87 email subject line ideas and examples for your Halloween campaigns

37 Halloween email subject line examples for every sector

You have around 40 characters to convince your reader to open an email. No pressure.

Knowing your audience is key. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to email subject lines, but you can definitely draw inspiration from what other brands are doing.

Get your creative juices flowing with these email subject line examples from different industries.

Ecommerce & retail

Everyone loves a “spooktacular deal.” Online shops are in a prime position to offer scary savings and Halloween flash sales. Sometimes, a short mysterious message is enough to pique a reader's curiosity. Or, you could be cheeky and ask the reader a direct question – come on, what are you scared of?

Check out these creative Halloween subject lines from ecommerce and retail brands:

• Club Kiddo - Boo Ya!

• Paper Source - Get These Spooktacular Best Sellers Before They Ghost!

• Motif - Trick OR Treat? Why not both? 👻

• Crate And Barrel - All treats, no tricks.

• RIFLE PAPER Co - Send Your Boos Some Love?

• Etsy - Practically Magic

• Yellowmoon.org.uk - A frightfully good offer – up to 50% off Halloween costumes

Tech

Larger tech companies generally want to be perceived as thought leaders, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a geeky side too. They might not take it as far as ecommerce businesses, but tech brands also know how to get into the Halloween spirit.

Here are some Halloween subject lines from the tech industry:

• Pinterest - Your Guide To Carving Pumpkins

• Grammarly - A Happy Halloween Quiz from Grammarly

• Email Monks - Witching You Happy Halloween

• WeTransfer - Pumpkin spice and all things (not) nice

In comparison, startups are trying to be seen as less corporate and will get away with a more “buddy-buddy” vernacular.

Food & spirits

A Halloween party is nothing without Halloween treats. Tempt your customers this season with tantalizing offers or content they can’t refuse. From trick or treating to parties and movie gatherings, make it clear there are savings to be made in your subject line. Recipe guides are another very popular method to attract users into your email.

Get Halloween subject line ideas from these top food and spirits brands:

• FitOn - 👻 3 Scary Good Meals to Die For 💀

• Dunkin Donuts - Click Your Treat and Earn 3X Points

• Cadbury - 15% Off All Ghoulish Goodies

• Betty’s - Double, double toil and trouble

• Land O’Lakes - 👻 Ghoul, treat yourself with these recipes

• Blue Apron - Forget the candy, this deal is the sweetest one yet!

• Archie Rose - BOOOOO: Introducing our Halloween Monster Smash 👻🎃🍸

• Plant People - Happy Halloween 🎃 Ward off monsters with Wonder Mushroom Gummies

Entertainment

The battle for our attention is fierce around Halloween and you only have one seventh of a Tweet to work with. Curiosity is your best weapon, but that doesn’t mean going too vague or your email will just sound generic. The best email subject lines tease out content. Use imperative words like “see”, “fall into”, or “go” to encourage readers to open the email.

Draw inspiration from these Halloween subject lines from some top entertainment brands:

• Disney+ - See what’s screaming — er, streaming!

• Vimeo - Fall into these sweet new features!

• Universal Orlando Resort - Go Behind the Screams

• Riley at Stanza - Only treats this Halloween 👻

• Lego(R) News - Brick or treat! (Toys)

• The Pokemon Company - 🎃 Tricks and Treats! 🍬

Finance

After the last credit card statement, nobody expects another scary email from their bank. As a trusted institution, it’s best to tread carefully with your subject line. You don’t want to be seen as suspicious and marked as spam. Make sure your subject line clearly states the matter at hand – with Barclaycard, it’s fraud.

1. Barclaycard – Freddy, give fraud a fright this Halloween

Finally, adding some personalization to your subject line conveys trust, don’t you think, Mr Krueger?

Now you have the subject lines cracked, it’s time to create a campaign. Find everything you need in our blog post – Tips and tricks to create stunning Halloween emails.

Home décor

While Halloween decor typically transforms homes into haunted abodes, these home décor companies showed how to bring the festivities to your inbox. See if you can’t unearth some ghoulish email subject lines for yourself with the help from these examples:

1. Bed Bath and Beyond - Boo-tiful Upgrades 🎃 Up to 40% Off* Halloween Decor 🦇

2. Bed bath and Beyond - 15% off for a Fresh + Frightful Halloween 🎃

3. Bed bath and Beyond - 17% off for Your Halloween Feast 🎃👻

4. World Market - Set out a deadly spread: It's a Halloween boo-fet!

5. World Market - Fresh from the coven: Our spookiest kitchen finds 👻

6. Pottery Barn - Our New Halloween Collection, fright this way...

Transportation and travel

We’re not sure about you, but when it comes to transportation and Halloween, the first thing that comes to mind is Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, and the rest of the gang saving us from the supernatural in the Mystery Machine.

It has to be the most iconic Halloween automobile, right?

