Back-To-School Emails: Subject Lines, Examples & Tips [2024]

Back-to-school season is officially one of the most profitable sales periods. In 2023, the total spending in the US reached $41.5 billion. It’s the perfect timing for various brands to promote related products and services, such as school supplies, apparel, and gadgets.

Wisely, many eCommerce owners and retailers deliver back-to-school emails to maximize their revenue. So do teachers and educational facilitators aiming to prep parents and students for the new school year. But, other industries, irrelevant at first glance, benefit from this seasonal trend, too, adopting a “fresh start” narrative as summer comes to an end.

In this guide, you’ll find all the tools needed to craft impactful back-to-school email marketing campaigns, from subject lines to email campaign examples that grabbed our attention. Finally, check out some top email marketing tips to drive more conversions.

Who Can Benefit from Back-To-School Emails

You don’t have to sell school supplies, such as backpacks and stationery to join the back-to-school sales stream. Or be a teacher who needs to inform parents on what students should bring to class. There are many industries and target markets that can make the most of this season, such as:

• Gadgets and applications
• Apparel and footwear
• Eyewear and checkups
• Home office furniture
• Lunchboxes and food retainers
• Health products, e.g., vitamins, antiseptics

You can think out of the box and determine what back-to-school can mean for your own industry to offer related product recommendations.

For instance, if you’re a spa owner, you can offer teachers and parents a discount to help them relax before they go back to school. And if you’re a food blogger, you can create quick and healthy recipes for easy meal prep. Use your imagination and craft the right messaging to win your subscribers over.

As for the target audience your emails should aim at, here are some of the most prevailed options:

• Parents
• Teachers
• College students
• School administrators
• Grandparents

40 Back-To-School Email Subject Lines to Boost Open Rates

If you’ve already crafted a back-to-school newsletter, you might be looking for eye-catching email subject lines that yield open rates with the right wordplay. We collected examples from notable brands that are perfect for this time of the year.

Browse through the table, find the subject line that suits you best, and tailor it accordingly.

Still unsure about your subject line? Experiment with a free tester like Refine to find the best version based on your industry and the size of your email list.

7 Back-To-School Email Examples to Inspire You

Back-to-school emails can come in many shapes and forms. If you need to draw inspiration for your email design and messaging, here are some top examples for various school themes and purposes:

1. Munk Pack’s back-to-school giveaway email

Subject line: $50 toward your favorite snacks

Munk Pack offers sweet and healthy snacks and decided to create an email campaign inviting everyone to “snack better” this school year through a generous contest.

Why it works:

• It provides a relevant offer to subscribers, reminding them that they have excellent and easy-to-pack snacks as the school year approaches.
• The delicious-looking product visuals combined with amazing copy that emphasizes the benefits makes the offer hard to resist.
• The call-to-action buttons stand out from the rest of the text and create a sense of urgency.

Therefore, if you want to promote specific products, you can also run a giveaway to get more traction and boost brand awareness. You can also share it on social media to increase visibility. Alternatively, give your seasonal sales a boost with limited-time coupons or discounts.

2. Grammarly’s back-to-school discount email

Subject line: Get 55% Off Grammarly Premium for Back to School

Grammarly decided to equip students with their Premium plan, offering a great discount for those who “Upgrade now.”

Why it works:

• The subject line informs readers what they email is about starting with the generous discount.
• The “Upgrade now” CTA button invites readers to act fast to claim the offer.
• It can also be used for back-to-college campaigns with a few copy tweaks.

Ready to create a similar campaign to boost your sales or subscriptions? Sign up for a Moosend account, customize one of our premade email templates in simple steps, and hit send.

Try Moosend for free

3. Atoms’ last-minute email campaign

Subject line: Ending tonight: 15% off for Back 2 School

Atoms created a back-to-school email sequence to promote their footwear, with a last-minute campaign to ping those who haven’t claimed the incentive yet.

Why it works:

• The subject line puts the reader straight to the point and creates a sense of urgency.
• They provide clear guidelines on how to claim the deal, putting the code at the center of the campaign.
• The email design is simple yet powerful, without distractions.

However, there’s one missing element that would make this email campaign a converting-machine–a clear CTA button that would lead to the website. So, if you go for a similar campaign, don’t miss out on this important step.

4. Google’s back-to-school features campaign

Subject line: Tackle back-to-school season with Google

Google shared some valuable Google Assistant queries to help families, and especially parents, deal with the back-to-school challenges.

Why it works:

• The copy emphasizes the benefits of using the features and how they can help them tackle daily chaos.
• The animated visuals show daily family scenes readers can relate to.
• It included a quick survey at the email footer to see how much value it brought to customers.

Overall, these types of emails help boost customer experience and retention down the line. Remember that you should address real pain points and how your products or services will help you resolve them if you want to improve your email performance and click-throughs.

5. VRBO’s back-to-work email

Subject line: Beat the back-to-work blues by planning your next getaway!

For some people going back to school means going back to work and VRBO found a way to please them with an amazing campaign.

Why it works:

• The subject line invites readers to beat the blues and stay on vacation mode, as stated in the header, by finding their next holiday destination.
• They displayed cost-effective rentals as customers usually start to save again when the summer holidays end.
• The social media buttons on the email footer invite customers to find you on other channels to see what’s new with your brand.

To boost conversions, it’s best to send personalized recommendations based on customer data, such as previous purchases or browse history. Use an email marketing service with personalization features, automation workflows, and CRM integrations to streamline this process effectively.

6. Apple’s college-related email campaign

Subject line: Get the most out of college when you shop for a Mac or iPad.

