Halloween has once again come and gone, which means it’s time to pack away the costumes and decorations, so we can get ready for the next big holiday, Thanksgiving.
Don’t move on too quickly, though.
While many companies kept with business as usual for their email marketing strategy, there were a number that deviated from their normal script and scored some big wins as a result. Before you move on, check out these Halloween email campaigns that made the best use of the season this year and see how you can elevate your next holiday email marketing campaign.
5 of our favorite Halloween email campaigns of 2018
If your company didn’t send any Halloween-themed email campaigns this year, it’s never too early to start thinking about 2019. Hopefully, these five top-notch Halloween campaigns from 2018 will provide you with some inspiration.
1. storEDGE combines a fun design with compelling copy
Our list of the best Halloween email campaigns of 2018 begins with storEdge, a company specializing in integrated technology designed so that businesses can manage everything from their software to their websites to the cloud, all from one single platform.
On top of all that, storEDGE’s marketing team clearly specializes in creating winning emails as well.
Right off the bat, this is a fun and functional design. Dressing up their logo in a Halloween costume was a fun way to embrace the season without deviating from their overall branding.
Next, it’s impossible to stop reading their message after subscriber’s see “Knock knock.” It’s only natural to want to find out what comes next. People tend to scan content instead of starting from the beginning and reading each word all the way through. They do this to decide whether or not it’s actually worth the time to read your entire webpage, blog post, or email, so it’s important to entice your subscribers into reading your email’s copy.
storEDGE also starts with a phrase—in large type that’s offset through font and color—that attracts your subscriber’s attention. Then, they put that attention to good use by immediately following up with an offer: they’re giving gift cards to everyone who signs up for a demo of their services.
At the same time, their message is short, simple, and to the point.
storEDGE didn’t take their love of the season too far by going on and on. The entire email can be read in less than a minute. This kind of brevity is often very effective, especially for B2B companies since their recipients often have packed inboxes and not a lot of time to spare.
2. designmodo’s two Halloween email campaigns leverage different designs
designmodo designs tools to support code collaboration so that building a site from scratch is easy for their customers. The company’s also achieved recognition for their successful content marketing.
As such, it comes as no surprise that designmodo had not just one, but two impressive Halloween email campaigns this year.
This first one is an eye-catcher for a couple of reasons.
As soon as subscribers open this email, they see a fun, custom graphic designmodo created for their email campaign. Obviously, it’s perfect for the season.
The second reason this email immediately grabs the reader’s attention is the discount: not only are they offering 30% off, it’s highlighted in orange, too, so the offer jumps right off the page.
designmodo’s actual message starts with “BOO!!!” which is attention-grabbing and thematic, but much more important is the company’s use of scarcity in their email.
They highlight the fact that their offer is only good for three days. In addition to emphasizing the scarcity of the product, the company also provides a very short window to take advantage of the offer. Instead of allowing recipients to take weeks to decide whether to go with designmodo or one of their competitors, they have just three days to choose. Chances are, any business which needed designmodo’s services went ahead and took the offer, even if they were still a “top-of-funnel” prospect.
Though this example doesn’t feature the same fun graphic, there’s still a Halloween-theme to the email.
By opting for something a lot simpler than the previous graphic, the company makes their offer much more distinct. It would be impossible for a recipient to miss the “30% discount” right below the large “Halloween.”
For this email, designmodo only offers recipients five days to act in order to take advantage of the deal.
3. SnapApp nails long-form content
So far, these three successful Halloween email campaigns keep their messaging brief and to the point. However, that’s not to say staying short is always a hard-and-fast rule. Depending on the situation, short- and long-form content both have their places in holiday-themed email campaigns.
In the case of this email from SnapApp, long-form content is clearly the best choice. One reason for this is that the company needed extra room to introduce their upcoming webinar.
Furthermore, SnapApp uses this email to introduce several offers, increasing the chances that each recipient who decided to open their email will see something of value. That way, even if someone isn’t interested in the upcoming webinar, they may still click to find out “what kind of horror movie character” they are or to read the company’s most recent blog post.
Throughout the email, SnapApp uses Halloween-themed messaging as well, including a GIF of a Corgi battling a pumpkin at the end—always a winning idea.
4. DogVacay delivers a Halloween email full of value
Speaking of dogs, DogVacay did several things right in their Halloween email campaign.
The first is the image. Who doesn’t love dogs in Halloween costumes? Whether this is true for everyone or not, one group that certainly does is DogVacay’s demographic: people who own and love their dogs, since the company connects dog owners with people who can watch and/or walk their dogs.
At the very least, this email is going to get opened and interacted with as the recipient looks at cute pictures of dressed-up dogs.
Another great feature of this email is the link to an article about dog costumes. This isn’t a service the company provides, but they know their subscribers will be interested in and place high value on this type of content.
Providing value in a way that doesn’t directly benefit your company is a key tenet of content marketing, yet one that many companies seem to forget about all too often. Emails that feature curated content build trust with readers, leading to high open rates and increased retention.
Finally, DogVacay ends their email with an offer that is related to their business.
Although the offer doesn’t involve a discount on any of their services—as we’ve seen with many of the companies above—it does align with its subscribers needs for this time of year. Whether because of constant commotion at the door or guests attending a party, dogs often struggle with Halloween, which is why sitters are in such high demand.
5. Customers get deals and recipes with Dan Murphy’s Halloween email
“Australia’s favorite liquor store,” Dan Murphy’s, is another example of a company that uses long-form content to great effect.
The email itself looks great: even if subscribers don’t read the subject line, they’ll know Dan Murphy’s has a Halloween-themed message just by looking at the spooky visuals of this email.
Just like DogVacay, this company clearly understands their audience well. Right away, they suggest their customers choose something “unusual,” as opposed to what the recipient may normally prefer in their “beers, ciders, wines, spirits, or even mixers.”
After all, it’s Halloween, a time of year when many people host or attend parties. What better time to mix up your preferences with something a bit off the beaten path?
Dan Murphy’s doesn’t stop there, though. They actually recommend a Halloween-themed liqueur and give its price right in the email.
That’s still not all. In yet another good example of understanding the basics of content marketing, this company then offers two festive recipes that recipients can use to create fun drinks using the recommended liqueur. Even if this email doesn’t directly result in a customer buying that specific liqueur, because the email offers valuable content relevant to subscribers, they’re likely to open the next few emails they receive from Dan Murphy’s, increasing engagement and retention, ultimately increasing revenue over time.
The company then ends their email with an image of other options and a simple button for shopping the rest of their inventory.
Wrap up
Adopt some of the techniques from the above examples and you’ll see some of your best results from a holiday-themed email campaign yet.
- Fun, professional-looking visuals are clearly beneficial.
- Equally entertaining, Halloween-themed language makes sense, too.
- Depending on your audience, short- or long-form content may make the most sense.
What’s most important is that you understand what your audience wants and create an email that meets those requirements. While these techniques create a successful Halloween message, you don’t need to wait until next fall to put them into practice. This same kind of thinking creates winning emails throughout the year.