Halloween email marketing: 10 ideas and examples to scary good sales

By Sean Tinney September 26, 2023

Tis’ the season for pumpkin spice coffee, college football, and overuse of the pumpkin emoji.

But did you know that it’s also a time for some of the biggest business holidays of the year? Cyber Monday, Black Friday, even the majority of Christmas shopping. (That’s right, fall doesn’t end until December 20th!)

So take a small break from your Black Friday/Cyber Monday planning. Why would you do that you may ask? Well consider this: Halloween spending is projected to reach $12.2 billion this year.. Now that’s a lot of candy corn.

The most frightening holiday of the year is more than just child’s play, it’s Americans’ third favorite holiday and a chance to connect with your email audience in a fun and effective way.

Ready to create a spooktacular Halloween email campaign? 

Here are 10 Halloween email ideas and examples to make your Halloween emails scary good.

Halloween subject lines that haunt and delight

One of my absolute favorite things about sending Halloween related emails is the creativity I can express in my subject lines. 

You should be doing the same. Have some fun with your subject lines this season. Show your creativity with a spooky good subject line (see I’m even doing it here).

To give you some inspiration, here are a few Halloween subject line examples I’ve come across which I think are pretty clever:

• Boo-yah: Save 35% on Halloween costumes & accessories till noon!
• No tricks, just treats
• Boooooooooooo
• Spooktacular dinners for the week 🧛🏻
• What’s a ghost’s favorite dinner? 👻
• 🎃 Scary big deal (use at your own risk)
• Trick OR Treat? Why not both?
• A little treat to go with all the tricks this weekend!

Still need some subject line inspiration, just ask AI to help. I generated these ideas using the AI email assistant in AWeber.

1. Spooky Savings: Get Fit this Halloween with our Exclusive Discount!

2. Trick or Treat Yourself to Fitness: Enjoy a Spooktacular Discount on our Coaching Services

3. Halloween Special: Get in Shape and Save Big with our Fitness Coaching Discount

4. Boo-tiful Bodies Await: Scary Good Discount on Fitness Coaching Services

5. Unmask Your Potential: Halloween Discount on Personalized Fitness Coaching

6. Unlock Your Fitness Goals this Halloween: Exclusive Discount Inside

7. Creep into Fitness: Enjoy a Frighteningly Good Discount on our Coaching Services

8. Don’t be Scared of Getting Fit: Halloween Discount on Personal Training

9. Spine-Chilling Savings: Get Fit for Halloween with our Coaching Discount

10. Trick or Train: Scary Good Discount on Fitness Coaching Services

Here was the prompt I used to generate these ideas:

“give me a few halloween related subject line ideas for my email offering a discount for my fitness coaching services”

Be pun-ny (funny)

Follow that creativity from your subject line, into your email. Don’t be afraid to get a little pun-ny this season. 

Here’s an absolute classic Halloween email from Lush. They’re telling a Halloween story in their email that ties beautifully to their relaxation products.

I love the attention-grabbing headline “Spooky slumbers”. But they don’t stop there, just read the first line of the copy “Little monsters won’t go to bed?”. 

If you have a product or service that ties into a Halloween theme, promote it in an email and tie it to the season, you may just see an increase in sales from that email.

Halloween nostalgia

Halloween is a nostalgic time for most people. Just think back on those days where you dressed up as your favorite TV show character or superhero. You just can’t help feeling a little sentimental, can you?

If your emails can make people feel something, you’re going to connect with them in a meaningful way. 

This email from Pottery Barn Kids does just that with an image that is cute and fun – and makes you want to buy a costume for your kid right now (or yourself, no judgments).

Add some Halloween fun

Not sure what to do or what to offer. Then just keep it simple by adding some Halloween fun into your emails.

You can spice up your emails by adding a pumpkin or ghost graphic.

Jack Threads took a photo of a pumpkin they carved and made it the background for this promotion email. Great idea and amazing carving skills.

Add some Halloween animation

Capture the Halloween spirit with a bewitching animated GIF.

Picture this: a mischievous black cat casting playful spells, a jack-o’-lantern’s grin that flickers mysteriously, or ghostly apparitions floating in the moonlit night. 

Just like carving pumpkins and donning costumes, adding an animated GIF brings a dash of playful enchantment to your emails.

Just take a look at this silly, yet fun GIF Postable added to their Halloween email.

Here are some Halloween GIFs you can download for free.

Create urgency

Sale FOMO is real.

By creating a sense of urgency, your customers will be motivated to take an action so they don’t miss out. 

Take this Halloween email example from Tattly which is offering a one day (31% off for the 31st of October) promotion. Nice way to tie Halloween into the promotion.

Headline and subject line harmony

Have you ever opened an email expecting one thing, only to see something entirely different when you open the email? It’s off-putting.

If your subject line doesn’t align with your email content, subscribers are more than likely to delete your email, or worse, mark it as spam. Yikes!

To avoid this worst-case scenario, use headlines with large text to catch people’s attention right away and make sure your headline works with your subject line. It also increases the chance that your subscriber will actually read and click on your email.

This email from Williams-Sonoma uses a simple headline that reinforces the message of the subject line and it plays on the Halloween theme and explains the value of their sale. A win-win.

Subject line: Trick-or-Treat! 30% Off Halloween Tabletop, Candy, Bakeware & More

Halloween marketing ideas 

Now that we’ve shared our Boo-tiful (I’m sorry, I can’t help myself) email tips, what type of Halloween marketing ideas should you include in those emails.?

Halloween promo code

Offer an exclusive saving using a promo code. But the hook, make that promo code Halloween related.

That’s exactly what Baron Fig did in their email with their “GHOSTS22” promo code for 20% off all orders of $60 or more.

Halloween newsletter

Sending a Halloween newsletter is a great way to engage your audience and tap into the seasonal spirit. It allows you to share special promotions, highlight themed content, and connect with your subscribers by aligning with a widely recognized and festive theme.

Here’s a perfect example from Land O Lakes. The company known for their butter, send this Halloween newsletter showing their readers how to make delicious candy corn cupcakes (who’s hungry).

Create a holiday-inspired product or service

Creating a Halloween-inspired product or service presents a fantastic marketing opportunity, tapping into the excitement and consumer interest surrounding the holiday. 

By offering a product or service tailored to the Halloween theme, you not only cater to a specific market demand but also infuse a sense of seasonal fun and novelty. This could potentially boost your sales.

How awesome is this email from Rover? They created Halloween plush toys. But what I love about the email is the image of the dog holding the bloody knife. I don’t have a dog, but that image compels me to buy something.

How are you marketing during the holidays?

Ready to create some email magic? ✨ Share your best holiday marketing tips in the comments!