This post was updated on October 5, 2022.
I’m going to level with you—there are a lot of email marketing examples.
Take a look at what happens when you search “email marketing examples.”
Just a couple hundred million to sift through, no sweat...
There are endless lists of email marketing examples, but here’s a question for you:
How many of them are good marketing email examples?
What makes them good?
It’s not all about email design. It’s about what you want your customer to get from your marketing email campaigns:
- An answer to a question
- A way to solve a problem
That’s why we’ve gathered 25 of the best email marketing examples. And why we’ll show you exactly what makes great email marketing content.
This article will cover:
- 25 of the best email marketing examples—and why they increase conversions
- 5 email design tips you cannot forget (at least, if you want emails that convert)
Table of Contents
25 email marketing examples
Good to know. So, we just jump on the bandwagon and send out an email campaign to our customer base and see those sales rolling in, right?
But how?
To make it easier, let’s look at how other companies create successful email campaigns that work.
Here are 25 of the best email marketing examples you’ll ever see:
- Typeform
- Headspace
- Target
- 1Password
- Readdle
- Chewy
- Kayla Itsines
- Mack Weldon
- Michaels
- Rich20Something
- MyFitnessPal
- BuzzFeed
- Chipotle
- Bombos
- Omaze
- The Knot
- Winc
- Peloton
- Casper
- 1-800 Contacts
- Starbucks
- Nike
- Villa Plus
- Wild Mint
- Walmart
1. Typeform
Typeform is an online software company based in Barcelona specializing in online form building and surveys. Typeform’s re-engagement email is 1 they send customers who have stopped using their product.
Saying, “I don’t want you to leave, please stay,” isn’t enough.
People need a reason to stay (this email gives them one).
Why did this person stop using Typeform? Maybe because…
- They don’t need the service anymore
- They need more advanced services
- They straight-up ignore most emails
People are going to need a little push before they log in again. Voila! Typeform offers new inspiration from its email template gallery.
Come on, click it. You know you want to.
2. Headspace
Headspace, an online healthcare company, specializing in meditation, wanted to know more than how their users felt about their Buddy feature. So they sent this example of a great email survey.
This marketing email is upfront about what’s coming (and how long it’ll take).
Yeah, it’s a survey. But not boring.
No customer wants to do tedious work, let alone work that’ll take forever. So Headspace is careful to say that their survey is “super short.”
Add to that—a CTA that uses natural, interesting language. The survey is short and not boring, so more people will take it.
3. Target
Target keeps things simple but effective with their welcome email.
Their bold use of color captures attention, and they quickly make sure that the reader knows just how many discounts and deals they can enjoy by signing up with them. They mention rewards, savings, money off, and exclusive deals in a few sentences, showing their customers all the rewards they can enjoy and encouraging them to sign up for their rewards program and app simultaneously.
4. 1Password
84% of B2C welcome emails make it into the intended recipient’s inboxes globally and have an impressive 23% read rate. 1Password, a password manager, digital vault, form filler, and secure digital wallet, makes the most of this with its engaging welcome messaging.
Wake up and smell the coffee.
Hey you kids, get off my lawn!!
Take your shoes off and stay a while.
All of these are commonly used expressions. Why do they work in this welcome email example?
Because you’re talking to normal human people, and they like normal human language.
Many companies give a generic “welcome to [insert company name here].” Be different. You know, actually welcoming.
Tom Fishburne, the creator of Marketoonist, once said, “The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.” Don’t make customers feel like you’re marketing to them.
5. Readdle
Everyone loves celebrating achievements. You can celebrate your customer’s milestones, like subscription anniversaries—and you definitely should. But you can also celebrate your own.
See if you can spot the most important part of this email.
Did you spot it?
100 million. Dang. That’s a big number. Hard to miss, and definitely not 1 that you forget easily.
But really, this email is great because of this line—“This is an unbelievable milestone that wouldn’t be possible without you!”
Acknowledge your customers’ contribution to your success—it celebrates your success and makes them feel appreciated.
6. Chewy
Chew(-y) on this great example of a recommended product email.
What’s the most powerful word you can use in marketing?
