Email Marketing Series: What Are Promotional Emails? Explained With Best Promotional Email Examples 2020

With the increase in email users, businesses have started to divert and concentrate more on email marketing. And promotional emails are one of the important types of emails that are used by many small and large scale businesses in grabbing their subscriber’s attention. 

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If you want to know about different types of email used by email marketers then check our blog on 10 Different Types Of Emails Every Business Should Send

Therefore in this article, we will be discussing what is promotional email? Different types of promotional emails that businesses should send to their subscribers and how to optimize a promotional email? 

What are Promotional Emails? 

Promotional emails are one of the commonly used and most effective types of emails that help in promoting a company’s product, offers, events, and services. The main aim of a promotional email is to convert a subscriber into paying customers. That’s why it is important to create an attractive promotional email. A properly crafted promotional email doesn’t take much time to persuade subscribers to perform the desired action like buying, downloading, signing up for an event, etc. A promotional email can also be used to retain new as well as lost customers.  

As we have said earlier that the main aim of a promotional letter is to make the conversion so a promotional email can be a weekly newsletter, customer retention email, sales-related email, etc. So, you have to be very specific and clear about your goal while crafting a promotional email. And another advantage of promotional email is that it helps in setting up a good relationship with the recipient. That’s why it is essential to create attractive content that speaks positively about your brand and product. 

One of the common mistakes made by businesses is that they try to send the same type of promotional email frequently to their subscribers. If you are among them, then right away you should stop sending emails to your subscribers. Because too many promotional emails can give a bad impression about your company and there are chances that your subscribers may unsubscribe from your email list. That’s why always remember sending less email can give you more profit

Promotional emails are not about the tons of email you bombard to your subscribers. It is all about creativity and strategy that takes to create a promotional email campaign. That’s why it is important to send different types of email to your subscribers which can help you in building a good relationship with your subscribers. 

Best Promotional Email Examples: 

A promotional email has always helped businesses in getting connected with their subscribers. By sending different types of promotional email every business focuses on achieving some goal. So, we are going to highlight different types of promotional emails that you can use in your email marketing campaign. 

1. Limited Period Offer (FOMO)

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It is another type of promotional email that grabs user attention and gets a higher open and click-through rate. Because no one wants to miss a limited time offer. That’s why subscribers don’t hesitate in performing the desired action. 

Generally, these types of emails create fear among the audience to missing out on an offer (FOMO). So, If you are planning to promote a limited period offer email then make sure that your campaign reaches the maximum number of people. Because this type of email encourages subscribers to take a quick decision to buy that particular product. And it will also help your email marketing campaign in getting a high conversion rate. 

For example, you can see in the image how to reach out is offering a huge offer of 60% holiday sale for limited users only. This type of email persuades users to take quick action on your email.

2. Product launch email  

Many companies send product launch emails to their subscribers. Because emails are the most convenient and cost-effective way of announcing a product launch. These types of promotional emails are sent to grab the user’s attention on upcoming and latest products launched by companies.  

Promotional email can help you in analyzing the response of subscribers for your product. For example, if your company is planning to launch a new product after four months then you can create an enticing email template to tell your subscribers about your new product. And in your next email, you can try to get the response of subscribers by taking the survey or pre-orders. 

3. Sales Email 

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This type of email is sent to promote and spread awareness about the sales that are going on in your products and stores. People come across these types of emails related to summer, winter, and end of season sales. And many businesses have found that subscribers become more active and interactive when they send an email related to the summer, winter, and end of season sales.

Because your subscribers signed up for your mailing list because they have an interest in your product and by sending promotional sale email you are encouraging them to convert into paying customers. 

Generally, these types of promotional emails are sent to subscribers to inform them about upcoming or current sales. So, whenever you feel that it’s the right time to grab user attention on your product then you can craft an email with an enticing subject line that can show that there is some sale going on in your store and product. 

As you can see in the image how American Eagle has created an attractive email template that tells about their summer sale (40% discount on shorts, tees, and more). This type of email design and the content will surely grab user attention.  

4. Promotional email related to special offers

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A promotional email related to special offers helps businesses in getting connected with the subscribers. If you are planning to send a special offer email then segment your email list before sending your promotional email. Because a new visitor will take time to understand the details about your product before buying it. Whereas your existing subscriber may show interest in your offer. That’s why it is good to send a special offer email to your prospects who already know about your product.

 

And always personalize your special offer email to make your subscribers feel special. This practice will help you in retaining loyal customers for your brand. Therefore, by offering the right incentive to your email list subscribers you can influence them to use that offer and buy your products. 

