Express Gratitude with Heartfelt Thanksgiving Emails [2024]

What makes a “Happy Thanksgiving” message unique, and most importantly, noticeable? Even though an appreciative email written from the heart should be enough, you need to compete against Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales emails which often overlap.

Thankfully, with certain practices, you can grab your audience’s attention for good. This Thanksgiving email guide will show you how to create meaningful, uplifting emails that subscribers will love reading.

And if you want to combine your heartfelt wishes with incentives to boost your seasonal conversions and sales, you’ll learn how to do that effectively, too.

6 Easy Tips for Thanksgiving Emails that Stand Out

Here’s how to express gratitude in emails and make your Thanksgiving newsletter ideas shine this holiday season:

1. Define your email goal

One of the first important tasks to tackle is setting a clear goal for your campaign. Some businesses may aim solely at boosting customer engagement, while others share product recommendations and Thanksgiving sales to maximize their seasonal revenue.

Your end goal should be aligned with your target audience’s preferences and needs. Knowing your subscribers will help you craft heartfelt messages that matter to them without sounding cheesy or salesy.

If choosing a single goal is limiting, set a primary one as a call-to-action and add secondary ones with different button styles. You can also segment your audience to send personalized content to each group.

2. Write authentic email copy

While words like “gratitude,” “appreciate” and “thankful” are common in Thanksgiving messages, using them in an uninspired way won’t have a long-lasting impact on your audience’s psyches. Consumers have raised the bar on the authenticity they expect from brands, making leveling up your holiday copy essential.

Check out this amazing Happy Thanksgiving message by Wonder Valley:

If you use an AI writer to generate email copy, make sure to add the right AI email prompts, and sound as humane as possible. Genuine and heartwarming is what your subscribers will be searching for during the Thanksgiving season.

3. Adjust your email design

A clear email layout with Thanksgiving-themed visuals is all you need to create an unforgettable Thanksgiving email marketing campaign. You can use a fall-themed color palette, with orange and brown shades, or keep your own style.

Most businesses portray turkeys and pumpkin pies on beautifully decorated tables or heartwarming scenes of people spending time together. To make your email more interactive, you can also create a holiday GIF.

Email marketing services, such as Moosend or Mailchimp, offer holiday premade templates with related themes to save time. Most of them secure that your email will be readable through different sections and white spacing, and that the CTA button is at a prominent place.

Try the template below and customize it based on your needs, using Moosend’s user-friendly drag-and-drop editor:

Customize this

4. Create a converting subject line

To increase your holiday email open rates and conversion potential, you need a subject line that will attract your audience and make them want to learn more. Make it up to 50 characters to be responsive for multiple devices. You can also add a relevant emoji to make it more creative.

Here are some Thanksgiving email subject lines to get inspired:

• Good Gravy! The ultimate Thanksgiving menu 🦃
• Last chance to order in time for Thanksgiving!
• Wishing you a Thanksgiving as sweet as 🥧
• So much to be thankful for 🧡

Feeling stuck? Use a free subject line tester like Refine to learn how your subject line will perform based on your industry and number of subscribers. Plus, get recommendations to improve it.

5. Share relevant incentives

Don’t express gratitude with just words. Instead share something your target audience would love to show you truly care. From limited-time discounts to special offers, create a unique call-to-action and add a hint in your subject line to give it a boost.

You can also display your referral program and reward customers who introduce their loved ones to your brand. Share incentives with referred prospects, too. Warm them up with useful resources and deals to motivate them to buy.

To increase your conversions, create a follow-up sequence and send your first email message a few weeks before Thanksgiving Day. You can also give customers early access to your Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers as a thank-you for their engagement and loyalty.

6. Personalize your email content

The more targeted your holiday emails are, the better they’ll perform. Instead of sending blast messages to your entire email list, segment your audience based on factors, such as previous purchases and demographics, and send different content to each subgroup.

For instance, share a generic email with great Thanksgiving copy with most of your subscribers and a unique incentive only to loyal customers to thank them for their continuous support. Plus, create a different email for non-US customers who don’t usually celebrate this day to introduce them to it.

You can also use custom fields to add the recipient’s name in the subject line or email content and make it feel more personal.

Ready to craft your Thanksgiving emails? Sign up for a Moosend account today and try our personalization features to share unique wishes to subscribers.

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5 Beautiful Thanksgiving Email Examples & Why They Work

Let’s see five beautiful Thanksgiving email campaigns and what is special about them:

1. Postmates’ pre-Thanksgiving email

Subject line: Celebrate Thanksgiving With Postmates

Postmates created a pre-Thanksgiving campaign targeting hosts who tackle last-minute Thanksgiving dinner prep setbacks or aren’t really into cooking.

Why we liked it:

• It offers solutions to a real problem many people face during Thanksgiving.
• The campaign tone and CTA button create a sense of urgency.
• The visual displays the perfect Thanksgiving table, making readers want to order straight away.