While we’re not expecting that much every time we jump into a rental, here are a few ideas for subject lines from fellow transportation/travel brands:

1. Europcar - 👻 Halloween is coooming… let’s go! 🚗

2. Greyhound - Happy Howl at the Moon Day! 

3. Greyhound - Book a Spooktacular Getaway 

4. Jenolan Caves - How Can You Measure the Ghosts at Jenolan? With a Spirit Level!

5. Data Cars - Halloween - Treat & Treat

How to write a killer Halloween email subject line

So, we've seen the best of the best. But what exactly makes these headlines fit for Halloween?

Get creative with your tone of voice

The holidays are a time of fun and joviality, so take this opportunity to get creative. While writing your subject line, keep in mind that people love authenticity and fun, but be mindful not to stray away from the anchor that is your brand voice.

If your brand voice is human and approachable, then avoid overbearing or indecisive wording.

Take advantage of puns (Hallow-queen) and wordplay (All treats, no tricks) to set the stage for your email content and tap into the mystery and intrigue of Halloween by choosing out-the-box vocabulary like “enchanting”, “magical”, and “potion”.

Even mega corporates get in on the fun

If your brand voice allows so, you can also go wild with punctuation, including exclamations for excitement and question marks to challenge your reader. Use emojis to bring color and fun to people's inboxes and tempt their cursor to take a look. Don’t abuse them, though – keep it to one to two emojis.

Use marketing psychology to increase open rates

Halloween comes but once a year, so advertise your Halloween sale as “last chance”, creating a feeling of scarcity (or FOMO) in the reader. Your Halloween deals can tie in nicely with a countdown to Halloween marketing campaign. For instance, you could send “One week until…” or “3 days until…” emails to remind your subscribers they are running out of time.

Paper Source - Get These Spooky Best Sellers Before They Ghost!

As always, character length is key. Aim for no more than 40 characters to avoid being cut off by Hotmail, Live, and Yahoo Mail clients. There is evidence to suggest that shorter punchier subject lines can improve open rates. However, every audience is different. The only way to truly know your reader's appetite is to A/B test a variety of subject lines to determine the winner.

Similarly, highlighting the value proposition of an email can improve open rates significantly. Don't get lost in wishy-washy Halloween lingo – tell the reader why they should open the email. Whether it's discounts, free gifts, ideas, or advice, make it clear in the subject header.

If you prefer to save the value proposition for your email body, try something short, mysterious, and punchy like this email from Etsy and use the preheader to complement your subject line.

Make it personal with contact properties

Personalize your campaign with contact properties. Nothing grabs your attention more than hearing your own name. Your ears perk up – it's a reflex response.

Yet, many email marketers still don't personalize email marketing, giving you the competitive edge if you do. Go further by segmenting your subscriber lists into categories like age and gender. Put yourself in their shoes and adapt your tone of voice for that person.

Avoid the dreaded spam folder

Spam is such a dirty word that we should really call it s***. There are some misconceptions regarding subject line spam words – no, there’s no secret list out there that will take you straight to the spam folder – but certain terms can be deceiving and tend to get lower engagement and higher than normal complaint rates. Just think of all those emails promising a “free” gift. How many of those were actually “free”?

If your sender reputation and email engagement are high, the content of your subject lines probably won’t land your email in spam folders. But if your sender reputation and email engagement are low and you talk like a spammer, chances are you won’t land in the inbox. Spam is a complex and ever-changing subject, so check out our definitive guide on how to avoid spam filters.

Utilize software testing to polish your copy

When you have done everything you can, turn to robots for help. Try running your subject line(s) through an email subject line tester to see how it performs. Once your robot gives you the green light, run the template through an email preview software like Email on Acid to preview emails on all devices and clients.

Lean on AI for a helping hand

While fear is a particularly relevant emotion considering the theme of this blog post, email marketers need to start overcoming it when it comes to AI. In some circles it’s still frowned upon, with traditionalists convinced AI is destroying the craft of copywriting, but that’s simply not true.

Listen, we’re not saying ChatGPT should write all your customer communications. After all, there’s nothing more important than that authentic human touch when it comes to building strong customer relationships.

But AI can help you push through writer’s block within seconds, saving hours in ideation and drafting. Your experience as an email marketing professional is then invaluable in honing that copy – something artificial intelligence cannot replace. But it’s always nice to get a little help to get things started, right?

50 Halloween subject line ideas to inspire you

At Sinch Mailjet, we practice what we preach. So, we’ve decided to put ChatGPT to the test and get AI’s helping hand in coming up with 50 ideas you can use to kickstart your Halloween brainstorming sessions.

Below we’ve added 50 Halloween email subject lines coaxed out of Open AI’s generative model. Are they all usable off the bat? No. Are some of them frighteningly awful? Yes. That doesn’t mean they can’t be u to as inspiration for your own creative copy.

ChatGPT’s 50 subject line ideas to promote your sales and drive conversions during the Halloween shopping season:

1. "Boo! Get Ready for Spooktacular Savings!"

2. "Frighteningly Good Deals Await..."

3. "Trick or Treat Yourself to Our Halloween Specials!"

