Staying top-of-mind with your audience isn’t just about sending one email. You need to keep leads engaged, deliver fresh content to subscribers, and support customers long after the sale.
That’s a lot of emails to write. If you don’t have a big team, you’ll burn valuable hours. Templates speed up the process and let your team focus on higher-impact tasks.
But a single email template won’t be enough. To guide prospects through every stage of your sales pipeline, you need well-structured email campaigns—not just one-off messages.
But even the best templates won’t work if your email copy falls flat. So, before jumping into the templates, let’s talk about how you can write high-converting email copy for every campaign.
Nailing Your Email Copy: How to Make Templates Work for You
Templates give you a head start, but even the best-designed template won’t work if your copy doesn’t connect with your audience. You can do that by following these three steps:
Consider the Type of Email Campaign
Sales email copy differs entirely from what you’d see in a promotional email. Each type of campaign has a unique goal, and your messaging should reflect that. For example:
Sales emails (cold emails, follow-ups, or business proposals) should be short, direct, and personalized. The goal isn’t to sell but to provide value and start a conversation.
Promotional emails are about relevancy mixed with urgency. FOMO (fear of missing out) won’t work if prospects aren’t interested in the product and come from a quality lead source.
Know Your Audience Before Writing Email Copy
To ensure emails remain relevant, consider who you’re writing for. Different stakeholders have varying criteria for what makes a product worth buying. Let’s say you sell a lead gen service.
Email copy for CEOs and business owners could be focused more on bottom-line benefits like ROI, revenue growth, or scalability. Here’s an example:
“Our lead gen services helped {{competitor}} grow revenue by {{percentage}} without needing increased ad spend.”
Meanwhile, marketers and sales leaders might care more about lead quality, conversion rates, or pipeline growth. So, the unique selling proposition might change to this:
“Low-quality leads kill your pipeline. Our services helped {{competitor}} get {{percentage}} more leads who had real buying intent—not just curiosity.”
Start and Finish Strong With Engaging Subject Lines & Actionable CTAs
If subject lines aren’t good, recipients won’t open your emails; if CTAs aren’t enticing enough, people who open them won’t act. Both have to be good. Here’s an example from Semrush.
The subject line is already engaging. But what’s great about this is the preheader, “My full workflow inside,” emphasizes the subject line. That signals that the email is packed with value.
The way the CTA is used in this email is also a masterclass. That’s because before the CTA was included, there was already a build-up from the closing lines.
When writing your CTA, don’t leave it on an island. It shouldn’t stand alone at the bottom of your email. The copy before it should support or further emphasize your CTA.
Essential Email Campaign Templates For Cold Emails
A healthy sales pipeline relies on a steady flow of fresh leads—whether from inbound marketing (people finding you) or outbound efforts (you reaching out to them).
So, let’s break down six essential email campaign templates you can start using today. Find what works for your business, and ensure messaging resonates with your core audience.
Cold Email Campaign Template
Cold email campaigns are straightforward as long as the proper infrastructure is set up. You start with the first cold email, which acts as the introduction, and the follow-ups, which should be adjusted based on the response. Here is an example flowchart you can follow:
First Cold Email
Subject line: {{first name}}, have you tried using {{strategy}}?
Hey, {{first name}},
I was looking at local businesses near {{location}} and found that you have a ton of great reviews on your profile. I loved how {{customer name}} said {{review snippet}}.
I’m wondering if you’ve ever considered running ads with your customer reviews front and center. The reason I ask is because we help {{industry}} businesses get {{benefit}} using this strategy.
I’d love to send you a detailed rundown of our strategy for {{prospect’s company}}. Would that be something you’d be interested in?
Best regards,
{{your name}}
Follow-up (No Response)
Subject line: {{first name}}, just a quick follow-up on {{offer}}
Hey {{first name}},
Hope you had a great weekend! I am following up on my last email about {{offer}}. I know things get busy, so I figured I’d check in.
We recently helped {{competitor}} get {{benefit}} using this strategy, and I think it could work well for {{prospect’s company}} too.
Would you be open to a quick chat this week? If not, let me know what works for you!
Best,
{{your name}}
Follow-up (Negative Response)
Subject Line: No worries, {{first name}}
Hey {{first name}},
I understand this may not be the right time or fit for you. Thanks for getting back to me!
If things change down the road and you’re ever curious about {{offer/strategy}}, I’d be happy to share insights or case studies that might be helpful. There is no pressure at all.
Wishing you the best with {{prospect’s company}}, and feel free to reach out anytime!
Best,
{{your name}}
Pro tip: When prospects respond negatively to your email, the follow-up should emphasize that the door is always open for future conversations. Give value as you part ways.
Webinar Invite Campaign Template
Webinars get your product front and center to a large audience. In most cases, getting leads to commit to a one-to-many demo will be easier than a one-on-one call. Here’s a template you can use to get more leads to join your webinars.
1st Webinar Invite (Send at least 1 week before the event)
Subject Line: {{first name}}, secure a spot for our {{webinar title}}!
Hey, {{first name}},
{{your name}}, here from {{company}} with a personal invite to our new webinar where we’ll show the {{webinar offer}}.
The webinar starts at exactly {{time and date}}.
