September Newsletter Ideas Your Subscribers Will Fall For

Key events to use for your September newsletter

Here are some interesting and important holidays in September, organized by week. Check out our list for email marketing newsletter ideas and examples to keep your subscribers interested. Please note that most of the national holidays below refer to the United States.

First week of September

Labor Day

Labor Day is one of the most important holidays in the United States, and it’s celebrated on the first Monday of September. This year, it falls on September 2. This holiday honors workers and their contributions to the country with parades, picnics, and a day off from work. 

Labor Day is a goldmine for email marketers — use this opportunity to inform your customers about any sales you might be running at the moment. Better yet, announce a dedicated Labor Day or end-of-summer promotion. For example, check out this Labor Day marketing email from cosmetics brand Pauli and Sisters:

National Cheese Pizza Day

National Cheese Pizza Day is celebrated on September 5. If you’re running email marketing for an Italian or a pizza restaurant, this is one of the most important days of the year for you.  Don’t forget to reach out to your subscribers and invite them to place an order. Even if you’re not in this line of business, you can ask your audience to share their favorite pizza recipes. 

This is how international pizza restaurant chain Papa John’s reached out to their customers on National Cheese Pizza Day:

World Beard Day

Celebrate World Beard Day on September 7. Marketers working for many sectors of e-commerce, for example, skincare, haircare, or tools for personal grooming, could make use of this occasion. 

Working for a hairdresser or a barber? Invite your bearded clients for a discounted trim on  September 7. Finally, you can share a content marketing newsletter with stories about the latest beard fashion if you’re working for a men’s magazine.

Second week of September

National Teddy Bear Day

National Teddy Bear Day, held on September 9, can help you connect with the parents among your subscribers. Of course, stores that sell toys would benefit the most from this holiday by providing information about teddy bears currently on sale and offering discounts. However, even if you’re not in this line of business, you could also run promotions on any other products featuring teddy bears — such as books or clothing.

Happiest Baby, a company specializing in products and services for newborns, offered a 30% discount on their teddy-shaped product:

National Video Games Day

National Video Games Day is celebrated on September 12.  As the name suggests, you can offer discounts on any video games you sell. However, any tech e-commerce business can benefit from observing National Video Games Day too — reach out to the video gamers among your subscribers and market any products they may find useful. This includes gaming laptops, headphones, keyboards, or speakers. 

Not in the tech field? You can still make the best of this holiday. Check out an email below from watch brand Barton. 

Stand Up To Cancer Day

Stand Up To Cancer Day is observed every second Friday of September, on September 13 this year. This day is dedicated to creating and raising cancer awareness. On this day, inform your audience about the importance of regular screenings and donating to charities. You can also pledge to donate a percentage of your earnings from certain products to non-profits, which is what jewelry brand Little Words Project did:

Third week of September

National Guacamole Day

Another food-related holiday on our list, National Guacamole Day is celebrated on September 16. Share your favorite guacamole recipe with your subscribers or ask them for theirs to foster a deeper connection. You can also offer discounts on guacamole ingredients such as avocados or on tools for your audience to prepare the perfect guac. 

Check out this email from gardening company Brighter Blooms which is offering info on their avocado trees to mark National Guacamole Day:

U.S. Air Force Birthday

The U.S. Air Force was officially established on September 18, 1947, when President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act. So, the Air Force Birthday is observed every year on this date. If you have any Air Force veterans on your team, share their stories with your audience in a newsletter. 

You can also use this occasion to offer discounts on your products — check out the email below from Bottle Breacher:

National Fried Rice Day

National Fried Rice Day is observed on September 20. Restaurants, as well as grocery and homeware stores, should definitely make use of this holiday to reach out to their audiences with information about deals on relevant products: ingredients or utensils needed to make fried rice. Alternatively, share your favorite fried rice recipes and prompt your recipients to do the same on social media.

Check out this newsletter from cooking platform Truffle Shuffle:

Fourth week of September

American Business Women’s Day

American Business Women’s Day is a day to celebrate and recognize the achievements and contributions of women in the workforce. It’s observed on September 22, as this was the date the American Business Women’s Association was founded in 1949. 

If your business is women-owned, make sure you tell your customers about it! You can also advertise any women-run businesses your organization partners with. Check out this email from clothing retailer Unique Vintage as an example:

National Daughter’s Day

National Daughter’s Day is celebrated on September 25. E-commerce marketers can inform their audiences of discounts on gifts for their daughters, and pretty much any product can be a gift. This newsletter from clothing retailer Boston Proper features stories and photos of mothers and daughters as well as links to various products:

World Tourism Day

Since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organization has marked World Tourism Day on September 27. On this occasion, you can sell any product in your marketing emails — from something directly linked to travel like flights, tour packages, or cruises, to more tangentially related items like beachwear and tech like cameras. Here’s an example of a World Tourism Day newsletter from Scenic cruise lines:

Fifth week of September

National Coffee Day

Celebrate National Coffee Day on September 29. Reach out to your subscribers to let them know about any coffee-related products you sell — from coffee itself and coffee machines to books about coffee or any items featuring images of coffee beans.