2. Ibotta’s combo Thanksgiving campaign

Subject line: Let’s give them something to Gobble about

Ibotta built an email with Thanksgiving Day essentials to help subscribers prepare for the Turkey Day and combined it with a referral program.

Why we liked it:

• The subject line hints at Thanksgiving with a creative wordplay.
• They added product recommendations to cater to different Thanksgiving needs, from cooking to cleaning up.
• They added a generous incentive with their referral program to bring more people on board.

3. Rover’s holiday email campaign

Subject line: Are you and your dog ready for Thanksgiving?

Many people travel to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends, but sometimes they need to leave their furry pets behind. Rover offered a solution.

Why we liked it:

• They resolved a pain point by promoting their services for these special days.
• The copy reassures readers that their pets will be in safe hands, letting them check on them remotely.
• They suggested different services to capitalize on different customer needs.

4. Fracture’s Thanksgiving giveaway email

Subject line: Our 12 Days of Giveaways starts today 🎉

You’ve probably heard of ’12 Days of Christmas’, but what about the Thanksgiving version? Fracture created a sequence of giveaways to delight their customers and help them build core memories with their loved ones.

Why we liked it:

• They found a clever Thanksgiving newsletter idea to generate new leads and win more customers.
• They promoted a limited-time discount to boost their seasonal sales.
• They added a warm image of a man with his grandchildren flipping through a photo album.

5. Leesa’s Happy Thanksgiving email

Subject line: A Thanksgiving treat for 2

Leesa created a promotional email, hinting at the upcoming Black Friday sale to boost their seasonal revenue.

Why we liked it:

• They informed customers about a donation initiative they managed to complete with their contribution.
• The email header includes a Black Friday sale link, and they added an extra one in the email body for more visibility.
• The copy is both heartwarming and actionable, without sounding salesy.

Premade Thanksgiving Email Templates for Different Purposes

Need some inspiration for your next holiday message? Explore these ready-made templates and send heartfelt messages to everyone who’s got your back, from clients to colleagues. Adjust your tone of voice based on the recipients.

Thanksgiving email message for customers

Subject line: We’re thankful for you!

Dear [Recipient’s name],

Happy Thanksgiving! May this day be full of gratitude, joy, and memorable moments with family and friends.

On this special day, we wanted to show you how much you mean to us. Enjoy a 20 % discount until [Date & Time] to savor yourself and your loved ones. Add the code [Insert code] at checkout.

Always grateful and at your disposal!

[Brand name]

Thanksgiving email template for employees

Subject line: Happy Thanksgiving 🦃

Dear [Employee name],

We are who we are thanks to you! We salute you for your hard work, perseverance, and generosity–our business wouldn’t be the same without you and we’re grateful to have you on board.

Since we know how much a delicious Thanksgiving dinner means, we’ve partnered with [Store name] to offer our employees a 20% discount for Thanksgiving supplies until [Date & Time].

Here’s your special code: [Code]

Have a lovely Thanksgiving holiday!

[Your name & Department]

Thanksgiving email sample for business partners

Subject line: No, we thank you!

Dear [Partner’s name],

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope this day finds you full of joy and gratitude!

We just wanted you to know your partnership means the world to us. We’ve reached new heights with you on our side. And we don’t take this for granted.

To many more to come!

Kind regards,

[Your name]

Thanksgiving email message for managers

Subject line: Happy Thanksgiving, boss!

Dear [Recipient’s name],

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a lovely day with you and your loved ones and wish you joy and merriment.

Thank you for constantly helping me grow. I’m grateful for being part of our awesome team, and I’m looking forward to learning and achieving more by your side.

Enjoy your day!

[Your name]

Thanksgiving email for colleagues

Subject line: Thank you, office buddy 🙂

Dear [Name]

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones!

I just wanted to let you know that my lunch breaks would be a joke without you. Thank you for making Monday blues yellow and for always getting my back when coffee refuses to kick in.

Enjoy your holiday!

[Your name]

Thanksgiving message or family members

Subject line: Let the feast begin 🦃

Dear [Name],

Happy Thanksgiving! I’m so grateful to have such a cool and caring [mom/sister/cousin]! Life would be different without you–not in a way that I’d prefer!

Have a great holiday!

Love always,

[Your name]

Make Your Thanksgiving Email Marketing Count

Briefly, enriching your Thanksgiving email marketing strategy with heartfelt, genuine messages is necessary. Offering incentives and rewards will also help you outstand the competition, as long as they’re suited for your audience.

Start sending out your promotional campaigns before Thanksgiving Day to get more traction and consider combining this campaign with the upcoming Black Friday sale for better results.

And to thank you, get a Moosend account for free for one month, and design converting holiday campaigns and landing pages with our user-friendly editor. Happy Thanksgiving!