Promotional Email Subject Lines: 70 for Launches, Discounts and Last Chances

"SALE" in capitals tells a subscriber almost nothing. What's off, and until when?

Good promotional email subject lines state the offer and the deadline in plain words. Our advice is to keep them to about 40 characters: "20% off everything until Sunday", "Free shipping ends tonight". The pre-header then adds the detail the subject line had no room for, like the code, the cutoff time or what's included. Below are 70 subject lines, each paired with its pre-header.

They work as sale email subject lines for any kind of promotion, and they are grouped by the job the email does, from launches to abandoned carts. The products and prices are made up; swap in your own.

These are the rules that make a promotional subject line work.

1. Lead with the offer. Phones show only the start of a subject line: in Email Tool Tester's tests, the cut came at 33 characters in the Gmail app on a Google Pixel 7 and 48 in Apple Mail on an iPhone 14 (Email Tool Tester). 49 of the 70 lines here fit in 33 characters.

2. Say when it ends, and mean it. "Until Sunday" gives people a reason to act now, if it's true.

3. Be specific. "$15 off your next order" tells the reader more than "A little something for you".

4. Keep the punctuation calm. Litmus recommends no more than 9 words and around 60 characters, warns that all caps and exclamation points are often associated with spam, and suggests one or two emoji at most (Litmus).

Write them in sentence case, so they read like a note rather than a banner ad (see subject line capitalization).

These subject lines announce a launch.

Give people one reason to look today, like a subscriber perk or launch price.

These discount email subject lines lead with the number.

Put the number first, so readers can judge the deal without opening.

On a $40 order, "$10 off" and "25% off" are the same deal. Test which reads better to your list.

These subject lines offer free shipping.

Answer the obvious follow-up: is there a minimum, and when does it stop?

These subject lines run a flash sale.

The window belongs in the subject line: "4 hours" is clearer than "limited time".

These subject lines create real urgency.

In a last-chance email the deadline is the news, so put it first.

Fake urgency can also draw a regulator's attention: the FTC's 2022 dark patterns report names "countdown timers on offers that are not actually time-limited" (FTC). If you write "We won't extend it", don't.

These subject lines give early access.

Early access rewards your subscribers with a head start. Say how long it lasts.

These subject lines announce a restock or a price drop.

These go to people who wanted a specific product, so name it.

See it in Spreeflo: a broadcast can resend automatically to people who didn't open, with its own subject line, which is a natural slot for the last-chance line. A separate follow-up can go to people who opened but didn't click (each person gets at most one). See how broadcasts, campaigns and journeys differ →

These subject lines fit Black Friday, holidays and seasonal sales.

Around a holiday, lead with the date or delivery cutoff.

These abandoned cart email subject lines bring shoppers back.

Lead with the product, then help: answer a question, fix a checkout problem, or say how long the cart is saved. We'd keep any discount for the last email, so people don't learn to abandon carts for a code.

We'd start with three emails: a reminder within hours, help a day later, and an offer or "your cart clears tomorrow" after that. In Spreeflo, the journey starts with the Custom Event trigger on an event your store sends when someone starts checkout. A Wait Condition gives them time to finish, and an If/Else on the purchase event drops buyers out before the next email. Event triggers and event filters are Professional, so cart recovery needs Professional. More on our cart abandonment page.

Here is how to pair each subject line with a pre-header.

The pre-header, or preview text, is the line next to or under the subject line in the inbox. Litmus recommends keeping it under 90 characters. Leave it blank and email clients typically pull the first lines of copy in your email instead, which can be image alt text or a "View this email in your browser" link (Litmus).

The pre-headers here run from 38 to 80 characters. Each adds what the subject line couldn't fit: the fine print, the exact deadline, what's included, or an answer to a doubt like returns. Never repeat the subject line, and put the key words first.

In Spreeflo, subject lines and preview text both take Liquid:

{{ contact.first_name | default: "Hi" }}, your 25% member price ends at midnight on Thursday.

A missing value renders as nothing, so always set a default. The Liquid guide lists every variable and filter.

These are the sale subject lines to avoid.

In the US, CAN-SPAM also requires the subject line to "accurately reflect the content of the message" (FTC).

Here is how to test a sale subject line.

In a Spreeflo campaign, a Random Split step sends a random half of the list down each of two paths, each with its own Send Email and subject line. Test one change at a time, like percent against dollars.

Judge by clicks or revenue, not opens: Apple's Mail Privacy Protection downloads remote content in the background whether or not the email is read (Apple). With Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, Polar or Paddle connected, Spreeflo shows the revenue each email brought in.

The broader point

A sale subject line is a short promise: this is the offer, this is when it ends. Keep it and the next one gets opened. Break it and your list learns to wait you out.

Build this in Spreeflo

Broadcasts with automatic follow-ups, A/B splits and revenue per email start on Starter at $16 a month. Cart recovery from your store's events, popups and web push are on Professional, from $24. It's 2 to 3x more affordable than Mailchimp.

Start free, no card → · See cart abandonment in Spreeflo

Common questions

What is a good subject line for a sale?

One that states the offer and the deadline in plain words, like "20% off everything until Sunday". We'd keep it to about 40 characters, with the offer in the first 33. Use the pre-header for the code, the cutoff time or what's included.

How do you write promotional email subject lines?

Start with the offer, add when it ends, and cut everything else. Write in sentence case, keep punctuation light, and pair it with a pre-header that adds something new. Every line on this page is 39 characters or fewer.

Do emojis help sale subject lines?

They can, but use one at most and test it. Litmus suggests one or two at most, and Google's sender guidelines warn against using emojis to deceive recipients, such as placing one next to a brand name to imply it's verified. We left them out of the 70 lines; if you add one, put it at the end of a line that already makes sense.

Read these next

• Email subject lines: 150+ examples sorted by the job they do

• Business email subject lines: 80 examples for every kind of work email

• Should email subject lines be capitalized? Title case vs sentence case

• Mailchimp vs Klaviyo: price, automation and which fits your store

• Klaviyo pricing: every plan and what 10,000 marketing contacts really costs

• Email Marketing Bible, chapter 7: Words that work

Sources

• Email Tool Tester: Email subject lines character limits, read 28 October 2026

• Litmus: Email subject line best practices, read 28 October 2026

• Litmus: The ultimate guide to preview text support, read 28 October 2026

• Google: Email sender guidelines, read 27 October 2026

• FTC: CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide for business, read 27 October 2026

• FTC: Bringing Dark Patterns to Light (staff report, September 2022), read 27 October 2026

• Apple: Mail Privacy Protection & Privacy, read 27 October 2026