If you're looking for {{value proposition}}, you don’t want to miss out. Spots are limited so we hope you secure yours now. {{insert invite link}}.
2nd Webinar Invite (Send 3 days before the event)
Subject line: {{first name}}, there are still spots left for {{webinar title}} but not that many. . .
Hey, {{first name}},
Only three days left before {{webinar title}} begins, and spots are running out fast. This is the last webinar we’ll be having on {{topic}}, and we’ll be showing some insider secrets on {{value proposition}} you don’t want to miss out on.
{{invite link}}
3rd Webinar Invite (Send 1 day before the event)
Subject line: {{first name}}, last chance to secure a spot for {{webinar title}}
Hey, {{first name}}, we’re going live tomorrow with only a handful of spots left for {{webinar title}}. The webinar is going to include:
{{value proposition 1}}
{{value proposition 2}}
{{value proposition 3}}
Attendees also get a chance to have a 15-minute live Q+A about {{topic}} and in-depth tips that we’ll share during the webinar. We do hope to see you there tomorrow! {{insert invite link}}.
For Lead Nurturing
Lead nurturing is essential for staying top-of-mind and nudging leads further down your sales pipelines. Two of the best nurturing campaigns are newsletters and drip campaigns.
Newsletters Campaign Template
Businesses can use newsletters to share updates, make announcements, or promote products to all subscribers. One thing you need to take advantage of about newsletters is the welcome email, which has one of the highest open rates. Here’s an example from Ecomhunt.
The template for their newsletter campaign follows these three simple sequences:
This is a great welcome email example because it includes authenticity by introducing the people behind the product, and it’s packed with valuable content subscribers can go back to.
After the welcome email, the following newsletters leveraged social proof from successful users. But flexing success won’t do anything, so they also urged subscribers to grab a discount.
The following newsletter they sent was a case study. This newsletter highlighted a goal most dropshippers want to get in the subject line, which is enticing enough to make subscribers click.
Drip Campaigns Template
Drip campaigns aren’t just automated emails consisting of a few follow-ups. Each email should nudge prospects toward a specific goal. Let’s look at this example from Jotform.
The drip campaign started with announcing a 50% sale for the new year. Then, each email in the sequence for subscribers who didn’t click the CTA leverages urgency and FOMO.
Here’s another drip campaign sequence from Zapier that kicks off after the welcome email. After a quick introduction, Zapier sends an email about automation ideas you can do with their tools.
Then, the email culminates in the last email of the drip campaign—getting help from a Zapier expert. This works because if you’re new, you’d want to learn the basics and get in-depth with the pros.
Sales Email Campaign Templates
Sales email campaigns are designed with one goal in mind: driving revenue. These emails focus on direct offers, pricing, and closing deals. Here are some high-impact sales email campaign templates you can try out.
Promotional Email Campaign Template
Promotional emails tell subscribers about discounts, sales, or coupons and provide a perfect cross-selling and upselling opportunity. To make these emails more effective, try leveraging urgency, FOMO, and other sales psychology strategies.
Here’s an example from Mangools. Their campaign follows this three-step sequence:
The subject lines focus on FOMO and urgency. The closer the offer is to the end date, the more urgent the wording in the subject line becomes. Mangools’ email copy also reflects the urgency.
The first promotional email just says, “35% off,” and the last email says, “Last chance.” Something to note here is that in the last email, they don’t just use FOMO but also add value.
The last email includes a “special lifetime deal” to sweeten the promotion.
Warm Sales Outreach Campaign Template
Warm leads come from inbound marketing, lead capture pages, or website visitor identification software. These leads are more likely to convert since they already show interest in your offer. But you still need to convert interest into intent. You can do so with this warm outreach template:
Warm Outreach Email
Subject Line: {{first name}}, thanks for signing up!
Hey, {{first name}},
We’re so hyped that you’re interested in {{product}}! To give you a great headstart, here are some resources {{insert link to resource}} on how to use {{product}} for {{pain point}}.
If you’re looking for something more specific, we’d love to talk with you and give you a more tailored experience. Would you be interested in that?
Thanks,
{{your name}}
Warm Outreach Follow-up
Subject Line: {{first name}}, updates on {{offer}}?
Hey, {{first name}},
We noticed two of your teammates were reading our blog on {{topic}} this week. I’d love to share some insider tips on how to best use {{product}} for {{topic}}.
Do you have 10 minutes to discuss it with us and your team? If this interests you, what does your schedule look like?
Thanks in advance,
{{your name}}
Follow-up After Discovery Call
Subject Line: A quick roundup of our talk, {{first name}}
Hey, {{first name}},
Thanks for taking the time to talk with our team today. I enjoyed learning more about {{prospect’s company}} and your goals for {{timeline}}.
As discussed, I’ve attached {{document}} about {{topic}} and how we can help you get {{benefit}} to help you reach {{goal}}. Just let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
{{your name}}
Key Takeaways
Email campaign templates help you visualize and execute a roadmap to higher engagement, better conversion rates, and more effective communication with your audience.
But templates alone aren’t enough. You’ll need the right tools to help you automate email sequences, find leads matching your ideal customers, and personalize copy at scale.
Instantly gets you all three in one intuitive dashboard. Try it out for free today!
