10 Back-to-school Email Inspirations to Drive Better Sales

The back-to-school season in August marks new beginnings and inspires that emotion of starting afresh. 

With things getting back to normal, customers are gradually looking forward to their pre-pandemic life of freedom.
Consequently, people will be ready to spend just like they used to. 

Back-to-school sales in the U.S. are believed to grow 6.7% from 2019 and 5.5% from 2020, as reported by Mastercard SpendingPulse. 

During this period, people generally buy school supplies, apparels, and college dorm decor. Needless to say, they will continue to prefer online shopping rather than going to the physical stores. 

Back-to-school season is a great opportunity to propel your sales and drive business growth, and of course, tailored emails can go a long way to help you achieve the same. 

If you are still pondering over your email campaigns for this season, you have landed at the right place. Email Uplers brings to you the 10 best back-to-school emails to make things easier for you and spare you of all the draining brainstorming.   

1. Brand: Stuck on You

Subject line: Keep them safe with this back-to-school special

In line with the pandemic situation, Stuck on You has showcased their personalized products, including bentos, cutlery, and stationery. 
The headline “Personalization prevents contamination” instantly draws the reader’s attention and relieves them of any apprehension. The GIFs not only add to the aesthetic appeal of the email but also leave a profound impact on the subscriber’s mind. It will, in turn, increase the likelihood of conversion. 
As they have divided the email into three distinct sections with color coding, it will facilitate the decision making process for the customers. 
The CTAs are also placed in a way that they stand out and drive the click-through rate.

2. Greaves Sports

Subject line: Ready to return? 🚸

This email by www.greavessports.com is on point as it follows all the email marketing and design best practices. Right from the subject line and preheader text to the email layout, everything is perfectly in place. Coming to the visual elements, the hero image and all other product images symbolize the back-to-school season. It effectively conveys the purpose of the email, that’s what matters in the end. 

3. CookiesKids

Subject line: Skip The Stores & Order Online For Back To School Season! 👕👚

The hero image with the copy promoting the 50% discount offer will get the subscribers interested and scroll through the email. Adding the animated effect on “50% OFF” is a great idea. In the next section, they have recommended some products that the user might like, followed by testimonials from verified buyers. These work as social proof and build confidence in the subscriber’s mind. 
The last section lets the users know about their range of products like school uniforms, accessories, and shoes. 
Rather than adding all information in the hero image, it would have been better to place it as plain text. This is important from the accessibility point of view. It will also help subscribers to understand what the email is about even with images turned off. 

4. Clarks UK

Subject line: Check out these new school styles

I particularly liked this email because it adheres to the text to image ratio of 80:20 and does not rely on visuals alone to convey their message. The fancy typography in the hero image and the third fold of the email are in line with the purpose of the email. The images are attractive enough to bring the customers to their web store and check the products.
They have included different CTAs according to the products the customers are willing to buy. It will make navigation easier and faster for the users. 

5. Glasses.com

Subject line: Back To School. Back To You.

Glasses.com has used a clever headline to captivate the subscriber. It perfectly follows the principles of visual hierarchy by following an inverted pyramid pattern that guides the reading flow. Just like Clarks UK, Glasses.com has also added separate CTAs for their eyeglasses, sunglasses, new arrivals, and best sellers. Toward the end, they have highlighted their online services and USPs that are likely to increase their conversion rate. 

6. Arteza® Art Supplies

Subject line: Save Before the Bell Rings 🔔 Back-to-School Must-Haves

The hero image flaunts their art supplies that would surely impress the creative students reading the email. To make sure that email subscribers do not miss out on the offer because of images being turned off, they have added the same information as plain text too. 
The arrow is strategically placed to get people to scroll till the end and see their huge range of products. 
In addition to email design inspiration, this email can also serve as an inspiration to design email CTAs.
The last section promotes the Arteza Club that will give the users exclusive access to different offers.

7. 6pm

Subject line: Back to Campus Deals: Shoes & More!

Looking for some visual email marketing tips for the back-to-school season? 6pm sets a great example for the same in their email promoting the “back to campus deals”. They have included beautiful images of their products along with an engaging copy at the top. The GIF is strategically placed in the second fold to let the user know about all that they have got to offer.  

8. Rent-A-Center

Subject line: School Is Starting, And So Are Big Savings 💰

For marketers who like to keep their emails simple, here is an email from Rent-A-Center. In the first fold, they have animated the word “SAVINGS” to bring it to the subscriber’s notice. As the reader moves on further, they have shared different products like laptops, mobile devices, data plans, and bunk beds, along with their images. The last section highlights their five USPs and allows the users to shop by categories.   

9. French Toast

Subject line: We’ve Got You Covered: 50% off Your Back-to-School Order

The subject line itself looks quite inviting and encourages the users to open the email. The hero image clearly communicates their offer and its validity. They have used the second fold to showcase polos and their availability in several colors. Finally, to guide the user to making the purchase, they have incentivized them with a “free gift” of a mask. They have also informed the buyers that they will donate more than $1.8 million of uniforms in these tough times. It will tap on the emotional instinct and inspire the users to shop from them.    

10. Name Bubbles

Subject line: Don’t Miss the Bus on our Back to School Sale! 🚌

Minimalistic approach with enough reading space and a beautiful pastel color scheme – That’s exactly what makes this email so attractive. Name Bubbles have talked about their offer and shared the coupon code for the same. “Sale ends 7/17 at 9am” creates a sense of urgency and drives instant purchases. They have also shared their latest blog post published on their website. 
It would be good to proofread the email so that there are no spelling errors like “lastest”.
Also, there should be some text to support the visuals so that it does not depend solely on images. 

Wrapping Up

Did you like these email designs?
Would you want us to design a similar email for you or something even more attractive?
Just get in touch with us and share your idea or brief. 
Our experts will design a pixel perfect email for you, exactly like you want.