5 email marketing templates inspired by examples created by top startups

“Come on, it’s time to get to work,” you say to yourself. And you sit in front of your computer, focused and determined to prepare your next email marketing campaign.

You want to create a direct and persuasive message.

And launch an email marketing campaign that will either strengthen your relationship with your customers or generate sales.

And in these moments, you must be inspired, or things won’t work out.

But you don’t know what to write? That’s OK. You don’t have to keep thinking until you get desperate.

Finding the missing magic touch in your email marketing campaign doesn’t have to be so complicated.

Sometimes the best way forward is, as Newton would have said,

“Perched on the shoulders of giants.”

Or, to put it another way: by looking at what others with more experience than you have done in the past. And by asking yourself questions.

1. What kind of emails do email marketing geniuses send?
2. What do they do well, and how could you apply the same strategies?
3. What can you learn from their copywriting techniques and their sales tactics?

That’s precisely what we’ll look at in this article, through some examples of very effective newsletters.

We will learn by analyzing email marketing campaigns created by experts. We will follow their examples. And we will offer you 5 email marketing templates inspired by two startups: Asana and Buffer.

How to use the email marketing templates

The instructions for using these email templates are as simple as the instructions for eating an Oreo (in case you have not had na Oreo for a while: you get it, admire it, and eat it).

Basically, it is a matter of copying, pasting, and adapting the content to suit the needs of your campaign and the email marketing service you will use. But there are a few things you should consider.

Each email marketing template includes variable text, i.e., parts that you will have to fill in with the specifics of your product or service. You will recognize them because we will use this format:

[variable text example].

And after reviewing each template, we will always see an example with the variables filled in, so you can better understand what the finished text will look like.

If you want to make a more personalized campaign, you can modify the rest of the text, not just the variable part. The choice is yours. Feel free.

However, we recommend that you read and re-read the final content of the email several times out loud, if possible, to ensure that the result sounds natural.

So without further ado, let’s get started.

Asana-inspired email marketing templates

Email marketing template #1: educational template

Yes, a newsletter can be one of the best ways to promote your next promotional campaign.

But an email marketing campaign can be created for purposes other than immediate sales generation.

And educational emails are a clear example of that.

By helping your audience solve their problems, you are helping yourself. And there are a thousand ways to do this: with an explanatory video, a mini-course, a guide or ebook, or an infographic, among other options.

You can see how the Asana team does it in the email we will see as na example.

Marketing and creative teams work hard to tell compelling stories, yet the process of getting there can be chaotic.

This free, 15-minute course helps you identify pain points within your team’s work and offers strategies for how to fix them.

They focus on a recurring problem for their users and invite them to participate in a free mini-course where users will learn strategies for how to solve these problems.

A great way to boost their brand, stay in the memory of their subscribers, show themselves as experts and, at the same time, inform that the proposal they offer is the perfect solution to their audience’s problems.

This formula is replicable for any type of product or service, because whoever your audience is, your subscribers will always have problems.

And if you help them, these customers will pay attention to you.

You only need to create valuable content that solves one of their problems. The more that pain point relates to your product or service, the better.

It may sound like a lot of work, but remember that you don’t always have to create something from scratch. In many cases, you can adapt or reuse content published in the past.

Do you already know what content you are going to use? Now it’s time to create your campaign and give it an educational and interesting touch.

For that, you can use this template.

Hello Name,

[Your audience’s pain point: expose this point clearly and directly].

That’s why at [Company], we created this [educational content format]:

that will help you to [solution to the pain point indicated at the beginning].

What are you waiting for?

[CTA (call to action: watch the video, access the course, read the ebook)].

Farewell,

This is a super-simple email marketing template based on the classic problem/solution sales formula:

1. You find the pain point
2. You explain it clearly so that the customer (potential or actual) is aware and conscious and understands the consequences of deciding to ignore it
3. Once the need is created, you present a ready-made solution

Let’s fill in this email template to see what it would look like.

In this example, the email was sent by a consultancy for self-employed people that wants to offer value to future entrepreneurs interested in its services.

For that, our imaginary Company could use this template.

Hi Mario,

[Becoming self-employed is synonymous with stress and paperwork. A simple mistake on a form could mean a fine of hundreds of dollars].

That is why at [Fiscalize], we created this [free 1-hour course] that will help you to [register safely without making mistakes].

What are you waiting for?

[Start the course now!]

With best regards,

Nuria, from Fiscalize

Email marketing templates #2 and #3: “Let’s Celebrate the World Day of…”

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in or what you do. Your audience will always have problems, but there will always be a world day to celebrate.

(And an email marketing campaign to remind your audience of this date).

