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How to Plan An Email Marketing Calendar For Your 2021 Campaigns

Beefree team
Beefree team
Feb 11, 2021
How to Plan An Email Marketing Calendar For Your 2021 Campaigns
How to Plan An Email Marketing Calendar For Your 2021 Campaigns

Designing and sending marketing emails throughout the year might seem like a big job. But in reality, the real work should be happening now: This is the time of year to set goals, figure out a strategy and define your email marketing calendar for the rest of 2021.You might be tempted to rush through this part, but don’t! You’ll save yourself a lot of time and headaches later by carefully planning your email marketing calendar now. Take some time to sit down and plan out your holiday calendar this week to simplify your email design process throughout the year. Here’s your guide of what to do and when to do it for email marketing in 2021.

This is the time of year to set goals, figure out a strategy and define your email marketing calendar for the rest of 2021.

We've also created a holiday marketing calendar to make your job even easier. From large global holidays (think Christmas and Easter) to smaller, more niche holidays that are a marketer's dream (Waffle Day or Singles Awareness Day), everything is included on this helpful marketing calendar. Click the plus sign by the "Google Calendar" text in the bottom right-hand corner so you'll never miss a holiday!

January

New Year’s Day (January 1)

Start the new year off strong by celebrating with a fun New Year’s Day email. Don't be afraid to pull out the glitter and fireworks for this fun holiday! Consider creating a special discount code or offering a sale for email subscribers. You could also share a year-in-review email, hitting the highlights your brand experienced over the last 12 months — like this Best Highlights for Last Year email template by Navid Nosrati.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Get to Know Your Customers Day (January 21)

Get to Know Your Customers Day takes place every quarter — the third Thursday of January, April, July and October. It’s the perfect time to focus on creating strong customer relationships, so it's a must-add for your email marketing calendar. Get to know your customers by sending out a survey that asks for their opinion. We love this casual Got A Quick Sec?email template created by designer Jen Schmaltz. Check out our other Get to Know Your Customers Day email templates for more inspiring examples.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Other January Holidays

  • Pizza Day, January 17
  • Epiphany and La Befana, January 6
  • Data Privacy Day, January 28
  • Northern Lights Festival (January 26 — February 2nd)
  • Fashion Week (Fashion Week takes place multiple times a year; these Fashion Week email templates can help.)

February

Black History Month (all month)

Black History Month is celebrated in the U.S. during the entire month of February. This monthlong observance is a time to honor Black Americans and everything they’ve contributed to the world. Use your email newsletters to support Black communities and share how your company supports racial justice initiatives. This free Honoring Black Stories email template, created by Derek Brumby, is a great way to highlight influential Black voices and encourage your readers to support Black creatives. You can draw inspiration from our other Black History Month email templates, too.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Valentine’s Day (February 14)

Consumers are ready to spend some serious money for Valentine’s Day. A little strategic email marketing can position your brand as the best option for the reader's gift-giving needs. Hearts, colorful pink backgrounds and elegant typography can be the best way to go if you’re designing a Valentine’s Day email. For example, our Valentine’s Day Offer template by Hector Titus Ruiz helps you offer a seasonal promotion for your email subscribers to enjoy.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Other February Holidays

March

St. Patrick’s Day (March 17)

This traditional Irish religious holiday is celebrated today with parades, music and lots of food and beer. No matter what industry you’re in, it’s a great time to get on top of some email marketing! Send a festive green and gold St. Patrick’s Day email offering a deal that will help your customers feel the luck of the Irish. If you have products to showcase, our Good Luck To You email template designed by Andrea Dall’Ara is a great way to highlight those items. Our other St. Patrick's Day email templates will provide you with some lucky design inspiration as well!

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

International Women’s Day (March 8)

International Women’s Day is a holiday designed to bring awareness to the ongoing struggle of gender equality and to celebrate the powerful women in our communities. Our Happy International Women’s Day template, created by Martin Nikolchev, is highly versatile: Use it to announce a sale, launch a fundraising campaign or simply design a thoughtful email that will resonate with readers. Or check out our other International Women's Day templates.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Other March Holidays

  • Maslenitsa, March 8 - 14
  • Mother’s Day, March 14 (Check out our Mother's Day email templates.)
  • Father’s Day, March 19 (Some countries celebrate this holiday in March; check out our Father's Day email templates.)
  • First Day of Spring, March 20
  • World Water Day, March 22
  • Waffle Day, March 25
  • SDG Global Festival of Action, March 25 - 26
  • Earth Hour Day, March 27
  • Holi Festival, March 29

April

Easter (April 4)

Pull out your fuzzy bunnies, chocolate eggs and pastel email backgrounds to create a springtime Easter email for your clients. This year, Easter is on April 4, which means you’ll need to get started early with your Easter email design. We recommend using one of our Easter email templates to shorten the design process — like this Special Easter email designed by Martin Nikolchev.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Earth Day (April 22)

Encourage people to make the world a better place by sending a well-designed Earth Day email. Your customers care about climate change and the world they live in. Sharing an Earth Day email that outlines how you’re taking action can inspire them to do the same. Our Be The Change template by Galina Grahovska uses strong fonts and a background of green leaves to create an email that works for nonprofits and other brands alike.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Other April Holidays

