12 Types of Promotional Emails to Send to your Newsletter List

There are two types of emails you can send to your newsletter list:

• Promotional
• Non-Promotional

An easy way to think of promotional vs. non-promotional emails is:

>> Promotional focuses on asking the reader for something

>> Non-promotional focuses on offering the reader something

Your newsletter needs a healthy balance of promotional and non-promotional emails so your subscribers feel they’re getting value and aren’t simply being asked to buy something each week.

This article focuses on promotional email ideas.

1 – Sale/Discount Offer Email

When you’re reducing prices to clear stock or simply to offer a discount, send an email to let subscribers know the great deals they should take advantage of.

Try running promotions that are only shared with people on your subscriber list; it’s incentive for people to sign up and stay on your list. If you’re running a sale that’s offered to everyone, you can still give your subscribers a perk by sharing the discount code or sale announcement with them before it goes public so they get first dibs.

You can add a level of excitement to your sale emails by creating a virtual scratch ticket or discount wheel subscribers get to scratch/spin to reveal how big of a discount they get.

The other tactic I like to apply when running sales is creating urgency or scarcity.

Most people will procrastinate, so if you run a traditional sale, you’ll typically see the biggest boost in purchases when you send your “sale is almost over” or “your promo code is about to expire” emails.

You can create the reverse effect and get more people to purchase at the start of the sale by giving the best discount to the early birds and reduce the discount as days go by or spots fill up.

For example, if running a 3-day sale, try offering 30% off to those who buy the first day (or to the first 20/50/100 people who buy). You may offer a 20% discount on day two and 10% on day three. Explain how the sale works so subscribers know if they want the best deal, they must act now.

2 – Product Launch Email

These emails should be timed with your customers’ purchasing behavior in mind.

For example, fashion trends tend to change with each season as consumers refresh their wardrobes to coordinate with weather changes. School-related products are purchased in the fall for back-to-school or at the beginning of each semester.

Make product launch emails exclusive; your subscribers are getting the first look and opportunity to buy your new products. This is especially effective if you offer limited quantities of your products; “first dibs” is a great incentive for someone to sign up for your newsletter.

You may even combine a product launch with a promotion to really push sales. For example, the day or week of a new product launch you could offer free shipping, free gift with purchase, or a small discount to reward the early adopters.

3 – Sneak Peek Email

Give your subscribers a first look at what’s coming up. You should get a little more creative than simply stating, “something big is coming” or “new products are in the works”. Give subscribers a little insight and get them guessing about what it might be.

A soap maker may share something along the lines of:

“This ingredient is the hottest trend in skincare and I’m launching a product next week that incorporates it.”

That will get readers curious enough to watch for your next email and open it to find out what the trendy ingredient is.

4 – Custom Order Email

Your newsletter is a great place to announce when you’re opening and closing custom orders.

The holidays tend to fill up makers’ schedules and I often see social media posts mentioning they’re no longer taking custom orders. Your newsletter can be the first place you announce the openings you have and create some urgency to get those procrastinators placing orders as well. “I have limited spots for custom orders and last year they filled up within a week. Don’t wait! Reserve your spot now.”

You can also share pictures of the custom work you’ve created for past customers. They can get your subscribers’ creative juices flowing and have them dreaming up ideas products they want you to make for them.

Be sure to include instructions for how to place a custom order.

5 – Giveaway Email

Let subscribers know about giveaways or contests you’re running and instructions for how to enter. You may require a purchase to receive a free gift or to be entered in a draw.

You can also link to where subscribers can purchase the item you’re giving away, in case they don’t want to wait or risk their chances of getting one.

Be sure to follow the laws when running a contest or giveaway.

6 – Birthday Offer Email

Special occasions can be a good excuse for your subscribers to shop. Consider offering the option for people to share their birthdate when subscribing to your newsletter or purchasing, and offering a promo code for their birthday.

If your items are something they’ll likely want to use for their birthday (e.g. a pair of earrings they’ll want to wear for their birthday dinner) consider sending the email in advance so the item arrives in time.

