Mobile app email marketing: A comprehensive guide [2025]

Reading Time: 10 minutes

Mobile app email marketing is essential for connecting with and engaging customers. In a landscape where countless businesses compete for attention daily, this marketing strategy helps your brand stand out.

It’s an excellent promotional tool for app features and updates and a springboard for future in-app collaborations. Your app-related emails should reach users’ inboxes, load quickly, and capture their attention.

In this guide, we’ll discuss everything marketers and business owners need to know to create successful mobile app email marketing campaigns. 

You’ll learn the best practices for designing mobile app emails, optimizing subject lines and content for small screens, improving deliverability to inboxes, and driving engagement and conversions. 

What is mobile app email marketing? 

Mobile app email marketing is the strategic use of email campaigns to promote mobile apps and drive user engagement. These targeted emails encourage app downloads, boost in-app activity, and keep users engaged with relevant content.

Unlike traditional email marketing, the focus here is exclusively on the app, tailoring content specifically to promote downloads, usage, and ongoing interaction within the app.

Why is email marketing for mobile apps important?

Mobile apps have become integral to daily life, and people increasingly rely on them for communication, entertainment, productivity, and commerce. Owing to the growth of smartphone users, projected to exceed 7.7 billion by 2028, as per the Statista report, app usage is only bound to increase.

This shift in consumer behavior is a massive opportunity for companies and app developers to promote apps among their target audience. 

However, this opportunity comes with fierce competition, as numerous apps vie for users’ attention, including utility apps, games, shopping, education, and more. To stand out and maintain strong connections with audiences, marketers and business owners turn to digital marketing channels — the most effective being mobile app email marketing.

Here are some key benefits of using email marketing for apps:

1. Increased app engagement: Targeted emails can prompt users to open and interact with your app more frequently
2. Enhanced user retention: Regular, valuable communication keeps your app top-of-mind, reducing churn
3. Reactivation of dormant users: Tailored campaigns can re-engage users who haven’t opened your app in a while
4. Personalized communication: Emails allow for highly customized content based on user behavior and preferences
5. Higher ROI: Email marketing consistently delivers one of the highest returns on investment (ROI) among digital marketing channels
6. Promotion of app updates and new features: Emails provide a direct channel to inform users about improvements and additions to your app
7. Cross-promotion opportunities: You can use email to introduce users to related apps or services in your ecosystem

5 examples of successful mobile app email marketing campaigns 

Here, we’ll explore five inspiring examples of successful mobile app email marketing campaigns to spark creativity for your next campaign. These examples provide valuable insights into strategies and give you an idea of how to deliver content that resonates with users. 

Duolingo: re-engagement email campaign 

Objective

Duolingo’s re-engagement email campaign targets inactive users to rekindle their interest in the app.

Strategy

This campaign encourages these users to return by reminding them of their language-learning journey and progress. The headline, “We haven’t seen you in a while. Do you still want to learn a language?” creates FOMO (fear of missing out) and curiosity among the audience.

The email has a friendly and engaging tone that goes well with the image of Duolingo’s owl looking sad and puddled in water. It immediately grabs attention and creates a sense of empathy that encourages the user to return to the app. 

It also includes a personalized message asking the user if they still want to learn a language and suggests taking a quick five-minute lesson. A prominent “Get back on track” button facilitates the easy return of users to the app, giving them control over their learning journey. 

The email provides an unsubscribe option at the bottom for users who no longer wish to receive notifications. This leaves the decision at the subscriber’s end, and they are more likely to stay with the app.

Results

This re-engagement strategy successfully boosted user return rates by making users feel valued and reminding them of their progress.

Headspace: welcome email series

Objective

Headspace wants to onboard new users and encourage them to use the app to live happier and healthier lives.

Strategy

The app conveys its message through attention-grabbing visuals and simple language. The email is concise and focused, delivering information without overwhelming the user. 

It’s likely part of a series of emails sent over time to guide the user through the app’s features. The campaign briefly highlights the benefits of meditation and mindfulness training. It provides a clear call to action: “Start with the basics” to encourage the user to take the next step.

The image uses soothing visuals and a subtle color palette, reinforcing the app’s calming nature. The “Get some headspace” button is prominently displayed, serving a dual purpose — to make the users think they would get in the right space of mind if they click it and as a CTA.

Additionally, the email introduces the user to the core concept of Headspace, explaining how meditation can improve one’s life and providing a gentle nudge to start their journey.

