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If you’ve ever opened up your inbox and seen email marketing content from one of your favorite brands, you’ve received a teaser campaign before. You just might not have realized it at the time.

If you’re feeling lost, a teaser email is a kind of marketing email designed to capture the reader’s attention with mystery, intrigue, and anticipation. The goal behind a teaser email is always to generate customer interest and make them eager to learn more. While they can be used in lots of different email marketing contexts, they’re most popular for product launches, sale or promotion announcements, and event invitations.

While teaser emails are similar to new product launch emails, they aren’t exactly the same—teaser emails give a lot less away and focus on piquing the reader’s interest rather than providing them with product information.

Teaser emails are great for email marketing teams because they boost sales & conversions, drive traffic to their company’s website, generate leads, and contribute to a unique brand experience. But customers also enjoy receiving them because they’re fun to engage with, build excitement, and are a little different from the typical marketing emails they get everyday.

Keep reading for key teaser email best practices, eleven inspiring teaser email examples, and even some great subject line ideas.

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Teaser email campaign best practices

If you’re ready to start developing your own teaser email campaign, keep the following best practices in mind for optimal results:

Set an objective for your teaser email

You should never send out a teaser email (or an email of any kind) without feeling crystal clear on why you’re sending it. Do you want your teaser email to drive traffic to your website? Prompt people to pre-order a new product before launch day? Click on social media buttons and give you a follow? RSVP to an event invitation? These are all important questions to answer before you get started.

Decide how many teaser emails you’re going to send out

Different types of teaser campaigns require different numbers of emails. For example, a product launch email sequence usually includes between two and five emails, whereas a simple sales announcement only needs one or two emails.

Discover the types of product launch emails you can send and how to write a product launch email (with examples).

Figure out when to send out your teaser emails

You can send out teaser emails at the same time you usually send out email marketing content, but remember that the purpose of teaser emails is to build hype. That means you should send out the last teaser email in your campaign right before your launch, promotion, or event.

Plan out your whole teaser email campaign in advance

For all your teaser emails to complement each other and be cohesive, it’s important to plan your sequence and create them all before you send anything out. Scrambling at the last minute rarely makes for an optimized email campaign.

Be intentional about your teaser email subject line

Subject lines often get overlooked, but they’re one of the biggest factors people take into account when they’re deciding whether to open an email or not. In fact, 47% of people open emails based on subject lines alone. Make sure your subject line builds anticipation and makes subscribers want to learn more just as much as your email content.

11 teaser email campaign examples to inspire you

1. Westerly

Westerly is a meal delivery service based in the Greater Seattle Area. They’re passionate about providing their community with healthy, delicious food.

They’ve got a wide variety of different dishes, and one of their most popular is their take on the Vietnamese noodle soup pho. Since their menu changes weekly, they sent out the teaser email above to tell their subscribers that one of their favorite meals was going to be available the following week.

They provide just enough information in their announcement email to inform people who are in-the-know while adding a little bit of mystery for those who haven’t tried their pho yet.

2. Sigfus

Sigfus is a unique jewlery brand that specializes in retro, statement designs. Owner and maker Lauren Valenzuela lives and works in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and is inspired by the natural environment around her.

Before launching one of their recent collections, Sigfus sent out a last-minute teaser email before the official launch. This is a great way to remind subscribers of a sale or product launch right before it drops, adding to the suspense and prompting them to browse what you’ve got to offer.

Since they sent out their teaser email just 10 minutes before their collection went live, they made a great marketing decision by prominently featuring photos of some of their new earring styles.

3. Poor Little It Girl

Poor Little It Girl is a shopping, personal style, and lifestyle blog owned and operated by Cathy Peshek. Being petite herself, Cathay focuses her content on helping other petite women find affordable, stylish clothes for their body type.

Cathy has done a great job of creating an email that teases a massager that she’s promoting on her site. Telling the reader she can’t live without her new massager and emphasizing that it changed her life builds anticipation and leaves them wanting more.

Poor Little It Girl’s email just goes to show that teasers don’t always have to be about promotions and product launches, they also work for something as simple as an affiliate product or blog post.

