Creative August Newsletter Ideas To Engage Your Subscribers

Key events to use for your August newsletter

Here’s a look at some of the most exciting and significant holidays in August, organized by week. Explore our list for inspiring newsletter ideas and examples to help you engage your subscribers with timely content. Please note that most of the national holidays below refer to the United States. 

First week of August

National Girlfriends Day

Celebrate National Girlfriends Day on August 1. Overall, this holiday is a fantastic opportunity for marketers working in e-commerce, as you can offer your audience discounts on gifts they could give their girlfriends, and almost any product can be a gift. 

For example, here’s a National Girlfriends Day email marketing campaign from Democracy, a brand that sells denim. It highlights one product and cleverly ties it to the theme of relationships between girlfriends. 

World Wide Web Day 

World Wide Web Day is also celebrated on August 1. If you’re working as an email marketer for a tech business or an electronics brand, this day could be a perfect chance to offer promotions or discounts to your subscribers. Alternatively, you could prompt them to download your app if you have one. 

The email below, however, proves that World Wide Web Day can be a part of your email marketing campaign’s content no matter the industry. Choice Home Warranty chose to use this opportunity to provide a $50 discount to its audience.

National Watermelon Day

Get ready for National Watermelon Day on August 3. Food-related holidays are a great opportunity for e-commerce businesses to launch relevant discount deals or to simply communicate with their customers. For example, you could ask your customers to share their favorite recipes using watermelons or post pictures of watermelons on social media and tag your brand. 

To mark this occasion, skincare brand Glow Recipe sent the subscribers a marketing email offering the entire watermelon skincare range as a gift if they spend $120 or more.

Second week of August

National Sisters Day

National Sisters Day, celebrated on the first Sunday of August, falls on August 4 this year. Reach out to your subscribers reminding them to mark the occasion and buy presents for their sisters. This is a good idea for businesses in all sectors of online retail, from beauty and clothing to books and athletic equipment. The important thing is to connect the email content to the holiday.

Here’s an example of a National Sisters Day email marketing campaign from eyewear store Jonas Paul:

National Book Lovers Day

National Book Lovers Day, held on 9 August, could be a great chance for you to connect with your audience. If your business sells books of any kind, now is the time to remind your subscribers about them or offer any relevant discounts in your email marketing newsletters. If you want to send a content marketing email, you can give reading recommendations or make a list of the blog posts you have on the topic.

Even if you’re not in charge of marketing for a bookshop, you could still make use of this day. Have a look at how KraveBeauty decided to build a deeper connection with its audience on this day.

International Cat Day

International Cat Day is held on August 9. Obviously, if your store sells goods for pets, this is a great opportunity for a campaign encouraging your customers to buy cat-related items. Even if you’re working in a different industry, you could still use this day to foster a deeper connection with your audience by asking them to share pictures of their cats.

Here’s a great email campaign from home goods brand UnHide. The content idea is simple yet effective — photographs of cute pets attract attention and bring positivity.

World Lion Day

Another feline-themed day, World Lion Day is celebrated on 10 August. This holiday seeks to raise awareness about the conservation of lions and their habitats. In your newsletter, consider informing your audience about the cause or running a charity event. You could also introduce limited-edition lion-themed products, like special merchandise or new designs of existing items featuring lions.

Third week of August

International Youth Day

International Youth Day is an awareness day that takes place on August 12. Designated by the United Nations, it seeks to bring attention to legal and cultural issues young people are facing. The UN defines youth as people between the ages of 15 to 24, so consider offering discounts on products for the members of this demographic in your newsletter!

For example, this email campaign from the wellness brand Vici offers a 15% discount on all of the brand’s products for International Youth Day.

National Relaxation Day

National Relaxation Day is held on August 15. If you’re in charge of marketing for a store that sells homeware, consider running a promotion on items people use to relax — anything from sofas to candles. For a campaign focused on content, write recommendations for healthy sleep or relaxation techniques people could use at home. 

If you’re selling loungewear, National Relaxation Day (together with National Lazy Day on August 10) could be one of the most important days of the year for you! Announce a competition prompting your audience to share pictures of them relaxing in your brand’s clothing and arrange a giveaway for the winners.