1. Are you a copywriter? Prepare something for World Book Day.
2. Do you run a store with products that respect nature? Take advantage of World Environment Day.
3. Do you run an online pet food store? You could celebrate International Cat Day.

The goal is to link your product or service to a current date that is relevant to your audience.

That helps in two ways:

1. Getting attention: information about what is happening now is always more relevant than timeless information.

And that’s why your subscribers will be more likely to open and read your email (remember to mention it in the subject line).

2. Create a sense of belonging: By celebrating together a date that is relevant to both of you, you can reinforce the connection with your (potential) customer, creating an illusion of mutual interests and proximity.

So there you have it: you have your audience’s attention, and in general, you want them to feel part of your community or your project.

At this point, you can take advantage of this message to tell them about a promotion or direct them to valuable content related to the theme you are celebrating.

In this second example from Asana, they took advantage of World Productivity Day. And the main benefit they are promoting is precisely that: increase productivity.

A large part of their audience is interested in everything related to this topic. Asana’s marketing department knows that, which is why they offer a series of tips so that their subscribers can be more productive on that day (and always).

Again, a simple email marketing campaign, but a fantastic message, because you could hardly create a more relevant email.

We will follow the same example but with two variations: a template to promote some content related to the date, and the other one for sending a commercial promotion.

Email marketing template #2: celebrating the “World Day of” with a related content

Let’s see how we can fill out the template.

We will write for an online training and personal development center in this example.

Hello Irene,

Did you know that today is World [Happiness] Day?

This day is important – for you, for us – and we want to celebrate it together.

That’s why we created [a video in which our experts give you 20 keys to being happier today (and every day)].

To make you [realize that happiness doesn’t depend on external factors, like a good salary or finding the perfect partner. Spoiler:

[The key to happiness is in how you handle your everyday life].

We hope you enjoy it.

With best regards,

Lin

Email Marketing Template #3: Celebrating the “World Day of” with a promotion

Hello Name,

Happy World [relevant date] Day!

This day is important to you and us, and we want to celebrate it together.

That is why we have created a special promotion: only today you can [present the promotion, with its conditions]. So that you can [include the reasons for taking advantage of the promotion].

We hope you enjoy this day and our promotion.

Best regards,

And now, let’s see how this email marketing template would look like following an example from the online psychology center.

Hello Irene,

Happy World [Happiness] Day!

This day is important – for you, for us – and we want to celebrate it together.

That is why we have created a very special promotion: today only, you can [schedule a counseling session with one of our coaches with no cost and no commitment]. So that you can [finally achieve those personal or work goals that you always dreamed of, you will receive help from one of our professionals].

We hope you enjoy this day and the promotion.

With best regards,

Lin

Buffer-inspired email marketing templates

Email marketing template #4: Birthday template

Buffer-inspired email marketing templates

And we continue with celebrations, but this time for an anniversary.

In this email marketing template, you will take the opportunity to demonstrate that you care about users and/or customers who have interacted with your brand. The goal of the campaign is to greet and thank them.

Think about it: each of your customers or subscribers is (or should be) important to you. After all, you work for them; they are the reason for your existence, right?

So you should not miss the opportunity to tell them about it, to explain to each and every one of them how important they are to you.

(Fortunately, you don’t have to send one email at a time; that’s what email marketing platforms are for, but you already know how important it is to talk directly to each subscriber).

What to celebrate? You have several possibilities: The fact that they have been customers for a year, that they registered a year ago, etc.

And you don’t have to choose one option or the other; you can combine them.

1. 1 For those who have been customers for a year, you could send a message to thank them, improve the customer experience, and strengthen their emotional bond with the brand.
2. 2 For those who are not customers but subscribed to your content: why not send a newsletter thanking them for their loyalty? If you want to strengthen the relationship without sounding commercial, you could offer some premium content. You could also offer an exclusive promotion if  you want to seize the moment to generate sales.

If you look at Buffer’s example, they take the opportunity to strengthen the emotional bond with their users.

They accomplish that by creating a personal message sent by real people that work for the Company. Arielle and Kelly greet the customer directly (and you can even see how they wave their hands because it is actually a gif).

But they also achieve this closeness by being grateful and humble.

“We feel so grateful and humbled that you’ve chosen us to play a small part in your social media success.”

Doesn’t that sound like a simple, informal email? Well, look how in the same sentence, they are humbled. (to play a small part in your social media success).

This is a fantastic example of copywriting.

And so, let’s borrow it for our next email marketing template.

Hello Name,

Time flies. Today marks one year [include the event you want to highlight. For example, one year as a customer, one year as a subscriber, etc. ].

Here at [Company], we all feel immensely honored by your trust, and we couldn’t help but thank you for being with us!

Thank you for counting on us for [include the main product or servisse benefit].

