Behavioral

  • Abandoned Cart

    Abandoned cart emails, also known as cart abandonment series or shopping cart abandonments, are automated reminders sent to individuals who have not finished an online transaction. Typically, the company sends the first abandoned cart email about an hour after the customer abandons the purchase, followed up by other emails until the customer makes a purchase or stops engaging altogether.

  • Comment Notification

    Comment notification emails, also known as automated comment triggers, are specific for sites and apps that allow commenting. Their purpose is to bring individuals back to the platform where comments and conversations are happening so that the recipient can reply and, ultimately, become more engaged and loyal.

  • Curated

    A subsection of newsletters, curated emails (as a category) include a variety of best-in-class content (links, images, articles) which are gathered for a specific time frame, a specific topic, or both. These emails stand out for their ability to create a theme and an authoritative perspective which serves its audience.

  • Customer Appreciation

    While a larger volume are sent at the end of the year, appreciation emails can be sent any time and for any reason. It is important to recognize readers with gratitude to foster goodwill, loyalty, and a relationship past a transaction. After all, you wouldn't have a reason to send out an email without them.

  • Engagement

    Unlike emails about wedding proposals, the engagement category focuses on emails that are sent for the purpose of boosting an intended action. Think of them as a jumpstart for readers who have shown a lack of engagement over a certain amount of time or fuel to make a reader even more active or loyal.

  • Loyalty / Rewards

    Loyalty emails create a sense of urgency and show customer appreciation with milestones. “Once you spend X amount of money, you’ll earn this freebie.” You can create triggered emails based on customers signing up for a new loyalty account, showing them how they can earn rewards and save money on future purchases, and send an alert when reward points are expiring to keep customers engaged.

  • Recommendations

    Recommendation emails pull in content, products, or services that pair well with a previous action taken by the reader. Typically, these recommendations are built off of browser behavior, profile data, or purchase history and sent one to three days after. The more personalized the recommendation, the better the email.

  • Referral

    Referral emails are a way for companies and organizations to spread the word about their "goods" through their most loyal customers. And because nobody does anything for free anymore, the referrers are often compensated for bringing a newbie into the fold as well as the referral receiving something. Win-Win-Win.

  • Retention / Re-engagement

    Before you lose a reader to inactivity or unsubscribing, you can pique their interest again with retention and reactivation emails. The best emails that re-engage subscribers are triggered by subscriber data, such as last purchase date, user activity, and segmentation. These emails remind the recipient of why they signed up, they spark curiosity, or introduce new ways to engage with your platform.

  • Survey / Feedback

    Survey emails and feedback emails are a great way to hear directly from your customers. What are they loving about your product? What could be improved? Getting this feedback could be an opportunity for you to follow up with customers to improve your process or update your product in the future.

Inaugural

  • Onboarding

    Onboarding emails can be the second most important emails your customers receive (second to welcome emails). These emails serve as a crucial educational tool to teach your audience about the value of a product, software, or service.

  • Welcome

    Think of a welcome email as your readers' first impression of your company. Welcome emails have the highest delivery, open, and click-through rates. Your welcome email should be friendly, inviting, informative, and it should “wow” your audience, thanking them for joining the party! Send a welcome email as soon as your audience signs up so they’re instantly introduced to who you are, what they can expect from your company, and you can build trust with your audience.

Promotional

  • Announcement

    Announcement emails share something new or updated with your business, a product, or processes. These emails guide the reader with how-to tutorials, images showing the updates, and sharing information. An announcement email might promote a masterclass opening up seats, a company offering a giveaway, nonprofit fundraising, or a product launching.

  • Product Launch

    When you're getting ready to launch a product, a feature, or a service update, product launch emails are a great way to engage your audience. Think pre-order invitations, semi-annual sale announcements, and event invites. You can create a product launch email sequence to build anticipation with a teaser, the announcement, and then the release.

  • Product Update / New Feature

    Product update and new feature emails act as announcement emails that catch the audience's attention. These emails showcase an exclusive look at introducing an updated product or feature. If you're building an email sequence, these emails will usually fall in the middle of the sequence, after a teaser email and before the product or feature release.

  • Promotion

    Promotion emails present a problem and a solution to the audience (Ex: Need a last-minute gift? Save 40% now with this coupon). These emails should capture the subscribers' attention with an organized and easy-to-read layout and include a clear CTA that prompts them to make a purchase or use a promo code.

  • Upselling

    Upselling emails can give your customers additional options. “Since you looked at these pants, you might also like this shirt to match” or “People who bought this planner also bought this gel pen.” An upsell email should create curiosity, leading to an additional or upgraded purchase.

  • Webinar

    Webinars are more prevalent than ever since making the shift from in-person events. Craft enticing webinar emails to educate your audience on the event's value and why it's worth investing their time in it. Notify attendees when you're going live, and place the post-webinar recording information in proximity to your CTA.

Miscellaneous

  • Confirmation

    Confirmation emails are those sweet emails you send to customers when something happens, like when they sign up for your newsletter, make a purchase, and when their order ships. These emails help your audience understand where they’re at in the process of interacting with your brand and your product.

