Like any routine that drives meaningful results, consistency is key for building a successful email marketing calendar.

But what exactly should you be sending to your audience?

We put together 245+ examples and 18 types of emails for you to come back to whenever you’re feeling stuck:

1. Teasers
2. Launches/new arrivals
3. Product/collection features
4. Sales/discounts
5. Last chance
6. Low stock
7. Back in stock
8. Monthly recaps/bestsellers
9. Free shipping
10. Giveaways
11. BOGO
12. Free gift
13. Bundles
14. Collabs
15. Review feature
16. Customer feature
17. Content
18. Holidays

Because if you’ve ever stared at a blank screen wondering where to begin with your next newsletter, you’re not alone.

Think of these campaigns like “exercises” in your Shopify fitness routine.

Add them to your email marketing calendar ASAP to get into a rhythm that will bring in consistent sales for your business. 

Now, let’s get to the good stuff. A breakdown of each email type WITH examples from real brands.

#1: Teasers

Teaser emails are an incredible way to build hype ahead of a product launch. Not only do they get your audience excited about what’s coming, but they’re much more likely to pay attention to your future messages, posts, everything. Especially your most loyal customers.

And while the main focus should be building excitement around what’s coming, chances are you’ll drive sales for other products with a teaser email. So the next time you’re launching something new, don’t sleep on a teaser email. 

Check out this swipe file with teaser email examples from real brands.

#2: Launches/New Arrivals 

If you’re going to build hype with teasers leading up to the launch of a new product, then you better make sure your subscribers know when they can shop! Intuitive, but really important. Because launch emails have the power to drive thousands in sales. 

Seriously. Take a quick look at the results for your emails announcing new products. They probably bring in more sales than most of your other emails. So every month start building your email calendar with any launches you have planned and fill in from there with your teasers and any other campaigns in this post that make sense for the month. You’ll be surprised how quickly it fills up.

Similar to launch emails, make sure you’re sending emails that feature any of your store’s new arrivals. 

Here’s a swipe file packed with both launch and new arrival emails to inspire you.

#3: Product/Collection Features 

Any time you’re struggling with what to highlight in an email, a safe bet is to focus on a single product or collection (pssst these don’t need to be new products!).

Show off what makes the product(s) special, share how to style the product(s), incorporate killer product photos, the recipe doesn’t have to be complex to be effective. 

Check out the email layouts in this product/collection feature swipe file to get a sense of just how simple these types of emails can be.

#4: Sales/Discounts

No surprise here. But any time you’re running a sale or discount, let your audience know! And don’t be afraid to send more than 1 email. Often people need to see something more than once to take action. Plus, inboxes are more crowded than ever before. So don’t just assume your subscribers are seeing your messages.

Here’s a simple recipe for your next sale:

• Send a teaser email to let people know it’s coming
• Send an email when the sale is live (make sure you include when it ends to drive urgency)
• Send an email showcasing sale favorites, founder picks, etc.
• Send a last chance email (more on that below!)

Check out the sale swipe file for examples of emails you can steal for your next sale.

#5: Last Chance

Whenever you’re running a limited time offer, you should be sending a last chance reminder email. I promise you’re going to be shocked by how many sales these bring in.

Because remember: just because you included when the promo was ending in your first email, you cannot possibly expect your subscribers to remember that on their own.

Whether this is for a sale, pre-order window, free gift, or something else, make sure you’re sending last chance emails. 

Here’s a swipe file with a bunch of last chance emails to get you started.

#6: Low Stock

Nothing drives more FOMO than a low stock email. So the next time a product is about to sell out, use that as an opportunity to lean into human psychology and get your audience to take action!

And don’t forget to tell your subscribers when something sells out. This will make them more likely to make a purchase if the item ever comes back. It’s also the perfect opportunity to show off other products.

Get ideas from this low stock swipe file.

#7: Back in Stock

Just like your low stock emails, back in stock emails are critical for driving action. Back in stock implies that a product was so popular that it sold out. An amazing way to pique your audience’s interest. 

So any time you bring a product back, make sure you’re sending a message ASAP.

Include things like: what people love about the product, how quickly it sold out, how quickly you expect this round to sell out. 

Get real-world back in stock examples in this swipe file.

#8: Monthly Recaps/Bestsellers 

Looking for low hanging fruit? Monthly recaps and bestseller features are the perfect way to end the month strong.

Show off customer favorites, products that have launched, or any other highlights your subscribers might have missed. It’s the perfect excuse to get in front of them one more time before the month ends.

Take a peek at this monthly recap swipe file for tons of ideas for your next send.

#9: Free Shipping

It’s no secret that consumers have come to expect free shipping (thanks Amazon!). But for many DTC brands, it’s not possible to offer it on every order. 

Luckily, this can be an advantage. Because any time you do offer free shipping, it gives you a reason to email your subscribers to let them know! More than once, too. At a minimum, you should be sending an email when your free shipping offer starts and as a last chance reminder before it ends.

Check out this free shipping swipe file and remember holidays are a great time to run a campaign like this to incentivize purchases to arrive in time (for example, free shipping to receive orders in time for Mother’s Day).