The 8 letters of the words thank you are not enough to express our gratitude, so we would like to offer something to celebrate: [include the premium content + the advantage of getting it].

Yours with regards,

[staff photo or funny gif].

In this case, we chose the option to congratulate users who have been customers for a year and added premium content as an anniversary gift.

But you can also quickly adapt this email marketing template to offer a unique business promotion.

And if you don’t want to engage in promotions or create premium content, that’s fine; it doesn’t matter. Skip this part and just say thank you.

Let’s see how this template would look filled out for an agency that offers web design and SEO services.

Hi Jose,

Time flies. Today it has been a year since [we started working together].

Here at [Diseñandoo], we all feel immensely honored by your trust, and we could not thank you enough for believing in us!

Thank you for counting on us [for your marketing campaigns].

The 8 letters of the words thank you are not enough for us, which is why we would like to offer you something to celebrate this date: [a guide with +100 hacks extracted from real cases that we have worked on. So that you, too, can take advantage of everything we have learned from all our clients (and, of course, from you)].

Have a great day,

Marta,

[Photo of Diseñandoo’s team thanking the user].

Email template #5: “upselling” template.

The goal of this latest email from Buffer is clear: to get more subscribers to one of their paid plans for a higher price.

To do that, they inform their customers that the “awesome plan” will become the “pro plan,” which will have more features but will mean a price increase.

And they add a touch of urgency: if they upgrade before the end of the day, they can benefit from better prices and special conditions.

In other words, they offer a superior plan with a very attractive offer that many users won’t be able to refuse.

And, be careful because this email has a master touch. Here’s what they say at the end of the email:

“And if the Free plan is perfect for your needs, please don’t feel pushed by this email. We’re grateful to have you with us!”

They include this phrase for the part of their audience that is not yet ready to pay more. This lowers the commercial tone and makes everyone feel special (whether they pay for the pro plan or not).

Keeping a customer is cheaper than getting a new one.

You already know that.

But, in addition, statistics tell us that 65% of companies achieve new sales by using upselling and cross-selling techniques with the customers they already have.

This is an opportunity that you should exploit and promote in your email marketing campaigns.

So let’s have a quick review of the two concepts:

• Upselling = selling more expensive products with more features and na upgrade. For example, a personal trainer could offer his clients an option to upgrade from a monthly plan with two sessions to a weekly plan with several sessions.
• Cross-selling = selling complementary or related products or services. Going back to the same example, if a personal trainer offers a complementary service such as nutrition advice or a step-by-step guide.

In this last email marketing template, we will work with upselling, although you can use the same idea for creating an email marketing campaign that will boost cross-selling.

To create urgency, we will apply a price increase on the product or service we want to sell, as in the example sent by Buffer.

And we will also include a deadline to take advantage of the discounted price.

Hello Name,

I wanted to let you know that starting on [the day the price will change] the price of [higher product or service] will change from [current price] to [new price].

Please remember that the [premium product or service] includes these advantages:

• • [Advantage 1 of the superior product or service].
  • [Superior product or service advantage 2].
  • [Superior product or service advantage 3].

If you want to take advantage of the opportunity to have all this at a reduced price, don’t forget to

[action: subscribe/contract/reserve] the [superior product or service] before [day on which change will take effect].

And if you are already more than happy with [current product or service], forget  this email. We are also more than happy to have you with us.

Yours sincerely,

When you are selling services, it may seem more complicated to use these kinds of techniques. But it really isn’t.

If you package your services in monthly plans or in bundles, you make them more marketable and recognizable and you can more easily work with upselling strategies.

Imagine you have a chain of Yoga studios. You could offer two options for your students: the “Ohm Plan” (for beginners, two sessions per week) and the “Sadhana Plan” (unlimited sessions for daily practice).

Let’s use this example to see what the email marketing template would look like.

Hi Juanma,

I wanted to let you know that as of [March 1st], the price for the Sadhana plan will go from [$80] to [$95].

Remember that the Sadhana plan includes these advantages:

• [Unlimited Yoga sessions. You will be able to practice daily without having to worry about finding time :)]
• [yoga mats and mineral water in all classes, so you don’t have to bring a lot of stuff!]
• [A personal orientation session. So you can discuss all your questions with one of our teachers].

If you want to take advantage of the opportunity to have all this at a reduced price, don’t forget to switch to the Sadhana plan before [March 1st].

And if you are already more than satisfied with [the Ohm plan], forget about this email.

We are also more than happy to have you with us!

Namaste ,

Sonia from Yoguivida

Well, that is it for today; we hope you enjoyed these 5 email marketing templates and that you can use them to create your campaigns much faster than before.

Are there other email marketing templates you want to see in this blog? Please leave us a comment; we promise we will look into it.

See you in the next content!

Translated by Micheli.