Want to drive more ROI from email, like Sumo customers do?

Standing out in crowded inboxes isn’t easy, but today we’re going to share one of the secrets to email marketing success.

Using proven email campaign templates.

In this post, I’ll be sharing six of the best email campaign templates you can start using for your business today, five websites with copy/paste email templates, and how to build your own templates. 

• 6 Email Campaign Templates Every Business Should Be Using

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• 5 Websites To Find Email Campaign Templates

• How To Build Your Own Templates With Sumo

6 Email Campaign Templates Every Business Should Be Using 

1. Welcome Email Template

After a new subscriber has shared their email address, you want them to feel appreciated, and, well… welcome. 

So the welcome email is one of the most important emails your business can send.

It’s your best shot at turning a subscriber into a customer or new subscriber into a loyal reader and an advocate for your brand. 

Simply saying “thanks for subscribing” isn’t enough. Sure, a default “thank you” is better than nothing, but in today’s world, you need to do more. For example, you could:

• Share how customers can get the most from your business.

• Give clear instructions on “what’s next” like how often you’ll email them. 

• Make customers feel a part of your brand and connect them with the people behind your business. 

For example, here’s a great welcome email from Drizly: 

This email is sent to people after they create an account on Drizly. It’s a great email — and a template you could steal — because it shows the team behind Drizly. It also features a clear “Shop Now” call to action (CTA) to take you back to the shop, explains how Drizly’s online store works, and how long delivery might take. 

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2. Product Update Email Template

With product update emails, you’re trying to build the connection between the reader and your product. To do that you need to have a deep understanding of what the customer wants to get out of your product, so you can encourage them to take action. 

You’re also writing for a different type of person than you are with your welcome email, as Jimmy Daly explains on Vero’s blog:^[*]

Product update emails should be like cheat codes for gamers — help them get that extra edge that boosts their performance and helps them leave others in their dust.

Podia sends awesome product update emails to their customers. Here’s an example:

This one is great because the opening line tells the reader how the new feature benefits them: “increase the size of every single customer order.” It then explains clearly how the feature works and includes GIFs to show it in action. 

The tone of the email is personal and fun too, and as it’s written by the founder, it helps the reader to build a connection with the company. 

Copy and paste the below text into your email editor to swipe this template:

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3. Blog Update Template

Building an email list for your business is an ongoing process. 

Signing up to your list is just the beginning, and once you have an email address you want to keep that person engaged and moving down your funnel — otherwise, you’re just throwing money away.

And you’re not careless like that, are you? 

A blog update email is a great way to keep in regular contact with your list and make sure your business is always top-of-mind with your subscribers. 

Even if you’re not launching anything new or trying to make a sale, blog updates are a great way to keep in touch with subscribers. For example, Sumo sends out a weekly blog update showcasing our latest content: 

These emails have *great* open rates — up to 69% sometimes. But that’s not a happy accident. Over time our readers have learned that Sumo content will help them grow their businesses, so they’re often excited to click and dive in. 

Shopify’s Entrepreneur Digest is another great example of a blog update email. 

The email provides subscribers with insights into growing their ecommerce businesses. It opens up with a feature story (which often aligns with the email subject line) and then shares a range of popular and latest posts. Shopify subscribers are reminded that the Shopify tool not only helps them manage their business, but also its blog content will give them useful tips and advice. 

Copy and paste the below text into your email editor to swipe this template:

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4. Discount Offer Email Template

If your business has been cooking up some irresistible offers, your email list is one of the best places to promote them.

With a 10% discount offer on purchases over $80, Sumo customer Manly Bands made $24,765.90 in five days.

But what does a good offer email look like?

An offer email needs to do a few things well: 

1. Make the offer clear (e.g,. 10% off purchases over $80).

2. Include a simple CTA to encourage the reader to purchase (e.g., go to mywebsite.com and use the discount code SHOWMETHEMONEY).

