81 summer email subject lines for your next summer campaign

With summer approaching, it’s important that you use high-converting, attractive summer email subject lines to get noticed in your customers’ inboxes.

But you know how hard it is to come up with something interesting that grabs customers’ attention and still stays true to the brand.

A good email subject line can mean the difference between a 14% open rate and low sales, and an astonishing 51.6% open rate with lots of orders placed.

But remember: you still need to have the proper techniques down, so be sure to read up on how to craft the best email subject lines.

This is a particularly great period for any company that sells clothing, outdoor gear, sports and activities, as well as anything related to outdoor events, festivals, home and garden products, etc.

But really, no matter what product it is you’re selling, you can find a summer angle.

Also, summer presents these great holidays and occasions that you can take advantage of:

• Father’s Day
• Summer Solstice
• Canada Day (or Dominion Day)
• Independence Day
• End-of-summer
• Back-to-school

So let’s look at the best performing summer email subject lines to inspire your summer email campaigns and really boost your sales.

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General summer email subject lines

The variety of words, images and general moods you can use with your summer email campaigns is nearly unlimited.

Because of the general mood of the season, you can choose from themes around the beach/lake, barbecuing, traveling, home and garden improvements, and in general the outdoors.

For general summer email subject lines, it’s best to start at the end of May, or around the time the weather approaches summer-like weather.

However, since these subject lines are season-related, you can use them at any time during summer.

According to our research of more than 25,000 email campaigns sent by brands using Omnisend’s marketing automation platform, the following summer email subject lines were the best performing.

#1 Summer email subject line: “Summer Sleepwear Sale”

• Open rate: 51.6%
• Click rate: 5.1%

#2 Summer email subject line: “SUMMER DISCOUNT!”

• Open rate: 38.5%
• Click rate: 8.1%

#3 Summer email subject line: “Soleus Running Summer 2017”

• Open rate: 38.3%
• Click rate: 4.3%

#4 Summer email subject line: “Summer Gets Better!”

• Open rate: 37.1%
• Click rate: 3.2%

#5 Summer email subject line: “the summer has finally arrived”

• Open rate: 35.6%
• Click rate: 3%

Based on these top-performing email subject lines related to summer in general, we can see that it’s important to keep it short and sweet.

Two of the top 5 also have exclamation marks included, which reflects the general up, excited mood of the season.

We can see similar trends in the other top-performing general summer subject lines:

• Spring Summer Sales ! ?
• Here For A Limited Time… Summer Anklets ?
• Fancy floral and the perfect summer stripes

Here, we can see that emojis are also making an appearance.

Especially for the light summer mood, this seems to be an effective strategy and one you shouldn’t shy away from.

Father’s Day subject lines

Father’s Day tends to be more summer-focused (whereas Mother’s Day is more springy).

These are usually related to the idea of giving Dad some great power tools or gadgets he can use to build (or destroy) something.

That’s why home & garden and electronic products traditionally did well.

But it’s also becoming common that a wide variety of products are very applicable for Father’s Day, such as clothing, grooming, pet-related things (for man’s best friend), and many other products.

Let’s look at the 5 best-performing Father’s Day email subject lines:

#1 Father’s Day email subject line: “Father’s Day Gift Ideas”

• Open rate: 32.6%
• Click rate: 3.7%

#2 Father’s Day email subject line: “Get Father’s Day sorted!”

• Open rate: 32%
• Click rate: 6.4%

#3 Father’s Day email subject line: “This Father’s Day, he deserves something special!”

• Open rate: 31.3%
• Click rate: 2.9%

#4 Father’s Day email subject line: “Fathers Day Sale, Tons of Movies Restocked”

• Open rate: 30.3%
• Click rate: 11%

#5 Father’s Day email subject line: “Gemini Jets For Fathers Day!”

• Open rate: 27.9%
• Click rate: 3.8%

You can quickly see the trend here: highlight the fact that you’re helping people find great gifts for the fathers in their lives.

It’s interesting to note here that 3/5 Father’s Day email subject lines have an exclamation mark included.

The Father’s Day subject line #4 was especially successful: with an 11% click rate, the order number was particularly high.