Apple created a campaign to invite college students to choose their products to accompany them during the academic year—and they did it successfully.

Why it works:

• It offers multiple incentives, from discounts to gifts, to attract customers.
• They explain why college students should select their products mentioning various features that can be useful to students.
• They emphasized the special education packages to ease students.

If you create similar campaigns, clearly mention the terms and conditions in the email footer to avoid confusing your readers.

7. Bose’s back-to-school savings email

Subject line: Save big on headphones and speakers for back-to-school season

Who wouldn’t love to save some money at a rather costly time of year? Bose offered that aid to their subscribers.

Why it works:

• It highlights the discount, showing the initial and final price, and the total amount customers will save.
• The “Shop now” and limited time phrase in the copy create a sense of urgency.
• They’ve included short product descriptions emphasizing the advantages of purchasing those products for students.

You can also add elements like countdown timers to make your offer more urgent. Plus, creating a shorter version of the subject line would be ideal, to ensure that they’re responsive for all devices.

Best Practices for Your Back-To-School Email Marketing Strategy

Explore ways to nail these seasonal emails, delight your customers, and increase your ROI:

1. Optimize your copy

As shown in the examples above, copywriting plays a key role in your email performance. Apart from the subject line, you need to clarify your messaging based on your purpose and find the right words to transfer it. Avoid jargon and unnecessary fluff and use actionable language.

Most importantly, keep your target audience’s needs and pain points in mind when writing the email copy. Focus on the benefits and incentives, such as savings, free shipping, or value proposition to win them over.

Finally, avoid being too salesy as your content might sound spammy to subscribers as well as ISPs. Check out this spam word list and remember that words shape worlds and really matter.

2. Leverage email personalization

To take your back-to-school email to the next level, you can use email personalization tactics, such as dynamic content and audience segmentation. For example, you can deliver different content to parents and students if you have that data in your list. Tailor messaging and product recommendations to convert faster.

Since this is a highly spending shopping season, you should plan abandoned cart email workflows to nudge potential customers with high interest to complete a purchase.

If this tactic is new to you, you can use Moosend’s premade automation recipe to set up those sequences with ease. Feel free to customize the template below to move things faster.

Use this!

3. Enhance with visual content

When opening an email, visuals play a vital role in grabbing readers’ attention and keeping them onboard to take the desired action. Add pixel-perfect product visuals or lifestyle images of people enjoying your services to help them identify with your content.

To make it more interactive, you can also experiment with GIFs or videos. For example, show parents how a service works and why it can benefit their children going back to school.

Finally, if your CTA links to a landing page, it’s important to enrich it with similar content and messaging to create a consistent user experience for your audience.

4. Add social proof

Word-of-mouth plays a key role in marketing. If you want to make your prospects trust your brand more, enhance your back-to-school emails with social proof. Add testimonials or reviews of parents or teachers explaining why your products made a difference to them.

If you offer subscription-based services, such as Grammarly portrayed in the example above, you can also add a related blog post or case study to give prospects more information.

5. Send timely campaigns

According to National Retail Federation, almost half of back-to-school and college seasonal shopping starts at the beginning of July.

What does this mean for eCommerce businesses and retailers? If you want to catch the wave, you need to start sending related back-to-school marketing campaigns at the end of June. You can create automation sequences to catch customers who purchase at different times, with last-minute campaigns ringing the bell.

Finally, to boost your sales even more, you can send SMS campaigns throughout summer, too. Just make sure to avoid spamming them with too many messages.

6. Conduct A/B Testing

If you’re unsure about certain elements of your campaign, such as your subject line, visuals or sending time, you can conduct A/B Testing to clear the air. Find the version that speaks more to your recipients’ hearts and send it to most subscribers.

Most email marketing software offers this feature, but on different pricing plans and with different capabilities. So, if you’re searching for a new platform and A/B testing is high on your list, check out the features pages diligently to ensure that you’ll get what you want.

7. Monitor and repeat

Once your back-to-school emails are delivered, it’s time to evaluate if this tactic bore fruit. Analyze important metrics, such as open-rates, click-through rates, and conversions to discover what patterns worked and what needs to be improved.

This way, you’ll also be readier for next year’s season, with more wisdom and tools for your upcoming seasonal campaigns, such as Black Friday and Christmas.

Create Back-To-School Marketing Campaigns That Get Great Grades

Hopefully, you now have all the tools needed to get back-to-school emails out of the dorm room. Craft targeted emails and start sending them as the season approaches. Finally, visualize your buyer personas and their pain points to craft relevant messaging.

Looking for a platform to streamline your email marketing end-to-end? Sign up for a Moosend account or request a free trial to experiment with our features.

FAQs

Here are the answers to some of your most urgent questions regarding back-to-school emails:

1. What should I include at the end of a school email?

It depends on your recipient and the formality you want to instill in your message. “Sincerely,” ”Thank you,” and “Kind regards” are decent options.

2. When will back-to-school shopping happen in 2024?

According to the National Retail Federation, back-to-school shopping starts at the beginning of July and lasts until the end of August-beginning of September.

3. Why should I use responsive and customizable templates for back-to-school emails?

Use premade email layouts to save time and build converting emails that will look great in all devices with zero coding and design skills.

4. How do I create an effective back-to-school email campaign for parents?

Determine the purpose of your campaign and explain how parents can benefit from your products or services with targeted messaging and relevant visuals. Plus, craft a CTA button that stands out.

5. How do I set up a back-to-school welcome email for new students?

Create an amazing design with interactive elements that are highly likely to appeal to this target audience and address their biggest pain points through your copy.