  • April Fool’s Day, April 1 (Check out our April Fool's Day templates.)
  • Tulip Festival, April 1 - 30
  • Carbonara Day, April 6
  • World Art Day, April 15
  • Shakespeare Day, April 23

May

Cinco de Mayo (May 5)

Give your customers a little taste of this Mexican celebration with a colorful Cinco de Mayo email. Use our Cinco De Mayo Fiesta template by Martin Nikolchev to share information about the origins of this holiday and how it’s traditionally celebrated.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Or take a more promotional route with Jen Schmaltz’sTaco Bout Delicious email, telling your customers how to order and where to find you.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Mother’s Day (May 9)

Mother’s Day in the U.S. will be celebrated on May 9 this year. Add this holiday to your email marketing calendar so you can position your product or service as the perfect gift for Mom with a strategically designed Mother's Day email. This Treat Mom Like Gold email by Jen Schmaltz is perfect for fashion or cosmetics brands to share a product promotion before Mother’s Day.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Other May Holidays

June

LGBTQ Pride Month (all month)

LGBTQ Pride Month will be celebrated around the world throughout the month of June, with LGBTQ+ communities and their allies flooding the streets — and our inboxes — with an infusion of color, pride and love. With exuberant rainbows as the defining symbol of the festivities, the design possibilities are endless! Draw on our LGBTQ Pride Month email templates to create your own rainbow-filled email!

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Father’s Day (June 20)

In the U.S., Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June every year. Get creative with your copy, colors and CTAs as you design a Father's Day email to promote your Father’s Day sales. This simple, sleek Father’s Day Electronics message (designed by Jesus Albusac) can promote your products or event as the holiday approaches.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Other June Holidays

  • Republic Day, June 2
  • World Environment Day, June 5
  • Dragon Boat Festival, June 14
  • Juneteenth, June 19 (If you choose to send a Juneteenth email, make sure to be sensitive and thoughtful of the BLM conversation — and to share how you’re taking action.)
  • First Day of Summer / Summer Solstice, June 21
  • Social Media Day, June 30

July

Independence Day (July 4)

A patriotic email for Independence Day (July 4 in the United States) can help boost your engagement and sales this summer. Make a splash and increase your conversions with our Independence Day Sale email template designed by Yuliana Pandelieva, or with one of our other Independence Day email templates.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

World Emoji Day (July 17)

World Emoji Day might not be on your customers’ calendar. But for email marketing purposes, this holiday presents a wide range of fun opportunities! Using emojis in email adds personality to your brand. Emojis also grab attention and help get your point across. Celebrate the power of the emoji with Navid Nosrati’s template Emoji World Day or with our other World Emoji Day email templates.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Other July Holidays

  • Amazon Prime Day, July 12 - 13
  • Bastille Day, July 14
  • Olympic Games begin, July 23
  • International Day of Friendship, July 30

August

Back to School Month (all month)

It’s that time of year again: Back to School Month (in the U.S.). Advertise your school supplies for sale and connect with parents through a smartly-designed back to school email. We love this Back to School Discount Code template made by Gaia Zuccaro: It combines quirky doodles with your unique discounts to create the perfect email to advertise your sales.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Other August Holidays

September

Labor Day (September 6)

Next up on the email marketing calendar: Labor Day, a U.S. holiday that marks the end of summer. In other words, it’s the perfect time for brands to squeeze in one last summer sale. Use this playful orange email created by Jen Schmaltz (Labor YAY Sale!) to get the job done, or use one of our other Labor Day email templates.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

First Day of Fall (September 21)

Usher in a new season by creating a special sale or promotion for the First Day of Fall on September 21. First Day of Fall emails are a lot of fun to design — think pumpkins, GIFs and warm tones of orange and brown. If you’re launching a new collection of products, check out our New Fall Collection It’s Here template by Yorbi Barriento.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Other September Holidays

  • Video Games Day, September 12 (Some people also celebrate this holiday on July 8; check out our Video Games Day email templates.)
  • Oktoberfest, September 18 - October 3
  • International Day of Peace, September 21
  • World Tourism Day, September 27

October

Breast Cancer Awareness Month (all month)

Kick off the month of October by recognizing Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Chances are, this disease has personally touched many of your customers. Sharing a Breast Cancer Awareness Month emailhelps raise awareness about the disease and connect with people who have been there. Use our Fundraising template by Andrea Dall’Ara to take action for a good cause.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Halloween (October 31)

For email marketers, Halloween is a can’t-miss holiday. Combine spooky stock images, creative CTA buttons and vibrant HTML colors to share a special fall promotion or some Halloween-oriented content. We recommend our Halloween email templates, like this No Tricks Only Treats!email by Yuliana Pandelieva, to kickstart your email design.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Other October Holidays

  • International Coffee Day, October 1 (Check out our International Coffee Day email templates.)
  • World Vegetarian Day, October 1
  • Cinnamon Bun Day, October 4
  • Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead, October 3 - November 2

November

Thanksgiving (November 25)

Is your target audience based in the U.S.? Don’t forget to send a Thanksgiving email on or before November 25. When it comes to Thanksgiving email marketing, authenticity is key: Show genuine appreciation for your customers and make them feel like part of the family. Check out this Thanksgiving Day email by Andrea Dall’Ara to send a heartfelt thanks to your email subscribers.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Black Friday (November 26)

