How to Create a Valentine Day Email Campaign and 10 Examples You Can Learn From

The season of love is here. Most online shoppers have the shopping intent to make their loved ones happy. How do you get the best out of Valentine’s day? This article will provide insight into some of the best tips for creating an effective Valentine's day email campaign.

How to Create a Valentine Day Email Campaign and 10 Examples You Can Learn From

Valentine's day is fast approaching, many marketers have their hands on creating the best Valentine’s day email campaign. While February 14th is greatly celebrated in the world, gaining customers' attention can be challenging. If you don't apply the right strategy for your email campaign, competitors will jump on the occasion and skyrocket sales. But this doesn't have to be the case. This is why we have prepared this article for you.

In this article, you'll learn some of the best practices for creating an effective Valentine's day email campaign. We're also giving you 10 valentine’s day email examples in preparation for the season of love.

Now, let's get to it!

Table of contents

  1. Valentine day in data
  2. 2 tips for creating a Valentine's day email campaign
  3. 10 valentine day email campaign examples
  4. Wrapping up

Valentine’s day in data

When it comes to email marketing, to what extent is Valentine's Day celebrated? According to reports from searchenginejournal, over $13 billion is spent on Valentine’s day. The average consumer spends $116.21, and this amount of money keeps increasing every year.

Some of the most searched items include:

  • Engagement rings
  • Giftcards
  • Earrings
  • Flowers
  • Candy

Without a doubt, Valentine’s day presents a big opportunity to prepare engaging email campaigns for your audience. People are looking to create memorable experiences such as date nights, proposals and dining. This means that your Valentine’s day email campaign should be optimized with the appropriate ingredients for more click-through and conversion rates.

Below, we’ve included some of the best valentine’s day email examples in preparation for the season of love.

2 tips for creating a Valentine's day email campaign

In this section, you'll learn some of the best practices you can apply to create an effective Valentine's day email.  

1. Segment your email campaign based on customer activity

If you want to reach your customers on a more personal level then segmentation is the key. With customer segmentation, you can tailor your email based on how customers respond to your messaging. For example, you can begin your Valentine’s day email campaign with a general sales offer then deliver cross-selling emails to subscribers that clicked through and converted.

2. A/B test your email subject lines

The truth is that you'll only identify the best subject line when you do A/B testing. A/B testing enables you to send different subject lines to a fraction of your subscribers to find out which one works best.

10 valentine’s day email campaign examples

The best valentine’s day email campaigns are those that include compelling subject lines that grab the attention of readers, and get them clicking through your emails with excitement. Use the following examples to gain the inspiration you need to mesmerize your readers.

1. Epic for kids

Subject line: February collections & printables your kid will love! ❤️

This subject line easily captures the attention of parents. It sparks curiosity and sends the message of giving kids a valentine gift that they will fall in love with.

Additional points about this email: the email speaks creativity at its best. The brand’s book collection is presented in a heart shape with a valentine theme colour that makes it more eye-catching. It also offers different printables for kids to connect and empathize with others. These lovely options are obviously hard for parents to ignore.

An example of a book collection presented in a heart shape with a valentine theme colour (Source)

2. Saxx Underwear

Subject line: Hurry! Last Chance For Valentine’s Day with Express Shipping

One way you can motivate your audience to open your email is by applying a sense of urgency. This is the principle of FOMO (fear of missing out). People tend to act fast when they think they will miss out on something. This email’s subject line reflects the FOMO tactic. This way, subscribers would be more eager to participate in its Valentine’s day email campaign.

Additional points about this email: the email includes a visual representation of different colours of underwear to suit the taste for each customer segment. With more underwear options, customers have more reasons to participate in its email campaign. are more underwear options

Saxx: An example of a email with visual representation to suit the taste for each customer segment. (Source)

3. Stocksy

Subject line: coolest photos of the week

One thing about the valentine season is the need to use cool, eye-grabbing photos for various design needs. Stocksy is aware of this, its email subject line sparks curiosity making readers more eager to explore the brand’s exclusive gallery.

Additional points about this email: the photos are arranged in an organized way for its readers viewing pleasure. The brand also includes different photo options to incentivize readers to participate fully in its valentine email campaign offer.