#10: Giveaways

Giveaways are the perfect way to get your audience to engage with your business. Because who doesn’t love a chance to win free stuff?

So whether you’re running one with another like-minded brand with a similar audience or giving away an item from your newest collection, it’s worth letting your subscribers know. Especially when you first announce it and before the giveaway ends.

Plus, you can highlight the giveaway in any other emails that go out while it’s live! 

Here’s a giveaway swipe file to get your wheels spinning.

#11: BOGO

Have extra inventory you want to get rid of? Want to make room for new products at the end of the season? A buy one get one (BOGO) offer is the perfect offer to use.

The magic is in the flexibility. You could run a buy one get one free offer on the same product, a buy one get one 50% off anything in your store, the options are seriously endless.

Like any offer, this should be time bound (to drive urgency) which gives you multiple excuses to email your audience. Dive into this BOGO swipe file to get ideas.

#12: Free Gift with Purchase

There’s a ton you can do to get creative with a free gift offer, but especially if you already have smaller products that can easily be used as a gift for a limited time, this one couldn’t be simpler to pull off.

Especially if you’re trying to figure out which types of offers get your audience most excited.

From there, you can get a little fancier with your gift. Like, for example, creating something brand new that’s not available for purchase and only has a certain number available to marry exclusivity and urgency.

There are a bunch of free gift with purchase ideas in this swipe file.

#13: Bundles

Bundles are the perfect way to make life easy for shoppers. Put together bestsellers, curate products that go perfectly together, show off products that solve a specific problem for your audience, all while giving your average order value (AOV) a boost.

So whether you already have bundles on your site or you’re looking for ways to work with what you already have, bundles are the perfect thing to feature in a newsletter. 

Include things like: savings, details about each product, reviews, how to use the products, how it works, anything that will seal the deal. 

This bundle swipe file has examples to get you started.

#14: Collabs

Working with a brand that has a similar audience to come up with a product everyone will love helps you get in front of potential customers. And while this idea definitely isn’t a quick win, it can be incredibly successful. Especially if you already have relationships with other founders who might be on board with the idea.

When you run a campaign like this, there are so many opportunities to share it with your audience: a teaser before it launches, a launch email, a stock update (especially if something’s in danger of selling out), in any other emails you’re sending at the time, etc.

Not sure where to start? Check out this collab swipe file for ideas.

#15: Review Feature

If you’re already collecting reviews, this one couldn’t be easier. Take a product that your customers absolutely love, grab some killer product photos, take screenshots of what real customers are saying, and boom. Your review email is basically done. 

Real customer photos (especially for results-based products where before and after photos are absolute gold) are another great way to get your customers to do the selling for you.

And remember that you can include reviews in *every* email you send, but the point of this one is just to show off reviews for a specific product (or multiple products!). 

Check out this review feature swipe file to get inspired.

#16: Customer Feature

Similar to review feature emails, featuring customers in your newsletters gets them to do your selling for you. By showing off real customers using your products, potential customers are able to picture themselves doing the same!

This one should be pretty simple to put together. Especially if your customers are in the habit of tagging your brand on social. Just include customer photos, add in any relevant product photos and CTAs and you’re good to go!

Here’s a customer feature swipe file to inspire your next newsletter.

#17: Content

No one likes to be sold to all the time. So if you’re looking for a way to connect with your subscribers without directly trying to sell them on anything, content is an incredible way to do it.

Educate them about a topic that’s relevant to your brand, feature customers or influencers, there’s SO much you can do to create content that can be repurposed across every channel over and over again.

That way, your brand stays top of mind as you build credibility with your audience. 

Take a look at this content swipe file to get ideas.

#18: Holidays

It’s no secret that we’re big believers in using holidays to drive sales for your business at Privy. Especially the months when you’re building out your calendar and feeling extra stuck. 

I mean seriously…it couldn’t be easier to pull up our Ecommerce Holiday Calendar to see what’s coming every month and get tons of ideas (and swipe files) delivered straight to your inbox.

Take a look at this Memorial Day Swipe File and this 4th of July Swipe File to get a sneak peek at some of the holiday emails real brands send to drive sales for their stores.

And don’t forget to make holidays (even the small ones) a regular part of your email marketing calendar to make planning a breeze.

Planning your next email calendar is easier than ever

Now that you have 18 newsletter ideas, building a consistent email calendar you can stick to should be incredibly simple.

But if you’re ever feeling stuck, use this formula:

• Start with any upcoming product launches
• Add in any teasers
• Check holidays that are around the corner
• Take a peek at your inventory to see what’s at risk of selling out
• Plan to include a recap at the end of the month

And fill in your calendar with any of the other ideas on the list of 18 emails from there!

Don't miss your chance to sign up for Office Hours

As part of Empowered Ecommerce event week, we're offering 1:1 strategy sessions to help YOU plan out your email marketing calendar. All you have to do is make sure you're registered for the event and we'll send you a link to schedule (pssttt...feel free to email us marketing@privy.com if you can't find it!).