Nike does a great job with offer emails. 

Knowing that personalization is an essential part of ecommerce success, Nike sends birthday-centric offer emails to people on its email list. The offer — 25% off — is clear and there is a large “Shop New Arrivals” CTA to drive readers to Nike’s online store:

Copy and paste the below text into your email editor to swipe this template:

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5. Prompt To Review Email Template

Reviews are incredibly important to all types of businesses. If you run a service business, a client testimonial can be the difference between landing a new deal and missing out. 

For product businesses, reviews can increase sales and even help convince buyers to jump on your upsell offers.^[*]

But few customers will be forthcoming with reviews without a little prompting. Here's the email Chilly’s Bottles sends to prompt a review around two weeks after a buyer has made a purchase:

This email is great because it:

1. Tells the buyer why Chilly's wants a review.

2. Encourages participation by offering entry into a prize draw.

3. Has a big review link to make it obvious where to leave a review. 

These reviews are then featured on Chilly’s homepage to show new visitors that they can trust the brand:

Want to encourage customer reviews like Chilly’s? Copy and paste the below text into your email editor to swipe this template:

Note: Make sure to check the terms of use of the website you’re incentivizing a review for. Some sites (e.g. Yelp) don’t like users doing this.

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6. Abandoned Cart Email Template

Abandoned cart emails are lifesavers. 

But don’t just take my word for it. Business Insider found that $2.75 trillion of lost ecommerce revenue is recoverable.^[*]

And one of the best ways to recover that revenue is… Yep, you guessed it: Abandoned cart emails. 

Scan your inbox and I’m sure you’ll spot a subject line like “Ooops, you forgot this” or “You left your new sneakers behind” — these are no doubt emails sent to bring you back to your basket and complete a purchase. 

Here’s an example from Dyson: 

This email includes a couple of product images, reminds you of the price, and includes four Dyson selling points at the bottom of the message. 

Want to create abandoned cart emails of your own? Copy and paste the below text into your email editor to swipe this template: 

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4 Websites To Find Email Campaign Templates 

So we’ve shared six email campaigns every business should be sending, plus some neat templates. 

But what if you want to find a design that’s a perfect fit for your brand?

Below I’ve listed four great websites to help you find the perfect email campaign template for your business. 

1. Envato 

Envato features more than 230 email campaigns templates. Some come with PSDs so you can edit the designs in Photoshop, whereas others come with responsive HTML templates that you can upload and edit within your email service provider. 

Visit Envato.

2. BEE

BEE stands for Best Email Editor… and I bet you can guess what its software does. BEE is a drag-and-drop email editor enabling you to create custom email campaign designs in minutes. BEE features over 200 email templates you can use as starting points for a range of campaigns. 

Visit BEE.

3. Stripo 

Stripo enables anyone to create responsive email templates without any knowledge of code and HTML. Its template database features over 300 campaign templates that you can use for any occasion or campaign type, like abandoned cart emails, welcome emails, and newsletters. 

Visit Stripo. 

4. Colorlib

Colorlib is best known for creating WordPress themes, but it also has 31 free email templates that are responsive and mobile-friendly. This collection features a range of templates for newsletters and product focused emails. 

Visit Colorlib.

How To Build Your Own Templates With Sumo 

Sumo Mail has premade templates for ecommerce stores that pull in words and images from your store, then make it 1-click easy to approve and send. But if those don’t fit your needs, here’s how you can create your own custom email templates.

Inside Sumo go to Email from the Sumo navigation bar: 

Next, select Create Email:

Now you can design your email layout and add your content. 

Here’s an example Sumo newsletter: 

Now, you can click Save as template and this email will be saved within Sumo for you to use for your campaigns. 

You just need to give it a name: 

Then next time you want to use it, it’s saved within your Templates folder on Sumo: 

So there it is. We’ve covered six email campaigns every business should be sending, and given you some incredible campaign templates you can start using today. 

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