(Hint—I just used it, and so does this example).
Ok, I’ll tell you. It’s “you.”
Wouldn’t it be weird if someone tried to talk directly to you, tell you what they think you would like, without using the word “you?”
In his book Pre-Suasion, Robert Cialdini explores how the word “you” is captivating. The things that hold your attention are things that matter to you personally.
Personalized marketing will never go out of style (or effectiveness). “You” is a really simple place to start.
7. Kayla Itsines Fitness
Kayla Itsines is an Australian personal trainer, author, and entrepreneur.
She is the creator of a series of fitness ebooks titled Bikini Body Guides and a meal-planning and workout app, Sweat with Kayla.
This is 1 of the best email marketing examples on the list for 2 reasons:
- Problem Agitation Solution
- Cross-promotion
“PAS” (Problem, Agitation, Solution) is 1 of the most popular copywriting frameworks out there. In PAS, you highlight the reader’s problem by using the same words they’d use to describe it.
Here’s the line in this email:
“What you might not be loving is your sore and aching muscles if you haven’t exercised in a while. I bet you are feeling less than amazing right now. Did you know that a foam roller helps to decrease muscle stiffness and cramps, removes cellulite, improves flexibility as well, as improving blood flow to your muscles?”
Holy benefits.
Problem: What you might not be loving is your sore and aching muscles if you haven’t exercised in a while.
Agitation: I bet you are feeling less than amazing right now.
Solution: Did you know that a foam roller helps to decrease muscle stiffness and cramps, removes cellulite, improves flexibility, as well as improving blood flow to your muscles?
There you have it—problem, agitation, and straight to a nice cross-promotional solution.
Cross-promotion is a marketing tactic where you target the promotion of a related product or service to your customers.
Fitness queen Kayla Istines (who’s made a nice chunk of change from me, by the way) uses PAS and a 10% discount to cross-promote a foam roller.
8. Mack Weldon
No matter what the occasion for your email campaign is, focus on the audience, not yourself.
I know what you might be thinking: “But it’s OUR birthday!?”
Yes, but you aren’t trying to keep YOURSELF connected to your own brand.
That’s what you are doing with your customers, and this is something that Mack Weldon understands.
That’s why the customers get all the presents. But don’t worry! With a great marketing email like this one, you still do, too (spoiler alert—you get the customers).
Top it all off with a party-starting CTA; this email is a customer appreciation winner.
9. Michaels
This Michaels sale promotion email creates urgency in a simple and direct way.
“LAST DAY TO SAVE” is pretty cut and dry (and in a big font, pretty unmissable).
But take another look.
“Get it or regret it.”
I read this line out loud to myself 3 times.
The line is catchy. More importantly, it targets “loss aversion” (the idea that humans are likely to act to avoid losing something).
This email advertising reminds potential customers that they only have 1 last shot before they get stuck with regret.
Crafts make your house look nice. Regret makes you bitter. Would you rather get a pretty house or be bitter?
10. Rich20Something
Personality in your emails works.
You should mostly keep your diary to yourself, but getting personal once in a while can work—like in this email from Daniel DiPiazza of Rich20Something, an online platform that teaches you how to start an online business.
Here’s why this is great email marketing content:
- It’s personally relatable (everyone can relate to embarrassing stories AND experiencing failures)
- It’s attention-grabbing (who doesn’t love a good embarrassing story??)
- You feel like you’re talking to a friend (I just want to swap stories with this guy)
Personal stories make you sound authentic. Your email will sound more like a conversation and less like a textbook.
11. MyFitnessPal
Curated content is a collection of relevant, high-quality content that makes for the best marketing emails.
There’s more to your brand than just saying, “use us; we’re really good.”
Giving people the reasons will better the odds that they’ll take you up on the idea.
- Save calories
- Get protein
- Enjoy vegetables??
Who doesn’t want these things? When you curate your email content, you can send people exactly what they want to see—without needing to create all the content yourself.
12. BuzzFeed
Newsletter emails might be out of fashion (because they’re technically email blasts and those types of emails tend to scare people), but they can work.
This email newsletter from BuzzFeed is a great way to stay in touch with your customers. But only if you do it right. Here’s why BuzzFeed has great email marketing campaign ideas.
