Email Marketing Campaign Templates

Email is still the highest-ROI marketing channel most startups underinvest in. A 2023 Litmus report put email's average ROI at $36 for every $1 spent — higher than paid search, paid social, or content marketing alone. But that ROI accrues to the people who send consistently useful emails, not just promotional blasts.

This guide gives you plug-and-play templates for the email campaigns every startup should have running, with real examples and copy guidance for each.

The Startup Email Marketing Stack

Before the templates: understand which email campaigns actually move the needle at different company stages.

Pre-revenue / seed stage: Welcome sequence, newsletter, product updates Post-launch / growth stage: All of the above + nurture sequences, win-back campaigns, referral campaigns Scaling stage: Segmented sequences by ICP, behavior-triggered campaigns, re-engagement flows

Most early-stage startups should focus on two or three campaigns done well rather than a dozen campaigns done poorly.

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Template 1: New Product Announcement Email

Use this when launching a new feature, product, or major update. Send to your full list unless you can segment to the most relevant users.

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Subject line options:

• [First name], we just shipped something you've been asking for
• New: [Feature Name] — now live for all users
• The [problem] you told us about? We fixed it.

Preview text: [2-3 words that extend or contrast the subject line]

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Body:

Hi [First name],

[Opening line: State what shipped. One sentence. Direct.]

Today we're launching [Feature/Product Name] — [one sentence describing what it does and the key benefit].

[Why you'll care about this]

[2-3 sentences explaining the problem this solves, from the user's perspective. Reference a pain point you've heard from users or collected in surveys.]

[What it looks like / how it works]

[2-3 sentences or a quick numbered list: "To get started: 1. [Step] 2. [Step] 3. [Step]"]

[CTA button: "Try [Feature Name] Now →"]

[Optional: supporting social proof — "500 beta users have already [outcome]."]

[Closing line: 1 sentence. Warm, human. Not "Sincerely," — something like "We'd love to hear what you think."]

[Signature]

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Length: 150-250 words. Product announcement emails should be short. You're announcing, not explaining. Link to a blog post or help doc for depth.

Timing: Send the morning of launch day (9-10am, recipient's time zone if you can segment). Send a follow-up "reminder" to non-openers 3-4 days later with a different subject line.

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Template 2: Educational / Value Email

The most important email type for building a long-term relationship with your list. Send one genuinely useful piece of content, with no hard sell.

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Subject line formula: [Specific, useful thing] for [specific audience]

Examples:

• A 20-minute content audit you can do right now
• The content calendar template we actually use
• Why most SaaS blog posts don't rank (and how to fix yours)

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Body:

Hi [First name],

[Hook: A question, stat, or observation that creates urgency or curiosity. 1-2 sentences max.]

[The value: Deliver the promised content. This can be:

• A short framework (3-4 bullet points with explanations)
• A quick how-to (numbered steps)
• A curated list (3-5 items with brief commentary on each)
• One insight explained thoroughly]

[Practical application: 1-2 sentences on how to use this right now.]

[Optional soft CTA: "If you want to [go deeper / automate this / do this at scale], [product name] can help. [Link.]"]

[Signature]

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Length: 200-400 words. Long enough to deliver real value; short enough to read in under 3 minutes.

Cadence: Weekly is the gold standard for most startups. Bi-weekly is fine if weekly isn't sustainable. Monthly is too infrequent to build habit and relationship.

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Template 3: Re-engagement Campaign (Win-Back Email)

For subscribers who haven't opened in 60-90 days, or users who signed up but never activated.

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Subject line options:

• Still interested in [goal your product helps with]?
• It's been a while — here's what you missed
• Should we keep sending you emails, [First name]?
• We're going to remove you from our list unless...

The last option is counterintuitive — it often generates high re-engagement because it creates urgency without being aggressive.

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Body (3-email sequence over 10 days):

Email 1 (Day 1):

Hi [First name],

It looks like you haven't [opened our emails / logged in to [Product]] in a while.

We don't want to keep sending emails you're not finding useful, so we want to check in: still interested in hearing from us about [topic/product]?

If yes, here's what's new that might be relevant to you: [2-3 bullet points of recent value — new features, new content, relevant news]

[Button: "Yes, keep me subscribed →"]

If you'd rather unsubscribe, there's always the link at the bottom.

[Signature]

Email 2 (Day 5) — sent only to non-responders:

Subject: One more thing before we say goodbye, [First name]

[Short, direct. 3-4 sentences max. Reference something specific and valuable. Hard CTA to re-engage.]

Email 3 (Day 10) — final email:

Subject: This is the last email we'll send you

[2-3 sentences: we're removing you from the list unless they click. Simple CTA. Genuine.]

After sending Email 3, remove non-responders from your active list. A smaller, engaged list is always better than a large, unengaged one — for deliverability and for the relationship.

