Real results for the biggest digital event of the year are right at your fingertips.
Every year people hold off on purchases big and small all while waiting to see if they can get their desired items even cheaper on Cyber Monday.
Many marketing campaigns are built around the week of online sales spanning from the days leading up to Black Friday on through to its culmination on Cyber Monday.
If you, too, want to cash in on this retail holiday, then you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, we’ve gathered some of the best Cyber Monday email examples and highlighted what makes them so effective. We also prepared tactical tips & best practices that’ll help you make your next Cyber Monday campaign even better
Before we’re going to dive into the examples, let’s quickly sum up what Cyber Monday means for businesses.
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Why is Cyber Monday important?
Cyber Monday – which is on Nov. 28 this year – has surpassed Black Friday as the biggest selling and shopping day of the year according to all metrics. Even though Black Friday still carries the more recognizable name, Cyber Monday is the time to truly sell more.
Whereas Black Friday focuses more on the big-ticket items and new releases, Cyber Monday is catered more to smaller items, gadgets, products that were released previously, digital subscriptions, gift cards, and things people have been wanting in their daily lives.
In 2021, the selling season metrics went down for the first time in, well, basically forever, according to Forbes. It wasn’t drastic, in fact in terms of big number figures, the drop is barely noticeable – from $10.8 billion to $10.7 billion for Cyber Monday from 2020 to 2021, and from $9.0 to $8.9 billion for Black Friday over the same time frame.
With some inflation worry and financial concerns hitting the US and world this year, you can expect that people will look to save as much as possible during that time frame this year. Which means, making your Cyber Monday emails stand out in the crowd with great offers is imperative for 2023.
According to industry data from The NPD Group, a little more than 50% of people still plan to spend the same or more this year compared to 2021. Yet, 43% plan to spend less and an additional 6% won’t make any purchases at all. That’s not to be a deterrent, as business must go on, so think of the audience you do have, the customers you do have, and try to nurture them as best as possible.
Now that we’re on the same page about this biggest shopping holiday of the year, let’s look at some inspiring Cyber Monday email examples.
10 super Cyber Monday email examples
1. Baggu
Subject line: The Cyber Monday Sale – up to 30% off!
Why it’s so super
They get you right off the bat with the header “Just in case you hadn’t heard” letting you know there is some new news below, and they waste no time getting to the punchline. The font adds a fun touch, and even though there are only two colors in this Cyber Monday sales email, it’s an attractive and inviting color.
The call-to-action (CTA) is huge, and they let you know you don’t need any extra codes or signups, just “SHOP NOW” and get your discounts. They use the CTA to direct you to their landing page rather than presenting their specific offers here, letting the tiered system of X% off for orders over $ZZZ do the talking. They also present a gift guide and let you know they offer free shipping on orders over $30.
What could have been better?
There is a lack of product offers here, which can be a big no-no if your audience isn’t familiar with your products. This assumes the reader will be intrigued enough to click through and view the products on the site. And as we mentioned, there’s not a lot of other color. Sometimes creative doesn’t mean lots of elements, or flashing lights, it just means being creative in a manner that suits your audience and drives your main message home.
Did you know?
With GetResponse Email Creator you can launch Cyber week email campaigns with ease. It comes with beautifully-designed free newsletter templates you can fully customize to your liking.
Among other features, it offers a live mobile and dark-mode preview so that you can be sure your campaigns look perfect no matter what. Go ahead and signup free to test it yourself or watch our walkthrough video below.
2. Udemy
Subject line: Just hours left of our biggest sale!
Why it’s so super
Their imagery shows you a wide variety of products all at once without being too cluttered. The header is direct and immediately captures your attention, while the CTA lets you know they have certain courses covering a wide range of classes, for just $10 right now.
They use a classic countdown timer on the screen, and the best part comes where they display “Check Out the Top Courses Students are Taking Now” as inspiration and to also show off the variety of classes they offer. The images for the classes are also diverse, and if you are someone interested in online classes, you’ll want to peruse their listings.
