The email marketing landscape witnesses millions and millions of emails being exchanged on a daily basis. But, not all of them achieve what they were set out to in the first place. Only the ones with meticulously curated content and pixel-perfect designs and codes manage to cut through the noise and garner the audience’s attention. Want your campaigns to be a part of this exclusive league? Then, you’re at just the right place! Today, we’ll walk you through 22 of the most spectacular business email examples out there that are sure to leave you chock-full of ideas for your future campaigns. Keep a pen and paper handy; there’s plenty to make a note of!
1. Airbnb
Subject line: Discover your new favorite singer, on Airbnb
There’s a lot to admire in this newsletter from Airbnb- informative content, appealing pictures, and a highly effective photo grid layout. And the icing on the cake? The fact that it is perfectly consistent with Airbnb’s branding. What particularly caught our attention in this email is its header image. The sight of a pianist sitting under spotlights and surrounded by smoke is something you’d have a tough time peeling your eyes away from, no?
2. Niice
Subject line: 👀 Get more visibility over your team’s creative.
Welcome emails are really important. They’re your subscribers’ first point of contact with you and go a long way towards strengthening your relationships with them. To that extent, it is safe to say that an impactful welcome email is more or less responsible for fetching you higher conversions.
So, what’s a surefire way of making them engaging? Well, we ask you to take a leaf from Niice’s book (email, in this case)- a video message! Not only do video messages feel more personal, but they are also easier to consume than text or still images, thereby enhancing the appeal of your email. Another thing we like about this welcome email is its value proposition- it doesn’t just greet the customer; it also shares a few tips using which they can make the most out of the platform.
3. CoEdition
Subject line: Winter Wedding Attire
If you’re wondering how to make your products the hero of your email, look no further for inspiration than this amazing email from CoEdition.
Ample use of whitespace coupled with the tactful application of drop shadows makes this email an absolute visual delight. We’re also quite fond of the display font that’s been used over here; it renders a casual vibe to the message. Additionally, using blue, which is classified as a cold color to announce a winter collection, is no less of a masterstroke. Full marks for subliminal messaging.
4. Calvin Klein
Subject line: Something You Love is Almost Gone
Crafting browse abandonment emails are tricky; they need to be simultaneously crisp and compelling enough to push the customer into taking action. This email from Calvin Klein ticks all the right boxes- a short and impactful copy, followed by the image of the product that was abandoned and capped off by a sweet cross-selling section. Because the design is minimal, it allows the messaging to come across with full force.
5. Barnes & Noble
Subject line: Happy Thanksgiving From Your Family at Barnes & Noble
Email marketers face stiff competition pretty much all throughout the year, but things get particularly uphill during the holiday season. With everyone hustling to register themselves on their customers’ radars, coming up with “that” perfect email can be quite a task. Well, not for the folk at Barnes & Noble.
They seal the deal with a warm message and an adorable 2D animation that shows a car cruising through the streets loaded with all the Thanksgiving essentials- turkey, pumpkin, and of course, books!
6. Care/of
Subject line: It’s our birthday!
Completing a successful year in the marketplace is a special feeling for every brand out there. So, when you’re crafting your anniversary emails, ensure that the gratitude you’re experiencing reflects generously across your emails too. This will instantly endear them to your customers.
Share your achievements with them and make them feel as if they’re a part of your family, just as Care/of has done over here. Comprising bold typography and some very well-composed copy, Care/of’s anniversary email is easily among the best out there. The layout is impressive, and the presence of soft backgrounds further accentuates the visual appeal of the email.
7. thredUP
Subject line: The Sex & the City reboots costume designers are dressing YOU!
Want to liven up your emails? Use 2D illustrations! Don’t take our word; just take one look at this utterly chic and neat email from thredUP. Besides the delightful illustration, we’re also quite fond of the manner in which they’ve gone about their product previews. Is it just us, or do those circles actually look very badge-worthy?
8. Gravity Blankets
Subject line: Don’t forget about Y O U
This single-column layout email from Gravity Blankets is as easy on the eye as it gets. This email is an excellent example of how your email’s “hero element” need not necessarily be an image always. If you’re in command of your typography, then a copy will be just as effective. Even though there are no dividers in this columnar layout, there’s no chaos either.
The placement of the product images and the CTA buttons creates a pleasant harmony while scrolling down. The animated snowflakes are an excellent touch too.
9. Foxtrot
Subject line: Give $10, get $10
Sure, you’d have come across many referral emails in your inbox, but few would be as stylish as this one here from Foxtrot. The color combination is spectacular, the display font downright captivating, the stock image perfectly on-brand, and the copy, oh so crisp and impactful. If this email won’t fetch referrals, what will?
10. Duolingo
Subject line: We miss you!
Composing an effective retention email can pose a headache to even the best out there. Thinking of the right tone to reach out to people who used to interact quite actively with you but have gone dormant of late can be extremely challenging. Some choose humor, some decide to lure them back with irresistible offers, and some, like Duolingo here, decide to be absolutely honest about missing their beloved users. Honesty, indeed, is the best policy!
11. Betabrand
Subject line: New Erin Top Drop + Special Offer Today Only!
You want to send an email to call your customers’ attention to one of your best-selling products. How do you go about it? You create a sense of emergency in your subject line- of course, but what’s next? You have piqued their curiosity; now it’s time to grab their attention.
And what’s a better way of doing that than by greeting them with a GIF of your offerings, much like Betabrand here? The above the fold section has been expertly curated over here- product announcement using bold typography, a to-the-point copy that provides context, a discount code, and of course, the CTA (call-to-action) button. One look at the email, and you instantly understand what it’s trying to tell you.
