When it comes to email marketing, consumers scroll, swipe and click their way through hundreds, if not thousands, of messages each day. Consequently, the gap for capturing customer’s attention is narrowing considerably. Throw in a consumption-driven event like Valentine’s Day, when nearly every business out there is jumping into the marketing frenzy, and you’ve got your work cut out for you. What all eCommerce Managers should also keep in mind is that Valentine’s Day is the 2nd largest commercial day in the US, so you should totally spend some time on designing your Valentine’s email marketing strategy (btw, check out our Valentine’s Day email marketing guide!). That’s why having attention-grabbing Valentine’s Day email subject lines make all the difference.

The best Valentine’s Day Email Subject Lines to steal for 2020

To rise above the noise, it’ll take a combination of creativity, targeted messaging, timing, and intriguing lead-ins to get a consumer to pause for more than a second and notice your product or service. To spark a few inspirations, we’ve gathered some great ideas for 11 Valentine’s Day email subject lines to attract your ideal consumers. We’ve gone back and forth between messages for men and women since both are targets, so feel free to swap a “he” with a “she,” or vice versa, for your campaign (except for the last two).

1. Flowers Wilt and Chocolate Goes Straight to the Waist. We Can Do Better.

Why not take on the old standbys by offering up a better solution? Consumers are always on the lookout for new, fresh ideas for gift-giving holidays. And, this works for anyone who isn’t selling flowers and chocolate.

2. Give Her Something That’s Profile-Picture Worthy

Let’s face it, in today’s world, nothing is real until it’s posted up on social media. If you’re selling experiences, such as a remarkable cruise, getaway package or even dining experiences, appeal to the social media crowd. Get your customers to imagine the incredible photo opportunities they’ll have along the way.

3. Want a Gold Medal in Gift Giving?

The Winter Olympics are all over the airwaves, so why not tap into this marketing potential without having to pay the hefty price tag for those Olympic rings.

4. Create a Moment That Lasts a Lifetime

No, this idea is not particularly new. But in today’s fast-paced world, where things are increasingly fleeting and disposable, appealing to the consumer’s sense of impermanence may work in your favor. Whether you’re selling jewelry— or digital camera, tap into memory-making as a way to pitch it.

5. You Won’t Believe How Much He’ll Love This

Yes, it’s clickbait. And it helps if you do have a product or service to back it up. Nothing annoys consumers more than not delivering on a promise. But, if you’ve got the goods, clickbait does work.

6. Send a Little Self-Love on Valentine’s Day

Not everyone is in a happy relationship and this holiday serves as a bitter reminder. At the same time, movements that embrace the power of self-love are picking up steam. Why not tap into this by empowering the consumer to choose him or herself this year?

7. It’s Slightly More Romantic than a Vacuum Cleaner

All too often, marketers try and shove a square peg into a round hole when it comes to relating their products to the holiday at hand. Let’s face it, if you’re selling hammers and nails, just say so and be honest. Consumers appreciate honesty, and there are plenty of practical-minded folks out there who will like your idea.

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8. Roses are Red, Violets Are Blue, Why Not Give Him Something Shiny and New?

It’s hokey and hokey still works. Old-fashioned sentiment can bring a nostalgic smile to many faces and not every consumer is a millennial. Come to think of it, to millennials, this may be all new!

9. Show Her It’s About Love & Respect

This Valentine’s Day falls during a critical time when women are voicing themselves through the #metoo and #timesup movements. Now may not be the time for messaging that pushes forward a coddling tone. Instead, use an approach that underscores the value of women. Perfect for gifts – outdoor experiences, travel, sporting equipment – that aim to empower your significant other and show off some individualism.

10. This is the Day He Deserves This

Since women are demanding more respect, they’re more likely to show it in kind. And this subject line works for almost any product or service, from snowblowers to a fancy dinner.

50 more examples of effective Valentine’s Day Email Subject Lines:

We also created some catchy valentine’s day headlines that may help your skyrocket your email open rates in 2020:

💓She/He may be the reason you survive?
This will make her/him cry
[Valentine’s] X gifts for him/her
This will impress her/him 🏹
🎁 Don’t be usual. Check our gift proposals
Sick and tired of Valentine’s? [We feel you]
💕For your soulmate
She/He will definitely melt🏹
X adorable gift proposals to impress him/her
LOVEable gift ideas to drive her/him mad 💘
Share your love with a gift 🎁
Will YOU be mine? 💖
All the sweet deals for you!
Hello? Who’s there? Cupid is calling 🏹
A treat for both of you 💑
It’s never too late to find love & the perfect gift as well 🎁
The perfect gift for him/her is just around the corner!
Treat your soulmate as you should 💓
Don’t forget your fluffy love 🐶 🐱
Hurry! There is only a little Valen-TIME left!
Make Valentine’s really special 💍
With XX% off you will fall in love for sure!
Something sweet for your sweetheart 🍬💖
Feel the love with XX% off everything
Find Cupid in our store today 💘
Singles can celebrate too with XX% off!
The ultimate Valentine’s gift guide is here!
Only Cupid-approved gifts are allowed here 🎁
Show him/her that he/she is on your mind 💖
Make him/her fall in love all over again💘
Better than roses, better than chocolates…
These gifts want to be yours! 🎁
I choose YOU 💍
She/He will be truly yours💘
Love is in the air 💓
If you wanna know what love is…
Love him/her like you do 💑
PS. I love you…
Stand by them this Valentine’s Day 💑
You don’t have to find love in a hopeless place 🎁
He/She can’t help falling in love with you 🎁
For your lobster this Valentine’s
Spend a wonderful tonight with him/her
Crazy in love, crazy in sales!
Someone like you only gives the perfect gifts 🎁
Nothing says I LOVE YOU better than these gifts 🎁
It must have been love, don’t let it over now 💓
Send them the best of your love 💘
With these gifts they will always love you 💖

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Other ideas and tips for your Valentine’s Email Headlines:

The following tips come from patterns that we spotted from our marketing automation platform’s data and can help any eCommerce and retail businesses increase their impact on their Valentine’s email marketing campaigns.

Think of classic, local Valentine’s songs: Try to make your email subject lines remind/imitate them and if succeeded then you will definitely enjoy impressively high open rates
Ideal for: Older audiences
Use rhymes: rap-style copywriting always improve open rates
Ideal for: Younger audiences
Be disruptive: Another recipe is to “shake” the waters and try to be more provocative by not following
Ideal for: Younger audiences
Inject humor to your headlines (depending on your industry)
Ideal for: Anyone 🙂

Valentine’s Email Subject Lines Best Practices:

Is short when creating your Valentine’s Day email subject lines you should remember the following best practices that really work:

Use emojis (Most popular in February: 🏹 💘💕💌💖🎁💝)
Use Brackets: [], ()
Use 1 word in CAPS (max.)
Use personalization (via name)
Don’t implement click-baiting techniques

Valentine’s Email Marketing Best Practices:

Schedule your email campaigns, based on historical data: Detect the days and times with the best open rates and CTRs, based on your own historical data.
Tip: ContactPigeon has an awesome feature that automatically schedules your campaigns, based on your previous performance. This will save you tons of time. 🙂
Use emojis to your email bodies as well 👌: Emojis greatly improve the readability so do use them within your newsletter, not only in their subject lines. Plus, they’re fun, eye-catching and a creative combination can undoubtedly make your email stand out from the crowd.
Use gifs: If you can, use gifs as header images to your email campaigns. Less usual = more clicks 😉
Run and anti-Valentine’s campaign: You probably have a portion of subscribers and customers who either are single or who hate Valentine’s. Running an anti-Valentine’s email newsletter with some gift proposals for singles may monetize impressively well!
Set up an omnichannel Valentine’s Day marketing campaign: This is super critical in 2020. You have to reach your customers on multiple platforms to maximize the chances to convert. Creating and scheduling similar campaigns via Push Notifications, SMS marketing, triggered onsite messages and via social media organic posts and ads.

How to go omnichannel:

a. You can either set up different campaigns on the different marketing tools you usually use: email marketing, SMS marketing, push notification and probably some list building tool.

b. OR use an all-in-one marketing automation tool: It will save you TONS of time and effort to coordinate everything on a sole dashboard since you will be easily able both to set up and track your campaigns’ performance, rather than logging in to multiple accounts every time. EXTRA TIP: An omnichannel marketing automation software like ContactPigeon only uses one code snippet which supports all the above-mentioned features, since it is designed for scaling enterprises. So, even in terms of speed optimization, you will have ~4 code snippets less than the ordinary, making every page of your website lighter.

Ready to Wrap Up that Valentine’s Day Email Subject Line?

No matter which retail sector you’re in, a well crafted Valentine’s Day email subject line can help your email campaign jump out from the crowd this February. Ultimately, the key is knowing your audience and how your product or service fits in. Be honest, be fun, and if you tap the current social mood, be on point. We wish you luck with your upcoming Valentine’s Day marketing efforts.

For more ideas around Valentine’s Day campaign, check out our earlier post. We also have 8 free email templates you can easily grab and start customizing for your next campaign.