You know that feeling in summer where everyone goes quiet, engagement dips, you're half on holiday yourself, and the temptation is to just stop emailing for a bit?
I get it. But I'd actually encourage you to do the opposite, and use summer as your testing ground before Q4 hits.
I ran a workshop with my members on exactly this recently, and instead of just talking at them for an hour, we spent most of it building out actual email ideas together, for wedding stationery, jewellery, phone cases, sewing patterns, all sorts. So this post has both: the strategy, and a proper list of ideas you can steal today.
First up, why you shouldn't go quiet
A few quick facts worth remembering, summer or not: email has one of the highest returns on investment of any channel, and it converts better than social media. Even if your list is small, those people signed up because they want to hear from you and buy from you.
Here's the one that surprises people most: 72% of people actually prefer getting promotional content by email. So that fear of feeling "spammy"? It doesn't really hold up. Think about your own inbox, you're probably signed up to brands you'll never buy from and it doesn't bother you enough to unsubscribe. If it did, you would. Most people feel exactly the same about your emails.
Expect a dip, not a disaster
Yes, open and click rates might soften over summer. People are away, out of their usual routine, checking their phone at different times of day than normal. That's completely expected.
But it doesn't mean people have stopped buying. Sales don't stop just because engagement metrics look a bit quieter, plenty of brands are still emailing heavily through summer sales, and it's working for them. Don't let a slightly lower open rate talk you out of sending.
Use summer to build towards Q4
If Q4 matters to your business, and for most of us, it does, thanks to gifting and Christmas. Summer is exactly when you should be building up to it. The trick is not going from silence (or one email a month) straight into three emails a week come October. That's a shock to your list, and it's a shock to you.
Klaviyo's own data says twice a week is the optimum send frequency. If that feels like a stretch, once a week is a brilliant target for a small business. If you're currently sending once a month, don't panic and try to jump to weekly overnight, use summer to gently build the habit so you're in a stronger position by the time Q4 arrives.
Consistent doesn't mean constant. It means: whatever rhythm you choose, stick to it, and make sure it's more than the occasional single email with long gaps either side.
The three types of email (and how to summer-ify each one)
Every email you send should sit in one of three buckets. You don't always need to use all three equally, lean into whichever fits your brand best, but they all should be somewhere in your mix.
1. Nurture
Build trust, stay top of mind
These aren't selling anything directly. They can be funny, inspiring, or educational, and their whole job is to keep your brand in someone's head so that when they are ready to buy, you're who they think of.
Real examples I've had land in my own inbox recently: a supplements brand sending an educational article rather than a product push, and an outdoor brand doing a deep-dive email on a single backpack, not salesy at all, just genuinely interesting.
Summer nurture ideas to steal:
- How to style your pieces for summer holidays
- Behind-the-scenes: what you're up to this summer, even just "I'm away this week, here's what I'm doing"
- What customers are loving right now (a simple "most popular" round-up)
- A product spotlight, pick one item and go deep on it, especially if it has a summer angle
- Tips for actually using your product (skincare application tips, "how to layer jewellery," "how to protect your phone case at the beach")
- A summer mood board or gift guide reframed as beachy/seasidey inspiration rather than a traditional gift list
- Tie an email to a celebration day: International Beer Day, National Dog Day, Left-Handers Day, World Breastfeeding Week, National Burger Day. Search "August celebration days" and see what fits your brand. It's a fun, easy reason to send.
2. Convert
Ask for the sale
This is the bucket people feel most awkward about, and the one you shouldn't be. Every business needs these emails, they're literally what email is for.
Real examples: a straightforward "sale is on" email with a clear offer, and a "new in" email with UGC further down the page.