12. The Honest Company
Subject line: unwrap an Honest gift card
Choosing a present for a loved one is a tough job, and getting it right is even tougher. And this has what made the concept of gift cards immensely popular. Brands know this, and hence many of them announce e-gift cards during the holiday season.
But, how do you promote them in your emails? Minimalism is the way if you ask us. Case in point- this email from The Honest Company. The copy is unfussy, and so is the design, but the message is conveyed loud and clear to the reader.
13. Highsnobiety
Subject line: Finally, a Tabi we can afford
Using high-quality images of your products in your emails is absolutely non-negotiable, but you can’t rely solely on them to grab your subscribers’ eyeballs. If you really want your readers to pay attention to your products, then you need to dial up your product description game. Product descriptions don’t just tell the audience about the product’s features and benefits; if done right, they can establish a personal connect with them and ultimately influence them to make a purchase.
This email from Highsnobiety is an accurate example of the kind of power that witty and quirky product descriptions hold over customers. Don’t know about you, but by the time we were done reading this email, we certainly wanted to add every single item to our wishlist (and a few to our carts too!) Additionally, the use of soft colors in the background has allowed the products to contrast sharply and become absolutely prominent.
14. Nasty Gal
Subject line: One Word: Sale
Sales are fun- more for the audience than the brand, but still, fun. While the audience’s major concern is to get their hands on as many “steal deals” as possible, brands are primarily concerned with ensuring maximum footfall and traffic. So, how should they go about promoting it in their emails? Our advice- keep it simple, just as Nast Gal has.
The first frame of the GIF in the hero section of this email gives readers all the necessary details about the sale before the frame goes on to be populated by sticky notes, all emblazoned with that one word- sale. Even if you look at this email in a hurry, you’d still understand that it’s talking about a sale.
15. Flodesk
Subject line: 🗒 Your subject line cheatsheet is here
SaaS email marketing is in a league of its own, making designing SaaS emails much more demanding than the average email. Flodesk’s email here is the perfect primer on how you should go about one- establish the objective of the email, keep it informative, and keep the design uncluttered and unfussy; you want your content to be as easy-to-consume as possible.
16. Mint
Subject line: Happy Birthday from Mint
Birthday emails, if done right, can significantly strengthen your customer relationships. Now, most brands prefer sending their customers a personalized coupon code or an attractive offer to mark their special day. And while that’s a pretty effective strategy, we are quite fond of what Mint has done over here.
In this warm birthday message, Mint has not only wished the customer but also smartly conveyed the value that Mint adds to their life. Moreover, the use of 2D illustrations and consistent typography makes the design of this email really appealing too.
17. Drunk Elephant Skincare
Subject line: That was a clothes call!
Using bright colors is an excellent way of making your emails visually captivating, but if you happen to go overboard with them, things can become exceedingly awry. However, if you’re in absolute command of your craft, just like the folks at Drunk Elephant Skincare in this email, you’re sure to wow your subscribers.
An absolute treat for the eyes, this is exactly the kind of emails you’d expect experts to talk about at email design roundtables. Factor in the witty copy (peppered with subtle wordplay), and it’s no wonder why this email is one of our favorite business email examples.
18. Blk & Bold
Subject line: Put your coffee + tea orders on autopilot
Want to get through to your customers? Bring humor into play; it never fails. And when the humor is borne out of a pop-culture reference like in this email from Blk & Bold, your message becomes that much more relatable and engaging for the readers. Blk & Bold’s email might look relatively simple compared to some of the other entries in this list, but it is just as high on impact as the rest. Two neat content sections follow the hilarious GIF- one giving a tutorial about the platform and an incredibly helpful FAQ section.
19. Blu Dot
Subject line: Wait up. Your order is not complete.
No email marketer wants to face the music of abandoned carts, but that’s something that is pretty much out of their control. However, what’s in their hands is coming up with top-notch abandoned cart emails that can transform abandonments into conversions—wondering how you should go about it?
Take inspiration from this email by Blu Dot. What we particularly like about this abandoned cart email is the “Why Blu Dot” section. This is a fresh break from most abandoned cart emails out there, wherein this space is typically used for cross-selling purposes
20. Calm
Subject line: Train your mind with LeBron James
Teaming up with celebrities is a great way of getting people to engage with your brand. And if you have curated courses with them, such as Calm, you need to spot on with their email marketing as well. Calm hasn’t put a foot wrong here with their recommendation email. The content is succinct and tells readers everything they need to know about. The hero section contains a picture of LeBron James, the program curator, placed against a gorgeous gradient, making it extremely easy on the eye. What makes this design further striking is the smart punctuation of white spaces.
21. Netflix
Subject line: Coming Friday, March 17th… Marvel’s Iron Fist
Have you tried cinemagraphs yet? Existing as a blend of still images and animation or motion effects, cinemagraphs render a truly surreal vibe to your emails, making them extremely engaging in the process. Just look at this email from Netflix; it’s quite a sight to behold isn’t it?
22. Tom Raffield
Subject line: Can you guess where we’re going?
One way of making your emails stand out among the crowd is by creating them using interactive design elements. Something as simple as a hover effect when executed to perfection, like this email here from Tom Raffield, can significantly help you in securing the attention of your readers and fetching greater traffic, and ultimately, conversions.
Wrapping It Up
So, which among these professional email examples were your favorites? Irrespective of which ones caught your attention the most, we’re sure all of them provided you with plenty of insight and ideas for your future campaigns. Now all that is to be done is to put these learnings into action. For all we know, the next time we sit down to compile such a list, we could be listing out your business email as an example!