Here’s how online organic coffee store Grounds and Hounds connected with their audience last year:

National Chewing Gum Day

The last but not the least holiday on our list, National Chewing Gum Day is celebrated on September 30. If you’re in charge of marketing for a company that sells sweets, gum, or even more broadly, groceries, use this day to tell your customers about your company’s chewing gum products. It could also be a good opportunity for dentists to remind their clients about the importance of dental hygiene and to invite them for an appointment. 

Check out this promotional email from online candy retailer Old Time Candy:

September event calendar to use for your newsletter inspiration

Don’t like any of the ideas for newsletters above? Take a look at this handy calendar we made for you. It has even more events and holidays for each day of September.

September newsletter ideas for week-long events

National Waffle Week (1-7 September)

The first week of September is National Waffle Week. Consider encouraging your audience to share waffle stories and recipes and offer discounts on related products. Restaurants can join in by hosting a waffle brunch and inviting subscribers via a marketing newsletter. 

National Arts in Education Week (8-14 September)

With September being the back-to-school month, we couldn’t help mentioning an education-related event. Celebrate National Arts in Education Week on 8-14 September by supporting your local schools and art galleries and sharing information about them with your subscribers via newsletters. In your marketing campaigns, you can highlight any arts-related products like art supplies or books.

National Singles Week (15-21 September)

National Singles Week is observed on September 15-21. There are many marketing approaches you could take here. If you’ve just developed a dating app, now is the perfect time to inform your subscribers about it. In charge of marketing for a restaurant? Throw a speed-dating event and invite your audience. Or, you could choose to celebrate singlehood and offer discounts on any products you’d recommend for single people.

September newsletter topics for month-long events

National Sewing Month

September is National Sewing Month, which is especially important for stores selling arts and crafts goods or any sewing appliances. Consider informing your clients of any relevant products and offering deals. 

Alternatively, if you’re in charge of marketing for an online clothing store, you can remind your customers of the importance of sustainability and share tips on how to mend their clothes at home. 

Baby Safety Month

September is also Baby Safety Month. Retailers selling baby products can benefit from the occasion with advertisements and maybe a few seasonal discounts. You can also offer baby safety tips on how to use a baby car seat, for example. Here’s how baby products retailer Magic Beans chose to promote their car seats for children in their marketing newsletter:

National Self-Care Awareness Month

National Self-Care Awareness Month is a relevant event for many e-commerce industries. Ask your audience to submit their favorite self-care tips or share some of your own. Don’t forget to carry out any relevant promotions or offer discounts — after all, many products could be considered part of self-care. 

In the marketing newsletter below, footwear brand Suavs suggests that mindful walking is self-care, shares tips, and advertises their shoes:

Subject lines to use in your campaign

Subject lines are crucial for your email campaigns’ success. Whether your newsletter is about this month’s holidays or other topics, you need to grab your subscribers’ attention to get them to open the email. Here are some ideas for your September email subject lines:

• September is [holiday name]. Let’s celebrate together!
• [Holiday name] sale is on now 🔥🔥🔥
• [Name], check out our end-of-summer deals 🍁
• [Name], your [holiday name] gift is inside!

And here are some of our favorites from real brands:

• Get up to 50% off this Labor Day [Masterclass]
• Labor Day staycay ⛱️ [HotelTonight]
• National Cheese Pizza Day: Join for Just $1 [Milk Street Kitchen]
• Up your guac game for National Guacamole Day [Brighter Blooms Nurseries]
• Take Gaming To The Next Level! 🎮 [Menkind]

Tips to make your September newsletter even more effective

Once you’ve chosen an event for your email newsletter, it’s time to plan your campaign. Here are some ideas and best practices to help your email marketing game go the extra mile!

Personalize your emails

Personalization can boost engagement and make your offers more relevant. For example, create personalized gift guides for holidays and use personalized subject lines in your marketing emails. You can also take it a step further by using personalization tokens or merge tags to address each recipient by name.

Employ impactful CTAs

A call-to-action (CTA) is a short text or button that prompts the recipients to do something: buy a product, sign up for a seminar, or check out a sale. You can use CTAs in the body of your email or in the subject line. To make the most out of them, use action words to explain what your audience needs to do and create urgency by adding words like “now” or “today.” 

Automate your campaign

Sending a few emails manually for a single holiday is easy. However, longer events need week-long or month-long campaigns, which are hard to keep track of on your own. The good news is that email automation can help you handle email campaigns efficiently and with little effort.

Build creative, memorable emails

Email design is important for every email marketing campaign, but it can be time-consuming. In addition to this, if you’re using a common email client like Outlook or Gmail, you’ll know that their design capabilities are pretty limited. Many email service providers like Selzy offer holiday-themed templates with ready-to-use content, saving you time. Email templates are an easy fix to all your email design issues and most of them are already optimized for mobile devices. Register in Selzy for free to choose from a variety of beautiful templates and send your emails in mere minutes! 

Final thoughts

The September holiday calendar is full of events to appeal to any email marketer. We hope we’ve inspired you to take action and create a seasonal email campaign! Check our holiday marketing calendar for other key events you won’t want to miss this year, and stay tuned for our October newsletter content ideas!