For example, the email campaign below offers information about quilts for National Relaxation Day:

National Thrift Shop Day

As the name may suggest, National Thrift Shop Day, which is recognized annually on August 17, promotes shopping second-hand. Use this opportunity to inform your audience about the importance of sustainable consumption and case studies on thrifting, as well as about your own initiatives in this field. This would be especially impactful for clothing shops that resell used items.

For this campaign, a clothing brand collaborated with a thrift store for an eco-aware promotion.

Fourth week of August

World Photography Day

World Photography Day is celebrated on August 19. Inspire your subscribers to share their best snaps tagging you on social media and offer a giveaway for the best photo. You could also run promotions on photography-related items such as cameras, photography equipment, and frames.

World Humanitarian Day

World Humanitarian Day takes place every August 19. It aims to raise awareness of the work of humanitarians around the world. If your organization supports different charities, why not inform your audience of this in a newsletter? Alternatively, consider donating a percentage of the earnings you make during the fourth week of August and don’t forget to mention this in your newsletter too.

Here’s an email campaign from a jewelry brand Dinny Hall promoting their suffragette line and informing the audience about the company’s charitable donations.

National Tooth Fairy Day

Celebrate National Tooth Fairy Day on August 22 (and February 28). This day would be particularly useful for marketers working in the medical field, especially in dentistry — use this opportunity to remind your customers to come in for their regular check-in and maybe even offer presents to kids who lost their teeth this week! 

Check out this National Tooth Fairy Day email from Quip featuring deals on children’s toothbrushes.

National Waffle Day

Yet another food-based holiday on our list, National Waffle Day is celebrated on August 24. Ask your audience to share any waffle-based stories and recipes and offer discounts on related products. This strategy would also lend itself well to restaurants — just set up a waffle brunch on August 24 and invite your subscribers via a newsletter.

Here’s an example of how you could promote your waffle-themed products in an email marketing campaign:

Fifth week of August

International Dog Day

International Dog Day, celebrated on August 26, is a fantastic opportunity to reach out to the dog lovers in your audience. This is obviously most relevant to companies selling products for pets, but other businesses can capitalize on this too. Invite dog owners to your restaurant, for example.

World Rock Paper Scissors Day

Add extra interactivity to your emails for World Rock Paper Scissors Day on August 27. For example, add an interactive game of rock-paper-scissors to your email and offer a discount if your client wins.

National Beach Day

The National Beach Day is celebrated on August 30. With summer drawing to a close, invite your audience to share their best beach snaps on social media or offer the last deals of the year on beach-related products. 

Here’s how you could market your beach-related products this summer:

August event calendar to use for your newsletter inspiration

Don’t like any of the newsletter ideas above? Check out this handy calendar we’ve prepared for you. It includes even more events and holidays every day.

August newsletter ideas for week-long events

Aside from daily events, there are several week-long events in August you can use to send emails.

National Cleanse Your Skin Week (August 1-7)

National Cleanse Your Skin Week, which takes place the first week of August, is an especially important event for skincare and beauty brands as well as beauticians. Consider informing your clients of your skincare products and offering deals. Aside from promotions, you could also send informative and interactive newsletters about skincare — for example, a quiz that helps the respondent identify their skin type and pick the best skincare products.

Elvis Week (August 9-17)

King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley died on August 16th, 1977, and his estate celebrates Elvis Week on August 9-17 every year. This event could be important for streaming platforms and music stores. If you’re working as a marketer for a cinema, invite your subscribers to screenings of movies about Elvis. This is also a great opportunity for travel agents and transportation companies to announce deals for Elvis-themed events all over Tennessee, mainly in Memphis.

Be Kind to Humankind Week (August 25-31)

Be Kind to Humankind Week is celebrated in the last week of August. Use this opportunity to inform your audience about the causes your brand supports — you could encourage them to donate and pledge to match their donations. Alternatively, you could donate a share of your proceeds this week to charity. 

This is also a prime marketing opportunity not just for those working in retail, but also nonprofits. Want to learn more about humanitarian marketing? Check out our best campaign ideas for nonprofits.