I chose this newsletter email marketing example because it reminded me of a great Active Campaign blog title:
Opt-in Copy that Doesn’t Suck: The Criminally Underrated Way to Grow Your Email List
This copy is “sticky” (and so is the Buzzfeed email).
What is sticky copy? It sounds gross (it’s not).
Stick copy is copy that stops you in your tracks and makes you pay attention.
That’s what you want, right? People to read your business emails? Try using phrases like…
- “Criminally underrated”
- “Doesn’t suck”
- “Ridiculously easy”
All of these make you stop and pay attention because they use powerful words to help you fix your problems.
13. Chipotle
A double opt-in email process is a good idea. But too many people waste the opportunity to send a great confirmation email.
Chipotle makes this confirmation email a bit more interesting.
Why use a double-opt email process?
- It makes sure people want to hear from you (and that their information is right).
- People who go through a double opt-in are more likely to engage with your communications.
- You’ll have fewer spam complaints, which helps your deliverability
- It satisfies requirements from some countries/regions that require a double opt-in process.
- It helps you avoid spam contacts and “spam traps.”
The fun copy and “burrito love” make people more likely to click on this successful confirmation email example.
14. Bombas
Customers like to be appreciated, but they also want to know why. This thank-you email from Bombas does both.
$3 million. It’s the first thing you see when you open the email. 3 million is an attention-grabbing number. When someone says “3 million,” you can’t help but say, “3 million what?”—in short, you want to find out more.
Putting 3 million in the headline copy makes this headline thanking customers all the better.
To top it all off, Bombas gives you a discount (and make it easy to use it immediately)
15. Omaze
Omaze is an online fundraising platform that raffles once-in-a-lifetime experiences and exclusive merchandise for charity. This contest announcement email is hard to ignore with a familiar name: Kit Harrington.
All Hail the King of the North!
It looks like you know SOMETHING, Jon Snow. Don’t mind if I do.
Let’s talk about personalization. It’s important, and you need to do it.
“People are always telling me I know nothing, but I do know that I want to have tea with YOU.”
Jon Snow might famously ‘know nothing,’ but Omaze knows a thing or 2 about email marketing best practices.
I know who Kit Harrington is, but I clicked on this email for another reason—the email subject line addressed me personally.
Many persuasion techniques help you connect better with customers:
- “Even if”
- The curiosity gap
- Social proof
- Loss aversion
- Others (full list here)
But using words like “you” and making copy personal and conversational will always win the day and get the conversion.
16. The Knot
This successful email promotion from The Knot is a killer example of a good email subject line because it uses an intriguing number.
Say that number out loud. Three thousand dollars.
If you’re getting married, doesn’t $3,000 for a dream wedding sound like the fix you’ve been waiting for?
When you combine that kind of attention-grabbing number with some beautiful images and scannable email design, this giveaway email marketing campaign example has everything it needs to get your click.
Yeah, it’s a giveaway—there’s a chance you won’t win. But it’s a free $3,000 gift. You’ll at least open the email.
Cue the mouse *click* of you opening that email.
17. Winc
Next to a welcome email series, a great abandoned cart email sequence is the best tool in your digital marketing arsenal. Check out this 1 from the wine club company Winc.
Here’s why this abandon cart email works:
- The copy sounds conversational—like an actual human works there.
- It gives a discount incentive to complete the purchase.
- It shows the exact products you miss out on if you abandon your cart.
This email from Winc has everything an abandoned cart email needs to get the purchase.
18. Peloton
Welcome emails are important. This example from Peloton shows you how to do them well.
There are 2 key takeaways from this marketing email:
- You get to see your trainers, which builds trust
- You can take a quiz to customize your experience, which makes you more likely to follow through.
Peloton makes it easy for you to say “yes” to your next workout.
19. Casper
Casper has great content marketing ideas—and email marketing examples.
This is a successful marketing email example because it leads with a powerful pain point.
This heading asks, “how did you sleep” instead of “how were the sheets.” Casper wants you to leave an online review. And they want you to tell people how well you slept.
