5 Favorite anniversary email examples and why we love them

You worked hard to establish your email list, and you want your subscribers to know how much you appreciate them. 

You send out regular promotions and newsletters, but you’re trying to find a more creative approach to reach potential customers. 

Anniversary emails are one way you can personally connect with your email list. They can be a simple note to express your appreciation or an attempt to create conversions, but they don’t have to follow the same model as your other email campaigns.

Review these five creative anniversary email examples and some common email marketing best practices to inspire confidence and loyalty in your subscribers. 

Why should businesses send anniversary emails? 

Anniversary emails come in two forms: one is a nostalgic reminder to your customer about when they signed up for your services, while the other is the “birth” of your organization. 

To be more precise, they’re part of email personalization and automation strategies for businesses that want to reach their customers as frequently as possible. 

Email personalization is a critical component of your marketing strategy. Even if you’re sending a mass email, including your subscriber’s name can make a significant difference in whether they open, click, or convert from your campaign. Email personalization offers measurable benefits, like:

  • Open rates: An email subject line that features personalization is 26% more likely to be opened than an email without the added personal touch. You can start with a name, but consider using other attributes, like their location, the weather, or something you know they like. 

  • Transaction rates: Email campaigns that use personalization have transaction rates that are six times higher than campaigns without email personalization. They also encourage multiple transactions. Use personalization in emails promoting new products to take advantage of this key statistic. 

  • Revenue increase: Email personalization can increase sales revenue by 20% as opposed to campaigns without extra effort. This means you can make your emails even more effective, which will improve your email marketing return on investment (ROI) – an added bonus for businesses that need to be strategic.

Anniversary emails are just one example of incorporating email personalization in your marketing campaigns, but they’re also a great time to remind your customers why they signed up for your email list in the first place. They’re one of many emails that should be part of your triggered email campaigns.

5 fantastic anniversary email examples to inspire your business

Sending an anniversary email is more than just saying “thank you.” This is a prime opportunity to offer account updates or exclusive offers. Use these anniversary email examples to find inspiration for your next triggered email campaign. 

1. Include a birthday or anniversary coupon

The best way to celebrate a special day is with cake and a gift, but it’s not something you can do easily through email. 

In this anniversary email example, Grammarly takes a fun approach in their “Grammarversary” email by including a cake graphic (complete with a lit candle) and a special promotion.

grammarly email example

Source: Really Good Emails

Discounts can encourage new business – 80% of consumers say coupons encourage them to make first-time purchases with a brand they’re not familiar with. With Grammarly, for example, they offer a free service with a limited set of features, but they have a premium version with additional benefits. This anniversary email is a clever way to drive conversions. 

2. Highlight key moments from the past year

An account rollup or a highlight reel of the last year is a creative way to connect with your subscribers. If it’s your anniversary, you can send information about important victories from the year. For your customer’s anniversary though, you can dig a little deeper, like this example from Uber.

uber email example
Source: Really Good Emails

This is where email personalization becomes critical. 

The more information you have about your subscriber’s history, the more detailed you can get in your anniversary emails. Uber goes above and beyond the standard one-year anniversary email – they look back at the last three years and even go as far as including the very first comment their customer received and the date of their first trip.

3. Get clever with your anniversary subject lines

Your subscribers get hundreds of emails every day – that means you have a lot of competition. As the most crucial part of your email, you want a subject line that catches your reader’s eye. Humor is a great way to connect with your audience, like in this anniversary email example from theSkimm.

the skimm email example

Source: Really Good Emails

The subject line – “Birthday suit, on” – is a creative way to inspire opens. While this approach works great for theSkimm because they know their audience, you’ll want to make sure you have the right voice and tone when you’re trying to elicit a laugh. Test a few approaches to humor before you dive in with anything too controversial for your audience (A/B testing can help with this part.)

4. Take a bold approach to the anniversary email design 

Most companies have a standardized approach to email design. They have a select set of colors, fonts, and language, as well as general layout templates. With anniversary emails, you can be a little adventurous. This anniversary email example from Spotify is bold and eye-catching.

spotify email example

Source: Really Good Emails

Spotify uses a combination of creative features. First, they use wildly vibrant colors that you wouldn’t expect to see together. Instead of a colorful call-to-action (CTA) button, they use a simple black button that pops against the 80s-inspired design. They also use lines and shapes to draw attention to different sections of the email. 

You can use a drag-and-drop editor to create a similar concept and make it your own. 

5. Celebrate your success with a chance to win

When you’re celebrating your own anniversary, it’s a great opportunity to show your customers how much you value their continued business. A giveaway is something every business can do for its subscribers. 

Qatar Airways offers a travel experience in this anniversary email example.

Heathrow airport email example

Source: Really Good Emails

Giveaways are something people get excited about, and you definitely want to promote your brand. If a giveaway isn’t feasible (which may be the case in certain industries), you can consider offering a free gift with a purchase. This is a standard anniversary and birthday email tactic for businesses that want to encourage new subscribers to engage, too. 

Best practices for sending anniversary emails to your subscribers

Regardless of whether it’s you or your customer’s anniversary, anniversary emails should fit into your overall email marketing strategy. While they’re an opportunity for you to be a little more playful or casual than your other emails, you still want people to recognize the message as your brand. 

To create a powerful anniversary email campaign that works, you need to use email marketing best practices that encourage email deliverability and better performance metrics, like:

  • Optimize your send day and time: There are a few approaches to when you send your anniversary email. You can send it during the anniversary month or week, or you can send it on the actual anniversary date. The best approach is to optimize it around data you have about past email campaigns. You may find that you’ll get more opens a few days before the actual date.

  • Leverage your customer data: You can extend personalization beyond anniversaries and names. Consider sending an account overview or highlights of the previous year to make your subscribers feel like they’re the sole focus of your day. Customer data can also help you optimize your email design and CTAs. Use email analytics that tracks where people click in your email campaigns.

  • Spend extra time on your subject line: You already know how important your subject line is. It’s just as important for anniversary emails, so put some extra time into this. Make a point to highlight the importance of the day. Include a promotional offer or video to entice your readers to open the email – and call it out in the subject line. 

Email marketing best practices are standards you can apply to all of your campaigns. Anniversary emails should be part of a comprehensive automated email marketing campaign. 

Wrap up

Email automation is a crucial part of every digital marketer’s strategy. With triggered email campaigns, you can set up anniversary emails for both you and your customers’ anniversaries. Beyond finding inspiring anniversary email examples, keep these essential tips in mind:

  • Get creative with the voice, tone, and design for your anniversary email.

  • Employ email personalization to connect with your subscribers.

  • Find the best time and day to send your anniversary email campaigns.

You can put together an anniversary email that does more than just offer appreciation to your customers. Give them a reason to stick around for the next year.

Looking for an email automation platform to set up triggered campaigns? Schedule a demo with Emma to see their powerful set of tools that help you create emails that convert customers.

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