Halloween is just a few weeks away and for millions of people that means stocking up on candy and dusting off old Halloween costumes.
And for merchants it means preparing a Halloween sale.
That’s a lot of costumes, decorations, and candy.
But it’s not just typical holiday-related purchases people are making. Nor is it only Americans getting in on the action.
While Halloween may be seen as a North American holiday, its origins relate back to Europe where it’s still celebrated as well as around the rest of the world.
This means that savvy merchants worldwide are running Halloween sales regardless of what they sell.
The ROI of email marketing needs no convincing. If you use it right, email can be the most effective digital marketing channel for your Halloween season as well. It can be a game-changer for your annual revenue.
So to help you get inspired, we’ve curated this list of what we think are the best Halloween emails out there.
First, let’s understand what kind of Halloween emails you should send.
What Kind of Halloween Emails Should You Send?
There are several types of Halloween emails. Right from the teaser email to last-chance emails, all of which are time-sensitive.
Halloween promotions and discounts
Announce special Halloween discounts or promotions on select products, encouraging customers to shop early for the best deals.
Product highlight emails
Showcase Halloween-themed products or bestsellers, such as costumes, decorations, or seasonal treats, with engaging images and descriptions.
Halloween gift guides
Curate a list of Halloween gifts, ideal for various recipients like kids, adults, or pets, making it easy for customers to find the perfect item.
DIY tips and ideas
Share creative ideas for Halloween costumes, decorations, or treats that incorporate your products, inspiring customers to engage with your brand.
Countdown to Halloween
Create urgency by reminding customers of the approaching holiday and suggesting last-minute purchases or limited-time offers.
Customer favorites and reviews
Highlight popular Halloween products and include customer reviews or testimonials to build trust and encourage purchases.
Interactive emails
Encourage customer participation by hosting a contest, asking them to share their Halloween looks or decorating ideas using your products.
Halloween-themed content
Share links to blog posts featuring Halloween recipes, decorating tips, or party ideas, driving traffic to your website while promoting products.
Last-minute deals
Send a reminder email featuring last-minute deals or exclusive offers for customers who haven’t yet made their Halloween purchases.
Post-Halloween follow-up
Express gratitude to customers after Halloween, offering them a sneak peek at upcoming promotions or new arrivals for the holiday season.
Halloween email examples to inspire your holiday season campaign
Now let’s take a look at some Halloween email examples that can inspire your email design as well.
The Halloween sale announcement email from J.Crew Factor
This is J. Crew Factory’s follow up email announcing details of their sale.
After having got their customers excited to learn more details about their sale, this email will enjoy a decently high open-rate. The fact that people have to click through to their site to learn details about the sale also means it’ll likely have a great click-through rate as well.
What makes this email stand out however is the clever use of copy.
If you’ve ever been trick-or-treating then you’ll know the excitement of getting a full-sized candy bar which J. Crew now has you associating this feeling with their sale.
The reveal your deal Halloween email from Loft
This is another example of a sale announcement where Loft has included an appealing call-to-action (CTA).
The email itself is a good example of Halloween design with the orange background and contrasting black bats, stars, and moon. But what completes it is the “reveal your deal” CTA.
The sale announcement will generate a decent amount of excitement itself but the prospect of revealing your own deals will be what gives people that extra push to get them to click through.
Kendra Scott ass an element of gamification
In addition to how Kendra Scott subverts the traditional Halloween colors to match their brand while remaining Halloween-themed, what we like about this email is the gamification element.
Instead of simply listing which items are on sale, Kendra Scott invites customers to go on a treasure hunt on their website. This could be a lot of fun for their customers and is a way of getting people to engage with their store.
It also has the advantage of getting customers to browse through their range where many people will likely find something they want to buy even though it mightn’t be on sale.
Keurig aligning everything with the holiday season mood
As we’ve already mentioned, it’s not just merchants selling candy, decorations, and Halloween costumes who hold sales. Regardless of what you sell, we’re sure that with some creative thinking you’ll be able to link it back to the holiday.
This email from Keurig is a great example of exactly that.
Coffee is certainly isn’t something people associate with Halloween but by playing on people’s fear of running out of coffee, Keurig has nonetheless made a connection.
A few spiders are thrown in and some orange added for good measure as well.
Kate Spade’s animated GIF email is definitely spooky
Many brands would prefer to steer clear of traditional Halloween imagery like Jack-o’-lantern, cobwebs, and ghosts that can come across as tacky.
The email from Kate Spade however shows how these brands can still get in on the Halloween fun while staying true to their design language. It’s classy and elegant and importantly, on-brand.
The animation thanks to the image being a GIF also helps grab customers’ attention and makes the email stand out in their inboxes.
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Maniology’s lastchance sale call
Again, you don’t want your Halloween email campaign to only consist of a single email.
While we’ve talked about additional emails you can send at the beginning of your campaign like a sale teaser, this email from Maniology is an example of how you can close out your campaign.
As your sale draws to a close, you’ll want to send a final last chance email to let your customers know that your sale is about to end.
The countdown timer helps to amplify this sense of urgency and compel shoppers to take action right away.
The Halloween email with a poll in it
Whoever thought embedding a poll in a Halloween email has got their email marketing right. Polls and similar interactive elements that make the user take an action or participate in the email increase engagement.
If done right, they create a memorable event, which along with the season’s cheers can benefit the brand.