4. RJ Home

RJ Home has anticipation built into their business model, so it’s easy for them to integrate that same feeling into their email marketing strategy. They’re a vintage and handmade market based in Iowa that’s only open one weekend per month, Friday through Sunday.

We love the way RJ Home uses their teaser email to both remind their subscribers about their upcoming drop and build intrigue about the pieces they’re going to have in stock. 

Rather than revealing the specifics about their new products, they capture their customers’ imagination by describing the theme behind their collection: “…inspired by the end of the summer nearing, the promise of fall, and all of its beauty and of course, as with everything that we do, being with those that we love!”

RJ Home has also included playful clock and sparkle emojis to add a subtle sense of excitement to their message.

5. Burgess Sweaters

Burgess Sweaters is a clothing brand based in Newport, Rhode Island. Their pieces are inspired by the coastal life and they create luxurious, fashionable, and fashionable sweaters and other knitwear that transcends seasons.

Their email above is a great example of how you can announce an upcoming sale without giving too many details away. While they communicate a specific date (this Wednesday) they keep things mysterious by not announcing the specifics of the promotion and relying mostly on on-brand imagery.

They’ve also included a ‘Shop Now’ call to action (CTA) button at the bottom of their email, so subscribers can start to browse their collection and put together a wishlist.

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6. Bruna The Label

Bruna the Label is a sustainable, handcrafted jewelry company based in Germany. In just a few years, they’ve gone from a small online shop to a popular jewelry brand that’s well-loved by celebrities and often goes viral on social media.

Last year, Bruna the Label announced their Give Back Friday sale with just one email that did a great job of building excitement and capturing reader attention. While they specified most of the details about their upcoming promotion, they created a sense of exclusivity and hype by sending it out to only loyal customers first.

Their mysterious design also features a simple black-and-white color palette, which works with the Black Friday sale theme and keeps the reader guessing as to which limited pieces will be available during the sale.

7. Westerly

We had to feature the meal delivery service Westerly just one more time because they do such a great job of capturing people’s attention with their teaser email campaigns while driving traffic to their website with clever CTA buttons.

In Westerly’s business model, they change up their menus from week to week depending on dish popularity and what’s available or in season. That means customers have to order a week in advance to receive their meals the following week.

We think the above Westerly email is a killer example of grabbing attention with product images. They don’t even disclose what exact dishes they’re featuring on their upcoming menu—they just include mouth-watering pictures that leave people wanting more.

While a general rule of thumb is including only one CTA button per email, Westerly has two here: “Order now” and “View menus.” In this case, their double CTAs work because they’re giving subscribers a choice based on the teaser email: either click for more information or order right away.

8. Jane & Tash

Jane & Tash is an ecommerce brand based in London. They specialize in luxury outerwear, clothing, and accessories like leather jackets, faux fur coats, and tailored blazers.

We’re featuring their product release email because we think they’ve done a fantastic job of building hype surrounding their most recent launch. Because they’re a brand that mostly specializes in outerwear, building a marketing strategy for their summer collection could be a challenge. It mostly features linen clothing, which is unusual for them, so sending out teaser emails that grab attention was especially important to lay the groundwork for a successful launch.

We love the design layout of their teaser email example pictured above. They’ve showcased one product image front-and-center so it really jumps out at the reader. It was also a great choice to include a countdown timer, so readers really feel the urgency surrounding the launch.

9. Fortnight Lingerie

Fortnight Lingerie is a sustainable swimwear and lingerie brand that’s passionate about creating timeless designs for all body types. They’re based in Toronto, Canada and have a great way of communicating with their target audience through their email strategy.

Fortnight Lingerie kept things simple with their recent teaser email and we love the result. They’ve made an eye-catching, on-brand image of one of their new Ivy lingerie sets the focus of their email. Their copy and other email content is straightforward—they let loyal customers know a restock of one of their best-selling sets is coming soon, and that’s all.

Try replicating this email teaser campaign if you want to make a strong impression with your teaser email while sticking with strong imagery and minimal design.

10. Mr. Rodini

Mr. Rodini is a high-end, sustainable children’s clothing brand from Sweden. They’re well-known for their playful prints, colorful clothing, and unique designs. They bring those same values into their teaser email campaigns, and the above image is a great example of that.