Black Friday is a major retail holiday brands can’t afford to miss. And since your customers’ inboxes will be flooded with emails, it’s your job to do everything you can to grab their attention. Black Friday email templates make your email design job easy. This modern Black Friday Fashion Deals template by Gaia Zuccaro, for example, is a great way to promote products and sales.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Other November Holidays

December

Hanukkah / Chanukah (November 28 - December 6)

We’ve made it all the way to December and it’s time for some holiday celebrations! Start with a Hanukkah email to mark theJewish festival of lights that in 2021 runs from November 28 to December 6. Andrea Dall’Ara’s colorful and attractive Hanukkah Event template is the perfect way to kick off the season.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Christmas (December 25)

When December rolls around, it’s time to get your Christmas marketing emails out the door! Come up with a creative campaign, such as sending a holiday gift guide or offering 12 days of deals, to get your subscribers engaged. We’ve got you covered with over a dozen Christmas email templates to help. Pictured: Make Everyone’s Christmas Wishes Come True, designed by Yuliana Pandelieva.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

New Year’s Eve (December 31)

Close out your 2021 email marketing calendar by ushering in the New Year with style. Sending a New Year’s Eve email to wish your customers a Happy New Year can help ensure your brand is top of mind as your readers move into the new year. Navid Nosrati created this Get Your New Year’s Resolutions Off to a Good Start template to promote an event or just wish your customers a happy holiday.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Other December Holidays

  • Saint Lucy’s Day, December 13
  • First Day of Winter / Winter Solstice, December 21
  • Boxing Day, December 26

Wrap-up: Holiday email templates

We don’t know about you, but this email marketing planning template is making us excited to start designing! Check out our full catalog of HTML email templates to find the best option for every holiday — it’s simple to edit these responsive templates using the BEE email editor. Take your email marketing to new heights in 2021 by using an email marketing calendar so you don't miss a beat!

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email and calendar layout

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The Importance of Mobile Analytics in Improving Email Experience

Leveraging mobile analytics helps you create better mobile email experiences that drive sales, revenue, and loyalty. Discover how in this guide.
Beefree team
Dec 20, 2024

We live in a mobile-first world. We shop, socialize, work, and create on our phones, expecting seamless, intuitive, and frictionless experiences. As email marketers, we often rely on educated guesses and hard-to-win feedback to improve campaigns. But mobile analytics can revolutionize this process.

Mobile analytics unlock valuable real-time insights into user behavior, preferences, and engagement,  accelerating how fast we can make improvements to our email marketing campaigns.

Let’s discuss the role of mobile analytics in UX and how you can use it to boost satisfaction, sales, and loyalty.

What is mobile analytics?

Mobile analytics is gathering and analyzing user data and behaviors specifically on mobile websites, apps, and devices. This insight comprises of qualitative and quantitative data, such as:  

  • How long readers interact with your email or landing pages
  • Which elements (like CTA buttons) get the most clicks or which don't get interacted with at all
  • The navigational path that users take through your email.
  • The path users take after clicking an email link.
  • Points of friction such as poorly optimized layouts or broken links.
  • Performance issues like slow-loading images or inaccessible designs.

Key differences between mobile analytics and traditional analytics

While traditional analytics might measure desktop-based metrics, mobile analytics reveals how factors like responsive design, mobile-friendly layouts, and load times impact engagement.

From interactions like swipes, clicks, to even orientation changes (landscape vs. portrait). For email marketers, this means deeper insights into how users engage with your content on mobile.

Key email metrics in mobile analytics

These are commonly measured because each gives you important information about user engagement and your email's performance. Collectively, they give you an overarching view of what’s working well and what isn’t so you can improve your campaigns.

  • Open rate: Helps you assess whether your email captures interest at first glance. Low open rates on mobile may signal that your subject lines or send time isn’t aligned with user preferences. For mobile users, shorter, punchier subject lines often perform better, as they’re fully visible on smaller screens.
  • Device-specific click rates: Analyzing clicks segmented by device type (e.g., smartphones vs. tablets) can help you understand how different mobile experiences affect engagement. . For example, smartphone users may prefer more streamlined layouts, while tablet users may enjoy more detailed content.
  • Scroll depth: Tracks how far users scroll through your email on mobile devices. If users don't scroll past the top of your email on mobile, this may guide you to add the most important content above the fold.
  • Bounce rate: Measures how often users exit or leave your linked pages immediately after clicking through from an email. On mobile, high bounce rates might stem from slow-loading pages, confusing navigation, or unresponsive design.
  • Conversion rate: This is the percentage of users who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or clicking on a landing page. It offers insight into how effectively your emails are in achieing the intended goals whether it is a traditional campaign or experiential.

Whatever metrics you prioritize, make sure to integrate a robust, accurate data processing pipeline. This guarantees real-time insights, so you’re always making decisions based on the latest figures. 

How mobile analytics can help you improve user experience

1. Identify gaps and friction early on

Delivering a smooth user experience is crucial for high engagement. If users encounter barriers that prevent them from taking action, it's best to know the root cause sooner rather than later. 

Mobile analytics uncover navigational and performance issues like confusing layouts, unresponsive buttons, or poor readability.

For example, if a significant portion of users drop off after opening your email, analytics might reveal slow-loading images or unclear CTAs as culprits. You can also pair your website's mobile analytics to inform your email campaigns.

For example, let’s say that a high volume of users is churning during your in-app checkout process, which according to the Baymard Institute study might happen for varying reasons.

