reach out to people. Make connections.

People who find you indispensable on social media will want more of you.

They’ll want MORE helpful advice. Answers to ALL their questions. More worthwhile content.

And where will they go to get “more?”

Your email subscription list.

16. Add a Subscribe Checkbox

If you’re a WordPress user, the WPForms plugin can boost optins with little-to-no upkeep. Just ensure plugin stay up to date, and you’re good to go.

But don’t worry; you’ll be notified when updates are available in your WordPress dashboard!

With WPForms, you can add a subscribe checkbox to any form on your site. This works with the most popular email service providers, including Brevo (formerly Sendinblue), Constant Contact, and AWeber.

With one simple click, readers can optin to your email subscription list while submitting your contact form or any other form. This is GDPR-friendly, and it makes building an email list extremely easy.

You can check out these step-by-step tutorials on how to add a Mailchimp signup checkbox to your contact form or see the tutorials for AWeber and Constant Contact instead.

Ready for another plugin to build your email list?

17. Add a “Thanks for Commenting” Redirect

Another excellent plugin is Yoast Comment Hacks.

When someone leaves you a comment for the very first time, this plugin redirects them to a “thank you” page. Ramsay Taplin of Blog Tyrant used this thank you page to encourage newsletter subscriptions:

Check out these step-by-step instructions on how to set up an after-comment redirect on your WordPress site.

It’s vital to ask website visitors to subscribe when they’re most engaged. And it’s hard to get more engaged than making the choice to leave a comment! When you give them an optin at that moment, you have a high chance of gaining a new subscriber.

Skyrocket Your Email List With OptinMonster

And that’s it! You now know how to increase your email subscribers with these 17 proven tips.

We hope that you found this article helpful. If so, we encourage you to check out the following resources:

• Best Email Service Providers (ESP) for Small Businesses
• How to Run a Successful Email Marketing Campaign
• Best WordPress Email Plugins You Must Try
• Email Marketing for Beginners: A Step by Step Guide
• How to Create an Effective Email Autoresponder Series

These articles will teach you how to grow leads and monetize the new email subscription list to create new income streams for your business.

Again, like any job you do, using the right tool will make or break your success. Click below to start building your email database today with the world’s #1 lead generation software.

FAQ

Promotional emails are powerful marketing tools for eCommerce businesses. They let you communicate your offerings, increase sales, and build customer relationships.

This blog explains promotional emails’ importance and provides best practices for creating impactful campaigns.

Furthermore, we’ll provide real-life promotional email examples and templates to inspire your marketing efforts.

• What Are Promotional Emails?
• Why Are Promotional Emails Important?
• How to Write Promotional Emails
• Promotional Email Examples
• Promotional Email Templates

Promotional emails and email promotions essentially refer to the same concept. They are emails sent to potential or current customers to promote a company’s products, services, or events. Here’s a bit more about them:

What Are Promotional Emails?

Promotional emails are marketing messages sent to customers or potential customers to highlight special offers, discounts, new products, or upcoming events. They usually aim to encourage the recipient to take action, like making a purchase, registering for an event, or visiting a website.

There are many different types of promotional emails, and they can have a wide variety of goals. Popular uses include:

• Emails that promote a flash sale
• Product launch emails
• Special holiday emails for Christmas or other special occasions
• Emails that promote a webinar or demo
• Birthday emails with coupon codes or special deals
• Email offers for a free ebook or PDF guide

The best promotional emails use persuasive content, eye-catching visual design, and strategic calls to action (CTAs) to engage their audience, boost brand awareness, and drive conversions.

Why Are Promotional Emails Important?

There are many reasons why you should send promotional emails. Here are the top 3 benefits:

1. Promotional Emails Build Trust & Engage Customers

Email promotions build trust with your customers by providing them with real value. That value can be a coupon, free information, or a limited-time offer. When you send helpful and valuable emails, you’ll convert more of your subscribers into loyal customers, who are excited to purchase from you again and again.

Promotional emails also build engagement by giving people an incentive to engage with your content. In fact, promotional emails that contain both content and incentives (like lead magnets) can increase your click-through rates (CTR), conversions, and customer loyalty.

2. Email Promotions Save Money

Promo emails are cost-effective because they target an existing audience that has chosen to learn more about your company. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be quite expensive, as you’re paying a premium to reach interested users.

To send promotional emails, you need only 2 types of software:

•  Lead generation software to build your subscriber lists
• An email service provider to schedule and send your email offers

These types of services generally have reasonable fees. This lower cost means that even small businesses, nonprofits, and startups can afford to send promotional emails.

3. Email Offers Boost Your ROI

Since promotional emails are targeted toward audiences that have already shown interest in your business or products, promotional emails have the highest return on investment (ROI) of all promotional tools.

This is because promotional emails provide real value to the recipient, giving them a greater sense of trust and appreciation for your business.

How to Write Promotional Emails

Writing effective promotional emails requires a blend of creativity, strategy, and an understanding of your audience. Below are the steps and best practices for crafting compelling promotional emails:

1. Craft an Engaging Subject Line

• Keep it short and to the point: Aim for 6-10 words.
• Create urgency: Use time-sensitive phrases like “Limited-time offer” or “Last chance.”
• Personalize when possible: Include the recipient’s name or relevant details.
• Spark curiosity: Pique interest without giving everything away.

Examples:

• “Don’t Miss Out on 30% Off – Today Only!”
• “Hey [Name], Your Exclusive Deal Awaits!”

2. Personalize the Message

• Use the recipient’s first name to build a personal connection.
• Reference past purchases or preferences, if possible.
• Segment your audience to send targeted offers that match their interests.

Example:

• “Hi [Name], we noticed you loved [product]! Here’s 20% off your next purchase.”

3. Start with a Compelling Opening

• Hook the reader in the first sentence.
• Keep it short, snappy, and aligned with the subject line.
• Focus on benefits rather than features from the start.

Example:

• “Ready for an exclusive offer? You deserve something special!”

4. Highlight the Offer Clearly

• Make the offer the focal point of the email.
• Use bullet points or bold text to emphasize key details, like discounts, promotions, or new product launches.
• Add visuals like product images to enhance appeal.

Example:

• “Get 25% off all new arrivals until midnight! Here’s how it works:
  • Use code: SAVE25 at checkout
  • Offer ends tonight
  • Shop now and enjoy free shipping!”

5. Use Action-Oriented Language

• Create a clear call-to-action (CTA) using phrases that inspire urgency or excitement.
• Keep the CTA visible and repeat it throughout the email, but don’t overwhelm the reader with too many options.

Examples of CTA:

• “Shop Now”
• “Claim Your Discount”
• “Get Started Today”

6. Incorporate a Sense of Urgency

• Mention deadlines or limited availability to encourage immediate action.
• Use countdown timers if relevant (especially for flash sales).

Example:

• “Hurry – offer ends in 24 hours!”

7. Focus on Benefits, Not Just Features

• Rather than listing product features, highlight how your product or service will solve a problem or make the customer’s life easier.

Example:

• “With our new ergonomic chair, you’ll enjoy all-day comfort and increase productivity.”

8. Include Social Proof

• Testimonials, reviews, or user-generated content help build trust.
• Include stats or data points if they make your offer more credible.

Example:

• “Join over 10,000 happy customers who saved big with our annual sale!”

9. Optimize for Mobile Devices

• Ensure your email design is responsive and looks good on both desktop and mobile.
• Keep paragraphs short and use large, tappable buttons for CTAs.

10. Create a Simple, Eye-Catching Design

• Keep your design clean and aligned with your brand identity.
• Use plenty of white space and limit text blocks to make the email scannable.
• Stick to one or two colors that highlight key parts of the email.

11. Add a Postscript (P.S.)

• Reinforce the main point or CTA with a quick reminder in the P.S. section.
• This is a great place to add a last-minute nudge or additional value.

Example:

• “P.S. Don’t forget – your 20% discount expires at midnight! Shop now and save!”

12. Test and Optimize

• A/B test subject lines, CTA placements, and even design elements to determine what works best.
• Analyze open rates, click-through rates, and conversions to refine future emails.

Promotional Email Examples (That Any Business Can Learn From)

The following promotional email examples were taken from some of the biggest names on the web.

However, the strategies they use are available to any business, no matter how small. You don’t need a huge marketing team or budget to apply the same concepts to your own marketing.

Click on any of the example images to see a scrolling GIF of the full promotional email.