What could they have potentially done better?
If you don’t know who or what Udemy is, they don’t really fill you in here. It could easily lead you to believe they are selling products and not classes with the imagery, but they’re taking the approach that if you are receiving this email, you know who they are and what they offer, which is possible through knowing your own audience and having insightful data on your list.
3. DesignModo
Subject line: 💥 Cyber Monday Sale! Last Day to Get 60% off Everything on DesignModo!
Why it’s so super
Nothing fancy here, just “Cyber Monday” with their discount all at the top. They give you a statement to let you know the urgency to shop, and even provide a discount code before leading to their CTA.
There aren’t products exactly to share, so they give you four easy to see and read boxes showing you the original prices slashed out, and the new prices for their products. And the images around the edges give it personality, and play into the UX/UI theme of what they do. T
hese last two examples show what you can do when you don’t have tangible products to offer. We also love the preheader text that invites you to load the images, “This email contains many cool images. No images? View online”. Most companies are apologetic in their preheaders, these folks sell you on it.
Lastly, the underline 60% looks funny as if it’s an error in a Word document, which emphasizes how big the discount is and draws the reader in.
What could they have potentially done better?
We think the four boxes could be more appealing, and the slashed-out prices are not apparent and obvious at first. Using a bit more color would be great, and even a more inviting font on the four offers would be great.
Also, as Cyber Monday subject lines go, this one’s a bit long. This puts the brand at risk of having the message truncated on smaller devices, but the good thing is that they’ve put the main information about the sale at the very beginning.
4. P.F. Candle Co.
Subject line: Yep, we’re having a sale!
Why it’s so super
First off, their subject line doesn’t even mention Cyber Monday. They’re banking on the fact and even having their Cyber Monday newsletter play off the fact that you likely know what Cyber Monday is, and you’re receiving an inbox full of offers. So they’re here just to let you know that indeed, they’re having a sale too.
They start with an image rather than the headline, which always draws eyes and interest. Even if you don’t know what the sale is, you see products that you want and will keep reading. They use the trope of Mondays being despised to present “The best kind of Monday” and let you know this big offer is “Today only”. They give you the deals, with photos and original prices, and the layout of the deals is appealing and differentiating.
Finally, the CTA is clever. Rather than the normal CTA button, they’re aiming to get you to click by literally pointing you in the direction of the ‘sale items’.
What could they have potentially done better?
There is some wasted space at the top where their name brand is presented before the photo, having a short sentence here or even the headline above the photo could work well.
A little more color in here, even by shading the different boxes would look nice, but they are going for simple here, drawing on the colors of their products. We’d also like to see the CTA button emphasized a bit more, they are at risk of losing some conversions without a button to click even if the products are hyperlinked.
5. Withings
Subject line: Your VIP pass runs out today
Why it’s so super
This is an example of extra special offers for your loyal fans or segmented customers who have perhaps signed up to be a special section of your audience. They let you know right away that “Tomorrow is too late” which also plays off their product – watches. They give a great CTA in “Take advantage” and change up the color scheme from light to really make their products stand out.
The offer is obvious in the presentation and has striking images, and it’s personalized with “We kept them for you” to state that these are offers are just for you. There are even extra CTAs for the specific products. It’s personalized and presents trust with the “Shop with confidence” line and the three icons that show why you can trust them. They close with another CTA, but none of it feels like too much.
What could they have potentially done better?
The Cyber Monday subject line leaves a lot to be desired, as they have several elements or even emojis they could have included to play on time, the holiday, and watches. The text is a bit plain as well, especially with the white background.
6. Sunday River Resort
Subject line: Cyber Monday Starts Now
Why it’s so super
The Cyber Monday subject line gets right to the point, and it makes the offer evergreen for whenever the reader sees it. The headline is big and bold with a great color scheme, and they let you know there are ‘deals’ and that you can ‘save’ right away. The CTA is fun as well, and don’t miss the subhead text in the top left corner.