Results

This series of welcome emails boosted app engagement rates by more than 40% in the initial week. It also reduced the churn rate for new users by informing them about the app’s advantages.

Spotify: personalized recommendation emails

Objective

Spotify wanted to increase user engagement by promoting personalized content and building playlists on mood.

Strategy

Spotify’s mobile app email marketing strategy showcases its approach to personalized recommendations.

Spotify’s email features tailored playlists curated specifically for the user, suggesting that it has leveraged its data on listening habits to create highly relevant content. 

The subject lines “Playlists for you!” and “These playlists might earn a permanent spot in your rotation” are designed to capture attention and encourage the user to open the email. The inclusion of direct links, “Listen now,” to the playlists within the email makes it easy for the user to access the recommended content. 

Results

Spotify’s individualized email campaigns have resulted in greater user engagement. It also recorded improved open and click-through rates and increased the number of streaming hours per user.

Airbnb: seasonal promotion campaign

Objective

To increase sales during the seasonal period by promoting the idea of having a vacation in summer and to eventually increase revenue.

Strategy

Airbnb targets seasonal promotion with its “Bright ideas” theme to inspire summer travel. This aligns perfectly with Airbnb’s intention to drive app bookings and increase revenue during a specific seasonal period.

Visual appeal is a big strength of this campaign. The email showcases high-quality images of various vacation properties with inviting pools, beautiful beaches, and scenic views. These visuals capture the user’s imagination and prompt them to consider booking a stay.

The email’s structure is well-thought-out and divided into themed sections like “A splash of vitamin sea” and “Slip in. Soak it up.” Each section focuses on different summer experiences, catering to various traveler preferences. 

Categories like beach homes, homes with pools, and homes in iconic cities give users options to choose from, making it easier to explore the kind of stay they prefer directly.

Clear CTAs are present throughout the email, with buttons like “Get away for summer” and “Explore beach homes” encouraging immediate action. Multiple CTAs create a sense of excitement and subtly prompt users to act quickly.

Results

The campaign resulted in a notable rise in app bookings during the seasonal periods. It also promoted app usage and improved conversion rates for last-minute travel.

Calm: re-activation email with free offer

Objective

The Calm app aims to reactivate users but does not explicitly target dormant users. It’s more focused on converting users to a paid subscription.

Strategy

It provides a significant discount (50% off) on an annual subscription. The email is concise and clear about improving health and happiness with Calm.

The example also highlights the benefits of using Calm, mentioning “Improve your health and happiness” and emphasizing the importance of mental health care. It also creates a sense of urgency by saying “last chance” and including an expiration date for the offer.

Its feature of a cheerful image of a smiling woman conveys the app’s positive effects. Plus, to be inclusive of all users and to encourage app installation, the email includes download links for both iOS and Android.

This is an excellent example of how to re-engage users and drive app usage through a compelling offer. The 50% discount can effectively convert free or inactive users to paid subscribers.

Results

This email campaign resulted in a 20% rise in inactive users returning to the app, with many capitalizing on the free offer and subsequently subscribing to paid content.

7 most important best practices for mobile app email marketing 

So mobile app email marketing is indispensable. Fantastic! Now, how can you leverage this knowledge to grow your business?

Below are the best practices for planning a mobile app email marketing campaign:

1. Use a responsive email design

A responsive email format ensures your email displays correctly on all devices, improving readability and user experience. Using responsive email designs does wonders for your click-through rates and improves conversions.

Note that your emails reflect your brand, so be sure that they blend colors and aesthetics that align with the brand.

Here’s what you can do:

• Maintain a single-column layout to improve readability for your audience
• Use at least 13- or 14-pt font for the body, and keep an eye on the format 
• Position your call to action above the fold for easy viewing without scrolling
• Use smaller, responsive images (or 2x images for retina displays) and include alt tags for accessibility if images fail to load

2. Optimize your subject line and preview text 

An appealing subject line paired with compelling preview text creates the perfect formula for increasing email open rates. The subject line is your email’s first impression, while the preview text provides additional context. 

Here’s how you can implement your subject lines and preview texts for the best results:

• Use dynamic content in preview text for personalization
• Include numbers in subject lines and preview text for visual appeal
• Ask questions or hint at ideas in previews to encourage engagement
• Leverage the preview text to inform recipients about the content of your email
• Address specific audience pain points
• Use the preheader or preview copy to elaborate on the theme introduced in your subject line

Optimize your subject lines for higher open rates. To help, you can use a subject line tester and subject line generator to improve your email campaigns. These tools provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your subject lines based on various criteria, such as length, tone, and the use of keywords.