Image sourced from baymardinstitute.com 

On your website you may integrate a solution like Vonage Cloud PBX to enable users to contact your customer support team directly from the checkout page. Or proactively offer support via live chat (just make sure to follow TCPA compliance). But then you can go one step further and set up abandoned cart campaigns to re-engage users. 

In short, mobile analytics can provide helpful insight into your users' actual experience, allowing you to explore new and creative solutions. You can use tools like a Kanban board to plan your approach, create visualizations of the user journey, pinpoint priority areas for improvement, and assign tasks to relevant teams.

2. Analyze user flows

Mobile analytics shares valuable insight on your user journey-- from opening and to become a customer. For example, if users abandon your landing page after clicking an email, it could signal that the page design or content isn’t aligned with their expectations. This could mean your page needs to be simplified or your emails need to be a lot more clear.

Again, you can pair your website's or apps mobile analytics to then guide your email campaigns. A recent survey by Newstore found that 60% of shoppers prefer mobile apps over mobile websites. Mobile apps are easier to use, leading to better UX, increased sales, and higher retention.

Image sourced from newstore.com

If you're noticing that users are not as active on mobile app, this could mean your app interface needs to be simplified or that folks may need more guidance. You could send a series of onboarding emails to help customers use your product effectively.

Along with understanding where the friction lies, mobile analytics tells you what motivates consistent engagement. Analytics opens and conversion rates on mobile vs. desktop can uncover the drivers behind engagement and retention for mobile users. It might be that certain types of notification emails encourage repeat interactions.

Overall, understanding what drives loyalty can help you optimize user journeys at scale to drive repeat engagement and long-term retention, making sure you get a good return on your email marketing efforts and app development cost.

3. Create personalize experiences

Mobile analytics offers a deeper understanding of user behavior and preferences. This can be used to segment users and create personalized experiences. You can feed mobile analytics into your CDP and CRM to help you accurately segment customers according to their preferences, user behavior, demographics, and stage in the customer journey. One way to personalize the experience is to tailor the timing of email notifications to when they are most active or recommending solutions to users based on their preferences.

From there, you can then A/B test multiple versions of a personalized email to asses what actually turns leads into customers. For example, you might test two different layouts or calls-to-action.

Design seamless mobile experiences with Beefree

Whether you're crafting emails for E-commerce, SaaS, or B2b, creating convenient, seamless experiences for mobile users is crucial. Mobile analytics keeps your business attuned to the unique needs of your mobile customers. From streamlining journeys to personalizing experiences, the valuable insights gleaned from mobile analytics help you drive sales and retain customers.

Beefree’s Mobile Design Mode eliminates guesswork, allowing you to design with confidence for the fastest-growing segment of email users: those on mobile devices. Our Mobile Design Mode feature allows you to preview and edit emails specifically for mobile devices, ensuring that your design elements—such as images, text, and buttons—adapt perfectly to smaller screens.

Start designing with ease now.

Celebrating the 2024 Really Good Emails Award

Discover the standout email campaigns that defined 2024 in the first-ever Really Good Emails Awards. Dive into the insights and inspiration that can elevate your email marketing to award-winning heights.
Beefree team
Dec 18, 2024

Ten years, thousands of emails, countless "ooohs" and "ahhhs." Since their inception, our friends at Really Good Email have been curating the most mind-blowing emails to save you from “meh” campaigns. Meanwhile, we at Beefree have been busy helping you turn that inspiration into inbox gold.

Now, we’re taking it up a notch with awards for the best of the best with the first-ever 2024 Really Good Emails Awards. Think of it as email’s version of the Oscars—minus the long speeches.

These emails didn’t just meet expectations—they redefined them. Selected from thousands of entries in the RGE collection, the winners embody:

  • Community favorites: Campaigns you searched for, saved, and clicked on the most.
  • Innovation and trends: Designs that pushed boundaries and set new benchmarks.
  • Strategic brilliance: Perfectly balancing email marketing fundamentals with bold creative risks.
Download the awards

Why these awards matter

Email marketing continues to be one of the most effective ways to engage audiences and drive results. The RGE Awards serve as a benchmark for what’s possible, setting new standards for creativity, strategy, and impact. By studying these campaigns, you can:

  • Stay ahead of trends: Understand the latest innovations shaping the industry.
  • Refine your strategy: Learn how to balance creativity with proven marketing principles.
  • Elevate your designs: Incorporate bold, eye-catching elements into your emails.

Not another boring resource: Here's what's inside

The Awards PDF is the ultimate cheat sheet full of strategies, free templates, and inspiration for designing award-winning emails. From standout visuals to innovative CTAs, every element of these campaigns offers a lesson in excellence.

  • Winner highlights (duh): Why they stole the show and actionable insights you can steal to create your own magic.
  • Easy access to all winning emails and categories: All of the best of the best in one place.
  • The ultimate cheat sheet: We're done the heavy lifting for you and linked templates in Beefree similar to the winning emails 👀
  • Exclusive Beefree deal: Black Friday came a little late, but we delivered.
  • and so much more! 

A closer look at the winning categories

We've rolled out the red carpet for the crème de la crème of email design and strategy, competing across 11 categories. Handpicked from 17,000+ emails in our vault, they’re here to spark some serious 2025 inspiration.