If we imagine a 10,000 subscriber list, that would be 3,003 opens and 1,100 clicks. If even 10% ended up buying something, that would be 110 orders.

Imagining a $50 average order value, that’s $5,500 from just one email sent.

Now that’s what we call a great return on investment.

Let’s look at the other top-performing Father’s Day email subject lines:

• FATHER’S DAY IT’S HERE
• Who’s your daddy!? – Father’s Day Sale
• New Arrivals! + 30% Off Father’s Day Gift
• Happy Father’s Day with the Zen Set
• Father’s Day Special from [Brand Name] (for privacy, we don’t publicize brand names)

From these ones, we see the exclamation marks and all caps making appearances again.

As always, whatever works for your customers is the best for your brand.

Independence Day subject lines

Perhaps because it falls right near the middle of summer, Independence Day is a great patriotic celebration. Compared to other countries, where it can be a more somber affair, the US Independence Day is a time for fun, sun, barbecues and cocktails.

People plan to spend a good amount of time (and money) on having fun–whether that’s a simple barbecue with friends or a longer period of time near the beach.

Beware, therefore, that it isn’t necessary to use patriotic themes (US flag, historical figures, etc.).

Instead, focus on the fun aspect and make sure the products you’re selling are aimed at helping people have a fun time for their Independence Day celebrations.

The top 5 Independence Day email subject lines are:

#1 Independence Day email subject line: “Independence Day Special”

• Open rate: 30.3%
• Click rate: 11.6%

#2 Independence Day email subject line: “Independence Day Weekend Special: Free Shipping Over $75, Coupon, and New Africa Twin Items!”

• Open rate: 27.3%
• Click rate: 3.5%

#3 Independence Day email subject line: “LAST DAY Independence Day Sale| up to 70% Off”

• Open rate: 23%
• Click rate: 10.3%

#4 Independence Day email subject line: “Independence Day Bead Deals, up to 70% Off!”

• Open rate: 22.9%
• Click rate: 12.3%

#5 Independence Day email subject line: “INDEPENDENCE DAY SALE!”

• Open rate: 21.4%
• Click rate: 4.2%

The first thing you notice immediately is that, compared to the other summer email subject lines, the Independence day email subject lines have some pretty great open rates.

Three out of the top 5 have click rates above 10%. You’ll also notice that the #2 subject line is quite long.

Let’s look at the other top-performing subject lines:

• Independence Day Special from [Brand Name] – Make Segway MiniPro American Again!  ??
• HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY
• [Brand Name] Independence Day 55% Off SALE!!!!!

Short and simple, as the top 5 – but you’ll also notice caps lock and exclamation mark in the last one.

End-of-summer subject lines

For many, the end of summer is pretty much the end of a vacation or break period, and many people have early autumn blues at the end of August.

But you don’t have to strike a sad note.

For clothing stores, you can use it as a final sale for summer clothes at great prices, or you can even start your very early autumn/fall line sales.

For other businesses, you can use this opportunity to focus on more serious products (remember, summer is fun and fall is getting back to business).

Our data shows that when you strike a balance between ending the summer on a good note and also preparing for the fall, you get good results:

#1 End-of-summer email subject line: “Gemini Jets End Of Summer Savings!”

• Open rate: 25.6%
• Click rate: 4.6%

#2 End-of-summer email subject line: “END OF SUMMER CLOSE OUT SALE !!  ?”

• Open rate: 19.9%
• Click rate: 6.4%

#3 End-of-summer email subject line: “End Of Summer Sale”

• Open rate: 17%
• Click rate: 1.9%

#4 End-of-summer email subject line: “[Brand Name] End of Summer SALE!!! 70% Off & MORE ADDED!!!”

• Open rate: 16.4%
• Click rate: 7%

#5 End-of-summer email subject line: “End of summer BLOW OUT! Giveaway winners announced!”

• Open rate: 16.3%
• Click rate: 2.4%

The first noticeable thing here is the fact that the open rates are quite low compared to the other summer email subject lines.

This is probably because the end of summer in and of itself isn’t a particularly strong “event,” and also because it’s quite a downer.

Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t bother sending out campaigns. Subject line #4 had a 7% click rate, which is quite good at any time of the year.