People buy Casper products because they want to sleep better. Your review will be more persuasive if it talks about that.
20. 1-800 Contacts
No one likes to think about unsubscribes—but making great unsubscribe emails great is important.
Here are the 3 top reasons why customers unsubscribe from email lists:
- You’re sending irrelevant content
- You send too much
- They’re not interested anymore
It’s a bummer. But 1-800 Contacts do a great job of A) sending a perfect unsubscribe email and B) leading people to a different type of conversion.
“You’re leaving? Don’t!”
Plus, I mean, you guys had Prague. You can’t walk away from that.
(Please Note: I’m not even subscribed to 1-800 Contacts. Also haven’t been to Prague. But this email still worked by making me feel nostalgic for everything I’d be missing).
21. Starbucks
The welcome email from Starbucks greets you by name and gets the tone just right. It’s friendly and welcoming, but also informative.
The message also includes some additional benefits the recipient may have been unaware of and shows the reader how easy it is to get rewards and earn freebies. It works because of the friendly, informal tone—it’s not so much a sales pitch but an engaging message that feels genuine, warm, and helpful.
22. Nike
Nike knows that simple is best, and their marketing email keeps things that way. If you sign up to join them, you’ll receive an email that immediately makes you feel included and welcomed into the company, like a valued team member.
The slogan "Welcome to the team" immediately makes the reader feel as though they are part of a community, and the accompanying images of ‘real’ people using their products is really inclusive. They actually thank the customer for joining them 3 times to make them feel valued and appreciated, as well as making it clear that they will be rewarded with great benefits.
The content of the email is simple and to the point. It’s also paired with a clear, unpressured CTA with their ‘explore benefits’ action button to feel like it’s more for the customer than the business.
23. Villa Plus
The Villa Plus team sure knows how to get us dreaming of sunshine and swimming pools!
Their email not only gives you a great incentive to book with them by offering a chunk of money off your next booking; it also creates time pressure by giving an expiry date for when the money off voucher runs out.
24. Wild Mint
While email marketing might often be reserved for personalized emails, product offers, or enticing discounts, we should also remember that other email marketing types can be highly effective, too.
This email type drops into your inbox after you purchase 1 or more of their products. Rather than offering rewards, they ask the reader to write them a review, but they do so in such a genuine way that it’s pretty hard not to want to comply.
25. Walmart
After signing up for an account with Walmart, customers will receive a welcome email jam-packed with useful information.
The colorful images capture interest, the content is informative yet friendly, and the light humor keeps the tone warm and engaging. They mention the benefits of shopping with them, including their home delivery service with the benefit of no delivery charge for orders over $35. They cleverly highlight the box with the CTA, which draws the eye and entices the reader to start shopping with them right away.
Create Amazing Email Marketing
Hold on! You almost forgot about the email design
This is good email marketing 101:
- Get permission to email people
- Deliver on promises and give great content
- Track your metrics continuously
But there’s a 4th important part of sending marketing emails that work.
Don’t forget the design.
333.2 billion emails are sent and received each day. Let’s make sure yours gets read.
These 5 email design tips will help you get more people to click on and read your emails.
- Use colors to do more than “be pretty”
- Yay, color, but also let there be white (space)
- Avoid huge walls of text
- Make your CTA compelling and put it…where?
- Use simple, easy-to-read fonts
1. Use colors to do more than “be pretty”
Colors are more than just “pretty.” They can make or break your conversions. It’s color psychology.
In fact, there’s a lot you might not know about color psychology and how it affects our emotions ( and subsequent decisions or opinions).
- Snap judgments made about products can be based on color alone.
- In 1 study, researchers demonstrated that a well-chosen color for a brand name (logo) could create immediate value for a brand.
Still not convinced by color psychology?
Check out how RIPT Apparel increased their sales by 6.3% by changing the color of their existing buy button to an eye-catching green.
Why did it work? Because of contrast. It’s not just the color of a button that makes a difference—it’s every color in the background, too. So when composing an email, make sure the colors work with the images and text overall.
Just remember—colors appeal to emotions differently in some people than others.
When choosing colors for your marketing email design, account for brand colors as well as what color says to your customer.