Summer convert ideas to steal:
- A flash sale "save 20% for two days only" works because it forces immediate action
- Clearance, end-of-line, archive, or sample sales
- Limited edition or summer-exclusive products
- A multi-buy offer if it makes sense for what you sell (three for two on beach towels, for example)
- New product or restock announcements, restocks get forgotten far too often, and people do want to know
- Early access for your most engaged subscribers
- If summer isn't your season, tease what's coming, an autumn collection, back-to-school range, or even (like one brand I saw) a waitlist for a Christmas product launching months later
3. Retain
Deepen the connection
These build loyalty rather than driving an immediate sale, though they can absolutely go to your whole list, not just "loyal" customers. I'd genuinely recommend plain text for these, they stand out in an inbox full of designed emails, they're quick to write, and members of my own group have told me how well they've converted.
Real examples: a simple email reminding a customer about a loyalty reward, and a heartfelt "we're closing for a week, here's why, shop now if you need to" email.
Summer retain ideas to steal:
- Brand milestones "we just sold our 10,000th [product]" or "we just hit 500 reviews"
- Loyalty points or reward updates
- Inviting a segment of customers to answer a quick survey or quiz about a future product
- A genuine thank-you to your most valued customers
- Early access, secret sales, or special promotions that make people feel like insiders
Re-engaging a list you've gone quiet on
If you haven't emailed in months (or years, you're not the only one), the fix is simpler than it feels. Acknowledge the gap directly, in your own tone of voice. "Hello, stranger" works. So does something more playful if that's more you.
Keep it personal: what have you been up to, why the silence, nothing salesy attached. You will get some unsubscribes, that's completely normal after a gap, and not a sign you did anything wrong.
The important bit: write two or three emails at once, not just the first one. The consistency after you break the silence matters just as much as the apology itself.
Building towards Q4 without overplanning
Start now, but don't try to map out every email between now and Christmas. Plan a month or two ahead at a time, content planned too far in advance often stops feeling relevant by the time it's sent, because you're less "in" that time of year yet.
For gifting-led businesses, there's a celebration to hang almost any email on, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, retirements, graduations. Plot your sales emails around those moments, and fill the gaps with nurture content so it's not sale after sale after sale.
Starting with a tiny list
If your list is small (even if it's mostly friends right now) that's exactly where every brand starts, including the ones with list sizes in the hundreds of thousands. Think of it as stretching a muscle: the habit of sending matters more than the size of the list at this stage.
A useful trick: write as if you're only talking to one person. It makes emails feel more personal, and it works whether your list is 20 people or 20,000.
Niche-specific ideas from the workshop
A few real examples we worked through together, in case any of them spark something for your own brand:
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Wedding stationery: don't assume your list is "done" once someone's ordered place cards, weddings happen year-round, so someone on your list right now might be buying for a September or October wedding. Value-add ideas: real (or even older) styled wedding photos, colour scheme inspiration, "what's trending at weddings this year," or a simple refer-a-friend ask, since wedding guests tend to know a lot of other people getting married.
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Jewellery: how to care for jewellery in summer (sun cream and swimming don't mix well with it), a summer mood board on layering, summer jewellery trends, "from beach to dinner date" styling, or just showing your process, the "boring" behind-the-scenes bit you make every day is genuinely interesting to people who've never made anything themselves.
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Phone cases: styling and mood boards around your print or trend, protecting your phone at the beach, tying into relevant days (National Dog Day for animal print cases, for example), or thinking beyond the product entirely to your customer's actual lifestyle and hobbies.
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Sewing patterns: what makes your patterns different from mass-produced ones (quality, fit, originality), where to source fabric and haberdashery, styling advice for finished pieces, or content on finding small pockets of time to sew, genuinely useful if your customer's biggest barrier isn't interest, it's time.
Make it easier on yourself with a content series
If coming up with fresh ideas every week feels exhausting, build a recurring series instead, a monthly behind-the-scenes roundup, or a regular quick how-to. Once it's a series, you always know what that particular email is, and you can slot your sales and promotional emails in around it.
None of this needs to be complicated. Pick one idea from each bucket, keep a simple rhythm through summer, and you'll be in a far stronger position when Q4 actually arrives.
This was one part of a bigger workshop I ran inside Ecomm BFF, where we do sessions like this every quarter, including one just before Q4 to plan ahead together. If you want a room full of people helping you come up with ideas for your specific brand, come and join us.