  • Emergency

    These are regularly being updated to showcase the emails that companies are sending out to customers and employees concerning the 🦠 COVID-19 Pandemic among other emergencies. In an effort to provide everyone resources we're relaxing our normal "guidelines" for what makes a Really Good Email so that even emails with only strong text are making it into this category. Everyone stay safe out there. We dearly appreciate this community. Here's our article on the topic: https://reallygoodemails.com/blog/how-to-be-a-human-marketer-in-a-pandemic-like-covid19/

  • Event / Conference / Trade Show

    Show your audience the value of your event by personalizing the experience. Explain what an event will do for your readers, why it’s worth their time and money. By simplifying the RSVP process, highlighting event speakers, and including how your audience can access post-event recordings, you can entice your audience and nurture that relationship.

  • Inclusion

    RGE's goal has always been to highlight and amplify the works and words of others. We see you, we hear you, and we'll continue to support you. If you've received an email that promotes diversity, equality, and inclusion, please submit it by using the submission link above ⬆

Industry

  • B2B

    81% of B2B marketers say email newsletters are one of their preferred formats of content marketing. B2B emails give people the opportunity to help solve a problem. B2B emails should also be concise. Businesses don’t need to reinvent the wheel; they can simplify the process for other businesses. Make your B2B emails count as you build trust with your audience and nurture relationships with existing audiences.

  • Books

    Books are just like TV, but for smart people. So if you are sending emails about books, chances are that your audience is a little more sophisticated and may want something more elevated. Take a look at some of these examples below.

  • E-commerce

    E-commerce emails are more than sales and product launches. When you have someone’s email, you have the ability to communicate your values and re-emphasize why people gave them your email. Engage your audience with creative product staging, personalization, and storytelling.

  • Education / School

    Courses, ideas, and books, oh my! Educational and school emails highlight what's good in the educational world, personalizing the message per audience. For students, parents of students, and alumni, the emails might be geared more toward information on campus changes, upcoming events, book sales, and fundraising efforts. For online courses, companies and institutions will share promotional emails, progress on a course, and encouraging membership signups. These emails include a mix of illustrations, real people, and social proof on why you should attend, sign up, or donate.

  • Fashion

    Apparel & accessories emails are an opportunity to announce new products, collaborate with designers and other companies for cross-promotion, and get creative with the email design. Fashion emails focus on telling stories to connect with the audience. Show how your product can help the reader with interactive design elements and creative storytelling.

  • Financial

    How do you prevent your audience from hitting the snooze button on your financial emails? Bank and financial service provider emails should show ease of use with their products and personalize every message. Institutions can sprinkle in their personality by adding an image or GIF as it relates to their message, and make the customer experience that much more interactive.

  • Food Items

    You eat with your eyes first. That's why marketers tend to use stylized photography and close-up shots in food emails. The email copy is typically geared to our senses with promises and hyperbole used throughout. Think bright colors, bold text, and large images. All of these element play a part in enticing your audience to order, pick up, grab, or cook what's in their food emails.

  • Government

    Political / Government emails.

  • Music

    Get inspired with promotional emails from music companies, record labels, and artists promoting new music, events, and merchandise. Personalized, visually appealing, and effective, these emails are perfect for connecting with fans and driving engagement.

  • Nonprofit / Charity

    The most powerful nonprofit emails tell compelling stories through written and visual content. Educate your audience, thank them, and share campaign milestones. All of these elements help your audience understand the value of the nonprofit organization and why they should support the mission.

  • SaaS

    While software products are nearly invisible, the impact on subscribers and customers is clear thanks to social proof and referrals in SaaS emails. There are tons of opportunities to educate your audience, announce new features, and bring software to life in your emails. Keep SaaS email designs clean, add original images, and give elements (like text, images, and buttons) the space they need to shine.

  • Shipping

    Shipping emails are the call the next day after a really good date. These transactional emails notify customers once their purchase is on its way and when they can expect to get their package in the mail. Shipping emails are also a great opportunity to suggest similar products for customers to make another purchase, share social proof about other products, and include info on how to contact customer support about an order.

Punctual

  • Apology / Oops

    Ya goofed. Pulled the wrong merge info, or, maybe no merge info at all so your subscriber is left with something like |MERGE FNAME|. An apology or oops email is a great way to let your audience know you sent them the wrong message and you're trying to make it right. Depending on the subject matter, you can use this as an opportunity to send a playful or humorous message to your audience and let them know you'll do better next time.

  • Back in Stock

    When your customers love an out-of-stock item, create an option for them to be notified when it’s back in the store. Asking people to get on the list creates urgency. When the item returns, you want to persuade customers to make that purchase more than ever, using verbiage such as “Get it now before it’s gone,” “While supplies last,” and “Limited quantities available." Help guide customers toward purchasing the item so they don’t miss out before it’s gone again. Show them the value in returning to buy the item.

  • Newsletter

    Newsletter emails keep your audience in the know of updates, news, and releases related to your product, services, or company. These emails are an opportunity to share blog posts, interviews, roundups, and other helpful information. Companies tend to send newsletter emails on a schedule: daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and even monthly. Newsletters are also intended to be interactive to engage your audience, posing questions or encouraging subscribers to follow an action, such as replying to the email or clicking a link to your website.