  • Welcome emails
  • Product launch
  • Re-engagement emails
  • Pet emails
  • Outdoor/travel emails
  • Drinks emails
  • Subject line
  • Best CTA
  • Quiz
  • Seasonal email
  • Most creative email

The competition also highlighted runner-ups like Lifesum, Google, and Ollie, whose campaigns showcased exceptional creativity and innovation. While these didn’t take the top spots, they serve as shining examples of effective email marketing that connects and converts.

Download the full Awards resource to access all the winners, runner-ups, and actionable insights.

A sneak peak

From sleek designs to impactful messaging, each winner showcased the pinnacle of what’s possible in email marketing. Highlights include:

🥇Best welcome email: Miro

First impressions matter, and Miro’s welcome email excelled with its clear onboarding steps, bold visuals, and action-oriented CTAs. 

Runner-ups like Lifesum’s starter kit email also showcased how to combine simplicity with effectiveness, turning new users into engaged participants right from the start. Welcome emails are more than a handshake—they’re the start of a journey that can shape long-term customer relationships.

Download the full award deck

🥇Best product launch: Volkswagen

Volkswagen’s email captivated audiences with interactive features and vibrant visuals. Its playful yet professional tone made the T-Cross launch feel both aspirational and accessible. 

Other brands like Freaks of Nature and Google stood out with innovative product announcements that paired sleek designs with compelling messaging. Product launch emails have the power to turn curiosity into action, driving immediate engagement.

Download the full award deck

🥇Best re-engagement email: Sometimes Always

Sometimes Always redefined personalization and urgency with a campaign that felt tailored and compelling. Their email leveraged customer data to create a sense of exclusivity and importance. 

Honorable mentions include Tillamook and Nonny, which excelled at rekindling audience interest with humor, warmth, and timely offers. Re-engagement campaigns remind customers why they loved your brand in the first place.

Download the full award deck

🥇Best seasonal email: Touchland

Seasonal emails are an opportunity to tap into the zeitgeist while staying true to your brand identity, and Touchland does just that. Their Prime Day email turned a traditional sale announcement into a celebration of their brand. By combining playful design with clear value propositions, they created an email that felt festive and functional. 

Download the full award deck

These campaigns demonstrate that success in email marketing often lies in the details—from the strategic placement of a button to the tone of the subject line. By focusing on these elements, brands can create emails that not only look great, but also drive meaningful results.

Download the deck for the rest of the winners

What next? Turn inspiration into action

The 2024 Really Good Emails Awards celebrate more than just great campaigns—they’re about inspiring your next big idea. With tools like Beefree, you can bring these award-winning elements to life. Here’s how:

Join the celebration

The email marketing community thrives on sharing and collaboration. Join us in celebrating the creativity and innovation that make email marketing such a dynamic field. Share your favorite campaigns with Really Good Emails and be part of the conversation shaping the future of email design.

Here’s to a future filled with creativity, connection, and campaigns that inspire.

How to Make Privacy Policy Emails Worth Reading

Privacy emails don’t have to be boring or overlooked. Learn how to craft legal emails into engaging messages that don't hurt your sender reputation.
Emily Santos
Dec 13, 2024

From time to time, our favorite brands send us a privacy policy change email. And let’s be honest, most of the time, we just skip them and pay them no attention. 

As an email marketer, though, you might be required to send these emails. Luckily, you only have to send privacy policy notices when you update your privacy policy—which is usually only once per year (the CCPA requires this, in fact). 

So how do we make these less than exciting, but important emails at least worth reading? Let’s get into it.

Can privacy policy emails hurt your email reputation?

While sending privacy policy emails provides users with transparency, they can hurt your email sender reputation. To many sending platforms, privacy policy emails and terms of service emails often look like spam (the irony). This is likely due to fact that these emails are usually all text and send to the masses. Luckily, there are ways to lower the risk of being exiled to the spam folder.

Best practices for sending privacy policy emails

1. Send in small batches

As tempting as it might be to just press “send” once and be done with it, we recommend sending these emails in batches for 1,000-5,000 recipients depending on your list size. Gmail and Outlook specifically look at large sends as spam-like behaviour, which may lead to higher bounce rates, blocks, or the likeliness of landing in the spam folder. Some ways to organize your batches include:

  • Segmenting your audience by levels of engagement or user activity. For example, send first to folks who recently engaged with an email and less likely to mark you message as spam.
  • Adjust timing based on optimal hours when subscribers are more likely to engage based on time zones.

As you send each batch, be sure to monitor the performance to address any issues before scaling up.

2. Set the right intentions

We know you want people to open your email and that not everyone will say, “Oh cool, a new privacy policy! I can’t wait to read,” but honesty is the best policy. Make your subject line transparent about what it contains but also note it’s an important email to open.

Don’t get too wordy, but you can get a little cheeky and fun with it if this suits your brand. For example: “Our Annual Privacy Policy Update (We Know You’ve Been Waiting for It).”

Or take note out of the Really Good Email playbook and poke fun at the not-so-fun email with something like "Our lawyers made us send this boring update."

3. Write like a human

Privacy policies, like any other legal documentation, are usually full of complex legalese that’s dull at best and confusing at worst. Nobody wants to wade through a sea of legal mumbo jumbo, and let’s be real—if it feels robotic, it’s getting ignored. A human, conversation approach makes potentially sticky updates easier to digest.