Let’s dive into our list:

1. Text Promotional Email from OptinMonster

At OptinMonster, we send different types of email campaigns. But often, we’ll use plain text promotional emails rather than HTML-based emails with images.

Text emails can boost deliverability, meaning your emails are less likely to end up in spam folders. Also, one A/B testing study compared how many conversions came from HTML vs. text emails. The test showed that 63% of converting existing customers and 49% of converting non-customers clicked from the text-based campaign.

What can you learn from these numbers? That you can succeed with text-only emails and that it’s a good idea to experiment with them.

For OptinMonster, these emails let us connect with our audience through storytelling. Plus, we can embed CTA links throughout the message to improve our click-through rates.

Bonus tip: You can send successful promo campaigns even if you don’t have a designer on your team! If you enjoy writing but aren’t great with graphics and layout, try using plain text for your sales emails.

2. A Focused and Attractive Email From Bose

The audio brand Bose has a great promotional email with lots of appealing visuals. It features various products with multiple CTA buttons throughout.

Notice that the email is easy to read and features plenty of negative space. The background is color-blocked, alternating between black and white. This visual style improves scannability and makes the photos pop.

Bonus tip: Send promotional emails with a specific focus or theme. Bose’s email is designed to appeal to athletes and people who listen to music while working out. All of the photos depict athletes, and the CTAs are for Bluetooth speakers and earbuds. The email’s heading, “Bose sound keeps you moving,” tells athletic readers exactly how they’ll benefit from using Bose products.

3. A Single-Goal Email From Netflix

Netflix has a simple but effective email campaign.

Netflix sends emails asking for ratings for their most popular shows. You may even receive an email for a show you haven’t watched yet. When you rate the show, you’re taken to your Netflix account, where you can continue watching or start the series.

This is a great way to expose people to popular shows on the streaming platform. Plus, Netflix gets valuable data on your likes and dislikes, helping them improve the user experience.

Bonus tip: Offer a strong, simple, and obvious CTA.  In this email, Netflix only asks 1 thing: whether you liked a specific show. Users won’t get distracted or bogged down in other information. They just click the thumbs up or thumbs down.

4. An Informative Email From Formidable Forms

Formidable Forms has a very informative promotional email.

They provide multiple links to various pages on their site, giving users a lot of ways to interact with the brand. The email is mostly text-based, but they use emojis to spice up the promotional message. The email includes a lot of information, but it’s broken up with headings, white space, and divider lines for scannability.

Bonus tip: Try this format if you have a lot of updates and features to showcase. For instance, Software as a Service (SaaS) companies can use this combination of headings, paragraphs, CTAs, and emojis to keep users updated without overwhelming them.

5. A Strong Incentive From PayPal

PayPal leads their promotional email with a strong incentive: get $30 off a future purchase when you’re approved for a PayPal credit card.

It’s a straightforward email that’s well-designed and easy to read. The incentive and the “Apply Now” CTA are prominent at the top of the email. As the user scrolls, they learn more of the benefits of having a PayPal credit card. Then, the incentive and CTA are repeated at the bottom of the email.

Bonus tip: When you need to provide more details about your offer, repeat your CTA at the end of your email. This way, your action button is immediately available after the reader has learned more about your offer.

6. A Heavily-Branded Email From Amazon

Amazon gives us another promotional email example that leads with an incentive: you can save $5 by using a pickup location, rather than having your packages delivered.

While there are prettier email templates out there, Amazon has done an incredible job of consistently branding these emails. You can usually tell the message is from Amazon before ever reading the company name.

Bonus tip: If your company has a recognizable logo, take advantage of it! And if it’s not recognizable just yet, your email designs can help your subscribers become more familiar with it.

7. Promotional Newsletter Example From Medium

Medium Daily Digest is a promotional newsletter for the blogging site Medium. Each email provides subscribers with links to multiple blog posts, based on their interests.

This is a great promotional email example because the content is personalized to the user. Each reader chooses categories of interest when they subscribe. Because of this relevant content, these emails will have higher open rates and click-through rates.

Bonus tip: As you become more advanced in your promotional email marketing, try out list segmentation and email automation. Both of these tools will help you provide your subscribers with more relevant content and offers.

8. A Seasonal Email From Best Buy

Electronics retailer Best Buy has a stylish and professional promotional email campaign that’s perfect for summer.

It shows products that go well with the season, such as a stand-up paddleboard. The background’s blue sky and streaming sunlight add to the email’s summer vibes.

Their CTA buttons also stand out with a bright yellow color, making them incredibly easy to find and click.

Bonus tip: Take advantage of the excitement of changing seasons. Whether it’s for summer, fall, or the holiday season, get your emails out early. During seasonal transitions, consumers are ready for change and are looking to buy products to prepare for shifting weather.

9. Bold Letters and Message From Constant Contact

Constant Contact has a great promotional email with big, bold letters to grab your attention.

As you scroll down, there are various links and CTAs that the target audience would find valuable. Then, there’s a section specifically designed to provide users with a link to call for support.

This is an excellent strategy for connecting with your audience and getting more people to engage with your support and sales team

Bonus tip: Check your open rate statistics to determine how many of your subscribers read your emails on mobile. That information will help you decide if a “click to call” button makes sense for you.

Free Promotional Email Templates

If you’re new to sending promotional emails to customers, a template is the easiest way to get started. Here are 2 proven promotional email template samples that you can use to increase sales at your business:

Template 1: New Product Launch Announcement

Subject Line: Introducing Our Exciting New Product – Discover [Product Name] Today!

[Recipient’s Name],

We’re thrilled to announce the arrival of our latest innovation: [Product Name]! Designed to revolutionize [industry or specific need], this cutting-edge solution is set to transform the way you [benefit or solve a problem].

Key Features:

• Feature 1: Describe the first standout feature of the product.
• Feature 2: Highlight the second key feature that sets it apart.
• Feature 3: Explain another important feature that adds value.

Why Choose [Product Name]?

• Benefit 1: Explain how this product addresses a pain point or enhances their experience.
• Benefit 2: Highlight another key benefit that makes it irresistible.
• Benefit 3: Describe a unique advantage or value proposition.

[Optional: Include customer testimonials or social proof]

For a limited time, we’re offering an exclusive introductory discount of [percentage or dollar amount] off the regular price. Take advantage of this opportunity to be among the first to experience [Product Name].

Click the button below to explore [Product Name] in more detail and place your order today!

[CTA Button: Shop Now]

Thank you for being a valued member of our community. We can’t wait for you to experience the game-changing potential of [Product Name].

Best regards,

Template 2: Limited-Time Offer

Subject Line: Final Hours! Grab [Percentage/Dollar Amount] Off – Shop Now!

Dear [Recipient’s Name],

Time is running out to take advantage of our exclusive limited-time offer! For the next [number of hours/days], we’re thrilled to extend a special [percentage/dollar amount] discount on our wide range of [product or category].

Whether you’re looking to upgrade your [product], enhance your [activity], or simply treat yourself, now is the perfect time to make it happen.

Why choose us?

• Reason 1: Highlight a key reason that makes your products or services stand out.
• Reason 2: Emphasize another unique selling point or benefit.
• Reason 3: Explain why customers love shopping with you or any special guarantees.

To take advantage of this offer, follow these steps:

• Visit our website: [Website URL]
• Browse our extensive collection.
• Add your favorite items to the cart.
• At checkout, enter the promo code: [Promo Code]
• Enjoy your exclusive discount!

Hurry, this offer ends [date and time]. Take advantage of the chance to save big on [product or category]. Start shopping now!

[CTA Button: Shop Now]

Our friendly customer support team is here to help if you have any questions or need assistance.

Happy shopping!

Sincerely,

[Your Name] [Your Company]

Feel free to customize these templates to match your brand’s voice and specific promotional offers. Remember to keep the content concise, focused, and compelling, with a clear call-to-action (CTA) that encourages recipients to take the desired action.

Get Started With OptinMonster Today!

Increase Sales By Perfecting Your Promo Emails

With these tips, examples, and templates, you’re ready to start sending promotional emails to customers and subscribers. You’ll see growth in your engagement, conversions, and sales when you use the strategies we explained above.

In other words, effective promo emails help your business succeed.