Stocksy: An example of different photo options to incentivize readers.(Source)

4. Apple

Subject line: Last chance to get the perfect gift for ❤️ Day

Just like Saxx Underwear, Apple leverages the FOMO tactic, this time with a twist. The heart emoji sets the right mood for readers before they engage with the email. It’s version of last-minute email subject line encourages readers to grab the offer they love while it lasts. Since Apple is mostly preferred by couples, it’s Valentine’s day email campaign emphasizes the need for customers to receive their valentine gifts on time. So, even if valentine shopping skipped your mind, Apple’s email is a quick reminder to spread the love to your loved ones.

Apple: An example of leveraging the FOMO tactic, with a twist. (Source)


5. Homechef

Subject line: love at first bite

Home chef’s email subject line leverages wordplay to impress readers and motivate them to open its valentine email. The tactic works because the valentine season encourages creativity and the smart usage of words.

Additional points about this email: sometimes, smart words may not be enough to drive engagement in your emails. You can also offer customers free gifts such as Homechef did in its email. Its call-to-action clearly reads “get 10 free meals''. This offer easily grabs the attention of readers, motivating them to participate in it’s Valentine’s day email campaign.

Homechef: An example of an offering to customers with a call-to-action.(Source)

6. Frank body

Subject line: 💓 Send a love letter on me 💓

Frank body’s email campaign offers its readers the opportunity to send valentine love letters to loved ones. It’s email subject line grabs attention and easily gets readers in the mood to reach out to loved ones. Also, it features a lovely email template with a love note. This means that readers have the option of sending love letters directly from the email. Without a doubt, this valentine offer is a good option for an audience with a love/crush/friend.

Frank body: An example of a lovely email template with a love note. (Source)

7. Hers

Subject line: you call the shots this valentine’s day

Hers valentine’s day email campaign is focused on reminding its readers of self-care. The email includes clear CTAs that link to each valentine’s day offer. It also includes social media links for subscribers to engage further with the brand.

Hers: An example of an email including clear CTAs. (Source)

8. Gas buddy

Subject line: Share the love and save 15¢/gallon

This subject line instantly shows readers the value of its offer (i.e save 15¢ off their offer). A price discount is another way to motivate readers to grab your valentine’s day offer. Gas buddy is aware of this strategy and encourages readers to refer a friend to grab its offer.

Additional points about this email: this email leverages an eye-grabbing GIF which reflects the valentine theme colour. Readers can easily grasp the entire theme of the email just like The main email grabs the center of attention while the concluding section compliments it with a clear call-to-action.

Gas buddy: An example of an email leveraging an eye-grabbing GIF. (Source)


9. Land O’lakes

Subject line: Valentine’s Day Favorites Made with Love

Land O’lakes valentine’s day email campaign offers readers a taste of its “make-you-melt chocolate recipes.” The visual representation of desserts and cookies with a touch of red hearts makes the email attractive.

Additional points about this email: the email includes a clear call-to-action that is strategically placed at different points. This makes it easy for readers to take action without having to search endlessly for a CTA.

Land O’lakes: An example of an email including a clear call-to-action strategically placed at different points. (Source)

10. Onsen

Subject line: Better than chocolates

What could be better than chocolates? Onsen taps into its readers’ curious nature with its email subject line. This can easily motivate readers to open the email to quickly satisfy their curiosity.  This valentine’s day email campaign offers readers to play the long game by trying its product. It also includes a clear call-to-action that's hard to miss. This way readers can easily click-through to grab it's valentine’s day campaign.

Onsen: An example of an email including a clear call-to-action that's hard to miss. (Source)

Wrapping up

Crafting a compelling subject line is the first step to get your readers to open your Valentine’s day email. Now, the ball is in your court, take advantage of Valentine’s day to create effective email campaigns that will get your readers so excited that they won’t hesitate to click your call-to-action.

Remember to tailor your messages based on your customers' segments. Also, leverage A/B testing to identify the best performing subject line for your Valentine’s day email campaign.

With Engage, you can track how customers interact with your product or service, and create unique customer segments or groups. You can then use that data to tailor messages to your customer via Email, SMS, Push Notifications and In-App messages.