Mr. Rodini often releases themed collections, and their pre-fall 2022 theme is “the future looks bright.” To get their customers excited about their upcoming launch, Mr. Rodini integrated imagery from the collection into their teaser campaign, and the result is equal parts playful and intriguing.

The email copy starts teasing customers by saying “launching soon” but then provides more details in fine print at the very bottom: “the cats predict April 26th will be a good day…” Basically, Mr. Rodini is telling the reader exactly when the new collection will launch, but only if they pay attention and scroll down to the very end.

11. Havenly

Havenly is an online interior design and home decorating service. They help their customers put together the home of their dreams by pairing them with designers who hand-select products that fit with their style preferences and budget. They’ve also got their own on-site shop.

If you’re looking for teaser email inspiration that’s equal parts lighthearted and informative, check out Havenly’s above example. The combination of “keep your eyes open” and an eyes emoji prompts the recipient to keep reading without coming off as too serious. 

We also like that Havenly lets their customers know that: 

  • “Something” new is coming (without disclosing exactly what)
  • That “something” will be happening the following week (without disclosing exactly when)

Examples of teaser campaign email subject lines

A unique, intriguing subject line is an essential part of a great teaser email. Get inspired by the excellent examples we’ve provided below and adapt them to your needs. We’ve broken them down into three categories: product launch, sale announcement, and event promotion.

Product launch

  • Something new is dropping in 24 hours 👀
  • A sneak peek into the future… 🔮 
  • You asked, we listened. [Product name] is here.
  • Get 10% off when you pre-order [product name] today only!
  • Keep your eyes peeled tomorrow! 😎 
  • The wait is over. [Product name] is here.

Want more inspiration? We’ve got a whole article on product launch email subject lines!

Sale announcement

  • Get your wishlists ready 😍
  • Our biggest sale of the year drops tomorrow 🏃 
  • Up to [X]% off starts in 10 minutes!
  • We don’t do this often…
  • Psst… we’ve got a secret to tell you!
  • Sale sneak peak for your eyes only 👀

Event promotion

  • Come see what we’ve been working on lately 🙏
  • Exclusive first access: Get your ticket before it sells out 👏 
  • You’re invited…
  • [First name], we’d love to meet you on [insert date]!
  • We’ve got something special planned for you… 🎉

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Set up a successful teaser email campaign with Flodesk

Teaser email campaigns are a great marketing technique to have in your toolbelt. They add an element of mystery and surprise into your emails, encourage subscriber engagement with your campaigns, make for unique, lighthearted content, and build anticipation and excitement surrounding all kinds of different events like product launches, promotions, and events.

The best way to put together an ideal teaser campaign for your business is by using a premium email marketing software like Flodesk. We’re passionate about great design and have a wide range of gorgeous templates that are perfectly suited to teaser emails. Pair that with impactful marketing automations and easy-to-understand reports and analytics and you’ve got a match made in heaven.

To see for yourself, sign up for our 30-day free trial, no strings attached.

Read next: our favorite win back email examples!

FAQs about teaser email campaigns

What is a teaser email?

A teaser email is a kind of marketing email designed to catch the people’s attention with mystery, intrigue, and anticipation. Ideally, it should make the reader interested in what’s to come and make them want to learn more. They’re often the first emails in a product launch campaign, and can also be used to promote an upcoming event, sale, or collaboration.

How do you write a good teaser email?

To write a good teaser email, you need to pique the reader’s interest and make them want to learn more. Here are the key steps you should follow to do so:

  • Set your objective
  • Identify your central call-to-action (CTA)
  • Choose your visuals
  • Develop your copy
  • Craft your subject line
  • Send yourself a test (and check it on desktop and mobile)
  • Schedule your teaser email at an optimal date and time

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How do you create anticipation in an email?

There are many ways to create anticipation in an email, and doing so is essential for a successful teaser campaign. Here are just a few of the ways you can do so:

  • Craft an email subject line that makes the reader think (for example: “Special surprise for VIPs launching tomorrow! 🎁”
  • Choose images that pique people’s attention but don’t tell the whole story (like an image that features a new product but doesn’t show it in detail)
  • Use language that makes people curious without coming across as spammy (like sneak peek, new release, special event, big news, and stay tuned).
  • Integrate dynamic elements like countdown timers