Halloween Email Marketing: Strategies, Tips & Examples [2024]

Halloween email marketing is like the spooky love child of Halloween fun and savvy marketing—and it’s something you want to pay attention to. But why should you care about this little Frankenstein of a strategy, and what can it do for you?

Well, here’s the deal: Email remains one of the most powerful ways to engage with your audience, offering the perfect platform to share content that nurtures and converts. Meanwhile, Halloween is a massively popular holiday, with people going all out for everything spooky and fun.

So, when you bring Halloween and email marketing together, you’ve got a match made in (haunted) heaven. In this guide, we’ll dive into why this combo works so well and how you can craft a strategy that makes the most of it.

Is Email Marketing for Halloween Worth It?

Halloween might not carry the same weight as Thanksgiving or Christmas when it comes to traditions and expectations, but it still packs a punch in the retail world.

While it’s a more laid-back, family-friendly holiday, the excitement and fun of Halloween lead to a spike in sales that shouldn’t be ignored.

According to Halloween marketing stats:

• In 2023, more than 70% of consumers celebrated Halloween in the U.S. (Statista)
• Last year, Halloween spending was estimated to reach a record $12.2 billion. (NRF)
• The most popular costume shopping destination for Americans remains Amazon, followed by Specialty costume stores, Target and Walmart. (Statista)
• In 2023, consumers spent $108.24 on festive Halloween items on average. (NRF)
• Brands dropped their Halloween collections as early as in later June in 2023. (Axios)

This data indicates that Halloween’s popularity and spending in the U.S. are on the rise, with early shopping trends, significant consumer participation, and high spending on festive items, especially online.

Holiday-themed emails are your ticket to engaging your audience, offering exclusive deals, and motivating them to take action. If you want to be ready to create a killer strategy, make sure you have a reliable email marketing tool in your arsenal like Moosend.

Choose the right plan, pick a Halloween template, and let the spooky magic begin!

Limited Time Halloween Discount

Use the code SPOOKY20 at checkout and get 20% off the plan of your choice!

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How To Build Your Halloween Email Marketing Strategy

Below, you’ll find some simple, actionable steps to combine Halloween and email marketing.

1. Plan your Halloween email campaigns

When you decide to boost your revenue through holiday campaigns, you must plan their carefully by adding them to your email marketing calendar.

Targeting only the 31st of October won’t be ideal for engagement and conversions. The best way to get more sales is to create a series of holiday emails, find the best time to send them (e.g., pre-Halloween period) and give the right incentives, such as discount codes and limited-time offers.

Adding your spooky campaigns to your calendar will allow you to create a consistent schedule that will nurture and convince your audience to act.

To help you out, here are the best and worst sending times to plan your campaigns:

• Best day and time: Thursday and Tuesday – 8 am to 9 am
• Worst day and time: Saturday and Sunday morning – 6 pm to 5 am

With these in mind, you can effectively plan your sending times for your campaigns during the spooky time of the year, leading to an amazing Halloween day. Below is an example of an email calendar with potential Halloween email campaigns you can add:

Additional resources: Need a calendar to organize your campaigns? Grab our free email marketing calendar template to keep everything nice and tidy!

2. Choose a Halloween email design

After setting up your holiday calendar, it’s time to design your email marketing campaigns. To do it the right way, you’ll need advanced email software like Moosend to offer you the right tools for the job.

Why? Because a plain campaign isn’t going to cut it. For the ultimate spook, you will need animated GIFs, videos, high-quality visuals, graphics (spider webs, haunted houses, jack-o-lanterns, etc.), and countdown timers.

Starting with your design, you can use your platform’s Halloween email templates (or import some) to save valuable time and effort.

Opt for simple layouts that are both spooktacular and easy to customize. Since Halloween is more of a visual holiday, choose templates that favor graphic elements and images to wish your audience a Happy Halloween and mesmerize them.

Moreover, choose designs with a balanced color scheme to make your calls-to-action (CTAs) stand our.

Here’s an example from Moosend’s holiday newsletter templates with the right Halloween colors and scary visuals:

Try it

To save your design and send it to your email list, you need to sign up for a Moosend account.  Then it’s time for some serious trick-or-treating using your boo-tiful Halloween newsletter.

3. Create spooky email copy and visuals

As mentioned before, Halloween campaigns favor visuals to communicate the spooky message. Nevertheless, adding targeted email copy is crucial to converting your subscribers at first glance.