We hope you found this post helpful for your own promotional email ideas. If you did, you definitely want to check out the following resources:

• 17 Tips for Writing Email Marketing Copy That Converts
• Email Marketing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Guide
• How to Create an Effective Autoresponder Series
• How to Grow Your Email List: 23 Proven and Simple Ways
• 29 Best Email Automation Tools to Transform Your Business

Those resources will have even more helpful information on how you can improve your email marketing strategy to boost conversions and sales.

Are you up to date with the latest email marketing statistics? You likely know that email marketing ROI (return on investment) is huge compared to other channels. However, when your resources are limited, you want to make sure you’re investing your time and money in the right marketing strategies.

Email marketing is one of those ‘right strategies’ that businesses of all kinds should invest in. But, just in case you’re not convinced you’ll see an ROI on email marketing, we’ve compiled a big list of email marketing stats that will blow your mind.

In this article, we’ll share the latest email marketing statistics that will help you take your email marketing campaigns to the next level.

Let’s go!

Since there are a ton of statistics about email marketing in this post, here’s a table of contents to guide you through each part:

Email Usage Statistics

First, let’s take a look at some basic email marketing statistics on email usage.

One of the biggest benefits of using email to communicate with your customers is that nearly everyone uses email. In fact, 92% of online adults use email, with 61% using it on an average day.

And more and more people are using it year-after-year. The number of email users worldwide is approximately 4.6 billion in 2025. That number is projected to grow to over 4.8 billion by 2027.

Plus, nearly 376 billion emails are sent each day, and this number is expected to reach 408 billion in 2027.

People aren’t just using email to connect with family and friends either. 60% of consumers prefer to be contacted by brands through email, which is good news for your business.

Even better news? 88% of email users check their inbox multiple times a day, according to a 2023 survey of email users. Here are some of their findings:

• 39% check their email 3-5 times a day
• 27% check their email 10-20 times a day
• 22% check their email 20+ times a day
• 8.5% check their email once a day
• 3.5% don’t check their email every day

This frequency isn’t likely to change anytime soon. 81% of Gen Z members check their email at least once a day.

Mobile Email Marketing Statistics

Devices like smartphones and tablets make it super easy for users to check their inboxes on the go. In fact, you can expect 26-78% of your emails to be opened on mobile devices. Your exact number will depend on your industry and target audience.

The trend toward mobile email use will likely continue as time goes on. 67% of Gen Z say they primarily use email on their smartphone. That’s compared to 59% of millennials, 53% of Gen X, and 36% of Baby Boomers.

Among people who use mobile devices for email, a whopping 81% prefer to open emails on their smartphones, while  21% prefer their tablets. Smartphones crush the competition when it comes to mobile devices.

But, just because users are checking their email on their smartphones, that doesn’t mean they’re not checking their emails on desktop, too. In fact, 23% of consumers who open an email on a mobile device will open that email again later, many times on desktop:

Image Source

Campaign Monitor also found that, if an email is read on mobile and then read for a second time on desktop, that consumer has a 65% higher likelihood of clicking through.

As you can see, it’s important to make sure your emails are optimized for mobile since that’s how a ton of people check their email inboxes.

50% of people will delete an email if it’s not optimized for mobile. So, if your email marketing campaigns aren’t mobile-friendly, all your hard work will go to waste.

Luckily, most email marketing services like Constant Contact and Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) offer responsive email templates that will make your email messages look great on any screen.

In addition, with an email marketing service, you can automate your email marketing.

Email automation is a must-have for businesses because it not only saves you time, but it makes you more money. 320% more revenue is driven from automated emails than non-automated emails!

Now let’s look at the differences between B2B email marketing and B2C email marketing.

B2B Email Marketing Statistics

Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools for B2B businesses to generate more leads and sales.

According to a 2023 B2B marketing survey, 50% of B2B marketers say email marketing is the most impactful channel in their multi-channel marketing strategy.

With email marketing, B2B businesses can send content to subscribers to educate them about their product/service and convert leads into customers.

71% of B2B marketers use an email newsletter as part of their content marketing strategy, according to a 2025 report from the Content Marketing Institute (CMI). Additionally, CMI’s 2024 report found that 71% of B2B marketers cited email engagement as one of the most important metrics for the performance of their content.

B2B marketing emails do see a slightly lower open rate (15.14%) compared to B2C emails (19.7%). However, B2B has a 3.18% click rate, compared to 2.09% for B2C.

You can see why 42% of B2B marketers cite email as their most effective marketing channel, only outranked by in-person events and webinars.

B2C Email Marketing Statistics

Email marketing also works wonders for B2C businesses. It can turn window shoppers into buyers, boost engagement, improve customer loyalty and retention, and more.

And the statistics prove it!

59% of consumers say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions, with over 50% saying they purchase from an email at least once a month.

80% of small and midsized businesses say that email marketing is their most important online tool for customer retention. That’s because you can use email campaigns to send your existing customers:

• Notifications about special sales and offers
• Exclusive discounts and coupon codes
• New product announcements
• Product recommendations

An abandoned cart email strategy is also necessary for eCommerce stores that want to win back sales.

Check out this abandoned cart email from Bambu Lab US:

Abandoned cart emails like these really work.

Abandoned cart email campaigns have an open rate of 50.50%, according to a 2024 email marketing report from Klaviyo. Businesses also earn an average of $3.45 in revenue per abandoned cart email recipient.

Email Marketing Statistics & Benchmarks by Industry

Next, let’s look at some common email marketing benchmarks and how they differ across industries.  For these statistics, we’ll look at data from the popular email service provider Constant Contact.

Constant Contact updates its list of email marketing statistics by industry several times a year. Here are some of the numbers from October 2024:

Technology Services

• Open Rate: 26.80%
• Click Rate: 2.65%
• Bounce Rate: 12.50%

Retail

• Open Rate: 33.80%
• Click Rate: 1.11%
• Bounce Rate: 8.81%

Dining & Food Services

• Open Rate: 32.54%
• Click Rate: 0.81%
• Bounce Rate: 8.78%

Real Estate

• Open Rate: 33.75%
• Click Rate: 1.31%
• Bounce Rate: 13.84%

Education

• Open Rate: 39.50%
• Click Rate: 2.33%
• Bounce Rate: 9.32%

Personalized Email Marketing Statistics

Consumers love getting messages and offers that are personalized to their needs and interests.

71% of consumers expect personalized interactions from brands, and 76% get frustrated when their brand interactions aren’t personalized to their interests.

That makes personalization incredibly important to a great email marketing strategy.

Personalization also drives sales. 80% of consumers say they’re more likely to do business with a company that uses personalization.

In order to create more relevant messages, 77% of marketers say they use email to send personalized content to their subscribers.

You can personalize your emails in a number of ways. For instance, many marketers personalize emails based on demographics like gender and age. In fact, 66% of marketers use age data to personalize their emails.

You can also create personalized email marketing campaigns based on previous purchase activity or specific actions the user has taken.

For example, Netflix sends emails to its customers based on TV shows and movies they’ve watched and loved.

This type of personalization is achieved through email segmentation.

According to an email marketing survey from HubSpot, 65% of marketers say their segmented emails have better open rates.

The benefits continue even after subscribers have opened their emails. When Virgin used subscriber data to personalize the images within their email, they increased their click-through rate by 29%.

The takeaway? When your emails are personalized to each user, they’ll be more likely to take action and engage with your emails.

Email Engagement Statistics

Aside from personalization, let’s find out what other factors make users want to engage with your emails.

What convinces users to open your emails in the first place?

Subscribers look at 3 things when deciding whether to open an email:

1. 42% look at the sender name first
2. 34% look at the subject line first
3. 24% look at the preview text first

You’ll need to optimize all 3 if you want to improve your email open rates.

Once you get your subscribers to open your emails, you want them to click your calls to action (CTAs) and stay subscribed.

73% of marketers stick to just 1 or 2 CTAs per email, according to email research by Databox. Limiting your CTAs can encourage subscribers to take the desired action.

In the same report, email marketers cited these as the top reasons for unsubscribes:

• Email relevance (40%)
• Content too salesy or spammy (28%)
• Email frequency (27%)

However, actual consumers cite slightly different reasons for unsubscribing, according to a survey from Constant Contact:

• 69% said they received too many emails from that sender
• 56% said the content was no longer relevant
• 51% said the content wasn’t what they expected

The Benefits of Email Marketing

Wondering if email marketing is really worth it?

For the finale of this big list of email marketing stats, let’s go over some email marketing conversion statistics and email ROI statistics to show you the true benefits of email marketing.