2. Yay, color, but also let there be white (space)
Do you remember color-by-numbers and filling in every white space?
Yeah, don’t do that with your email. No one needs to be smacked in the eyes with a rainbow.
Copy and images (which you already know you need) are great at making an email exciting and interactive. But eyes will need a break from the party lest they go cross-eyed. A good balance of white space will create a clean, visually pleasing look.
Use your brand colors for sure, but just don’t use a million colors at once.
3. Avoid huge walls of text
Don’t you hate it when someone expects you to read a huge wall of text?
Have you noticed that there have been headings, subheadings, images, bullet points, and short lines of text throughout this post?
That’s on purpose.
Too much text overwhelms your eyes, just like too many colors do. You need to format your email content for the scanners of the world.
Do this with…
- Headings and subheads
- Images
- Short sentences (no text blocks)
4. Make your email CTA compelling and put it…where?
An email CTA is different from a blog post CTA. People will spend less time reading a marketing email, which means you only have so many opportunities to get that click.
Here are the 2 parts of your CTA:
- What it says
- Where you put it
Location, location, location. In an email, limit yourself to 1 CTA. If you want to use 2, space them between the top and the bottom. But take note:
Emails with a single, prominent call to action earn 300+ times more clicks than those with either multiple or no CTAs.
Now, where do you put it?
It depends on the message. If customers can quickly learn what your promotional email is about, put the CTA at the top. If they need a little context before clicking, put the CTA at the end. Another option? Test both in different emails.
And for your CTA copy—clarity over cleverness (but don’t be boring).
Instead of “Click Here,” try something like “Let’s Talk.”
5. Use simple, easy-to-read fonts
When I was in high school, I decided to try reading Old English for fun. This was a lofty goal that lasted about a week and was really difficult for 2 reasons:
- They use some crazily complicated language
- There were swirls at the end of most of the words, which felt more like staring at cream swirling in coffee.
No Papyrus. No script. Nothing that looks like the opening credits of a sappy romantic comedy. Your typeface should aim to be as clear as your copy. The goal is to communicate your main message, not create a Rorschach test.
Colin Wheildon, author of Type & Layout: Are You Communicating or Just Making Pretty Shapes? writes—“it’s possible to blow away three-quarters of your readers simply by choosing the wrong type.”
Here’s what you do:
- Choose no more than 3 fonts in the same email (to avoid overwhelming the eyes)
- Choose 1 that works across multiple web platforms (to make sure all of your contacts can read it)
Here are the default HTML email safe fonts that are installed on almost every device.
- Arial
- Courier
- Georgia
- Helvetica
- Tahoma
- Times New Roman
- Trebuchet
- Verdana
Frequently asked questions
What are some top tips for the content in an email campaign?
The content that goes into your email campaigns depends on your desired outcomes. What you’ll write when trying to win a customer back is completely different from what you’ll write when sending out a special birthday gift. However, some good rules of thumb are to keep emails short and sweet, try to add a little humor, keep the tone warm and friendly, and add a clear, enticing CTA.
How do I grow my email subscriber list?
You can work to grow your email list by introducing refer-a-friend programs, employing social media, offering free guides or how-to video series in exchange for information, presenting surveys, and doing competitions and giveaways.
What should be the frequency of sending emails?
Again, the frequency with which you email customers may depend on the type of campaign you are focusing on and your desired results. Other factors to consider are your industry and customer type. Here, knowing your customer can make a huge difference. There is a fine line between keeping your business fresh in customers’ minds and them feeling hassled or pressured by you. A good idea might be to split-test your campaigns, sending more frequent emails to 1 cohort of potential customers and less to another to see which yields the best results.
What is a good email open rate?
Here are the average email open rates across various industries to help you determine what you should aim for when you create and send out your campaign.
Conclusion
With these fantastic email marketing examples, you should have all the inspiration you need to create and send an email marketing campaign that can help showcase your products and services, gain more interest, and let old and new customers know that you are here to stay. By using Active Campaign, you can save time and money by automating your email marketing with beautiful templates and no coding required, freeing up more time to spend on growing your business. So why not start your 14-day free trial today?