A great secondary text reinforces the subject line, and it lets the audience know they can shop even before Cyber Monday. Once you scroll down, the images give you something tangible and you can picture yourself there, and they take it a step further by showing a Santa in the snow. The secondary CTAs are good and pop up throughout the message.
The variety of color and images in this email really give the audience a sense of wonder, and they top it off at the bottom with an extra special offer to become an “Innsider”. From top to bottom, this really hits the mark.
What could they have potentially done better?
The texts under each photo are a bit bland considering the images, and the font type and color don’t really invoke excitement, again, especially when paired with those images. The grey background doesn’t do it for us, black might work better here.
7. TunnelBear
Subject line: Extended CyBear Monday Sale!
Why it’s so super
Use your brand, use your assets, tailor your marketing to your audience and make people smile. This Cyber Monday email hits all those marks, turning Cyber into CyBear and giving a great, yet simple, image with the offer all right there in the first frame. They continue the playful tone by saying their offer “can only be spotted for one (…or two) days a year”, which also hints that their deals could last an extra day.
And the CTA enforces the offer, with the text below it giving a bonus offer for people who want to upgrade. An upsell offer, if you have one, is always a good thing. They close out by giving a trustworthy, authoritative statement with the ‘world’s only VPN’ to show they stand out from their competitors, and it lets you know who they are just in case you don’t know (VPN service).
What could they have potentially done better?
A little more color in here or one more visual would be great. A little better mention of who they are and what they do would also be good, but overall, this shows how you can go straight-forward and still deliver.
8. Eight Sleep
Subject line: 24 hours only: Cyber Monday sale
Why it’s so super
It’s a Cyber Monday subject line that gives an urgency and mentions the reason. The visual with text overtop of it is inviting with the big window and the text that presents a countdown theme, mentions Cyber Monday, and states the offer/value/savings available with the deadline.
The tagline under the image invokes some happy times and alludes to their begs can make every day feel the best. They mention the offer again and show two more products to cross-sell/upsell, and give a big CTA. The CTA is also great with the contrasting black background plus pay later option reduces friction, giving the reader a feeling of ‘if you were worried you can’t afford it, you can!’ They even close with financing terms and another offer to help people afford their product.
What could they have potentially done better?
Did you catch it? That’s right, this Cyber Monday newsletter went out to their audience with a mistake. We all make mistakes, and that’s OK, but this is a reminder to check and recheck every element of your email before you send it, and even consider putting your text in a word processor to run a spell check. (They spelled Monday as “Mondy” here.)
We don’t think that will keep someone from buying a product from them, but it also can put the thought in the back of a customer’s mind to wonder what their standards are for their products. The full on black at the bottom could be improved with a different scheme, and we think the financing terms could be bolder text.
9. Adidas
Subject line: Think fast. Cyber Monday is our biggest sale.
Why it’s so super
The play on “fast” along with athletic wear shows how you can personalize and create a theme within whatever product you offer. The Cyber Monday subject line lets the audience know this is their biggest sale of the year.
They give a code and discount below the picture, with three CTAs for relevant products that will get people to click through to see more specific offers. They follow that up with advanced offers and an option to personalize. By the positioning of the CTAs you can tell this email was designed mobile-first, to make sure their mobile recipients will have a good experience when clicking-through and buying their products.
And the CTAs clearly will allow them to segment their audience (for him, for her). Also, we like the headlines here – “Bring more game.” Make it personal. This plays on the fact you can take the challenge personally, put more personal effort into it, and you can personalize their product.
What could they have potentially done better?
Overall, it’s a bit plain. The elements of a great Cyber Monday email are here, but the image misses its mark because it doesn’t clearly show “fast” and it could be better represented. The lower image shows “fast” a bit better. The text is also a little plain. This goes to show that even the biggest brands don’t always knock it out of the park, but tweaks on little elements could take this from really good to great.
10. The Hill-Side
Subject line: Cyber Monday Sale: 30% Off Everything
Why it’s so super
What are they offering? Who is this brand? Where are the photos? The color? It doesn’t matter, because they went creative with this Cyber Monday email by going a different route. There is no one way to do it, and creativity knows no bounds.