Globally, 30% of marketers cite email marketing as having the highest ROI of all digital marketing channels. Another 43% said it has medium ROI.

This is probably because, for every $1 spent on email marketing, $36 is made in return, according to email marketing data from Litmus. That equals a 3600% ROI.

Here are some more email marketing success statistics you can swoon over:

• 52% of consumers made a purchase directly from an email in the last year, according to Marigold’s 2024 Consumer Trends Index.
• 18% of companies achieve email marketing ROI greater than $70 per $1 invested.
• Email outperformed banner ads and SMS marketing by 108% in 2023
• Email outperforms social media posts by 13% and social media ads by 11%

And that’s a wrap!

We hope these email marketing statistics will help you supercharge your emails!

Also check out:

• Email Marketing: The #1 Ridiculously Easy Way to Grow Your Business
• 10 Brilliant Email Marketing Examples and Why We Love Them
• Best Time To Send Email: Insights From Top Studies

And remember, if you need help growing your email list, OptinMonster is the best tool for turning website visitors into email subscribers. Get started with OptinMonster today to explode your email list.

Top 10 Email Subject Lines for Higher Opens

Quick inspiration before you scroll — here are 10 proven subject lines you can adapt for your next campaign:

“You won’t believe what we’ve got for you”
“Last chance: Your special offer expires tonight”
“Just for you: A little mid-week surprise”
“Your free gift is waiting ”
“Can we tempt you?”
“3 things you’ll love this weekend”
“Don’t miss out on this”
“You asked, we listened”
“An offer too good to ignore”
“Because you deserve something special”

Pro tip: These work best when personalized with your subscriber’s name, matched to recent behavior, or combined with a sense of urgency.

Email subject lines are the most important part of any email you send. That’s because they’re the key to whether a reader opens your email, ignores it, or why they go to spam.

This blog will discuss email subject lines, their importance, email subject line best practices, and what to avoid while creating one.

But most importantly, we’ll also share 121 email subject line examples you can use to increase open rates.

Plus, we’ll help you understand the psychology behind them so you can replicate their success again and again.

To jump directly to the best email subject lines, click the links below.

Ready to get started? Let’s go!

What Is an Email Subject Line?

An email subject line is a brief preview or a one-line summary of the content of an email that appears in the inbox. The best email subject lines grab readers’ attention, provide value to the recipient, and encourage them to open the email.

Here is an email marketing subject line example.

It is usually the subject line that determines whether a reader would open your email or ignore it.

Why Is a Good Email Subject Line Important?

According to email research by Zippia, 47% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line alone. At the same time, 69% of email recipients report emails as spammy based solely on the subject line.

In other words: your subject lines can make or break your email marketing campaigns.

By using good email subject lines, you can increase open rates, which can help improve click-through rates and conversions.

Email marketing subject lines are important for several other reasons as well, such as:

• Grabbing Attention: Subject lines are the first thing recipients see when they receive an email, and they play a crucial role in grabbing their attention and encouraging them to open the email.
• Setting Expectations: Subject lines also set expectations for the content of the email. A well-crafted subject line should give the recipient an idea of the email and what they can expect to find inside.
• Avoiding Spam Filters: Certain words and phrases can trigger spam filters, causing your email to be marked as spam and potentially end up in the recipient’s spam folder or not being delivered at all. Crafting subject lines that avoid these trigger words and phrases ensures deliverability.
• Higher Open Rates: An engaging subject line can significantly increase the recipient’s likelihood of opening the email. This is especially important in email marketing campaigns, where open rates often measure the campaign’s success.
• Encouraging Engagement: Subject lines can also encourage engagement with the email’s content. A catchy email subject line can entice the recipient to read further, click on links, or take other desired actions.

The subject line is the first impression that the recipient will have of the email. It’s important to make it count.

Let’s see 121+ catchy email subject line examples and the proven principles that make them work.

121 Best Email Subject Lines (and Why They Work)!

FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) Email Subject Lines

One psychological principle that is practically impossible to resist is FOMO, the fear of missing out. You can use this fear in your subject lines by adding an element of scarcity (limited availability) or urgency (limited time).

Email subject lines that include words that imply time sensitivity, like “urgent”, “breaking”, “important” or “alert” are proven to increase email open rates.

Here are some great sample subject lines for emails that use the fear of missing out:

1. Warby Parker: “Uh-oh, your prescription is expiring”
2. JetBlue: “You’re missing out on points.”
3. Digital Marketer: “[URGENT] You’ve got ONE DAY to watch this…”
4. Digital Marketer: “Your 7-figure plan goes bye-bye at midnight…”
5. Digital Marketer: “[WEEKEND ONLY] Get this NOW before it’s gone…”
6. Jersey Mike’s Subs: “Mary, Earn double points today only”
7. Guess: “Tonight only: A denim lover’s dream”

Curiosity Inducing Email Subject Lines

Humans have a natural desire for closure. We don’t like having gaps in our knowledge. You can leverage this desire for closure by leaving your subject line open-ended so subscribers will be curious, like a cliffhanger that can only be satisfied by opening the email.

You can make subscribers curious by asking a question, promising something interesting, or simply saying something that sounds strange or unusual.

Here are some great examples of curiosity-inducing subject lines:

8. Manicube: “*Don’t Open This Email*”
9. GrubHub: “Last Day To See What This Mystery Email Is All About”
10. Refinery29: “10 bizarre money habits making Millennials richer”
11. Digital Marketer: “Check out my new “man cave” [PICS]”
12. Digital Marketer: “Is this the hottest career in marketing?”
13. Thrillist: “What They Eat In Prison”
14. Eat This Not That: “9 Disgusting Facts about Thanksgiving”
15. Chubbies: “Hologram Shorts?!”
16. The Hustle: “A faster donkey”
17. Mary Fernandez: “? a surprise gift for you! {unwrap}”

Funny Email Subject Lines

If your subject line makes your subscribers laugh, they must open it. After all, have you ever read a subject line that tickled your funny bone and didn’t read it?

Being humorous and catchy requires more thought and creativity, but it can pay off in terms of your open rates.

Here are some funny email subject lines to make your subscribers laugh:

18. Eater Boston: “Where to Drink Beer Right Now” (Sent at 6:45am on a Wednesday.)
19. OpenTable: “Licking your phone never tasted so good”
20. Groupon: “Deals That Make Us Proud (Unlike Our Nephew, Steve)”
21. The Muse: “We Like Being Used”
22. Warby Parker: “Pairs nicely with spreadsheets”
23. UncommonGoods: “As You Wish” (A reference to the movie The Princess Bride.)
24. Travelocity: “Need a day at the beach? Just scratch n’ sniff your way to paradise…”
25. TicTail: “Boom shakalak! Let’s get started.”
26. Thrillist: “Try To Avoid These 27 People On New Year’s Eve”
27. Baby Bump: “Yes, I’m Pregnant. You Can Stop Staring At My Belly Now.”
28. Gozengo: “NEW! Vacation on Mars”
29. The Hustle: “Look what you did, you little jerk…” (This one’s a reference to the movie Home Alone. We hope.)

Vanity Appealing Email Subject Lines

Everyone has a bit of vanity. People love to be liked, accepted, and even revered by others. It’s just a part of being human.

That’s why some of the most clever subject lines use vanity to get you to open the email. To do this, you can either promise something that makes the subscriber look better to their peers or invoke the fear of being shamed.

Here are some great examples of clever email subject lines that leverage vanity:

30. Guess: “Don’t wear last year’s styles.”
31. Fabletics: “Your Butt Will Look Great in These Workout Pants”
32. Jeremy Gitomer: “How Have You Progressed Since the Third Grade?”
33. Rapha: “Gift inspiration for the discerning cyclist”
34. La Mer: “Age-defying beauty tricks”
35. Pop Physique: “Get Ready. Keep the Pie Off Your Thighs Returns.”
36. Rapha: “As worn in the World Tour”
37. Sephora: “Products the celebs are wearing”

Greedy Email Subject Lines

You may not think of yourself as a “greedy” person, but it can be tough to pass up a great deal, even if you don’t need the item right now. That’s why sales, discounts, and special offers work well in your subject lines.

However, be careful about offering massive discounts; the higher the percentage, the less reliable its effect on your open rates (perhaps because consumers don’t believe large discounts are real).

Regardless, you can usually expect an increase in click-through rates whenever you offer a discount in your subject line. That’s because the people who open these emails are interested in your offer, so they’re naturally inclined to click.