To make it work, you need to:

• Use Halloween-themed language: Incorporate spooky words, puns, and phrases that resonate with the holiday, like “spooktacular deals” or “fang-tastic offers.”
• Create urgency: Use phrases like “Limited time offer!” or “Hurry before it vanishes!” along with countdown timers to encourage immediate action.
• Be actionable: Use clear, direct calls to action, such as “Shop Now,” “Get Your Costume Today,” or “Claim Your Discount.”
• Highlight the value: Clearly communicate the benefits of your offer, whether it’s savings, exclusivity, or something unique to Halloween.
• Personalize: Use the recipient’s name or past purchase behavior to tailor the message, making it feel more relevant and urgent.
• Use Halloween emojis: Add Halloween-themed emojis like 🎃, 👻, or 🕸️ to make your emails stand out in crowded inboxes.

Here’s an email copy example from Guess to show you how it’s done:

Subject line: Halloween’s coming 🎃

This Halloween campaign example combines short copy, and eye-catching visuals. They also used the power of GIFs to increase the effectiveness of the copy and showcase more products.

Last but not least, don’t forget about your CTA button copy. Add actionable language to motivate users to click and highlight the benefit.

4. Write Halloween email subject lines

A good email subject line will determine the overall performance of your campaign. But how do you create Halloween subject lines that will give you the desired open rates?

First of all, Halloween is the only time of year when worse can be better. A cringe-worthy pun about monster savings, a spooktacular result, or a fangtastic offer is right for the spirit of the holiday season.

Also, puns are a good choice as people will welcome them with a smile. While you let corny subject lines work their magic, don’t forget to highlight your offer and the benefit of getting your product.

Here are some classic Halloween email subject lines to help you out:

• 😱 40% Off Halloween Prints Is Getting Away 😱 (MeUndies)
• BOO! Get 20% off everything! 👻 (Topshop)
• Trick or Treat – All-New Cat Toys! 🎃 (Meowingtons)
• Ha-ha-Halloween costumes (Pinterest)
• Don’t let Halloween sneak up on you! (Modcloth)
• Halloween Treats, Tricks, and Tipples: Order now (Fortnum & Mason)
• Get Halloween READY 👻 (EM Cosmetics)

Email marketers should get creative with subject lines to intrigue their audiences with memorable and fun headlines!

Of course, to maximize your efforts and see your email metrics fly high, align your subject line with your email copy to provide a seamless experience like Bellami Hair:

Subject line: Transform with 4 BELLAWEEN Looks 🎃

Remember, the rules of good subject lines are simple:

• Keep them short enough to be mobile-friendly
• Leverage Halloween-themed emojis
• Make your offer straightforward
• Highlight the value for the consumer

If you find yourself in need of help, you can always grab a subject line Tester like Refine to check the performance of your creations and improve your email marketing metrics!

5. Prepare post-click Halloween landing pages

After creating Halloween-related email campaigns, you need to lead your audience to branded landing pages. This will give them a fun, continuous experience and make your email content more engaging and targeted.

The recipe for success is to use similar email content and visuals to promote continuity between your Halloween email marketing campaign and your website or landing page.

Here’s a very simple example from Bath & Body Works’ website:

This visual matches their email design perfectly, creating a sense of continuity between the email and website experience.

Also, did you see how the brand uses GIFs here to showcase several products?

While Halloween-ifying your website is a great way to share the holiday spirit, creating dedicated landing pages with spooky elements will give your shoppers an unforgettable experience and minimize distractions.

Further reading: Need a few templates to get started? Here are some great landing page templates to create your spooky pages!

6. Offer Halloween-themed products

Halloween is the perfect opportunity to get your customers to make a purchase regardless of the product. How? With amazing discounts, of course.

If your business is “Halloweenable,” consider themed special offers that will magnetize your customers. If not, don’t worry—every product can be made “Halloweenable” with a bit of creativity.

Think about how you can incorporate spooky themes, colors, or packaging into your offerings, or create limited-edition versions of your products with a Halloween twist.

Here’s a perfect example from MeUndies:

Subject line: 3 New Halloween Prints 💀🎃🎄

MeUndies has aced their spooky campaign by partnering with Disney to create a limited-edition “The Nightmare Before Christmas” collection.

This collaboration perfectly aligns with the Halloween season, making it an excellent way for the underwear brand to promote their products while tapping into the Halloween spirit.

7. Target specific customer segments

Halloween isn’t just about October 31st—the shopping frenzy often begins in September and can extend well beyond the holiday. In fact, 41% of shoppers start searching for Halloween deals and products before October even arrives. This means that starting your Halloween email marketing early is crucial.

