11 Cyber Monday email examples and tips for maximum sales

Once you’ve boosted your website speed, double-checked your checkout process, and prepared your deals, you can create a winning Cyber Monday email marketing strategy to maximize sales. 

Read on for inspiring examples and tips to make this your best year yet.

Cyber Week is the busiest shopping period of the year. It’s the perfect time to create incredible offers and generate boatloads of extra income. 

Just check out these stats about the holiday shopping period 👇

• Shoppers spent $886.7 billion during the 2021 shopping season

• Online sales hit $218.9 billion, an 11.3% increase over the previous year

• 179.8 million Americans shopped during the five-day holiday shopping period from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday 

• Shoppers spent an average of $301.27 on holiday-related purchases

• 77 million people shopped online on Cyber Monday

The takeaway? People love shopping on Cyber Monday, and emails are an effective way to promote your business during this period.

There’s no universal method for creating an effective Cyber Monday email campaign. But these Cyber Monday email examples highlight some of your best options. For each example, we’ve included a screenshot and an explanation of the key lesson.

1. Herschel Supply Co.: Make your offer clear

Use your email design to make your offer super clear and direct people to your sales page. This Cyber Monday email example from Herschel Supply Co. does this perfectly. 

• The black-and-white design focuses on the Cyber Monday deal

• The email highlights the three main offers and relevant discount codes

• It includes a single call-to-action (CTA) button that leads to the sale

Key takeaway: When creating your Cyber Monday email, make sure your offer is instantly obvious. Include a link to the sale to make buying as easy as possible.

2. Loft: Add an animation

Interactive content draws the reader's attention. When you have their attention, you can send them to your sales page. This creative Cyber Monday email example by Loft does this well.

• The email uses a cool loading bar GIF, which relates to the “Start loading up your closet” theme

• The bright pink highlights stand out, making the CTA button super clickable

• The offer is obvious thanks to the huge text 

Key takeaway: Highlight elements in your email by turning them into an animated GIF. You’ll stand out among all the non-animated emails in the recipient’s inbox.

3. MailerLite: Use a countdown timer

Countdown timers create a sense of urgency—recipients know they must act soon to take advantage of the deal. Check out how we use timers for our Cyber Week deal.

• The email has two countdown timers for maximum effect 

• The CTA button is directly below the timer, so subscribers can take action immediately

• The copy highlights the limited nature of the offer. It mentions that this is a “Last chance,” that the sale is “Practically over” and the offer is “Today only”

Key takeaway: Most Cyber Monday sales run for a limited period. Make this clear with your copy, headers and countdown timers. 

4. Soccer.com: Use personalization

People’s inboxes are full of offers during the holiday shopping period. Stand out by adding personalization to your campaign, just like this Soccer.com email.

• The subject line contains the subscriber’s name

• The email makes the Cyber Monday deals super clear

• Dynamic content allows the brand to send offers related to the buyer 

Key takeaway: Personalizing emails is super easy if you have the right tools. Use the customer’s name in your copy or include content based on the products they have bought previously.

5. Quiz: Connect email with your social media accounts

Extend the reach of your campaign by connecting your newsletter with your social media channels, just like Quiz did in its Cyber Monday email.

• The email asks people to add the brand on Snapchat

• The promise of behind-the-scenes photoshoot content is an appealing offer

• The account name is super clear, which makes it easy for people to add the brand

Key takeaway: Think about how to connect your email and social campaigns. Ask for follows, tell people to share their product experience or embed social media posts.

6. Everlane: Take a different approach

The best way to stand out is to go against the grain. Clothing brand Everlane did this to great effect in a recent Cyber Monday email.

• The brand stands out by opening with ‘This is not a sale” 

• The email points out that the brand’s prices are already 50% lower than most retailers, satisfying the Cyber Monday craving for a bargain

• It includes a single link to the collection so buying is easy

Key takeaways: Send an email promoting your online store to generate sales, even if you don’t want to offer a Cyber Monday discount. 

7. Perigold: Use cart abandonment emails

Customers often forget about their order or leave your shop to browse other deals. When this happens, abandoned cart emails get them back to your store. 

Perigold’s abandoned cart email ticks all the boxes of an effective message.