Here are some great email subject line ideas for hitting your subscriber’s “greed” button:

38. Topshop: “Meet your new jeans”
39. Topshop: “Get a head start on summer”
40. HP: “Flash. Sale. Alert.”
41. HP: “New must-haves for your office”
42. Seafolly: “A new product you won’t pass on”
43. Guess: “25% off your favorites”
44. Rip Curl: “Two for two”
45. La Mer: “A little luxury at a great price”
46. Rapha: “Complimentary gift wrap on all purchases”
47. The Black Tux: “Get priority access.”

Catchy Email Subject Lines

Catchy email subject lines create excitement and encourage readers to open the email.

There are many different ways to grab your readers’ attention. For example, you can create an attention-grabbing catchy email subject line by being controversial, confident, or conversational.

You can also give readers an easier way to achieve their goals by offering a shortcut or a helpful resource (e.g., a lead magnet) that saves time and energy.

Here are a few catchy email subject line examples that capture the readers’ attention in one way or another.

48. Syed from OptinMonster: “ 63-Point Checklist for Creating the Ultimate Optin Form”
49. Syed from OptinMonster: “Grow your email list 10X faster with these 30 content upgrade ideas”
50. Ramit Sethi: “How to email a busy person (including a word-for-word script)”
51. Digital Marketer: “Steal these email templates…”
52. Digital Marketer: “A Native Ad in 60 Minutes or Less”
53. Digital Marketer: “212 blog post ideas“

Customer Pain Points Email Subject Lines

If you understand your buyer persona, you should know their biggest pain points. Use those pain points to get subscribers to open your emails by solving that problem.

Here are some examples of email subject lines that bring out the subscriber’s pain points and offer a solution:

54. Pizza Hut: “Feed your guests without breaking the bank”
55. IKEA: “Where do all these toys go?”
56. IKEA: “Get more kitchen space with these easy fixes”
57. HP: “Stop wasting money on ink”
58. Sephora: “Your beauty issues, solved”
59. Uber: “Since we can’t all win the lottery…”
60. Thrillist: “How to Survive Your Next Overnight Flight”
61. Guess: “Wanted: Cute and affordable fashions”
62. Evernote: “Stop wasting time on mindless work”
63. Duolingo: “Learn a language with only 5 minutes per day”

Retargeting Email Subject Lines

Retargeting emails are sent to subscribers when they fail to complete an action or a step in your sales funnel (e.g., when they abandon their cart or fail to purchase after their free trial). These emails serve to bring your subscribers back to your sales process.

You can write effective retargeting subject lines by overcoming objections, offering something to sweeten the deal, or alerting them that something bad will happen if they don’t take action.

Here are some excellent examples of retargeting email subject lines:

64. Nick Stephenson: “How you can afford Your First 10,000 Readers (closing tonight)”
65. Bonobos: “Hey, forget something? Here’s 20% off.”
66. Target: “The price dropped for something in your cart”
67. Syed from Envira: “Mary, your Envira account is on hold!”
68. Syed from Envira: “I’m deleting your Envira account”
69. Ugmonk: “Offering you my personal email”
70. Animoto: “Did you miss out on some of these new features?”
71. Pinterest: “Good News: Your Pin’s price dropped!”
72. Unroll.Me: “ Unroll.Me has stopped working”
73. Vivino: “We are not gonna Give Up on You!”

Personalized Email Subject Lines

Email subject lines that use personalization by including a name boost open rates by 10-14% across industries.

But including your subscriber’s name is only one way to make personalized subject lines. You can also use casual language, share something personal, or use copy that implies familiarity or friendship.

Here are some examples of personal email subject lines that work:

74. Guess: “Mary, check out these hand-picked looks”
75. Rent the Runway: “Happy Birthday Mary – Surprise Inside!”
76. Bonnie Fahy: “Mary, do you remember me?”
77. Kimra Luna: “I didn’t see your name in the comments!?”
78. John Lee Dumas: “Are you coming?”
79. UrbanDaddy: “You’ve Changed”
80. Influitive: “So I’ll pick you up at 7?”
81. James Malinchak: “Crazy Invitation, I am Going to Buy You Lunch…”
82. Brooklinen: “Vanilla or Chocolate?”
83. Sam from The Hustle: “I love you”
84. Ryan Levesque: “Seriously, Who DOES This?”
85. Jon Morrow: “Quick favor?”
86. Mary Fernandez: “you free this Thurs at 12PM PST? [guest blogging class]”
87. Mary Fernandez: “? your detailed results…”
88. Syed from OptinMonster: “300% increase in revenue with a single optin + a neat growth trick from my mastermind!”
89. Revolution Tea: “Thanks for helping us”
90. Harry’s: “Two razors for your friends (on us)”

Straightforward Email Subject Lines

When in doubt, make your subject line simple. Contrary to what you might think, these “boring” subject lines can convert well.

The key to making this work for your list is consistently providing value in your emails. Only send an email if you have something important to say: always make sure your campaigns are packed with value. If you do this, you’ll train your subscribers to open your emails no matter what the subject line says.

For help with writing better emails, check out our post on 19 quick and dirty tricks for writing better emails.

Here are a few examples of email marketing subject lines that get straight to the point:

91. Al Franken: “Yes, this is a fundraising email”
92. AYR: “Best coat ever”
93. Barack Obama: “Hey”

And these “boring” subject lines performed the highest out of 40 million emails, with open rates between 60-87%.

94. “[Company Name] Sales & Marketing Newsletter”
95. “Eye on the [Company Name] Update (Oct 31 – Nov 4)”
96. “[Company Name] Staff Shirts & Photos”
97. “[Company Name] May 2005 News Bulletin!”
98. “[Company Name] Newsletter – February 2006”
99. “[Company Name] and [Company Name] Invites You!”
100. “Happy Holidays from [Company Name]”
101. “Invitation from [Company Name]”

Sales Email Subject Lines

Sales email subject lines are specifically crafted to promote and sell a product or service to potential customers.

These subject lines grab the recipient’s attention and create a sense of urgency or exclusivity. They often use phrases like “limited time,” “exclusive offer,” or “sneak peek” to entice the recipient to open the email and take advantage of the promotion.

They often include a clear call to action, such as “Shop now” or “Learn more,” to encourage the recipient to take action and purchase.

Here are a few examples of effective sales email subject lines that work very well:

102. “Limited time offer: Get 20% off your first purchase!”
103. “Don’t miss out on our biggest sale of the year!”
104. “Sneak peek: Introducing our newest product line”
105. “Upgrade your [product/service] and save 10%”
106. “Exclusive offer: Buy one, get one free!”

Newsletter Email Subject Lines

Newsletter email subject lines are used to promote and share regular updates, news, or information with subscribers.

Newsletters, often sent regularly, such as weekly or monthly, are intended to keep subscribers engaged and informed about the latest developments related to the brand or industry.

Here are a few examples of newsletter email subject lines:

107. “Stay in the know: Our monthly newsletter is here!”
108. “5 must-read articles for this week”
109. “New product announcement: Be the first to know”
110. “Your weekly dose of inspiration and motivation”
111. “Exclusive content: Subscribe to our newsletter for access”

Learn more about newsletters in the following articles:

• How To Create An Email Newsletter in 5 EASY Steps
• 27 Awesome Newsletter Ideas That Will Keep Subscribers Engaged

Follow-up Email Subject Lines

Follow-up email subject lines are used to remind or follow up with a recipient after an initial email has been sent. They are often used for cold emails in sales or networking situations, where a prompt response is needed to close a deal or establish a relationship.

Here are a few examples of follow-up email subject lines that work:

112. “Quick follow-up on our meeting”
113. “Just wanted to touch base on [topic]”
114. “Checking in on your progress”
115. “Friendly reminder: [Action needed]”
116. “Don’t miss out: Last chance to [offer]”

Cold Email Subject Lines

Cold email subject lines are used to outreach prospects or potential customers. They are often used in sales or networking situations where the goal is to generate leads or establish new business relationships.

These types of subject lines are designed to be personalized, brief, and intriguing. They often use phrases like “introducing,” “would you be interested,” or “let’s chat” to communicate the purpose of the email in a friendly and non-invasive manner.

They often include a clear value proposition or a statement of how the sender can help the recipient further establish the potential benefits of engaging with the email.