Back-to-school subject lines

This pretty much falls in line with what we said previously on ending summer on a more serious (read: responsible) note.

Students anywhere from ages 6 to 22 are going back to school (or starting school).

While the exact back-to-school data differs by state and country, it’s usually around the middle of August through the beginning of September.

This is a great time to make sure students (or their parents) are prepared for this occasion. You can highlight your more serious, high-ticket products, such as laptops, phones, furniture, even more expensive clothing.

Let’s look at the 5 best-performing back-to-school email subject lines:

#1 Back-to-school subject line: “BACK TO SCHOOL! Come join the FUN! ?”

• Open rate: 28.6%
• Click rate: 5%

#2 Back-to-school subject line: “OH DEER POP UP SUPER SALE! Back to school Shopping!”

• Open rate: 22.5%
• Click rate: 6.5%

#3 Back-to-school subject line: “$5 Back to School Deal  ✏️”

• Open rate: 21.6%
• Click rate: 1.9%

#4 Back-to-school subject line: “Back to School never looked so good! Specials all week!”

• Open rate: 20.3%
• Click rate: 3.5%

#5 Back-to-school subject line: “30% OFF BACK TO SCHOOL SALE  ?”

• Open rate: 18.3%
• Click rate: 1.8%

Here we can immediately see a good amount of emojis here compared to the other summer email subject lines.

That makes sense, given what kind of occasion it is.

3 of the top 5 also have all caps in whole or in part of the back-to-school subject line, meaning that this type of subject line is consistently successful.

The other top-performing back-to-school email subject lines are:

• Back To School Savings At [Brand Name]
• BACK TO SCHOOL SALE
• Our picks for top back to school products
• [Brand Name] Back to School Promo
• Back To School 2017!

As you can see, short and sweet always wins the race.

Read here for our complete list of 67 Back to school Email Subject Line Ideas.

Bonus: 40 extra summer email subject lines

To make sure that you have a great range of summer email subject lines for your next summer email campaign, we’ve scoured the internet to look for some other top-performing summer subject lines.

Here are some of our favorites:

• Hey, Sunshine ☀️ Check Out the New Summer Arrivals
• ☀️ Summer Essentials ☀️ $15 or Less
• Don’t Miss These Summer Steals & Deals ☀️
• Summer picks for everyone (a.k.a. you)
• The Cutest New Arrivals are here for Summer
• Your Summer Checklist ☀?✔
• Get Ready for Summer! Swimwear Sale ☼ Up to 30% Off
• Summa Summa Time! ☀️ Shop Dresses!
• Found! THE dress for your busy summer schedule.
• Dive into Summer with these new Looks!
• HUGE summer clearance starts now — up to 60% off
• Surf’s Up! ?
• Hot promos for cool summer fun!
• Be ready for Summer (with free shipping)
• These summer savings are too hot to handle!
• Get your top-to-toe summer glow!
• Summer Treats Start Today
• Summer arrivals keep on coming
• Summer Deals | BOGO 50% Off
• Can you feel it? It’s getting warmer.
• Summer Fri-Yay! BOGO 50% off!
• Oh, hey summer! 20% off graphic tees & sandals!
• 10 Dresses to Get Summer Started Right
• New styles just in time for Summer
• Summer is almost here…SALE starts today!
• Baby, it’s hot outside
• Summer New arrivals we know you’ll love ? + 15% Off
• This is it – 50% Off Summer favs
• Here’s BOGO to help you get ready for summer!
• Shop Our Summer Beauty Event
• Up to 40% OFF Spring Summer hits: make them yours
• Here Comes the Sun ☀ Save Now!
• Summer alert! 25% off every style for you, your family & friends
• ? $10 off our summer beauty scents
• Summer Weekend Style up to 30% off!
• Our ☀ Summer Sale Event ☀ starts NOW! Save up to 75%
• Get a head start on summer – shop NEW styles on sale
• These Summer Styles are ? ? ?
• ? Summer style is ON! Get Free Shipping
• If you can’t stand the ?, get ready with these SUMMER deals

What are your most successful summer email subject lines? What works best with your brand and customers? Let us know in the comments below!