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Template 4: Referral / Word-of-Mouth Campaign

For activating your existing users to drive new signups.

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Subject line: You + a friend in [their industry/role]? Here's an offer.

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Body:

Hi [First name],

[Personalized opener: Reference something specific about their usage — a milestone they hit, a feature they use frequently, their company type. Even rough segmentation here dramatically improves response rates.]

We're building [Product] specifically for people like you — [ICP description]. And the best way for us to find more of them is through people who already get it.

If you know someone who'd benefit from [Product], here's what's in it for both of you:

• You get: [Specific reward — credit, free months, cash, feature access]
• They get: [Specific incentive for signing up through your link]

Your referral link: [Link]

[Optional: 1 sentence on why you set up the referral program — "We'd rather invest in existing users than in ads."]

[Signature]

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Template 5: Customer Story / Social Proof Email

Use when you have a compelling customer story, case study, or result worth sharing.

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Subject line: How [Company/Name] [specific result]

Examples:

• How Finmark cut their content production time by 60%
• Why Lark went from 0 to 50K organic readers in 6 months

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Body:

Hi [First name],

[One-sentence introduction to the customer: who they are, what they do, what they were struggling with.]

[The story: 3-5 sentences. The challenge → what they tried → why it wasn't working → how they found/started using your product → the result. Be specific. Specific results ("40% fewer support tickets") are 10x more credible than vague ones ("dramatically improved their workflow").]

"[Pull quote from the customer — their words, not yours]" — [Name, Title, Company]

[Transition to the reader: "If you're dealing with a similar challenge, [one-sentence bridge to your product or a related resource]."

[CTA: "Read [Company]'s full story →" / "See how [Product] can do the same for you →"]

[Signature]

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Email Campaign Metrics Benchmarks

Know what good looks like before you optimize:

Metric	Below Average	Industry Average	Strong
Open rate	< 20%	21-28%	> 35%
Click-through rate	< 2%	2-5%	> 8%
Unsubscribe rate	> 0.5%	0.1-0.3%	< 0.1%
Reply rate (if solicited)	< 1%	3-5%	> 8%

B2B SaaS tends to run higher on all metrics vs. B2C. Segment benchmarks by list size — smaller, more targeted lists often see 40-50%+ open rates.

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Email Deliverability Basics

Even the best template fails if it lands in spam. The fundamentals:

1. Warm up your sending domain. Don't start sending to 5,000 people on day one. Ramp from 50 → 200 → 500 → 1,000+ over 4-6 weeks.
2. Use a custom domain. Never send marketing email from a Gmail or free address.
3. Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. Most ESPs walk you through this — don't skip it.
4. Clean your list regularly. Remove bounces immediately. Run a re-engagement campaign for inactive subscribers every 90 days.
5. Avoid spam trigger words. "Free," "Guaranteed," "Act now" — these trigger spam filters. Write naturally; the filters are increasingly sophisticated at detecting intent, not just keywords.

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Further Reading

• develop your email marketing strategy
• 15 high-converting email campaign examples
• Averi's AI copywriter for email content

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should a startup send marketing emails?

For an educational/newsletter email: weekly is optimal for most audiences, bi-weekly if weekly isn't sustainable. For product updates: send them when you ship meaningful updates — don't manufacture fake updates just to maintain cadence. For nurture sequences: space emails 3-7 days apart. The biggest mistake is inconsistency — irregular, sporadic sending is harder to recover from than a steady moderate cadence.

Should I use plain text or HTML emails?

It depends on the email type. Plain text emails (or minimal HTML) tend to outperform highly designed HTML for relationship-building and nurture emails — they feel more personal. Feature announcement emails often benefit from a header image and button styling. Test both in your context. Many startups find that their most-replied-to emails are the plainest ones.

How do I grow my email list without paid ads?

The highest-leverage free channels: a lead magnet (template, checklist, free tool) promoted in your blog posts and social media; a pop-up or slide-in on your site offering the lead magnet; sharing valuable content snippets on LinkedIn/Twitter with a "get the full guide via email" CTA; guest posts on other publications with a bio link to your email signup; and community participation (Slack groups, subreddits) where you genuinely help people and mention your newsletter.

What email platform should a startup use?

For early stage (under 1,000 subscribers): Beehiiv or Mailchimp free tier. For growth stage: ConvertKit, Klaviyo (e-commerce), or ActiveCampaign. For product-driven lifecycle email: Customer.io or Braze. The decision depends on your primary use case — newsletter, product lifecycle emails, or marketing automation. Don't over-invest in platform complexity before you have content and cadence figured out.

How do I reduce unsubscribes?

Set clear expectations at signup (what you'll send, how often). Segment your list so people only receive content relevant to them. Deliver genuine value in every email — not just promotional content. Offer a "frequency preference" option so people can choose how often they hear from you before unsubscribing entirely. And never buy email lists — purchased lists have terrible engagement and destroy deliverability.