Here are a few examples of cold email subject lines:

117. “Introducing [Product/Service] – A solution to your [problem]”
118. “Would you be interested in [Value proposition]?”
119. “Can we help you achieve [Goal]?”
120. “Let’s chat about [Topic]”
121. “Reaching out to explore a potential partnership”

Top Email Subject Line Keywords

Many studies have analyzed the effectiveness of using specific email subject line keywords. Use these keywords to boost your open rates even further when crafting your email copy and subject lines.

According to studies by Alchemy Worx, which analyzed 45 billion emails, some of the most effective subject line keywords were:

• “upgrade”
• “just”
• “content”
• “go”
• “wonderful”
• “promotional”
• “congratulations”
• “revision”
• “forecast”
• “snapshot”
• “token”
• “voluntary”
• “monthly”
• “deduction”

Based on Digital Marketer’s analysis of 125 million emails, some top subject line keywords to try are:

• “free”
• “ICYMI”
• “$ today, $$$ tomorrow”
• numbers (e.g. “7-figure plan”, “212 ideas”, “60 minutes or less”)
• [brackets] (e.g. “[EMAIL MARKETERS] $95 today, $995 tomorrow,” “[In Case You Missed It] Our best-performing blog post of all time,” “[NAME’s Last Reminder] Up to 90% off our best-selling products gone in 3…2…1…”)

Adestra analyzed over 2.2 billion emails and found the following top subject line keywords:

• “free delivery”
• “available”
• “new”
• “alert”
• “news”
• “update”
• “summer”
• “weekend”

In another study from Adestra, which looked at over 125K email campaigns, the top-performing subject line keywords were:

• “thank you”
• “*|*|*|*|” (i.e. a subject line that has multiple stories delineated by pipes. For example, “Headline 1 | Headline 2 | Headline 3 | Headline 4”)
• “monthly”
• “thanks”
• “*|*|*|”
• “bulletin”
• “golden”
• “iPhone”
• “breaking”
• “order today”

Finally, a report by Smart Insights looked at a random sample of 700 million emails and found that the top-performing subject line keywords were:

• “introducing”
• “celebrate”
• “buy”
• “continues”
• “get your”
• “what…?”
• “won’t…?”
• “do…?”
• “can…?”
• “may…?”
• “on orders over”
• “orders over”
• “off selected”
• “your next order”
• “available”
• “brand new”
• “latest”
• “special”
• “wonderful”
• “great deals”
• “sale starts”
• “back in stock”
• “stock”
• “sale now”
• “now in”

Email Subject Line Best Practices

Following these email subject line best practices, you can craft subject lines that grab your audience’s attention, increase open rates, and drive engagement.

• Segment Your Audience: Tailor your subject lines to different audience segments based on their interests and behaviors. This can increase open rates and engagement.
• Avoid Spam Trigger Words: Avoid using words that are commonly associated with spam, such as “cash,” “earn money,” “free,” or “act now.” These can trigger spam filters and cause your email to be marked as spam, ultimately affecting your email deliverability. This applies to both the subject line and the body of the email.
• Be Clear and Specific: Your subject line should indicate the content and purpose of the email. Avoid vague or overly general subject lines that don’t give the recipient a good idea of what to expect.
• Use Action-Oriented Language: Use strong verbs and action-oriented language to create a sense of urgency and encourage the recipient to take action. This can include words like “limited time offer,” “urgent,” “today only,” or “ending soon.”
• Use Personalization: Include the recipient’s name or other personalized information to make the email more relevant and personalized.
• Keep A/B Testing: A/B test different subject lines to see what works best for your audience. Try different lengths, formats, and styles to see what resonates with your subscribers.

Common Mistakes To Avoid in Email Subject Lines

When you’re creating that perfect email subject line, try to avoid the following mistakes:

• Using Clickbait or Deceptive Language: Avoid using misleading or exaggerated language to entice the recipient to open the email.
• Using All Caps or Excessive Punctuation: Using all caps or excessive punctuation can make the subject line appear spammy and turn off recipients.
• Making False Promises: Only promise something in the subject line delivered in the email’s body.
• Being Too Vague or Generic: Make sure the subject line is specific and provides value to the recipient.

3 Bonus Tips for Crafting Catchy Email Subject Lines

Before choosing a subject line at random, remember these tips for the highest possible open rates.

1. Most People Open Emails on Mobile

Regardless of which of the above techniques you use, make sure your subject line is optimized for mobile users.

While mobile access to email saw a dip at the end of 2018, it’s still the preferred way people access their email.

You can use free marketing tools like EmailToolTester’s subject line checker to see how your sender name, subject line, and preview text will appear on various popular mobile devices.

Simply enter your email details and select which device you want to view:

Then you can see exactly how your email will look in mobile inboxes:

2. Originality is Key

Also, remember that being original is the key to sustainable success with your email subject lines.

The truth is subscribers get bored easily. If you want to engage first-time openers and long-term inactive subscribers, you don’t want them to read your subject line and think, “There’s that weekly newsletter again that I always ignore.”

You should keep things fresh and exciting. And writing good subject lines for emails is the best way to do that.

3. Try Out Emojis

According to a report by Experian, using emojis in your subject lines can increase your open rates by 45%.

We’ve also been testing this at OptinMonster, and we can confirm that the email subject lines with emojis beat the plain text ones!

Here are the top 15 emojis by subject line appearance.

These aren’t necessarily the “best” ones but the most popular. You can get creative with emojis and emoji combinations for your email subject lines.

That’s it! We hope you found these 121 best subject lines for emails helpful in creating your next subject line. If you did, consider downloading the cheat sheet, so you can always have this guide handy.

Email subject lines are critical to any email marketing campaign, especially for those in the eCommerce industry. They can make or break the success of an email campaign, especially during peak sales events like Black Friday.

Now it’s your turn. Choose one of the subject line examples above to modify and make your own.

Consider incorporating top subject line keywords to boost your newsletter open rates even more.

Here’s How OptinMonster Can Help Boost Your Open Rates

Crafting compelling email subject lines is essential for increasing open rates, but it’s only part of the equation. No matter how engaging your subject line is, if your emails land in the inbox of someone who isn’t truly interested, your open rates will suffer. That’s where OptinMonster makes the difference.

With OptinMonster, you can build a high-quality email list by attracting the right subscribers using popups, slide-ins, floating bars, and gamified spin-to-win optins. Our advanced targeting and segmentation features ensure you’re capturing leads who are genuinely interested in your content, products, or services. You can personalize offers based on user behavior, location, time spent on the page, and more, ensuring the right people opt in to your list.

OptinMonster’s exit-intent technology detects when visitors are about to leave your site and presents them with irresistible offers, turning abandoning visitors into engaged subscribers.

Why settle for low open rates when you can grow an email list full of people who actually want to hear from you?

If you haven’t signed up for OptinMonster yet, you can get started right away with a 100% risk-free account: Get OptinMonster Today!

If you enjoyed this article, you should also check out the following blog posts:

• 8 Product Recommendation Email Examples to Drive Sales
• 30 Content Upgrade Ideas to Grow Your Email List
• Email Subject Line Statistics To Help You Maximize Your Open Rates
• 27 Abandoned Cart Email Subject Lines PROVEN to Convert
• 29 Best Email Automation Tools to Transform Your Business
• Top 10 Best Bulk Emails Services
• Create and Send Your First Email Newsletter

To help, I’ve put together 29 proven newsletter ideas you can use to keep subscribers interested and clicking.

Just click any idea below to jump to examples, templates, and free resources.

Prefer to start with the basics? Below, you’ll also find a quick breakdown of what an email newsletter is, why it’s important, and the best practices behind a high-performing one.

What Is an Email Newsletter?

A newsletter is an email, typically sent daily, weekly, or monthly, to your subscribers to inform them about the industry news, promotions, and latest updates related to our product or service. Newsletters help build relationships with subscribers by releasing engaging content to them.

Why Are Email Newsletters Important?

There are several reasons why email newsletters are so valuable:

1. Direct communication

Email newsletters allow businesses to communicate directly with their subscribers without the distractions and limitations of other marketing channels. This enables them to share news, promotions, and other updates with a receptive and interested audience and to build a loyal following of engaged subscribers.

2. Relationship building

By providing valuable information and keeping subscribers informed, email newsletters can help to build trust, establish authority, and strengthen relationships between business owners and their audience. This can increase loyalty, repeat business, and positive word-of-mouth marketing.

3. Brand awareness

Email newsletters provide a valuable opportunity to promote your brand and raise awareness of your products or services. You can encourage subscribers to engage with your brand and share your newsletter content with their networks by featuring new products, promotions, and other updates.

