Tips and tricks to create stunning Halloween emails

Ideas and examples for your Halloween email marketing campaigns

Email marketing is an incredibly important communication tool, especially in our current climate. But despite all the doom and gloom, US consumer spending is set to increase 5% this year to $12.2B. And no matter how things change, email still remains the best digital marketing tool for ROI.

Statista: Planned annual Halloween expenditure in the US from 2005 to 2023.

Wondering how to make the most of this spooky time of the year? Check out these timeless Halloween email tips to help you create a thrilling Halloween-themed campaign.

Include a trick and a treat in your Halloween emails

Take a look at how Postable incorporates a fun GIF into their email to catch your attention and add a good offer of 15% off with a themed code. Not only is this Halloween email example a good way to give the customer a good laugh, but it also cleverly encourages free brand marketing. Take this as an example and start thinking about how you can leverage the power of word-of-mouth marketing (WOM).

A real treat for those who know Pumpkin Man.

Ensure your Halloween email marketing looks devilishly good

Halloween is the perfect time of year to dress up your emails to give them an edge. LendingTree combines its tried-and-true informative, helpful tone with fun graphics and memorable copy. The subject line is eye-catching, and the email expands on the reader’s curiosity while keeping the tone light. As a bonus, LendingTree cleverly describes the idea of becoming debt-free as being “easy like magic” – thus sticking to the Halloween theme while giving their services a positive connotation.

LendingTree’s Halloween email design is eye-catching and tidy.

Create Halloween emails that build up the suspense

A mystery Halloween sale can be a great way to keep your subscribers hooked and get them to visit your website. EmailMonks’ (now Uplers) “Face Your Fears” Halloween email campaign invites customers to face their fears and step into a haunted house.

Spicing up your emails with a sense of mystery will help your click-through rate, as your contacts are likely to be tempted to try their luck, which translates into visits to your website.

Try including a game in your Halloween email campaign.

Customize your Halloween email marketing campaigns

Engage subscribers with helpful, relevant email. This includes anything from on-trend topics, customizing email to their preferences, or catering to their Halloween needs.

This Crate & Barrel campaign includes useful content for the time-strapped shopper, with links to everything one might need to transform their home into a haunted house for the perfect Halloween party.

Let the reader know that you have a cure for all their pain points, that you have what they are looking for, and that they won’t need to look anywhere else. They won’t need to do any tiring Halloween decoration shopping after work or trying to craft their own. No more hollowing out pumpkins or applying fake blood...sort their Halloween party in just a few magical clicks!

Crate & Barrel’s email includes everything you need to throw the perfect Halloween party.

Free all kinds of creative monsters in your Halloween emails

Make your Halloween email stand out by being bold and using fresh, innovative content. Lands’ End does this cleverly – by bringing its products to life with animation, an element that will most definitely attract the reader’s attention. They also give their email a different twist, opting for “Black Magic” as their title, rather than the usual “Trick or Treat.” They even top it off with a short Halloween-themed poem. Talk about spellbinding!

Be creative, innovative, and original, then see how your effort pays off.

Want to see the animation in Lands’ End’s Halloween email? Check it out here.

15 Halloween email subject lines to increase your open rates

The other factor you’re going to have to keep in mind is your Halloween email subject line. Just like your Halloween costumes, they should be creative and eye-catching. Remember to keep it short, ensure it’s relevant to the contents of your email, consider adding some spooky emojis (but not too many), and have fun with it! We have a couple of great examples for you below:

1. Blue Apron: Forget the candy, this deal is the sweetest one yet!

2. Land O’Lakes: 👻 Ghoul, treat yourself with these recipes

3. Email Monks: Witching You Happy Halloween

4. Betty’s: Double, double, toil and trouble.

5. Dunkin’ Donuts: Click your treat!

6. Vimeo: Fall into these sweet new features!

7. 8AM: Nightmare-fuel to ship your pants to ⛴👻

8. Disney+: See what’s screaming — er, streaming!

9. Magic Spoon Cereal: Candy for breakfast! 🍬

10. Lush: Need to calm a sugar high?

11. Crate And Barrel: All treats, no tricks.

12. WeTransfer: Pumpkin spice and all things (not) nice

13. Restream: 🍭 We’ve conjured a few treats for you this week!

14. Slice: What's a ghost's favorite dinner? 👻

15. Changelly: 🎃 24H left to win some Halloween treats!

Halloween email examples for every industry

For some industries, Halloween-ifying their email content can be quite straightforward, but others might have a bit of brainstorming to do. If you’re not feeling your most creative self before the witching hour, here are a few ideas on how to give your holiday email metrics some magic:

Ecommerce Halloween emails

Bring your products to life in Halloween style. List the essential ingredients for the perfect peculiar party, and let the reader know that you have everything they need for it. Mango stays true to its personality with this elegant yet rather cheeky message. The title is eye-catching, set in sharp contrast against the white background, and the paragraph adds a twist, combining its spooky theme with some intrigue.

Hand-drawn sketches can really make a featured image pop.

SaaS Halloween emails

Add a spooky twist to your product, perhaps include an invite to an exclusive Halloween event or link to some exclusive content. If you have software updates or changes to your service, you can put a spooky spin on your emails with a bright color scheme and fun copy. Ensure your email is clean and informative, but take the time to nod to the time of year and make the email more engaging than a flat, traditional update email. Use your own design and copy to put a new spin on software emails.

Google shows customers creative ways to use their software for Halloween

Travel & experiences Halloween emails

Draw together some Halloween events or experience days local to your subscriber, or use this opportunity to promote some inspiring destinations. Many places have their own local traditions around Halloween (like Día de Los Muertos) – it could be a great opportunity to promote them! Check out Airbnb’s email below, where they promote spooky properties for the more adventurous traveler.

Food & spirits Halloween emails

Give your contacts Halloween recipes that are so good, your readers will want to stay up cooking all night. Focus on classic ingredients (pumpkin!) and spooky-looking dishes. Want to make it even better? Run a contest and ask your subscribers to share photos of their creations with you. User-generated content will be your new best friend!

Beauty & well-being email Halloween emails

Let your subscribers know that whether they want the perfect make-up for their costume or to look a bit less like a monster, your products can work magic. Check out Lush’s Halloween email below, where they nod to the concept of a “sugar high” to promote their wellness products. What can you offer your little monsters?

Create spooky Halloween email campaigns with Mailjet

Need a little help creating the perfect Halloween email? Don’t be scared – Mailjet has your back. With our advanced Email Editor and personalizable templates, you and your team can quickly and easily create campaigns that will be spooktacular treats for your recipients.

Template examples from Mailjet’s Email Editor

And when it comes to tricks and treats, email marketers know that it takes work to turn a great idea into great copy and design. Draw inspiration from these Halloween email campaigns and make sure your email wins best dressed in the Halloween inbox. As for your own winning costume, you might need to look elsewhere. Happy Halloween!

This blog post is an updated and expanded version of the post: “Fright School Friday: Email that wins the holiday inbox”, published on the Mailjet blog on October 30th, 2015 by Sasha Seddon.