Xumo, the on-demand streaming service embedded a poll in its email to maximize engagement. The email also features other usual recommendations and sections designed and presented with all the visuals befitting the Halloween mood.
The Halloween email with the smart email copy
Writing a spooky subject line is half the battle won for a Halloween email. The rest of the battle is on the copy and the visuals.
This particular email from Sea of Thieves, which is a popular game around pirates and their adventures has given the email copy a creative twist. The copy is heavy on wordplay with Halloween-related phrases and impressive imagery that is definitely impressive.
The timely Halloween email from online food delivery service
What can an online food delivery service probably pitch for sale during Halloween?
Candies, of course! Lots of’em.
Grubhub’s Halloween email is a minimal one-scroll long email with a colorful candy visual filling the screen and probably inviting the user to order some for themselves.
The subject line also fits in perfectly to persuade the user.
The Halloween email that wants to sell you themed products
Fashion and Halloween go hand-in-hand.
Dressing up in Halloween costumes is one of the top ways consumers celebrate Halloween, in addition to handing out candy and decorating their home or yard (NRF).
Halloween costumes sell big and fast. The Cotton Bureau knows this very well and pulled the email lever to sell their Stranger Things themed t-shirts. A good example to emulate if your store has Halloween-themed merchandise that can pick up in demand during the season.
New product announcement in a Halloween email
Even the regular coffee cravings get a seasonal twist during Halloween.
Brewbike, which sells coffee made by students for students, used its Halloween email to market its limited period available Pumpkin Spice Brew (PSB).
The email features a simple product image with a strikeout text that highlights PSB along with a phone number for placing the order.
Unlike other products, where the customer has to sign up or place an online order, the phone order makes a difference.
A Halloween email announcing a special offer
Fiverr Learn’s Halloween email is simple, straightforward, and comes with an irresistible offer.
It is a perfect example of how to drive home the message without beating around the bush.
Their announcement of 35% off on courses is loud and clear and is made persuasive with the CTA copy.
A Halloween email with an intriguing story
Most Halloween emails are tuned to sell a product or announce an offer. But, 8 AM Creative which is into marketing and web development used storytelling to garner interest about their offerings.
The intriguing storyline with a catchy title sure can hold anyone’s attention.
If you have a service or an offering that is custom-made for customers, this example could work for you as well.
Leatherman – A Halloween-themed email with special offers for costumes
Leatherman sells multi-tools, knives and pocket tools. Products, which may not see a huge surge in demand during Halloween.
However, Leatherman gave it a clever creative twist to increase demand. They offered makeovers for the tools that they sell, specifically with Halloween themes. Customers also have the option to upload their images to customize their tools.
A good idea to follow, both for product-wise and communicating it via an email for Halloweeen.
A Halloween email, especially for pets
Whoever thought Hallowen gifts are only for humans should correct themselves. Rover, which offers dog walking, boarding, and related services promoted tricks and toys from their P.L.A.Y through their newsletter.
Collaborating or partnering with other brands selling ancillary products/services is a good strategy to garner interest and maximize sales during Halloween.
Their email also does a great job in accomplishing both the motives.
Tattly’s straight-forward email announcing a one-day offer
Halloween offers don’t have to be week-long. They can run for a day or a short period as well. It mostly depends on the target audience you are targeting and their needs.
Tattly, which sells temporary tattoos, sent Halloween-themed tattoos with a 31% off through their email.
The email are also enriched with product cards highlighting slashed prices to persuade more sales.
Buoy’s last-chance Halloween offer email
Let’s face it. Halloween promo emails may not entice customers in the first go. Sometimes customers need to be nudged multiple times before they can be convinced to take interest in an offer.
Buoy’s last-chance Halloween offer, which was revised for more interest, is a good example to follow if you plan on sending last-chance emails.
They have also added a section that explains how the offer works and how to redeem it.
Halloween email that does content marketing right
Halloween emails are not only about sales and promotions. They can also be used to promote your content, especially if your business is dependent on it.
Fiton, the free fitness app shared a wide variety of recipes and promotions for their fitness courses through the email.
The email has a clear distinction between content and service promos, which makes it a good example for content marketing.
Airbnb’s Halloween email with a special focus on spooky stays
Airbnb doesn’t have to try hard to sell its stays, yet their email goes the extra mile convincing customers to book a spooky email.
We don’t know for sure if these stays really exist, but the use of imagery has always worked well for Airbnb.
It should work for your business as well if the product sells better through imagery and its experiences.
Promoting Halloween recipes in style
Kraft Heinz Company, the fifth-largest food and beverage company in the world, has a portfolio of 8 billion dollar brands in its portfolio.
Using email to promote the offerings of each product requires careful planning and execution. This particular Halloween email My Food and Family has done it right to promote Halloween specific fun dishes.
They have also experimented with the CTA buttons to make them more engaging and persuasive.
Conclusion
Halloween is becoming an increasingly important sales event, not only in the United States but around the world. That’s why smart merchants and marketers are creating their own sales and email campaigns for Halloween.
And now you hopefully have plenty of ideas and design inspiration for your own Halloween campaign.
Of course, no email is complete without a compelling subject line. Especially when a third of your email list will either open or ignore your campaign based solely on its subject line.
So to help you with your Halloween campaign even further, we’ve put together a list of over 125+ Halloween subject lines that you can get inspired by.
Best of luck!