If you don’t want to collect birthdates from subscribers, you can also run a promotion on your birthday. You may offer a small discount, free shipping, or small gift with purchase (because it’s your birthday and you want to celebrate with your subscribers).

 

7 – Gift Guide Email

Mark the gift-giving holidays (e.g. Mother’s Day, Easter, Christmas, etc.) on your calendar and create gift guides that help your subscribers find the perfect gift for their loved ones.

You can suggest your products only, but it will likely be a more helpful guide if you include other business’s products.

You may even use your gift guide to cross promote with other local or small businesses. For example, if you include another handmade business’s product in your gift guide, share the guide with that business owner and ask if they’d be interested in sharing it with their subscribers or followers.

8 – Add-On Email

After someone has made a purchase, you can send an email with related products they may be interested in. You may even offer a promo code they can use towards their next purchase as a thank you for their recent purchase and to encourage more sales.

The suggestions should be items they can use to improve their recent purchase, not asking them to make another big purchase. If someone just purchased a car, the car dealership wouldn’t contact them about another car they have for sale. Custom mats, a trunk organizer or car cleaning supplies would be better-timed suggestions.

These emails should be properly timed. They can either be sent immediately after a purchase is made and give the customer an opportunity to add additional items to their package before you ship it out. Or they should be sent several days or weeks after a purchase; a shopper isn’t likely to pay for another shipment before their first one arrives.

9 – Restock Email

If you sell an item that is perishable or consumable (e.g. food, soap, stationery, etc.), determine the average length of time customers go before they need a refill, replacement, or restock.

You can schedule an email to automatically send that reminds the customer it’s time to stock up.

10 – Back in Stock Email

If a popular item has sold out, be sure to notify subscribers when the item is restocked so they have first dibs on it.

Create urgency by letting them know how quickly your last supply sold out, how many you have for sale, and maybe even how long you expect your current supply to last (if you have past sales to work from).

Giving newsletter subscribers first notice of back-in-stock items is a great incentive for people to join your newsletter. Especially if your items are in high demand and you have best sellers you repeat.

 

11 – Event Announcement Emails

If you segment your subscriber list by location or the majority of subscribers live in the same city as you, you can use your newsletter to mention craft shows, markets, festivals, etc. you’ll be selling your products at.

Instead of directing subscribers to your website to buy, you’re directing them to an event.

You may share a coupon subscribers can present at the event to get a discount, sample, or free gift with purchase, as an added bonus.

You may even want to promote events your subscribers may be interested in (for non-promotional content), even if you won’t be vending at them. For example, if your subscriber list is made up of moms living in the same city as you, you could share a list of kid-friendly/kid-focused events in your area. This may also be an opportunity to cross-promote with an event organizer (e.g. I’ll advertise your event in my newsletter and on my blog if you could share a link to my website on your Facebook page).

12 – Abandoned Shopping Cart Email

When online shopping, around 70% of shoppers place items in their cart but leave the website without purchasing (source).

There is automation software that will identify these people and send an email letting them know they still have an item in their cart and encourage them to come back and buy.

Encouragement to buy may be in the form of:

• A discount code (48% of people abandon shopping carts because of extra costs they weren’t expecting (source), such as shipping fees, a small discount on shipping could help push more sales through)
• A sense of urgency (e.g. “the item will be held in your cart for X number of days” or “this item is almost sold out”)
• Information that lets them know how great the product is (e.g. other great uses for the product, testimonials, etc.)

Abandoned shopping cart emails can be unexpected and even feel a little intrusive so be sure to keep yours personalized and on-brand.

 

Remember to have a balance of promotional and non-promotional content when sending newsletters. Although you can send promotional email after promotional email, you may have a lower open rate and a higher unsubscribe rate.

Here are non-promotional emails you can send: 13 Non-Promotional Emails to Send to your Newsletter List

 

I hope this list sparked some new ideas for your marketing emails!