3. Keep the content concise and focused

Finding the right balance between a lengthy, complex email and an overly short one can be quite challenging. Use these concise writing tips to create short, clear, and concise sentences: 

• Focus on a single message or email CTA to avoid overwhelming the reader
• Identify your audience and their specific needs
• Avoid using spammy words at all costs
• Decide what action you want the recipient to take after reading the email (e.g., download the app or sign up for a newsletter)
• Go straight to the point by skipping unnecessary introductions and present the key information first
• Use strong action verbs to motivate the recipient to take action with persuasive language

4. Personalize and segment your emails

Segmenting your audience and sending out dynamic emails is the best way to personalize an email for maximum impact. Consider distinct factors like demographics, behavior, and preferences for email segmentation. 

Here are some of the most effective segmentation strategies you can try:

• Collect relevant subscriber data through signup forms, surveys, and preference centers for effective segmentation
• Use demographic segmentation to categorize your email list by attributes like age, location, or industry
• Focus on behavioral segmentation to send action trigger emails like cart abandonment reminders and welcome emails that engage users at the right moment
• Implement lifecycle-based segmentation to group subscribers according to their stage in the customer journey, such as new or inactive users

Omnisend helps you do all of this. It stands out as a user-friendly platform offering comprehensive omnichannel ecommerce marketing capabilities. Its free plan gives you access to all of its ecommerce features, while competitors’ plans often limit features based on price. 

5. Use large tappable CTAs

Small or hard-to-tap CTAs are useless as they only frustrate users and discourage — or make them unable to — click through. Instead, clear, concise, and visible CTAs make it easy for them to complete the desired action. 

Here are some tips for creating effective CTAs:

• A button appears more clickable when designed with visual effects like 3D gradients or shadows
• Large buttons are more noticeable and clickable but should be sized appropriately to maintain visual balance 
• Ensure that button colors contrast with the background to make CTAs stand out
• Keep CTA wording concise, as a few impactful words are more effective than lengthy descriptions
• Position CTA buttons thoughtfully in the user flow — for instance, place a signup button after users have read relevant information to increase the likelihood of interaction

6. Prioritize loading speed and image optimization

Features like animations and complex media queries can increase your email’s size, potentially slowing its loading time.

To prevent that from happening, you need to optimize your emails using the following tips:

• Compress images without sacrificing quality to reduce file size and improve loading times
• Ensure your emails adapt to different screen sizes and devices
• Use text and minimal images to reduce the overall size of your email
• Use formats like JPEG or PNG, which offer a good balance of quality and compression
• Ensure your email loads quickly and displays correctly across different platforms
• Distribute your email content across multiple servers to improve loading times, especially for global audiences

7. Test emails across multiple devices and clients

Pay attention to open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, bounce rates, and unsubscribe rates. These metrics offer valuable insights into which elements of your emails captivate your audience and identify areas for improvement.

Here’s how you can go about it:

• Use platforms like Email on Acid or Litmus allow you to preview your emails in various email clients and devices
• Ensure your emails display correctly in the most widely used clients, such as Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, and Apple Mail
• Preview your emails on various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktops, to ensure they render correctly on different screen sizes and orientations
• Test your emails on different operating systems (e.g., Windows, macOS, iOS, Android) to account for variations in how email clients interpret HTML and CSS
• Stay informed about new email clients and device trends to ensure your testing remains comprehensive

To assess the effectiveness of your emails, consider implementing them in a single email and conducting A/B testing. 

Conclusion 

Mobile app email marketing is an integral part of your overall strategy for engaging and retaining customers. You can significantly enhance user engagement and drive app usage by leveraging targeted messaging, personalized content, and mobile app features.

We’ve outlined several benefits of this marketing approach, including increased app engagement, improved user retention, and the ability to reactivate dormant users. 

Successful examples from companies like Duolingo, Headspace, and Spotify illustrate how effective mobile app email campaigns can build user loyalty and encourage in-app activities.

Adhering to best practices is crucial to optimizing these campaigns. This includes using responsive designs, crafting compelling subject lines, personalizing content, and ensuring clear calls to action. 

Additionally, testing emails across various devices ensures a seamless user experience. 

So, why not give these strategies a go? Get inspired by the examples we’ve given and make your mobile app email marketing efforts worth it.