As you can see in the image that the old navy is offering 3 different special offers in an email. The email template looks very classy with 2 images in it. And they have used bold letters and colors to highlight their discounts. 

For new users who are not aware of their products may find this mail bit confusing whereas as prospects who are already aware of their products may enjoy these special offers.

5. Referral Email

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Referral email is another type of email where businesses request subscribers to refer them to their friends and family. Most of the time businesses fail to impress their audience because they keep on harassing their subscribers by asking their reference. Well, this type of practice will not help you in getting any reference. Instead, you can end up losing your subscribers.  

So, if you are planning to request your subscribers to share details about your business then make sure that you offer something to them. Because your subscribers are not going to show any interest in an email that only ask for referral request.

For example, you can look at the image where uber eats is requesting their subscribers to share referral code in return they get a 20% discount. And another thing you can observe is how they made their goal clear by highlighting the call to action button with a green color.  

6. Event Email 

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If you are crafting a promotional email for announcing an event then focus more on the email content then format. In this type of email, the subscriber doesn’t care about how your email appears. They just want to know the event details and venue of the event. That’s why you have to be careful in writing the content of the email.  

Most of the companies include the event details in the newsletter but subscribers don’t need to read every word in the newsletter. therefore, always focus on crafting a stand-alone email for your event. This practice will grab your subscriber’s attention and they will show interest in your event. As you can see in the image how Shillington announced their upcoming event by highlighting what that event is about, the venue of the event and the highlighted CTA (call to action) button.

How to Optimize an underperforming Promotional Email? 

1. An email that Captures Audience attention 

It is always important to grab subscriber’s attention because your next promotional email campaign is very much dependent on your previous promotional email campaign. If you fail to impress your audience in any of your email campaigns then they will not show any interest in opening your next promotional email. That’s why you shouldn’t take your subscribers for granted by sending monotonous content and fake discounts. 

Once the user subscribes to an email list then they look for something interesting and valuable in a promotional email campaign. And that is the time you can flaunt your valuable content and offers in your email to grab your subscriber’s attention. Always try to craft a short and simple subject line because you have limited words  (mobile devices) to show what your email is about and why your recipient should open your email. So, make use of it and within those limited words give your recipients a proper reason to open your email.

FOMO (fear of missing out) also plays an important role in capturing subscriber’s attention. By offering something like “ limited time offer” and “today only”  you can excite the recipient about your email. 

Another way to grab your recipient’s attention is by presenting a problem and a proper solution for that problem in your email. Because there are many companies whose revenue depends on website traffic. To generate higher traffic from the email you have to create an attractive promotional email. Because after opening an email you want your recipient to click on your CTAs. And if your email is solving your subscriber’s problem then they will not hesitate to open your email and perform the desired action. 

2. Send an email that establishes a good relationship

Once you start getting new subscribers through the lead magnet and opt-in, what should be your next step? 

If you are planning to send a promotional email to your subscribers. Then remember that content in your email will play an important role in establishing a good and positive relationship with your subscribers. Your email will decide whether your recipient will be interested in your future promotional emails or not.   

Now you might be wondering how to set up a positive relationship with subscribers? So, Trust is the main factor that will help you in setting up a good relationship with your new subscriber. That’s why you should focus on crafting an email that can help you in building trust with your subs 

Most of the time email marketers try to send promotional emails frequently. This type of practice will make you look greedy and users are very smart in identifying whether an email is sent for their interest or company’s interest. You have to be very smart while crafting a promotional email. You can use a few tips to craft an

  • Add sender name in your 
  • Thank your subscriber, for giving  their valuable time to open your email 
  • Offer some valuable content to your subscriber 
  • You can also offer some special discount for your loyal subscribers 
  • Don’t  make false promises and give fake discounts
  • Always send an email that can benefit your subscribers

3. Craft an email that is easier to read

Most of the recipients ignore reading the content in an email that’s why it is recommended to craft a short and simple email that can be easily skimmed. If your email is disorganized and difficult to read then your subscribers will not show any interest in performing any action. 

Before creating your promotional email content always ignore to use jargons and tough terms. Because this type of email gets less click-through rate and recipients may start ignoring your next email campaign. That’s why use simple and easy words in your email that can be read by a high school kid. A report from Litmus says that short email with a maximum of 200 words gets a higher click-through rate than an email with lots of text and images.  

Always make sure that your CTAs are highlighted and stand out from the crowd. By doing this you are making your goal clear to your recipient. Highlight important text with bold letters because subscriber looks for interesting and relevant information. And try to craft a clear and clean email by diving your text and images into paragraphs 

4. Offer something valuable to the subscriber 

Before creating a promotional email campaign always remember to offer something valuable to your subscribers. Because this type of practice can attract your subscriber’s attention and create an affection toward your brand. Many brands flaunt their best content to educate their audience.  