4. "🎃 Scare Up Some Savings with Us! 👻"

5. "Creep It Real: Our Halloween Sale Starts Now!"

6. "Witch Way to Spooky Savings?"

7. "No Tricks, Just Treats: Halloween Discounts Inside!"

8. "Haunted by High Prices? Not Anymore!"

9. "Don't Be a Scaredy-Cat – Check Out Our Halloween Offers!"

10. "Ghosts, Goblins, and Great Deals Await!"

11. "Eerie-sistible Halloween Savings Are Here!"

12. "UnBOOlievable Savings for Halloween Night!"

13. "Halloween Flash Sale: Save Big on Spooky Goodies!"

14. "Get Ready to Scream... with Joy! Our Halloween Sale Starts!"

15. "Spooktacular Discounts – Shop Now or Never!"

16. "Ghoul-tastic Deals Are Lurking..."

17. "Hocus Pocus – Savings Focus: Halloween Edition!"

18. "Don't Let These Deals Haunt You Forever!"

19. "Pumpkin-Spiced Savings Inside!"

20. "Trick or Treat: Pick Your Discount!"

21. "Ghostly Greetings and Frighteningly Good Prices!"

22. "Boo-kmark Our Halloween Sale Now!"

23. "Dare to Click? Exclusive Halloween Discounts Await!"

24. "Get Your Boo-ty to Our Halloween Sale!"

25. "Don't Let These Deals Ghost You!"

26. "Spooktacular Savings: No Costume Required!"

27. "Wickedly Good Deals for Halloween"

28. "Unlock the Coffin of Savings: Halloween Edition!"

29. "Last-Minute Halloween Savings – Don't Miss Out!"

30. "Halloween Flash Sale: Fang-tastic Offers Await!"

31. "Cackle-Worthy Discounts for Halloween!"

32. "Goblins Can't Stop These Savings!"

33. "Witches Brew Up Discounts – Grab Yours Today!"

34. "Bats, Cats, and Big Discounts – It Must Be Halloween!"

35. "Haunted House of Savings – Enter If You Dare!"

36. "Spooky Savings for a Fang-tastic Halloween!"

37. "Get Your Ghoul On: Halloween Discounts Inside!"

38. "Don't Be a Zombie Shopper – Get Our Halloween Deals!"

39. "Ghostly Greetings: Halloween Discounts Have Arrived!"

40. "Save Your Soul (and Wallet) with Our Halloween Deals!"

41. "No Costume Required for These Spooky Savings!"

42. "Boo-tiful Discounts Await: Shop Halloween Now!"

43. "Wickedly Good Deals: Halloween Edition!"

44. "Cursed with High Prices? Our Halloween Sale Has the Cure!"

45. "Pumpkin-Spiced Savings Just for You!"

46. "Trick or Treat Yourself to Discounts Galore!"

47. "Goblins Beware: Halloween Savings Are Here!"

48. "Ghosts Can't Stop Our Spooktacular Offers!"

49. "Sink Your Teeth into Halloween Savings!"

50. "Witches and Wizards Shop Here: Halloween Discounts Inside!"

A/B test your Halloween subject line to success

At this point, you may have the most original and engaging subject line to grace the email space. But without A/B testing, you won’t know for sure. Let the audience decide what they like and dislike.

A/B testing is the practice of sending a variety of different subject lines to 20-35% of your audience. The winning subject line is decided by the highest open rate and will be sent to the remainder of your email list.

Here are some A/B test ideas for your Halloween email subject lines:

• Long vs. short subject lines

• Subject lines with and without personalization

• Subject lines with and without emojis

• Negative Statements, questions, and exclamations

• FOMO vs. clickbaity subject lines

• Vague vs. straightforward subject lines

• Subject lines promising discounts or generating a sense of urgency

A/B testing is OK. But A/B/C/D/E/F/G testing is better. That’s why Mailjet's A/B Testing feature allows you to test up to 10 versions of an email subject line simultaneously. Try a combination of the techniques mentioned above to create subject line variations for testing.

You could try 10 small variations of the same subject line. Or you could go with 10 totally different ideas altogether.

Create Halloween email marketing campaigns with Mailjet

It's that time of year to celebrate Halloween, go trick or treating, and get creative. However, between email design, A\B testing, and subscriber list segmentation – there's not enough time in the year to work on your marketing strategy.

Mailjet's intuitive and collaborative email platform comes packed with tons of treats to help with those troublesome details, including two boo-tiful Halloween email templates for your campaigns.

Template examples from Mailjet’s Email Editor

Still looking for help with those Halloween subject lines? Check out Sinch Mailjet’s A/B Testing feature to automatically discover the best-performing headline. You can spend less time with the troublesome details and more time writing that killer subject line. We'll look out for your Halloween email in our inbox soon!

This is an updated version of the post “21 Eye-Catching Halloween Email Subject Line Examples & Tips” written by Phil Adams and posted on the Sinch Mailjet blog in September 2022.