4. Data collection

Email newsletters provide an effective means of collecting valuable data about your subscribers, including their interests, preferences, and behavior. This information can be used to refine your marketing strategy, improve your products or services, and better understand your target audience.

Overall, email newsletters are a powerful tool for connecting with your target audience, building your brand, and achieving your marketing goals.

By providing valuable newsletter content, promoting engagement, and building lasting relationships with your subscribers, you can establish yourself as a trusted authority in your industry and achieve long-term success.

How To Write a Newsletter That Performs?

To write a newsletter that gets opened and read, there are several best practices you can follow:

Step 1: Define your audience – Know your target audience and write for them. Tailor your newsletter ideas to their interests and needs.

Step 2: Choose a catchy subject line – Your subject line should grab the attention of your subscribers and make them want to open your newsletter.

Step 3: Keep it short and sweet – Keep your newsletter short. Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and visuals to break up the text and make it easy to read.

Step 4: Provide valuable content – Offer your subscribers something of value, whether it’s news, insights, tips, or promotions. Make sure the newsletter content is relevant, engaging, and informative.

Step 5: Include a call-to-action – Encourage your subscribers to take action, whether visiting your website, making a purchase, or sharing your newsletter articles.

Step 6: Personalize your message – Use the recipient’s name, include personalized recommendations based on their interests, or tailor your newsletter content ideas to their location.

Step 7: Optimize for mobile devices – Make sure your newsletter is optimized for mobile devices, as over half of all emails are opened on mobile devices.

Step 8: A/B test and analyze – Test different subject lines, layouts, and newsletter ideas to see what works best for your audience. Use data to analyze open and click-through rates and adjust as needed.

By following these best practices, you can write a newsletter that captures the attention of your subscribers, provides value, and encourages engagement.

29 Engaging Newsletter Ideas

I have divided the list of 29 newsletter ideas into six categories to make it easier for our readers to navigate and find the content that is most relevant to their interests.

By organizing our newsletter ideas into these categories, I can ensure that our newsletter delivers diverse content that appeals to our entire audience.

Helpful Newsletter Ideas

• How-To Guides
• Share Blog Posts
• Create Blog Post Roundups
• Share Your YouTube Videos
• Share Templates
• Share Infographics

The best way to keep your subscribers around is by sending them newsletters that help them solve problems.

Let’s take a look at some ideas for newsletter that will help you bring value to your subscribers and let you promote your helpful content at the same time.

1. How-To Guides

Offer your subscribers step-by-step instructions on how to use your product or how to get something done by creating newsletters with how-to guides.

For example, Design Files sent this step-by-step video tutorial to their subscribers:

Creating a detailed video tutorial isn’t necessary for all businesses though.

For instance, if you make handmade scarves, you can show your subscribers ten different ways to wear them with photos. Or, if you’re a writing coach, you can create a text-based list that includes tips to help your subscribers improve their writing skills.

With how-to guides and tutorials, you can solve the biggest pain points of your target audience and easily demonstrate the value of your product/service.

2. Share Blog Posts

Want to get a lot of eyes on your latest blog post? Attaching them to your newsletter is a great email content idea.

Instead of waiting for your audience to check out your newest post, you can get them excited and drive traffic to your site by sharing it in a newsletter, as the blog Easy Cheesy Vegetarian does below:

Remember to encourage your subscribers to share the post on social media and make it easy for them by including share buttons in your newsletter.

3. Create Blog Post Roundups

Aside from sharing your latest blog posts one at a time, you can also create blog post roundups.

A blog post roundup offers your readers several of your company’s best blog posts. For example, you can create a blog post roundup of your most popular blog posts or pull together a best-of-the-best roundup of blogs on a particular topic.

This is the perfect way to introduce your new subscribers to some of your older blog posts.

4. Share Your YouTube Videos

Do you have a YouTube channel for your business? If you do, start sharing your YouTube videos in your newsletter.

Videos are super engaging. In fact, including a video in an email can lead to open rate increases of 6%!

It’s important to remember that your YouTube video will not necessarily play right inside an email. Email clients like Gmail, Outlook, and others don’t have the technical requirements to make that happen.

So, it’s best to add a static image of your YouTube video with a “play button” over the top and link the image to your video hosted on YouTube. That way, when subscribers click the play button on the image, it will open up the video on YouTube.

Here’s how Patagonia does it:

An obvious added bonus of sharing your videos with your newsletter subscribers is that it will help you get more YouTube subscribers and more views!

5. Share Templates

Offer your subscribers downloadable templates to help them with personal or professional tasks.

Whether it’s a planning calendar, a budget sheet, a workout plan, or a design template, providing something of tangible value can significantly boost engagement.

6. Share Infographics

Share visually appealing infographics that break complex information into easily digestible visual content.

Infographics can be about industry trends, how-to guides, statistical data, or any topic that your subscribers might find interesting.

Promotional Newsletter Ideas

• New Product Announcements
• Coupons and Promotions
• Gift Guides
• Refer-a-Friend Program
• Case Studies and Testimonials
• Show Off User-Generated Content

According to MarketingSherpa, about 60% of consumers subscribe to a brand’s list to get promotional messages. So, there’s nothing wrong with sending promotional emails to your subscribers occasionally.

Let’s dive into some promotional newsletter ideas that will generate sales

7. New Product Announcements

Before releasing a new product, you must excite your audience. One way to do that is by sending them a new product announcement newsletter.

In the newsletter, you can inform your audience about your new product and what day it’s being released.

A newsletter announcing your new product will create a buzz, and your subscribers will line up on launch day to purchase it.

8. Coupons and Promotions

Everyone loves a good deal, so your subscribers are sure to enjoy getting emails from you that contain awesome coupons and promotions.

To increase conversions, create urgency with limited-time offers. For example, take a look at this eye-catching 8-hour sale email from Virgin Airlines:

A limited-time offer like this will create a sense of urgency and have your customers rushing to the checkout.

You can increase urgency by adding a countdown timer to your newsletter to show the minutes ticking by.

Pair that with an OptinMonster sales countdown timer popup on your website, and your sales will skyrocket.

9. Gift Guides

For eCommerce businesses, gift guides are an excellent newsletter idea to promote your products and generate more sales around the holidays.

Plus, they help your customers finish their holiday shopping quickly and easily.

You don’t have to wait until Christmas to create a gift guide.

You can create gift guides for any occasion; Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Back-to-School, and so on.

10. Refer-a-Friend Program

Creating a refer-a-friend is another great newsletter idea, asking loyal subscribers to recommend your business to their family and friends.

You can have your subscribers forward the email to their contacts. Then, if someone signs up for your email list, you can reward the original subscriber with a special discount.

This is a great way to grow your email list and introduce your business to new, potential customers.

11. Case Studies and Testimonials

Case studies and testimonials act as social proof for your business. When a subscriber reads about a success story from one of your happy customers, it encourages them to become a customer too.

Social proof statistics show that 92% of people will trust a recommendation from a peer, and 70% will trust a recommendation from someone they don’t even know.

So, craft newsletters to show off your business’ case studies, testimonials, and reviews like Eight Sleep does below:

12. Show Off User-Generated Content

Another effective form of social proof is user-generated content. User-generated content is any content, like images or videos, created by users and shared on online platforms like social media.

Businesses typically repost user-generated content on their social media feeds, but they can also serve as an excellent newsletter idea.

Here’s how Glossier did it:

Creating a newsletter to showcase user-generated content will show your subscribers how many loyal fans your business has and will help you boost sales too.

Newsletters Ideas For Events

• Event Invitations
• Event Recaps
• Webinars

Do you have an upcoming event you want to promote? Send a newsletter!

Take a look at these awesome newsletter ideas for events.

13. Event Invitations

Everyone loves getting a personal invitation to an exciting event.

So, if your business is holding an event for your customers and subscribers, send them an email invite.

Check out this gorgeous email invitation for a Loeffler Randall X Jenni Kayne pop-up shop:

Sending an email invite is a great way to remind subscribers about upcoming events and get a lot of attendees.

14. Event Recaps

You can also create event recap newsletters. Event recap newsletters let subscribers who couldn’t attend the event find out what happened: what was talked about, who attended, how much money was raised, and even what was on the menu.

This helps everyone feel included even though they couldn’t be there.