By using easily recognizable early-days computer font, the reader is intrigued. “Cyber Monday Sale” is at the top with the 30% offer and the code. And you even see “Plus: Free Shipping…” all right away. They even kept the theme going with the very old school WWW imagery at the bottom.
What could they have potentially done better?
Mentioning somewhere who they are and what they do would be good, as you cannot assume an audience knows who you are. Likely this is sent to a list that people signed up to be a part of (as in permission-based emails), and if that’s the case in your instance, it’s OK to have some fun with your audience in that manner. A clear CTA would help this as well, but the hand hovering over the globe indicates to click there.
We hope you find inspiration from this wide range of great examples! Images are all courtesy of Really Good Emails.
Cyber Monday email best practices
Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror and the mostly plain colors of Black Friday are behind us, so now it’s time to go big and bold! Make sure you offer a clear discount that gives the customer real value. And get outside the lines, even while using the Cyber Monday best practices – that means adding in some color and creativity and showing the more fun side of your business. Remember you don’t have to offer “holiday” or “Christmas” items to get in the Cyber Monday game, you just need a hook.
Give them more than one offer in your Cyber Monday email, and even if emojis aren’t your thing, try throwing one (or two) into your Cyber Monday subject line to catch their attention – they are proven to increase open rates when used right (don’t overdo it though, and if they just aren’t your thing, no worries, they aren’t 100% necessary).
Pay attention to your CTAs
And with all good emails, your Cyber Monday email needs to have a CTA (or two) that directs your customer to the landing page you want them to visit, where you can present your offers, and even add a form on your page to get their information and put them on your mailing list.
Reward your most-engaged subscribers
Do you have a fan club? A loyal audience email segment or even VIP signups? Give them an extra special offer, such as extending their deals to 48 hours (or longer) or offering them an extra % off your existing deals.
Tiered deals are also great, presenting offers that give bigger discounts the more they buy, such as 15% off orders of $100, but 25% off orders of $200 (this is just an example of course, figure out what numbers make the most sense for you).
Easily create great emails, segment your audience, and promote your offers
With GetResponse, you can segment your audience and send Cyber Monday email variants to different parts of your audience. Plus, you can create your amazing-looking emails from professionally designed email templates, easily create eye-catching landing pages, and even add in forms to collect information on your audience’s behavior, interests, and preferences.
Add in Facebook Ads, connect your preferred payment processor, and trigger automatic messaging sequences with marketing automation that will do the work for you while you tend to what matters most during the holiday season.
Time is on your side – so don’t let it fly by!
Consider this: research from the firm muchneeded.com found that sales peak at 11:25 a.m. on Cyber Monday, while Forbes found sales peaking once again between 11 p.m. and midnight. You can mobile-optimize all your messaging with GetResponse and deliver messages at specific times to customers around the world with our unique Time Travel delivery – and you can even deliver messages when they’re most likely to be opened using the GetResponse Perfect Timing feature.
Cyber Monday is real, and it’s spectacular! Here’s what you need for your best Cyber Monday emails:
- Create a catchy color scheme
- Add in some animation, rotating items, or video if you can
- Create an eye-catching Cyber Monday subject line
- Do some research on competitors Cyber Monday deals
- Know your audience and give them what they want
- Give it a human touch, and have some fun, people want to feel connection even more than ever this year!
How to launch Cyber Monday email marketing campaigns with GetResponse
Step 1: Sign up for a free account
Step 2: Pick a template & customize it to your liking. Here are some of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday email templates you’ll find in GetResponse.
Step 3: Import your list & send your Cyber Monday newsletter away!
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Real examples for real results to drive traffic and sales your way during Cyber Monday – and beyond! The countdown is on, get a move on and craft those eye-catching, head-turning messages to get your audience digitally buzzing today!
And if you need help along the way, be sure to sign up for GetResponse for free today.