• The email has an image of the product

• It has a single link back to the shopping page

• It has a simple design that isn’t too pushy

Key takeaways: Abandoned cart emails are an effective way to get customers to complete their purchases. Connect MailerLite with your e-commerce platform to set them up, then read this article to learn how to create an abandoned cart email. 

8. Zenni Optical: Send a last-chance email

Remind subscribers about your Cyber Monday offer by sending a last-chance email before it ends, just like Zenni Optical does in this email. 

• The email mentions that this is the last chance to shop the sale

• The text highlights exactly when the sale will end

• The email includes product images with links readers can use to buy

Key takeaways: With so many sales going on, people may forget about yours. A last-chance email is a good reminder. 

9. Periodic Audio: Create a VIP offer

There are so many Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales that it’s hard to make customers feel special at this time of year. Get around this by creating a sale just for VIPs. 

Periodic Audio’s eye-catching VIP offer works for the following reasons:

• The offer is only for existing customers

• Combining a 50% discount with early access is very generous

• The brand builds a connection by calling VIP customers' family and friends

Key takeaways: If you know who your most loyal customers are, create an offer just for them. If you don’t know your loyal customers, segment your email list to find out!

10. Ryan Air: Use a limited-time offer

Many Cyber Monday sales start on Black Friday and continue until the following week. This gives customers more opportunities to buy but makes the sale less urgent. 

Get around this by creating a sale that only lasts for a single day, just like RyanAir did in this email.  

• The email mentions the sale is for 24 hours only

• It includes a countdown timer to highlight the fact

• It advertises really low prices

Key takeaway: Create a 24-hour sale and make it clear that your offer only stands for a day, so recipients know they have to buy now.  

11. Later: Promote your SaaS or digital product offer

Cyber Monday and Black Friday aren’t only for physical products. Software businesses and digital product sellers can also get involved. 

Social media tool Later created a special Cyber Monday offer and promoted it via email.

• The offer is clear—get two weeks of the service for free

• The copy focuses on the tool’s value 

• It includes super clear CTA buttons

Key takeaways: Create a Cyber Monday offer to convert customers who stay with you beyond the holiday shopping period. 

Now you’ve seen some great Cyber Monday emails, it’s time to start crafting your own messages. Just be sure to keep these best practices in mind before you start. 

Make your newsletter mobile-friendly

If people can’t read your newsletter, it will kill your conversions. Make sure you send mobile-friendly newsletters so your email looks good on all devices. 

Get the timing right

Sending emails at the optimum times can help build sales. A good campaign involves multiple emails that start the week before Cyber Monday to build anticipation and continue until the sale ends.

Many businesses combine Cyber Monday with Black Friday. In this case, your email sequence will include Black Friday promotions too. 

Use a compelling subject line

A good subject line can be the difference between people opening your sale email and ignoring it. Consider including the following elements to optimize your open rate.

• The word Cyber Monday 

• A discount percentage

• Words like free, biggest sale, save, discount, off, coupon, now and deal

• Urgency (“Black Friday sale starts NOW”, “Cyber Monday ends in 4 hours” or “Last Chance to Save”)

You can also play around with emojis in your email subject lines, this is a great way to make your brand feel fun and friendly. 

Inspiring Cyber Monday subject line examples

• CYBER MONDAY FOMO? 😰

• 💻 CYBER MONDAY 30% OFF ⌨️

• ⏰ Tick. Tock. Cyber Monday Sale Ends Soon: Save Up To 65% Off

• Last call: Cyber Monday is ending soon.

• 🏁 Get Ready, Get Set...Book! Our Cyber Monday Sale Starts Now >> Rooms Up To 65% Off

Maximize sales with recommended products

Amazon generates 35% of its revenue from product recommendations. Take a page from the e-commerce giant’s playbook by promoting recommended products in your Cyber Monday emails.

MailerLite customers who run their e-commerce with Shopify can send product emails with recommendations based on previously bought products.

Cyber Monday is an important online shopping day for retailers, and holiday email marketing is an excellent way to promote your brand. Use the examples and tips in this article to spice up your campaigns and give them the best chance of success.

For more holiday-themed shopping email examples, check out our article on the best Black Friday emails here. We also have a library of Cyber Monday and other holiday email templates you can use to create your campaigns.