Templates

Seasonal

  • Birthday

    Birthday email marketing is a great way to show your customers you care and increase sales. To create effective birthday email campaigns, personalize your emails, offer exclusive deals and discounts, make your emails fun and engaging, and track your results. When done right, birthday email marketing can be a powerful tool for increasing sales and building customer loyalty.

  • Black Friday

    Black Friday emails are all about persuading the audience on why they don't want to miss out on a sale the day after Thanksgiving. These emails create a sense of urgency with a limited time to redeem a promo code or take advantage of a special discount. The goal is to get customers to purchase something now before it's too late.

  • Christmas

    Christmas emails get customers in the holiday (and shopping) spirit with promotions, discounts, recipes, and more. A really good Christmas email will connect with the audience, it might include an interesting GIF, red, green, and gold colors throughout the email, and a clear CTA.

  • Cyber Monday

    Cyber Monday emails give customers another chance to take advantage of major ecommerce sales on the Monday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Cyber Monday surpassed Black Friday in being the biggest shopping holiday of the year, and it wraps up what's known as Cyber Week. The goal of Cyber Monday emails is to create urgency, advertise promotions, and get customers in the virtual door to make holiday purchases.

  • Earth Day

    Earth Day emails roll out on or around April 22 to celebrate sustainability and protecting the environment. These emails encompass the spirit that the Earth isn't Uranus, and how people can do their part to keep the darn thing clean. The first Earth Day birthday took place on April 22, 1970 (not to be confused with that annual hard rock concert).

  • Fall / Autumn

    Fall is one of the busiest seasons during the year for sales and donations with Labor Day (U.S.), Oktoberfest, Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday. This is a great opportunity to reward your subscribers by including special offers, promotions, and quality content in your fall emails that lead back to your site, your blog, or your shop.

  • Giving Tuesday

    Giving Tuesday emails can help create awareness for a nonprofit or a charity. Giving Tuesday is the day after Cyber Monday, which follows immediately after Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Nonprofit organizations send Giving Tuesday emails to match pledges or increase donations. For-profits send Giving Tuesday emails with an offer, such as rounding up purchases or matching pledges to donate to a charity.

  • Halloween

    Halloween emails can be a great opportunity to get creative while promoting sales on services and/or products. A really good Halloween email might include unique typography that resembles bones or slime, fun GIFs, and a combination of the colors orange, black, yellow, brown, white, and/or gray throughout the design.

  • Holiday

    Holiday emails call for a celebration. These emails highlight discounts, giveaways, sweepstakes, holiday events, and more to entice readers to engage with the email during a certain time of the year. A few popular examples of holiday emails include fourth of July emails, Christmas emails, and national days like National Coffee Day. From the email copy to the design, really good holiday emails put a fun twist on the main message.

  • Seasonal

    Seasonal emails cover all things spring, summer, fall / autumn, winter, and everything in between. With the "rainy" season, the "snowy" season, "candle" season, holiday season, and more, seasonal emails can draw attention to a specific product or a special offer. Seasonal emails give you the opportunity to wow your audience with something they need and help create urgency.

  • St. Patrick’s Day

    St. Patrick's Day became a thing in the 17th century to commemorate Christianity's arrival in Ireland and the saint's death on March 17th. (See a pattern? 17th century, March 17th...maybe we're just making something out of nothing here with the numbers.) St. Patrick's Day emails throw on their best shades of green to celebrate Irish heritage and culture with feasting, merrymaking, and holiday discounts. Show your customers to the pot of gold with the VIP treatment of personalization.

  • Summer

    Inspiration without perspiration. Summer emails depict the spirit of the season with bright colors and bold designs. Companies share things to do outside, dipping your toes in the sand, and creative ways to enjoy a vacation (or staycation)! Turn up the heat with these summer emails.

  • Thanksgiving

    Eating pie. Hanging with fam and friends. Blessing the harvest by watching people play sports. This national holiday is celebrated in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Liberia to give thanks. Here are some Thanksgiving emails to get in the spirit.

  • Valentine's Day

    Whether you’re celebrating Valentines, Gal-entines, Pal-entines, or any of the other words-that-rhyme-with-al-entines that were created by marketing teams of yore, Valentine's Day emails are a great way to show your audience some love. These emails are showered in hearts, chocolates, flowers, red, white, and pink to share Valentine's Day discounts, promos, and messages filled with customer appreciation.

Enhancement

  • GIF

    Animated GIF emails are an interactive way to grab your audience's attention. Companies commonly add GIFs to email headers, columns, and even to preview a video CTA. GIF emails are a great way to engage the reader with a quick product demonstration, or to encourage the reader to click through to a website.

  • Interactive

    Interactive emails do more than just send someone to a landing page. They typically give the recipient multiple choices before a final destination, such as a quiz, a poll, a game, or a shopping cart. In this category, make sure to hit "View Code" of the email so you can see what elements are interactive once you click in.