Thanksgiving, along with Cyber Monday, Black Friday, Cyber Saturday, and Cyber Sunday (Cyber 5), is the time when online sales get a quick boost.
According to Adobe Digital Insights, consumers are expected to spend close to $210 billion this season on holiday shopping.
No wonder then that every year, businesses seek to leverage the holiday shopping trends, while consumers look forward to seeing what offers and deals companies come up with.
Given the power of email marketing to generate an ROI of $36 for every $1 spent, it remains one of the most effective ways to engage with your consumers.
To make the most of your email campaign, you need creative and clever Thanksgiving email subject lines that encourage readers to take the desired action.
For more inspiration this year, take a look at some of the best Thanksgiving subject lines that we have compiled.
Fine-tune your Thanksgiving email subject lines with our email subject line tester. Try it now.
Top reasons why you should send emails on Thanksgiving
It’s no secret that Thanksgiving, after Christmas, is the second-most important festival in the US, giving us a chance to reflect on everything that we’re grateful for.
Sending marketing emails on Thanksgiving is a great way to stay connected with your customers and show them how much you appreciate their business. Not surprisingly, it’s also good for your business’s bottom line.
The shopping frenzy translates into tangible benefits for businesses. Per Adobe Digital Economy Index (cited earlier), online spending is expected to reach $14 billion during Black Friday and Thanksgiving in 2022.
On Thanksgiving Day alone, $5.1 billion worth of sales revenue is expected. Sending Thanksgiving marketing emails is a great way to promote special holiday deals and get the most benefits.
Apart from boosting sales and your bottom line, here are other reasons why you should consider sending marketing emails on Thanksgiving:
It’s a great way to stay on top of your prospects’ minds and keep your brand in their thoughts during the busy holiday season.
Sending marketing emails on Thanksgiving shows that you’re thinking about your customers and their needs, even during the busiest time of year.
It’s an opportunity to wish your customers a happy Thanksgiving and let them know how thankful you are for their business.
It’s a chance to build goodwill with your customers and create a positive association with your brand.
Create on-brand Thanksgiving email campaigns in minutes with Omnisend’s stunning email templates.
When should you start sending Thanksgiving emails?
According to Adobe Digital Insights, consumers prefer to spread out their shopping from October to December. This is because businesses start promoting their holiday deals early.
We recommend getting started as early as the first days of November, or better still, in October when the Amazon Prime Day arrives. This is a great time to launch upcoming holiday deals and early-access campaigns.
This will help you beat your competitors who are likely to step up the competition as Thanksgiving day approaches.
Our research shows that during the 10 days leading to cyber Tuesday sales and competition intensify. So, it’s better to grab your prospects’ attention before that.
Now that you know when to send your Thanksgiving emails, it’s time to look at the best time of the day to send them. Our research shows that the best times to send emails are 8 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm when people take a break from work.
On weekends, people are generally free from work, so you can send emails based on audience demographics and time zones. It is important to time your emails based on who your recipients are and where they live.
This is where segmentation comes into the picture.
Omnisend’s segmentation feature allows you to filter your audience based on a variety of purchase behaviors including average order value, what they’re buying, purchase recency, and more.
What types of Thanksgiving email subject lines should you use?
The type of email subject lines you use will impact how successful you are in getting recipients to open and read your emails.
According to Zippia, 47% of recipients open emails based on the subject line. After all, subject lines are the first thing that people see in their inboxes to decide whether they want to open an email or not.
So, you need to create engaging and un subject lines that immediately grab the audience attention. That’s where we can help you.
In this article, we analyzed subject lines sent by various brands and grouped the best subject lines into several categories.
From personalized and funny to concise and emotion-evoking subject lines, here are some of the best Thanksgiving email subject lines to help you achieve your marketing goals.
Thanksgiving email subject lines with emojis
Emojis are a great way to add personality to your subject lines and make them stand out in a crowded inbox. They can also be used to convey important information about your emails, such as the tone or theme.
That’s not all. Brands that use emojis are likely to be perceived as funnier, cooler, and friendlier, according to the previously-cited Adobe report.
Here’s an example of a clever use of emojis in Thanksgiving email subject lines.