To maximize the spooky season, it’s essential to target the right audience at the right time. Effective segmentation is one of the best email marketing tactics you can use. It allows you to deliver tailored messages that resonate with different groups, increasing engagement and conversion rates.

Since Halloween is celebrated differently across age groups, creating segment-specific campaigns is key.

For example, Guess effectively targets parents with Halloween-themed emails, ensuring their content is relevant and impactful.

To leverage the spooky season to the fullest, you need to target the right people at the right time. Segmentation will give you the targeting you need to send the right messages. And, it’s one of the simplest email marketing tips in the book you can follow.

For instance, here’s a Halloween email example from Coborn’s targeting parents and their kids:

Subject line: Trick-Or-Treat! It’s time to EAT! 👻

This Halloween email is a great example of targeting different segments of your email list by appealing directly to parents who are interested in family-friendly activities.

By offering a Halloween-themed virtual cooking class for kids, the email effectively engages parents who are looking for fun, educational, and festive activities to do with their children.

And the best part? Coborn’s can offer lists of products to use or used during the class to create more fun activities at home.

8. Plan a grand Halloween sale

Holding flash sales throughout the month can allow you to build urgency and scarcity into the seasonal awareness your customers already have.

Here’s how Fenty Beauty does it:

Subject line: No tricks, just treats with 25% OFF select items

Flash sales can be highly effective when integrated into an omnichannel marketing strategy, especially for attracting new customers. However, their long-term profitability can be uncertain. For instance, a flash sale by CaseMate saw a 236% revenue increase but didn’t demonstrate lasting profitability.

In Halloween email marketing, the focus is often on boosting brand awareness and encouraging repeat purchases. To enhance your efforts, consider integrating different channels like social media to notify customers when a sale is about to start.

For example, you could:

• Offer an exclusive promo code to email subscribers to boost newsletter signups and drive sales.
• Use a two-part discount code, sent via email and Twitter, where each part gives 15% off, but together, they provide a 30% discount.

This strategy not only engages customers across multiple platforms but also encourages them to stay connected with your brand.

Clever, right?

9. Reward customer loyalty

Do you have a loyalty program? If yes, you can Halloween-ify it and offer your loyal buyer addition perks, like double points.

If not, it’s time to consider one. Retaining existing customers is often more profitable than acquiring new ones.

Plus, loyal shoppers are more likely to spend more on your brand, and may recommend you to their friends, boosting your reach and sales.

Source

To adapt this email marketing best practice for the spooky season, make sure to craft Halloween-focused campaigns that offer true value to your VIPs.

Don’t send your loyal shoppers the same deals and discounts you deliver to the rest of your mailing list. Instead, plan a campaign that will make them feel special.

Here’s a loyalty email example by H&M, informing customers about the points they’re going to earn during Halloween:

10. Integrate social and email marketing

Email marketing is highly effective, but it can reach its ultimate form when combined with other channels.

For instance, when you take email and integrate it with social media marketing, you can plan a Halloween marketing campaign that will elevate your seasonal marketing strategy by far.

For X

Use Cards They are designed to let your followers sign up without leaving the social platform.

Using a Halloween form is a fantastic opportunity to power cross-channel marketing with urgency, scarcity, and relevancy.

Asking your X followers to join your email list takes advantage of the trust you’ve built on social media to establish a deeper level of engagement.

For Facebook

The platform has a ‘subscribe’ button, allowing a one-click email subscription from your profile page. You can also use Facebook Custom Audiences to target your subscribers,more effectively.

Moreover, consider adding social buttons and sharing links to your emails to encourage your subscribers to share your content across social channels too.

Here’s a simple Halloween email and social media cross-promotion example by Meowingtons:

Alternatively, try embedding video in your emails or social feeds in landing pages and emails.

Lastly, remember that even though social attribution is harder to track compared to email return-on-investment (ROI), it’s getting more effective as additional metrics become more available.

11. Use email marketing automation

Chances are, some of your customers would rather enjoy the cozy vibes of autumn with a pumpkin-spiced drink and a good book, instead of embracing the spooky Halloween spirit.

To cater to different preferences, consider creating email workflows that focus on the warmth and charm of autumn rather than the frightful festivities.

For instance, craft emails that highlight fall-themed products, special discounts, and the cozy comforts of the season. This approach helps attract those who aren’t into Halloween but still want to enjoy the seasonal offerings.

Brands like Society6 excel at this by focusing on autumn aesthetics in their email campaigns, appealing to customers who prefer the softer side of the season while still encouraging them to shop and engage with your eCommerce store.

