How to Add a Countdown Timer to an Email - 15+ …
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1. Nordstrom – The Early Access for Members 1. Nordstrom – The Early Access for Members
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Nordstrom’s email promoted early access for fashion rewards members. The copy “Early Access Starts Tomorrow” was highlighted with green color which helped to communicate the purpose of the message instantly.
This type of email gives us the illusion of belonging to an exclusive group. That’s why it’s so powerful. It can be a great part of your loyalty program.
This email also contained the shortcuts to the landing pages. The easier the shopping experience is, the better.
A good Early Bird email with countdown timer also gives the recipients time to prepare for the big day.
It’s not likely that they would jump into impulsive shopping just before payday. By using this strategy, you can also win some time and send a couple of later. These emails may increase the chances of converting the recipients into customers.
Tip:
Make your countdown timer stand out. The example above shows that the clock can be easily overlooked if it’s not designed properly.
2. Finish Line – The Product Launch 2. Finish Line – The Product Launch
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Finishline promoted their new shoes in their newsletter. As the most important information, the image of the sneakers and the timer were placed at the beginning of the email ensuring that the recipients would see it even if they didn’t scroll down.
Finishline also lists the matching clothes. It’s a brilliant way of upselling here.
Tip:
When you want to upsell, make sure the products you offer are relevant to the main item you promote.
3. Bass Pro Shops – Free Shipping Baby 3. Bass Pro Shops – Free Shipping Baby
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The message is short and straightforward. The no minimum limit is definitely motivating for the customers. By using a code to redeem, we can easily track how our campaign performs.
People love free shipping. When we shop, we try to make rational choices to avoid regret later.
Customers don´t have to pay shipping costs in the shops. Thus, it may be difficult for them to understand the concept of shipping charges. Why would they buy online if the cost is higher? It wouldn’t make sense.
But if the shipping is free? In this case, people might be more likely to say: hell yeah, I want to shop online!
They can avoid the annoying queue and save time. And they get something for FREE! What is it if not a rational choice?
Tip:
Use active verbs to encourage the readers to act. For example, use the words: hurry up or order now. You also make their lives easier if you place a Shop Now button in your email so they can start shopping right away.
4. Currys PC World – Sale Ends Soon 4. Currys PC World – Sale Ends Soon
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Currys PC World’s email put pressure on the recipients by saying that the offer was going to end tomorrow. It was a now or never kind of deal.
The black background of the timer was a creative way to reflect on Currys’ Black Tag event.
The final reductions implied that the products were at the lowest possible price.
They featured three items. Some examples with the deducted price and the value of the discount code were also shown.
To provide a seamless experience they also showed categories and additional advantages such as free delivery and free collection.
Tip:
Use this technique in your when you send to your recipients. It builds a real sense of urgency. Remind your customers that they have only 1 day to purchase and get a great discount.
5. British Airways – The Holiday to Book 5. British Airways – The Holiday to Book
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In this email from British Airways, passengers see how they could benefit from their memberships.
Fantastic destinations were recommended in the email, which helped make the hard decision (life is hard for some people).
In this case, the flight company decided to upsell by offering their luxury packages at a discount price.
Tip:
Use high-quality images in your email templates. significantly grew when they started to employ professional photographers to take pictures of them. It can work for you too.
6. Farfetch – The abandoned shopping cart 6. Farfetch – The abandoned shopping cart
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The reminder email of Farfetch is a great example of bringing your customers back to their shopping carts. It wasn’t just a reminder but a free shipping offer that utilized the data they had.
The basic black and white colors gave a clean and sophisticated look, and the red countdown timer was eye-catching.
Tip:
If the items in the shopping cart became cheaper, send an email to the customer saying that the product they “forgot” to buy is on sale.
7. Neil Patel – Registration for webinar 7. Neil Patel – Registration for webinar
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Using countdown clock can help create a buzz for your event. This email shows that the countdown clocks fit plain text emails as well. This type of email is successful because of its simplicity; that’s why the black and white clock was a good choice to use.
Tip:
You can use this method in your plain text as well, to increase the number of participants.
8. Whistlefish – Buy One Get One Half Price 8. Whistlefish – Buy One Get One Half Price
Source: The designer of this beautiful piece made an effort to create an email that aligned with the branding.
The background of the timer harmonized with the color of the leaves and gave an artistic, gentle look.
Whistlefish encouraged the use of the code PRINT so they could see if the campaign was successful.