By offering something valuable to subscribers, you can also uplift them to buy/interact with your product and content inside your email. That’s why the top market tells that instead of selling your product directly to your subscribers educate them on why they should buy your product. And how your product is going to benefit yours. Once your subscriber knows the importance of your product then they will not hesitate to buy your product. 

You can also offer something valuable like an offer and a special discount to your subscribers. Because most of the time you subscriber know the importance of your product but some reason pulls them back from making the purchase. So, once they see an email related to an offer or discount then they will surely purchase without any hesitation. 

Conclusion 

Promotional emails are one of the effective email types that can help you in converting your prospects into paying customers. So, always focus on crafting enticing content than can capture your subscriber’s attention. And send different types of promotional emails to your subscribers to keep your subscribers interested. 

You can contact SFWP Experts, a leading marketing agency in San Francisco with a highly experienced email marketing professional. That can help you in planning an effective and engaging promotional email content. If your promotional emails are not getting the desired open rate and click-through rate then you can consult with our email marketing professionals that can help you in creating a revenue-generating marketing strategy.  

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How do you write a good promotional email? 

The main aim of a promotional email is to convert a subscriber into paying customers. That’s why it is important to create an attractive promotional email. A properly crafted promotional email doesn’t take much time to persuade subscribers to perform the desired action like buying, downloading, signing up for an event, etc. A promotional email can also be used to retain new as well as lost customers. Using the below tips you can start writing promotional emails for your business: 

  • The first and foremost step involves identifying what you want to promote and getting in-depth details about it. 
  • Identify and Select the audience that you are going to Target 
  • Make sure that the promotional email you are sending has senders name on it. Adding a name to your email will influence more users. Instead of adding a  company name display the author’s name. 
  • Your subject line plays a crucial role in determining your email campaign open rate. You should focus on crafting an email subject line that can display the aim of your email. 
  • Craft an addictive email header that can grab your recipient attention
  • Next, come to the email body.  keep your message short and simple,  useless jargons and keep the word limit between 250 – 300
  • You can also embed infographic and GIFs to make your email more attractive (make sure your infographics is supportive ion all screen sizes)

2. What are the different promotional email examples? 

A promotional email has always helped businesses in getting connected with their subscribers. By sending different types of promotional email every business focuses on achieving some goal. Before sending any email you should know different promotion emails your competitors are sending. take a look at the best promotional email examples: 

  • Special discount/coupon related email 
  • Sales related email 
  • Holiday offer emails 
  • Limited period offer email 
  • Product launch promotional emails 
  • Event announcement promotional emails
  • Upgrade recommendation promotional emails 
  • Reengaging promotional emails 
  • Invitation emails 
  • New subscriber special offer email 
  • Giveaway emails
  • Emails that can help you in establishing a relationship with the customer

3. How can I send a promotional email with outlook? 

If you’re planning to send promotional email through Outlook, then you need to know that email providers like Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, and more are not Designed to send bulk promotional emails to users as they have a limit of 500 recipients a day. If you want to target a wider range of audience then it is recommended to choose an alternative the can allow you to send bulk emails at once.  various companies are offering bulk email services like MailChimp,  Send Plus, and more. Using their service you can craft a personalized promotional email campaign using intuitive template and design. 

4. How do you plan a promotional strategy? 

If you want to succeed in your industry then an effective promotional strategy will help you to convert your target audience into paying customers. Usi8ing below tips you can craft an effective promotion strategy for your brand:

  • Firstly you need to identify and understand what your target market needs.   researching the target market will help you to understand more about you’re the audience.
  • Next, you need to identify the communication Channel you will use for promotion
  • identify and determine your objective
  • Create promotion of camping using target market research data 
  • Determine your promotional campaign budget 
  • Craft an enticing promotional message that can grab your potential customer attention and persuade them to buy your product.
  • A/B testing to determine the effectiveness of your camping

5. How do you promote a product through a promotional email? 

Promotional emails are not about the tons of email you bombard to your subscribers. It is all about creativity and strategy that takes to create a promotional email campaign. Using the below tips you can plan a promotional email campaign to promote your product: 

  •  offer a gift  in the form of loyalty points or cashback   after a customer purchases from your store
  • Use  urgency trigger in your email to grab your audience attention
  • Ask your customer to share the purchase details to their family and friends in return for the incentive offered by your company 
  • Offer free shipping  to potential customers 
  • Special offers for loyal customers