We saw this first-hand from our friends at Really Good Emails. They connected with readers by being relatable, making the new updates easy to grasp, and dare we say entertaining. The result? 50% more opens and 40% more positive replies.

4. Don't waste people's time

As much personality as we can infuse to these type of emails, it doesn't change the fact that they're kind of boring. Keep things short and concise. Reel them by sharing the why behind the changes --what's the benefit they will get from these changes? This could be anything from "to better serve you" to "staying up to date with new regulations."

Then, highlighting the key changes in bullet points or bolded text. Avoid using legal terms. Finally, offer the ability for folks to learn more somewhere else if they're into that kind of thing.

This example by Skillshare does a great job at being concise.

(Source: Skillshare via Really Good Emails)

The email is clear and straightforward but the most effective thing they do is break out what the updates are, just as importantly, why they’ve made them. They also include several links to the privacy policy and terms of service so they’re easy to find, and they offer a way for recipients to contact them with any questions or concerns.

5. Consider a different sender IP address

Using a different sending IP address for legal and transactional emails can help protect your primary domain's sender reputation in the case that your privacy email batch does get red flagged. Even if you take all the precautions, privacy policy updates can elicit less engagement from recipients which can negatively impact future campaign performance-- for that reason alone, we recommend using a different IP address for varying types of communications.

6. Stay recognizable

A simple way to stay out of the spam folder is to not look like a spam email. Infusing your branding is a simple, yet effective way of assuring your audience you are a trusted source, not some random bot trying to steal their data.

Plus, it’s a subtle reminder that you care about keeping things polished and interesting, even when the topic is not. The email below from Assemble is a perfect example of how even a privacy policy email can be a tool to reinforce trust, strengthen customer connection, and establish brand recognition.

(Source: Assemble via Really Good Emails)

Privacy policy templates and examples you can steal

Now you're ready to start crafting your own privacy email. Here are some templates you can steal to kick things off.

#1: Comedic relief

If you want to show a sense of humor and relate to your customers, try this template:

Subject: Our Eagerly-Awaited Privacy Policy Update

"Some pieces of news you just can’t wait to find out: the conclusion to that mystery novel you’re reading, why your boss scheduled a last-minute meeting, who will win Too Hot To Handle, and the changes we made to our privacy policy:

Okay, we know you’re not exactly on the edge of your seat, but the lawyers say we have to send this every year so here you go. Here’s what’s new:

[summarize the changes]

Look at you, breezing right through that and being ready to take another year by storm! You can contact us with any questions at [email address], but otherwise, keep rocking and we’ll see you around."

Portland-based bank Simple uses a similar strategy in their privacy emails: 

(Source: Simple via Really Good Emails)

This email is relatable and honest, not to mention funny and engaging. They relay the message in the way you’d probably relay it to a friend: they’re conversational, they’re human, and they’re understandable. They break down the update and translate it piece by piece for the reader to understand. According to a blog they posted about it, they had nearly 200 people reply with positive comments. 

#2: Short and sweet

Keep your time and your recipients’ time to a minimum with this concise yet clear privacy policy email template:

Subject: Important Updates to Our Privacy Policy

"In an effort to maintain transparency about your data and how we use it, we’ve updated our privacy policy, effective on [date]. Here’s what has changed:

[summarize updates]

Click the button below to read the full privacy policy. If you have any questions or concerns, reach out at [email address]. Thank you for being a valued member of the [brand] community."

Hims is a telehealth company specializing in medications for men, and they’ve mastered the art of keeping it short and sweet:

(Source: Hims via Really Good Emails)

They’re as concise as can be—just a few paragraphs stating what they’re emailing about and informing customers of their implied consent, along with a link to see the full text. This lets the recipients immediately know what the email’s about and decide if they want to dig into the full policy text.

What’s also done well here, though, is the branding. As simple as this email is, it follows the brand’s aesthetic so it’s easy for customers to recognize and trust.

Start crafting privacy emails worth reading with Beefree

A well-crafted, branded privacy policy email does more than just inform—it builds trust and strengthens your relationship with your audience. Beefree can make it easier to nail your next privacy policy email.

With our intuitive drag-and-drop editor, you can effortlessly design emails that incorporate your branding, ensuring that even legal updates stay aligned with your company’s tone and identity. The best part? It's free.

The Importance of Mobile Analytics in Improving Email Experience

Leveraging mobile analytics helps you create better mobile email experiences that drive sales, revenue, and loyalty. Discover how in this guide.
Beefree team
Beefree team
20 Dec
2024

We live in a mobile-first world. We shop, socialize, work, and create on our phones, expecting seamless, intuitive, and frictionless experiences. As email marketers, we often rely on educated guesses and hard-to-win feedback to improve campaigns. But mobile analytics can revolutionize this process.

Mobile analytics unlock valuable real-time insights into user behavior, preferences, and engagement,  accelerating how fast we can make improvements to our email marketing campaigns.

Let’s discuss the role of mobile analytics in UX and how you can use it to boost satisfaction, sales, and loyalty.

What is mobile analytics?

Mobile analytics is gathering and analyzing user data and behaviors specifically on mobile websites, apps, and devices. This insight comprises of qualitative and quantitative data, such as:  

  • How long readers interact with your email or landing pages
  • Which elements (like CTA buttons) get the most clicks or which don't get interacted with at all
  • The navigational path that users take through your email.
  • The path users take after clicking an email link.
  • Points of friction such as poorly optimized layouts or broken links.
  • Performance issues like slow-loading images or inaccessible designs.