Tip:
Make sure you use the colors of your brand. If you have a graphic designer in your team, let them do the creative stuff.9. The Body Shop – Get a Massive £25% Off 9. The Body Shop – Get a Massive £25% Off
Source: The Body Shop created a really colorful yet classy email. Using black and white colors gave a solid structure throughout the whole newsletter.
The main message was that you could save 25 quid. Shopping ASAP may seem a more rational decision, because the customer could see how much they could actually save.
The post-purchase evaluation would be more positive, and it’s something that comforts your customers.
The newsletter also included a Christmas game, which was a clever way of upselling. To win a luxury holiday break, the customer had to become a member of the Your Body Club. Every transaction made was one entry to the competition.
Tip:
Experiment with the colors carefully. Learn the first, to avoid a cluttered look.10. Hoseasons – The Flash Sale 10. Hoseasons – The Flash Sale Source: Hoseasons’ email contained a clock that showed the remaining time by thin, red ticking lines around the clocks.
They emphasized that it was their biggest flash sale ever and offered £50 on their selected breaks. They used two different widgets for the 2017 and 2018 offers so they could approach two different audiences.
Tip:
Be careful when you include more than one offer in your email. It can be confusing and less relevant to your recipients.11. Personal Creations – The Last Minute Offer 11. Personal Creations – The Last Minute Offer
Source: This email combined graphic design and email marketing in a playful way.
If you check out , you see that design of this email is nailing it. It’s creative, family friendly and has positive vibes.
Tip:
Be yourself. Show the personality of your brand in your emails.12. Movember – Let’s save the world 12. Movember – Let’s save the world
Source: If it’s November, mustaches start to grow for Movember, a movement to raise awareness and raise money for conditions that cause men to die at a young age.
This is a great example of non-profit organizations using countdowns. This email encouraged discussing health with men and gave tips on looking after your new (probably temporary) mustache.
I reckon some men really look forward to shaving as soon as possible. So, it makes sense to use the time to show how much time they have to collect money to the charity and when they can finally get rid of their mustaches.
Tip:
Create a buzz by using a hashtag, just like Movember did. It creates excitements and helps to create a community.13. Odeon – Black Friday 13. Odeon – Black Friday Source: is about big sales which almost every business provides. The timers in your emails give the impression of vanishing discounts and deals. Who would want to miss them?
Odeon’s Black Friday teaser looks like a great movie billboard. They built up the interest first, so people knew some free money was on the way. They could browse the movies in the meantime and get ready. Once they received the actual offer from Odeon, they could make their booking quickly.
Odeon also inserted a Facebook sharing button which is the best way to encourage your readers to share the offer or invite friends to the cinema.
Tip:
Send your email in time, give people the opportunity to prepare themselves and tell their friends about your offer.14. Blue Mercury – The limited product launch 14. Blue Mercury – The limited product launch
The recipients of the Blue Mercury’s email could feel a little bit special and get something that wasn’t available for anyone.
This email aimed to build real urgency. It’s quite rare that you could have access to a product for one single day.
Motivating gifts and free shipping are also included in the newsletter.
The embedded Google map showed the recipients where the nearest shops were.
Tip:
Drive people to your stores by using embedded maps. Remember that a seamless shopping experience is necessary to increase your profit.
These can help you to come up with a great design.15. Asos – Everything is on sale 15. Asos – Everything is on sale It’s very clear that Asos was running a 20% site-wide discount. They used the phrase “20% Off Everything” three times! This unorthodox approach probably wouldn’t come to our mind, but it works.
Asos also offered free shipping, but they hid it in the right corner.
Again, the promo code is essential if you want to track your marketing effort. How would you know if customers purchased because they stumbled upon your website or rather because the email you sent was successful?
Tip:
If you have an extra offer to add, don’t “hide” it. Make sure the copy can be seen.
NOTE: If you still haven’t found an example or design that you want to use in your campaigns, you can take a look at our email template collection with already pre-designed templates.
Access the The advantage of using countdown timers in your email is priceless.
Dynamic countdown timers in emails are fantastic tools to communicate your offers and encourage your customers to take action quickly.
Using these timers in your email will increase the conversion rate because people don’t want to miss out and know they have a limited time to act.
Although customers tend to make irrational purchase decisions, most of the time we can make our best to trigger the rational part of their brain. Triggering the sense of urgency is the best way to kill hesitance and turn those shopping carts into money.
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