August newsletter topics for month-long events

Black Business Month

Black Business Month is about celebrating and supporting Black entrepreneurs and businesses. As an e-commerce brand, you can highlight Black-owned brands, share stories, host giveaways, offer educational content, and create special products in collaboration with Black-owned businesses. It’s a great way to show your support for diversity and inclusion.

Here’s a great email example from a beauty e-commerce brand Thirteen Lune:

American Artist Appreciation Month

Invite your audience to celebrate American artists with you this August. If you’re working at a gallery, an auction house, or a store selling paintings, inform your subscribers about the pieces of American art you have in stock. 

Back to School Month

Back to School Month is a marketer’s dream as it’s relevant to so many industries. Inform your prospects and customers about your products, offer student discounts, and promote bundle deals. Make sure you start your campaign on time to reap the most benefits and check out our top back-to-school newsletter ideas!

Family Fun Month

Invite your subscribers to show appreciation for their families during this August’s Family Fun Month. Much like with Back to School Month, there are plenty of opportunities for different e-commerce businesses here. You could offer discounts on family products such as board games or include a gift guide in your newsletters.

Brownies at Brunch Month

Yet another food-related event, Brownies at Brunch Month could be an opportunity for you to get to know your audience better. Why not ask your subscribers to submit their favorite brownie recipes? For restaurants, this is a perfect opportunity to launch a limited, August-only brunch menu featuring brownies and share this information via an email newsletter.

National Language Month

August is also known as National Language Month, so why not check out whether you have any foreign learners among your audience? If you’re selling books, online courses, or even travel packages, consider informing your subscribers about this occasion.

Subject lines to use in your campaign

Subject lines are essential for the success of your email campaign. Even if you’re sending a newsletter about this month’s holiday or other relevant topics, you need to entice your subscribers to motivate them to open the email. Here are some ideas for your August email subject lines:

• August is [holiday name] month. Celebrate with us!
• It’s [holiday] today 💫
• [Name], [holiday] gift is on us 🎁
• [Name], the [holiday] is here!
• [Holiday] sale is on 🔥🔥🔥 

And here are a few examples from real brands:

• Shop back to school with Deliveroo 📚🧃(Deliveroo)
• 25% OFF for National Relaxation Day (Jibby)
• Celebrate the American Artist in August (Santa Clara County Library District)
• Back To School Essentials (Rifle Paper Co.)

Tips to make your August newsletter even more effective

After you’ve decided on the events you’re going to include in your email newsletter schedule, it’s time to prepare your campaigns. We’ve got a few helpful ideas and tips for you!

Use a compelling subject line

The subject line will be the first thing the recipient will see in their email inbox, so you have to make sure it stands out. Keep it brief (no more than 40 characters, ideally), including a call-to-action (CTA), and make it relevant — for example, use the words “Back to School sale” in the back-to-school subject line for your campaign.

Use templates for email design

Designing emails is a key part of any email marketing campaign, but it can be time-consuming — you should try using email templates to save time. Many platforms like Selzy offer holiday-themed templates with ready-made layouts making it easier to prepare your emails. Templates are also usually responsive, so you can be sure your emails are optimized for mobile devices.

Keep it relevant with segmentation

Earlier in the article, we suggested offering discounts to specific demographics — namely, young people. How can you make sure your email is sent to the right set of people? The answer is segmentation. 

Email segmentation is the process of dividing your email list into smaller groups based on shared characteristics like interests or behaviors. As a result, you can send more personalized and relevant messages to each group. To do this, use information like age, location, purchase history, or engagement with past emails to divide your subscribership.

Track the performance

How can you measure the success of an email campaign? Well, there are many metrics to monitor including open rates, click-through rates, deliverability rate, and bounce rates. You can use an email service provider like Selzy to keep track of all of them. With this data, you can make data-driven decisions, change and adapt your email marketing strategy to make even more effective campaigns going forward.

Final thoughts

August might not be the busiest month of the year as far as holidays and events are concerned, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the most of it. Pick the holidays you want to celebrate with your subscribers and get started with the help of our August newsletter ideas. And for the rest of the year, check our holiday marketing calendar for other key events you won’t want to miss!