Key differences between mobile analytics and traditional analytics

While traditional analytics might measure desktop-based metrics, mobile analytics reveals how factors like responsive design, mobile-friendly layouts, and load times impact engagement.

From interactions like swipes, clicks, to even orientation changes (landscape vs. portrait). For email marketers, this means deeper insights into how users engage with your content on mobile.

Key email metrics in mobile analytics

These are commonly measured because each gives you important information about user engagement and your email's performance. Collectively, they give you an overarching view of what’s working well and what isn’t so you can improve your campaigns.

  • Open rate: Helps you assess whether your email captures interest at first glance. Low open rates on mobile may signal that your subject lines or send time isn’t aligned with user preferences. For mobile users, shorter, punchier subject lines often perform better, as they’re fully visible on smaller screens.
  • Device-specific click rates: Analyzing clicks segmented by device type (e.g., smartphones vs. tablets) can help you understand how different mobile experiences affect engagement. . For example, smartphone users may prefer more streamlined layouts, while tablet users may enjoy more detailed content.
  • Scroll depth: Tracks how far users scroll through your email on mobile devices. If users don't scroll past the top of your email on mobile, this may guide you to add the most important content above the fold.
  • Bounce rate: Measures how often users exit or leave your linked pages immediately after clicking through from an email. On mobile, high bounce rates might stem from slow-loading pages, confusing navigation, or unresponsive design.
  • Conversion rate: This is the percentage of users who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or clicking on a landing page. It offers insight into how effectively your emails are in achieing the intended goals whether it is a traditional campaign or experiential.

Whatever metrics you prioritize, make sure to integrate a robust, accurate data processing pipeline. This guarantees real-time insights, so you’re always making decisions based on the latest figures. 

How mobile analytics can help you improve user experience

1. Identify gaps and friction early on

Delivering a smooth user experience is crucial for high engagement. If users encounter barriers that prevent them from taking action, it's best to know the root cause sooner rather than later. 

Mobile analytics uncover navigational and performance issues like confusing layouts, unresponsive buttons, or poor readability.

For example, if a significant portion of users drop off after opening your email, analytics might reveal slow-loading images or unclear CTAs as culprits. You can also pair your website's mobile analytics to inform your email campaigns.

For example, let’s say that a high volume of users is churning during your in-app checkout process, which according to the Baymard Institute study might happen for varying reasons.

Image sourced from baymardinstitute.com 

On your website you may integrate a solution like Vonage Cloud PBX to enable users to contact your customer support team directly from the checkout page. Or proactively offer support via live chat (just make sure to follow TCPA compliance). But then you can go one step further and set up abandoned cart campaigns to re-engage users. 

In short, mobile analytics can provide helpful insight into your users' actual experience, allowing you to explore new and creative solutions. You can use tools like a Kanban board to plan your approach, create visualizations of the user journey, pinpoint priority areas for improvement, and assign tasks to relevant teams.

2. Analyze user flows

Mobile analytics shares valuable insight on your user journey-- from opening and to become a customer. For example, if users abandon your landing page after clicking an email, it could signal that the page design or content isn’t aligned with their expectations. This could mean your page needs to be simplified or your emails need to be a lot more clear.

Again, you can pair your website's or apps mobile analytics to then guide your email campaigns. A recent survey by Newstore found that 60% of shoppers prefer mobile apps over mobile websites. Mobile apps are easier to use, leading to better UX, increased sales, and higher retention.

Image sourced from newstore.com

If you're noticing that users are not as active on mobile app, this could mean your app interface needs to be simplified or that folks may need more guidance. You could send a series of onboarding emails to help customers use your product effectively.

Along with understanding where the friction lies, mobile analytics tells you what motivates consistent engagement. Analytics opens and conversion rates on mobile vs. desktop can uncover the drivers behind engagement and retention for mobile users. It might be that certain types of notification emails encourage repeat interactions.

Overall, understanding what drives loyalty can help you optimize user journeys at scale to drive repeat engagement and long-term retention, making sure you get a good return on your email marketing efforts and app development cost.

3. Create personalize experiences

Mobile analytics offers a deeper understanding of user behavior and preferences. This can be used to segment users and create personalized experiences. You can feed mobile analytics into your CDP and CRM to help you accurately segment customers according to their preferences, user behavior, demographics, and stage in the customer journey. One way to personalize the experience is to tailor the timing of email notifications to when they are most active or recommending solutions to users based on their preferences.

From there, you can then A/B test multiple versions of a personalized email to asses what actually turns leads into customers. For example, you might test two different layouts or calls-to-action.

Design seamless mobile experiences with Beefree

Whether you're crafting emails for E-commerce, SaaS, or B2b, creating convenient, seamless experiences for mobile users is crucial. Mobile analytics keeps your business attuned to the unique needs of your mobile customers. From streamlining journeys to personalizing experiences, the valuable insights gleaned from mobile analytics help you drive sales and retain customers.

Beefree’s Mobile Design Mode eliminates guesswork, allowing you to design with confidence for the fastest-growing segment of email users: those on mobile devices. Our Mobile Design Mode feature allows you to preview and edit emails specifically for mobile devices, ensuring that your design elements—such as images, text, and buttons—adapt perfectly to smaller screens.