From: Chipotle
Subject: Let us cater your Friendsgiving 🍁🍂
And, here are some more Thanksgiving email subject lines with emojis:
Ibotta: Happy Thanksgiving from Ibotta 🦃
Meowington: Happy Catsgiving 🐱$60 OFF Cat Trees!
Uber: Flying to the feast? ✈️ 🦃
Sigma Beauty: 🍂 From Our Family To Yours 🍂
Short and sweet Thanksgiving email subject lines
While the length of your Thanksgiving email subject lines can vary based on your message, a study shows the highest open rates are seen when the subject line has 1 to 5 words.
If your Thanksgiving email subject line has to be longer, be sure to front-load the most important information or keyword.
Here are some Thanksgiving email subject lines that are short and to the point.
From: Sonder
Subject Line: Thankful for you
From: Leesa
Subject: A Thanksgiving treat for 2
From: Casper
Subject: Happy Thanksgiving from Casper
Thanksgiving email subject lines with questions
Questions are a great way to grab people's attention and get them interested in what you have to say.
They also help create a sense of urgency, which can encourage people to open and respond to your emails more promptly. Using questions in your subject lines can also be a great way to start a conversation with your recipients.
Yesware’s study shows email subject lines have a 10% higher open rate when they feature a question. Here are some examples of Thanksgiving email subject lines with questions.
From: Rover
Subject: Are you and your dog ready for Thanksgiving?
From: Magzter
Subject Line: Is It Thanksgiving Already?
Some more Thanksgiving email subject lines with questions:
Dormify: So are you in a pre- or post-food coma???
Southwest: Where will you go for Thanksgiving?
Bath & Body Works: Ready to FALL? ?️?? start with these candles + $10 off
Optimize your Thanksgiving email campaigns with Omnisend’s Campaign Booster.
Thanksgiving is a great time to get creative with your email marketing. Why not stand out from the rest by using some clever and funny Thanksgiving email subject lines?
Your customers will certainly appreciate the effort, and it may even encourage them to open and read your emails!
Here are some great Thanksgiving email subject lines to get you started:
Eat This Not That: 9 Disgusting Facts about Thanksgiving
J. Crew: It’s OK to have seconds (or thirds) of this sale
Orbitz: Good gravy! 20% off
From: Betterment
Subject: Seamless pivots for this Thanksgiving’s awkward chitchat
Thanksgiving email subject lines with numbers
The previously-cited Yesware study found that the open and response rates for email subject lines with numbers are higher than average. Clearly, subject lines with numbers are effective.
Here's why this approach can be effective:
People are looking for deals. Including a “percentage off” or a specific discount in your subject line can tempt recipients to open your email. For example, you could say "50% off all clothing items this Thanksgiving!" or "Get 25% more turkey for your Thanksgiving feast!"
By using numbers and statistics, you immediately grab the reader's attention and let them know exactly what they can expect from your email. Numbers help you make a specific promise.
Additionally, numbers and statistics add credibility and can create a sense of urgency.
Check out these examples of Thanksgiving email subject lines with numbers:
Jonathan Adler: 20% off — early bird gets the sale
Heavenly Couture: Thanksgiving Eve! 40% Off EVERYTHING!
Food & Wine: 14 Delicious Ways to Eat Thanksgiving Leftovers
Food & Wine: 15 Thanksgiving Drinks to Start on While Cooking
The best Thanksgiving email subject lines are the ones that are both creative and tailored to your target audience. Make sure your email stands out in a crowded inbox, but don't alienate your subscribers with a holiday message that's not relevant to them.
With a little thought and planning, you can come up with great Thanksgiving Day email subject lines that will get your emails noticed and help you generate leads.
These examples of engaging subject lines by other brands can inspire you to create great ones for your Thanksgiving email campaign.
Looking for a quick and effective way to kickstart your Thanksgiving email campaign?
Leverage Omnisend’s advanced email campaigns and audience segmentation features to create winning Thanksgiving email subject lines.
Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and more ready-made email templates and popups—all free.
Bernard is the Director of Content at Omnisend, with a passion for good research, helping ecommerce businesses with their marketing automation needs, and beating absolutely everyone in Mario Kart 64.
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These are the Omnisend features that can help you get the results mentioned in the article.