Subject line: Final Hours of Our 30% Off Autumn Sale

To create Halloween campaigns, you need an email marketing automation tool with a user-friendly workflow editor.

Moosend’s platform will allow you to create smart, automated workflows based on customer data, using pre-made recipes. You can try out the feature by signing up for a free account.

Automate your emails

12. Leverage user-generated content

There’s nothing more effective than user-generated content for driving social proof and engagement.

This is very important for Halloween. Just think that consumers are likely to have a circle of friends with similar tastes and ages. So anything you can do to get them to share their costume ideas, Halloween cookies, cozy purchases, great deals, or kitschy giveaways with their friends is vital.

The key to this is to collect and integrate user content into your emails and social posts. Here’s an example from Tesco’s Youtube channel:

Posted on Facebook, the video showcases Tesco products used to create Halloween effects. Viewers were then directed to how-to pages that teach readers how to achieve similar effects.

Pain points solved, customers entertained, and purchases encouraged. That sounds like a win!

To take advantage of this practice, create engaging YouTube videos with your customers and add them to your emails to please your subscribers.

Also, don’t forget to invite your audience to share their experiences with your products on social using specific hashtags.

Remember that the more you involve your customers in your marketing, the more effective it will be. So go out there and take advantage of user-generated content. It’s a Halloween miracle.

13. Create interactive emails

For a fun twist, you can create engaging email campaign featuring a “Spin the Wheel” game, where subscribers can play to win discounts or prizes.

This interactive approach can boost engagement and make your emails more memorable.

As you can see below, MAC’s “Spin the Wheel” Halloween email allows subscribers to spin for a chance to win up to 30% off, making the email not just informative but also engaging and rewarding.

14. A/B Test for next Halloween

To optimize your Halloween email campaigns for next year, consider implementing A/B testing to identify what resonates best with your audience.

By testing different elements such as subject lines, visuals, CTAs, and send times, you can gather valuable data on what drives engagement and conversions.

This process will help you refine your strategies based on real customer behavior, ensuring that your campaigns are more effective and tailored to your audience’s preferences, leading to better results in future campaigns.

What Are the Best Halloween Email Campaigns to Send?

The best Halloween email campaigns are those that effectively capture the holiday spirit, engage your audience, and drive action.

Here are some types to help you with your email planning.

• Spooky-themed promotions: Create a sense of urgency with Halloween-themed discounts or flash sales. Use spooky language and visuals to tie into the holiday, such as “Frighteningly Good Deals” or “Scary Low Prices.”
• Mystery sales: Offer a surprise discount revealed only when the customer opens the email or clicks through to your site. This adds an element of excitement and encourages higher open and click-through rates.
• Exclusive early access: Offer loyal customers or subscribers early access to Halloween deals or limited-edition items, enhancing engagement and driving early sales.
• Educational emails: Share Halloween tips, recipes, or DIY ideas that incorporate your products, providing value while subtly promoting your brand.
• Post-Halloween campaigns: Don’t forget to capitalize on the post-holiday period by offering clearance sales on Halloween products or discounts on items that can be repurposed for other occasions.

Try this

Additional Resources

Below, we collected all of our email marketing for Halloween resources you can use to build your strategy.

• Halloween Email Subject Lines To Boo-st Sales
• Free Halloween Email Templates
• Halloween Email Newsletter Examples + Best Practices
• Halloween Website Ideas To Increase Conversions

Halloween Email Marketing To Die For

Using email marketing is the perfect tool to generate more revenue, but it works best when it is done as part of a comprehensive strategy.

To succeed, make substantial offers, build social engagement, and social proof as a part of your plan, and Halloween could be the season where you grow your list, your revenue, and your business.

Now that you’ve read some good strategies for increasing your ROI during Halloween, it’s time to apply them. And don’t forget to grab the tools to make it happen.

Create your free Moosend account today to simplify your email creation and deliver the best experiences to your audience, spooky and not.

Now get ready to boo-st your sales!

FAQs

Simple answers to common questions.x

1. When should you send Halloween emails?

Start sending Halloween emails as early as mid-September. This allows you to capture the attention of early shoppers who are already planning their Halloween festivities. You can gradually increase the frequency of your emails as the holiday approaches, peaking in the week leading up to Halloween when consumers are most likely to make last-minute purchases.

2. When should I start marketing for Halloween?

Begin your Halloween marketing efforts in early September. Many consumers start searching for Halloween deals and planning their purchases well before October. Starting your campaigns (emails, social media, or on-site) early gives you the advantage of reaching these early planners and building anticipation as the holiday draws near.