Start designing with ease now.

Celebrating the 2024 Really Good Emails Award

Discover the standout email campaigns that defined 2024 in the first-ever Really Good Emails Awards. Dive into the insights and inspiration that can elevate your email marketing to award-winning heights.
Beefree team
Beefree team
18 Dec
2024

Ten years, thousands of emails, countless "ooohs" and "ahhhs." Since their inception, our friends at Really Good Email have been curating the most mind-blowing emails to save you from “meh” campaigns. Meanwhile, we at Beefree have been busy helping you turn that inspiration into inbox gold.

Now, we’re taking it up a notch with awards for the best of the best with the first-ever 2024 Really Good Emails Awards. Think of it as email’s version of the Oscars—minus the long speeches.

These emails didn’t just meet expectations—they redefined them. Selected from thousands of entries in the RGE collection, the winners embody:

  • Community favorites: Campaigns you searched for, saved, and clicked on the most.
  • Innovation and trends: Designs that pushed boundaries and set new benchmarks.
  • Strategic brilliance: Perfectly balancing email marketing fundamentals with bold creative risks.
Download the awards

Why these awards matter

Email marketing continues to be one of the most effective ways to engage audiences and drive results. The RGE Awards serve as a benchmark for what’s possible, setting new standards for creativity, strategy, and impact. By studying these campaigns, you can:

  • Stay ahead of trends: Understand the latest innovations shaping the industry.
  • Refine your strategy: Learn how to balance creativity with proven marketing principles.
  • Elevate your designs: Incorporate bold, eye-catching elements into your emails.

Not another boring resource: Here's what's inside

The Awards PDF is the ultimate cheat sheet full of strategies, free templates, and inspiration for designing award-winning emails. From standout visuals to innovative CTAs, every element of these campaigns offers a lesson in excellence.

  • Winner highlights (duh): Why they stole the show and actionable insights you can steal to create your own magic.
  • Easy access to all winning emails and categories: All of the best of the best in one place.
  • The ultimate cheat sheet: We're done the heavy lifting for you and linked templates in Beefree similar to the winning emails 👀
  • Exclusive Beefree deal: Black Friday came a little late, but we delivered.
  • and so much more! 

A closer look at the winning categories

We've rolled out the red carpet for the crème de la crème of email design and strategy, competing across 11 categories. Handpicked from 17,000+ emails in our vault, they’re here to spark some serious 2025 inspiration.

  • Welcome emails
  • Product launch
  • Re-engagement emails
  • Pet emails
  • Outdoor/travel emails
  • Drinks emails
  • Subject line
  • Best CTA
  • Quiz
  • Seasonal email
  • Most creative email

The competition also highlighted runner-ups like Lifesum, Google, and Ollie, whose campaigns showcased exceptional creativity and innovation. While these didn’t take the top spots, they serve as shining examples of effective email marketing that connects and converts.

Download the full Awards resource to access all the winners, runner-ups, and actionable insights.

A sneak peak

From sleek designs to impactful messaging, each winner showcased the pinnacle of what’s possible in email marketing. Highlights include:

🥇Best welcome email: Miro

First impressions matter, and Miro’s welcome email excelled with its clear onboarding steps, bold visuals, and action-oriented CTAs. 

Runner-ups like Lifesum’s starter kit email also showcased how to combine simplicity with effectiveness, turning new users into engaged participants right from the start. Welcome emails are more than a handshake—they’re the start of a journey that can shape long-term customer relationships.

Download the full award deck

🥇Best product launch: Volkswagen

Volkswagen’s email captivated audiences with interactive features and vibrant visuals. Its playful yet professional tone made the T-Cross launch feel both aspirational and accessible. 

Other brands like Freaks of Nature and Google stood out with innovative product announcements that paired sleek designs with compelling messaging. Product launch emails have the power to turn curiosity into action, driving immediate engagement.

Download the full award deck

🥇Best re-engagement email: Sometimes Always

Sometimes Always redefined personalization and urgency with a campaign that felt tailored and compelling. Their email leveraged customer data to create a sense of exclusivity and importance. 

Honorable mentions include Tillamook and Nonny, which excelled at rekindling audience interest with humor, warmth, and timely offers. Re-engagement campaigns remind customers why they loved your brand in the first place.

Download the full award deck

🥇Best seasonal email: Touchland

Seasonal emails are an opportunity to tap into the zeitgeist while staying true to your brand identity, and Touchland does just that. Their Prime Day email turned a traditional sale announcement into a celebration of their brand. By combining playful design with clear value propositions, they created an email that felt festive and functional. 

Download the full award deck

These campaigns demonstrate that success in email marketing often lies in the details—from the strategic placement of a button to the tone of the subject line. By focusing on these elements, brands can create emails that not only look great, but also drive meaningful results.

Download the deck for the rest of the winners

What next? Turn inspiration into action

The 2024 Really Good Emails Awards celebrate more than just great campaigns—they’re about inspiring your next big idea. With tools like Beefree, you can bring these award-winning elements to life. Here’s how:

Join the celebration

The email marketing community thrives on sharing and collaboration. Join us in celebrating the creativity and innovation that make email marketing such a dynamic field. Share your favorite campaigns with Really Good Emails and be part of the conversation shaping the future of email design.

Here’s to a future filled with creativity, connection, and campaigns that inspire.

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