But event recaps can also help inspire FOMO (the fear of missing out) in your subscribers. When your newsletter subscribers see what they missed out on, they’ll be sure to RSVP for the next event.

15. Webinars

Webinar marketing is an effective lead generation strategy. With a webinar, you can provide free, valuable information to your target audience and turn them into email subscribers and, eventually, customers.

To promote your upcoming webinar, send an email about it to your newsletter subscribers.

Like in this webinar email from Mintel, be sure to provide the date and time of your webinar, details about what attendees can learn, and a link where they can register.

Business Newsletter Ideas

• Share Your Company Story
• Behind-The-Scenes Tour
• Employee of the Month
• Job Postings
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Industry News
• Interview an Expert

Use your newsletters to keep your audience up-to-date with what’s going on in your business.

Check out these business information newsletter ideas you can send subscribers to educate them about your business and brand.

16. Share Your Company Story

To connect with your audience and let them get to know the person behind the brand, share your company story.

This email newsletter example from CharityWater.org tells how their non-profit organization started with a little idea among friends and how it grew into what it is today.

A personal, relatable story like this helps readers connect to the organization more meaningfully.

This newsletter idea doesn’t only work for non-profits. You can share the story of how your business started and why you do what you do to connect with your subscribers.

When your subscribers get to know the person behind the brand, they’ll be more invested in the emails you send them.

17. Behind-The-Scenes Tour

Make your newsletter subscribers and your customers feel like VIPs by giving them a glimpse behind-the-scenes of your company.

Lush is famous for taking their audience behind the scenes of their company. In their behind-the-scenes videos, people can see exactly how their bath bombs, soaps, and body washes are made.

If you don’t create a product, your business can give your subscribers a tour of your office space or take them behind the scenes of a photo shoot.

18. Employee of the Month

Let your newsletter subscribers get to know the incredible people working at your company by sending an “Employee of the Month” email.

With your employee of the month, you can include a photo of the employee, their name, job title, and a brief description of them, what they do, and what makes them so great.

When your subscribers feel connected to your and your employees, it increases brand loyalty.

19. Job Postings

Is your business hiring? Let your newsletter subscribers know!

Here’s how the Pemberton & District Public Library lets its audience know they’re hiring:

You never know if one of your loyal subscribers could become your newest employee. Or, they could pass the opportunity along to one of their talented family members or friends.

20. Frequently Asked Questions

You can also use your newsletter to answer frequently asked questions (FAQs). This is an easy way to help your subscribers learn more about your business.

Not sure what FAQs to answer?

Ask your customer support or sales team which questions they receive the most. That way, you can make sure your newsletter’s FAQs are relevant to your readers.

21. Industry News

Instead of only sharing news about your company in your newsletter, consider sharing news about your industry.

This won’t work for every business. For instance, if you own a pizza restaurant, your customers likely won’t be interested in hearing the news about the restaurant industry.

But, if your company is a B2B (business-to-business) digital marketing agency, your subscribers will be interested in digital marketing news. So, you can share the latest industry trends or news with them to keep them informed and up-to-date.

22. Interview an Expert

Another way to create an interesting newsletter for your subscribers is by interviewing an expert.

You can interview an important industry figure or someone on your company’s team.

You can also interview people your subscribers will relate to, like their peers. For example, Interface Lover, a magazine for creative professionals, regularly interviews designers that their readers can be inspired by.

To get the most engagement, provide a video of the interview in your newsletter and a link to a blog post with the full transcript.

Interactive Newsletter Ideas

• Ask for Feedback
• Run a Giveaway
• Quizzes

Have you ever heard of interactive content? Interactive content refers to content that lets the audience actively participate. So, users can click around and perform actions instead of passively reading or watching.

Here are some interactive newsletter content ideas you can use.

23. Ask for Feedback

People love sharing their thoughts and opinions. And interactive content like a poll or a survey does wonders for boosting engagement.

So, to keep subscribers engaged, ask them for their feedback with a survey!

Here’s how Lyft does it:

This triggered email asks customers to provide Lyft with feedback about the ride they’ve just taken.

Sending a triggered email survey right after a customer’s experience with your company is an effective way to gather feedback because the experience is fresh in the customer’s mind, making them more likely to take a few minutes to answer some questions.

Aside from triggered email surveys, you can also send out a survey periodically to get your customers’ opinions on your product or service.

You can easily create a survey using a tool like WPForms.

With WPForm’s drag-and-drop form builder, you can create a survey that fits your needs in minutes and embed it on a page, in a post, or to any part of your WordPress website.

Then, send an email to your subscribers asking them for their feedback and include a link to the survey.

Asking your subscribers for feedback is a great way to keep them engaged, but you can also gather valuable insights that will help you grow your business and keep your customers happy.

24. Run a Giveaway

Running a giveaway is another awesome way to keep subscribers engaged. Giveaways also help you drive more traffic to your site, grow your social media following, increase brand awareness, and more.

Giveaways work so well because, let’s face it, who doesn’t love winning a fabulous prize?

At OptinMonster, we recently ran a giveaway for a Macbook Pro that received over 60,000 entries!

Here’s the giveaway email we sent out:

When readers clicked on the green call-to-action in the email, they were sent to a distraction-free giveaway landing page we could easily create with the best WordPress giveaway and contest plugin, RafflePress.

Plus, using RafflePress, you can offer extra entries to users for completing bonus actions.

To enter your contest, you can ask your subscribers to follow you on Twitter or Pinterest, watch a YouTube video, share one of your Facebook posts, or visit a particular page on your website, all of which will help you keep your subscribers engaged.

25. Quizzes

Quizzes are super fun, and people love them. Just look at the success of the Buzzfeed website. Their silly quizzes, like “Build a sandwich, and we’ll tell you how old you are,” get a ton of engagement online.

Email content ideas of a newsletter with a quiz in it can get a similar amount of engagement.

But for the best results, instead of creating a silly Buzzfeed-esque quiz, create a quiz for your subscribers that’s relevant to them and your business.

Fun Newsletter Ideas

• Holiday Greetings
• Share Your Recommendations
• Inspirational Quotes
• Pet Pictures

Lastly, having a little fun with your email newsletters is important. So, let’s look at some “just for fun” ideas for newsletter.

26. Holiday Greetings

Bring your newsletter subscribers joy by sending them holiday greetings. A simple holiday greeting from your business will let your subscribers know you’re thinking of them on a special day.

For example, check out this email from Nordstrom, wishing their subscribers a Happy Thanksgiving.

Also, notice how they use a fun animation to let subscribers know that they’ll decorate their website for the holiday, which helps Nordstrom drive more traffic.

And remember, you don’t have to wait until a major holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas rolls around to send a cheerful greeting.

There are a ton of other fun marketing holidays you can whoop it up with your subscribers over, like:

• Science Fiction Day (January 2nd)
• National Pizza Day (February 9th)
• International Women’s Day (March 8th)
• National Best Friends Day (June 8th)
• And Many More

27. Share Your Recommendations

If you’ve recently listened to a great podcast, read a good book, or watched an awesome movie, share it with your subscribers!

Your subscribers will love learning about your interests and get some awesome new recommendations they can check out.

Aside from fun stuff like movies and TV shows, you can also recommend useful resources or tools to your audience. For instance, if you have a blog that helps others grow their blogs, you can recommend a cool WordPress plugin or content calendar tool you’ve been using.

28. Inspirational Quotes

When you find an inspirational quote meaningful to you, it can also be meaningful to your subscriber, hence an excellent newsletter idea.

Inspirational quotes will add more interest to your company newsletters, give your subscribers something to think about, give them something to relate to, and they can even help motivate them to reach their goals.

29. Pet Pictures

Talk about the safest newsletter idea. Everyone loves cute pet pictures, so why not share photos of your or employees’ pets in your email newsletter?

Here’s how Carhartt does it:

Sharing photos of adorable animals is a great way to skyrocket engagement, proven by the fact that animal photos are super popular on social media sites like Instagram and Facebook.

That’s a wrap!

With these 29 newsletter ideas to keep subscribers engaged, your newsletter content strategy won’t bore your subscribers. Instead, they’ll always be interested in your messages and eagerly awaiting your next email!

Need more subscribers to send all of your engaging content to? OptinMonster is hands down the best tool you can use to create beautiful lead capture forms and grow your email list.

Get started with OptinMonster today.

I hope you liked this article and if so, you may also be interested in:

• 5 Best WordPress Newsletter Plugins in 2025 for More Engagement