It is hard to believe, but fall is just around the corner. Kids are heading back to school, and business owners are gearing up for the season. Restaurants are creating autumn-inspired menus. The latest fall fashions and decorations are filling up window displays, website pages, and social media ads. Local businesses are thinking up exciting offers, and ecommerce stores are getting makeovers.

Holidays are an excellent opportunity for business owners to maximize business and, at the same time, strengthen customer relationships with their fall newsletter. 

That’s why we’re sharing our best fall email ideas, plus some fall email subject lines to get you started!

Make fall work for you

You might consider the fall to be ‘downtime’ before the holiday season rush but making the extra effort to send the right email to the right person at the right time can turn it into a very successful time for your business. 

Autumn brings with it an array of holidays. There are federal and state holidays, religious holidays, and even some fun holidays that you can use to your advantage. 

Did you know that September 18th is National Cheeseburger Day? Imagine how exciting it would be for your customers (if you are a restaurant or cafe) to get an email with a discount on cheeseburgers on that day. 

Or, on October 3rd, on National Boyfriend Day, your business could offer an exclusive offer to anyone buying a gift for their boyfriend. 

There are a lot of holidays to consider, and choosing the ones that are right for your audience will make all the difference. 

Why you should consider personalizing your fall emails 

Personalized emails instantly catch a reader’s attention, and have a higher chance of convincing them to take the action you want.

Say, for example, you are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at your house. You have all your loved ones coming over, and you are both excited and anxious about planning the whole affair. You receive an email from your favorite home decor store, offering you a 30% discount on Thanksgiving-inspired table mats and candles — wouldn’t you jump to grab this deal? 

Chances are, based on your buying habits, this business already knows your love of home decor, and by capitalizing on the holiday season and theme, they compel you to make a purchase. It’s a win-win for both you and the business.

And, while the holidays are a time to generate more sales, they also provide an occasion to strengthen customer relationships and build your brand.

A simple holiday greeting email lets your customers know that you value them while providing you with an opportunity to showcase your brand personality and creativity.

So, how do you create fall-inspired emails and newsletters that are simple but powerful? Here are seven ways to help you get started. 

7 effective fall email ideas

Creating holiday emails is all about capturing the essence of the holiday and adding a little something for your customers to put the ‘happy’ in happy holidays.

Here are seven easy tips for creating and sending impactful fall emails.

1. Send holiday greetings

Not every email you send needs to drive action. Sometimes a simple email greeting or some helpful holiday advice is all you need to let your customers know that you value them. Everyone appreciates a brand that takes the time and effort to acknowledge its customers — even when not providing a discount. So, if you’re not running any holiday discounts, but still want to maximize the holiday season just create a greeting email. Be creative, and bring in the spirit of the holiday right from the subject line.

Rosh Hashanah email template
Depending on your audience, a simple holiday greeting, like this one celebrating the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, may be all you need to let your customers know you’re thinking of them during their special occasions.

2. Offer a Holiday incentive 

Everyone loves a discount — especially during the holidays when people are entertaining or buying gifts for friends and family. Creating an email that offers an incentive along with a holiday greeting is sure to make people take notice and make the most of your offer. A discount coupon or a too-good-to-miss deal will have customers jumping in to grab it. 

example of a fall email for talk like a pirate day
Turn your holiday-greeting email, for a fun and obscure holiday, into a great holiday offer.

3. Offer added shopping benefits 

It’s not only discounts that make people shop. Added shopping benefits like free shipping, expedited delivery, or gift wrapping are other factors that influence buying decisions. Showcase these benefits in your email and quickly drive people to take action. Everyone loves a good deal, and sometimes it’s these little details that get people excited to shop for more.

International Coffee Day email with promo code
Use templates like this one to create an email that combines International Coffee Day with added shopping benefits to get people excited.

4. Use or create fall email templates

When creating holiday emails, it’s not just the content but also the design that must reflect the essence of the holiday. When we think of autumn, the first thing that comes to mind is earthy browns, colorful leaves, pumpkins, coffee, and other meaningful elements associated with the season. Take inspiration from these colors and motifs of the season to create your email templates. The design of the email — the colors, fonts, and images — should all enhance the spirit of the holiday.

Here’s a look at some easily customizable Thanksgiving email templates created for Constant Contact users: 

5. Host holiday-inspired events

Use an event to bring people together. Market your brand and business, collaborate with other local organizations and maximize the holiday season. No matter the size of the event, holidays are a fantastic time for hosting successful events. Capture the essence of the holiday to create a remarkable event. For example, cook up spooky menus for restaurants on Halloween, spruce up your store with red, white, and blue decor for Veteran’s Day, and host local farm-to-table events on Thanksgiving, etc. 

Halloween Event .gif email template
Have some fun with your holiday event invitations by using animated gif templates and holiday-themed designs.

6. Create shopping guides 

Sometimes the best thing you can offer is your expertise. You know your products better than anyone else, so curate a shopping guide filled with recommendations for buying holiday gifts. You could also create a list of everything that’s happening at your store, or in your local community, during the holiday season. 

If providing a discount isn’t an option for you this year, provide something else that your contacts will find valuable, like a free shopping guide to local Black Friday sales. 

7. Create fall-inspired content

It’s fun to spruce up your email design for the holidays but don’t forget to adjust the content. The first thing your customers will see is the subject line, and you must evoke the essence of the holiday from the start.

Get creative and develop content that catches your reader’s attention immediately. Say you sell Halloween costumes, and you’re creating a discount email. Your subject line could be simple like ‘20% off on Halloween costumes,’ or it could be more playful with something like ‘Look your spooky-best with 20% off.’ You could also add Halloween-inspired emojis to make it more relatable.

Halloween and Thanksgiving aren’t the only major holidays in the fall. Here’s an example of a Veterans Day nonprofit email with content inspired by the holiday:

Fall email subject lines

What good is your amazing fall newsletter if no one reads it? One of the most effective ways to ensure the readership of your emails is with a great email subject line. Here are some fall email subject line ideas to get you thinking:

  • You’ll fall in love with these sweaters
  • Leaf your worries behind
  • Get ahead of the game. Shop now.
  • Rake in these autumn deals
  • Gobble up these savings
  • Autumn after-school activities
  • Your fall shopping guide
  • Our favorite pumpkin spice recipes
  • You’ll thank us for this
  • Don’t labor this Labor Day
  • Don’t be a turkey…

When thinking of a fall email subject line, it’s best to start with your recipient in mind. What would make them want to open your email? What content are you providing in your fall newsletter that will add value to them? Lead with that!

Do I need to create emails for every fall holiday?

No. Of course not.

Choose the holidays that are most relevant to your business, your audience, and your community.

This is where list segmentation comes in handy.

If you do business primarily online and a major portion of your audience is from a geographic location that differs from your own, pick holidays that are most relevant in that region and send emails to the portion of your audience that lives in that area.

The same goes for any holiday or occasion. The more information you have about your customers, the more you can personalize your marketing to match the holidays they celebrate, as well as the ones you recognize and celebrate as a business in your community. 

Also, understand the need to be sensitive to religious sentiments and beliefs. Consider the meaning and the essence of the holiday and make sure there are no sensitivities attached to it. 

Capture the fall spirit with personalized emails

The autumn season brings with it many holidays that can jumpstart your holiday marketing. Start planning your email campaigns, and pick the holidays that make the most sense for your customers.

These seven simple tips will help you create compelling emails, that will maximize your sales, communications and customer relationships. 

Just capture the essence of the holiday and let your email spark the joy and the meaning of it — from how the email looks, to what it says. 

Start by picking a holiday to celebrate with your customers.