You probably know that feeling when you’re sitting in the dim glow of the cinema, popcorn in hand, waiting for the main movie — and suddenly you’re bombarded with trailers that look just as exciting as what you were about to see.
With every trailer, there’s this rush of “Whoa, I need to see that too.” It’s also a moment of pure possibility. None of the movies have disappointed you yet, and your imagination does most of the work when it comes to the actual plot.
That’s because a good movie trailer shows just enough emotion, drama, or action to get people excited but never reveals the full story. Teaser emails follow the same rule: they give a taste of what’s to come without giving away any crucial details. Keep on reading — our teaser email examples will help you learn how to create intrigue and get people counting down the days until the big reveal.
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What are teaser emails?
Teaser emails are marketing emails designed to generate buzz, spark curiosity, and drive anticipation for something that’s coming soon, be it a new product, event, sale, or feature. Their goal is to hook the audience and leave them wanting more.
While it might seem tempting to simply drop your big news or product update all at once, doing so can be a missed opportunity. Here’s why teasers matter:
- They tap into customers’ emotions. A teaser email invites your audience to be part of the story before it unfolds. That emotional hook makes them more likely to care and pay attention when the actual announcement hits.
- They set the right tone across multiple touchpoints. Teasers allow you to stretch the message across several emails, keeping your audience engaged longer and preparing them for what’s to come.
- They create a sense of exclusivity. A well-crafted product teaser can make people feel like they’re in on something special. Customers enjoy it when they are the first to know, the first to see, and the first to act.
- They fuel action. Teaser emails often motivate the recipients to “mark their calendar” or “unlock early access,” which makes them less likely to miss the big news.
In short, email teasers help build momentum, which is the moving force behind any successful campaign. However, this is only possible when each teaser is strategically timed and intentionally crafted to spark curiosity without causing confusion.
Teaser email best practices for higher engagement
The main challenge of crafting teaser emails lies in making them as short and minimalist as possible, while still sparking real curiosity. That’s no easy task. In teaser emails, every word counts, and you’re supposed to say something without really saying it. Here’s how to make that work.
Keep it short but positive and purposeful
With teaser emails, you need to hook the reader instantly — often with just a subject line and one or two punchy sentences. There’s no room for fluff or detailed explanations. At the same time, your message should raise eyebrows without leaving the reader totally lost.
The wording can be something like: “We can’t tell you yet, but let’s just say your inbox will be a lot more exciting this Thursday. Stay tuned.”
It’s important that the recipient clearly understands that the upcoming update is something pleasant and not in any way detrimental to their relationship with your company, like, say, a sudden price hike.
Opt for a suspenseful or playful tone
Teaser emails aren’t about full information. They’re about setting the mood and planting curiosity, which is only possible to achieve with a memorable emotional opening.
Here are some ideas on how to inject more life into your teaser:
- Use open-ended questions: “What if everything changed tomorrow?”
- Hint at the magnitude of what’s coming: “We can hardly wait to show you what we’ve been working on.”
- Imply urgency or secrecy: “We really shouldn’t be telling you this yet, but…”
- Use humor or wordplay: “Hold on to your socks because the upcoming news is guaranteed to knock them off. ”
- Break the fourth wall: “Is this the part where we drop a teaser? Yup, you’ve guessed it.”
- Use emojis and quirky language if your brand voice allows it: “Psssst. Our upcoming product is so good it should be illegal 🚧”
However, the tone of your teaser shouldn’t conflict with your general tone of voice, otherwise, there will be a jarring mismatch, making your message appear inauthentic.
Harness the power of visuals to hype up the audience
Just like movie trailers, teaser emails tend to speak to the user through the power of imagery, conveying the general atmosphere rather than trivial details. A subtle image or graphic element can act as a clue, helping to build a little story.
What helps is to keep visuals dark, minimalistic, or ambiguous to get customers’ imagination going. Here are some ideas:
- blurred-out product photo;
- silhouette;
- ticking countdown;
- draped object;
- glowing mystery box;
- animated GIF;
- lock icon;
- question mark;
- close-up of someone working in a studio;
- close-up of packaging with parts intentionally hidden.
The appropriate visuals will help you add a layer of excitement and convey what can hardly be expressed with words.
Specify when and how your subscribers can get their hands on the new batch
Vague as product teasers may be, they still should include a few essential bits of information, namely the official date of the drop and the main platform where it’ll take place. Customers must know this in order to take advantage of your new offer.
Giving a clear date, time, or countdown gives them something to mark on their calendars — and creates fear of missing out (FOMO). Including the important details instead of making your audience dig for them on your website gives your teaser real value and shows respect for your subscribers’ time and attention.
Align your teasers with users’ interests
When your teaser speaks directly to what your audience cares about, you dramatically increase the chance they’ll open, click, and stay excited. What this means is that you can tailor your teaser based on what people are interested in — based on their past purchases, behaviors, or newsletter preferences. This way, your teaser will feel like insider knowledge for them.
For instance, if someone previously bought running shoes, a teaser like: “Your marathons are about to get smarter. Ready?” will feel relevant for them, as opposed to the more generic “Train smarter.”
Include a low-commitment CTA
Teaser emails don’t have to include a CTA — after all, the customer doesn’t know yet what they’ll end up purchasing, if anything at all. At this early stage, your job is to gently nudge your audience toward wanting to know more. But, a subtle CTA can enhance your product teaser and make it feel more like an invitation.
- “Stay tuned”
- “Unlock early access”
- “Get details”
- “Get the first look”
- “Be the first to know”
- “Get on the list”
A low-pressure CTA gives customers a safe, no-risk way to engage. It reduces resistance, matches the tone of curiosity, and simply gets your brand on their radar.
Instruct your audience on how to make the most out of your big reveal
Teasers create momentum — but real action needs direction. If your first teaser email gets people excited, the next logical step is: “Now what?” By anticipating and responding to that question in the subsequent emails, you ensure they’ll have a blast when your update finally drops.
When the launch hits, you want your audience to be ready, meaning, accounts created, notifications turned on, and payment info saved. This teaser email example from Apple once again reminds us that helping customers prep in advance ensures smooth sailing, less stress, and higher conversions.
20 teaser email subject lines
The subject line is absolutely critical for a successful teaser email because it conveys suspense and gets the email opened — or not. Those few words at the top of your email define how epic and thrilling it will feel.
Here are some teaser email subject lines for you to use and build upon:
- We can’t hardly believe this… Can you?
- We’ve got a surprise. You in? 👁️
- Your next obsession? Dropping soon.
- [Brand Name] is about to get better than ever
- It’s coming. And it’s worth the wait.
- You didn’t hear it from us…
- Can you keep a secret?
- Ok, this one is going to be life-changing
- Guess what we’ve been working on…
- We’re about to make your inbox very happy
- 3 clues. 1 big reveal 📢
- Not to brag, but… this is kind of a big deal.
- It is coming. That’s all we can say for now 🤐
- Only a few days left until everything changes
- You’re not ready for this (but we are)
- The countdown has started ⏳
- Something rare. Coming soon
- Ok, this one is big. You better sit down
- Pssst… Wanna get the first look?
- Let’s keep this just between us… for now 👀
The key here is to suggest something valuable or unexpected without naming it. With these kinds of subject lines, emojis can greatly help hint at mood or content while staying under 50 characters.
5 teaser email examples that will leave you on the edge of your seat
Using these powerful teaser email examples, you will be able to shortcut the trial-and-error process and understand what actually works in creating anticipation.
Huel
This email is everything a good teaser should be — it’s fun, intriguing, and informative enough to keep the readers on the hook. The blurred-out image partially gives away what kind of product it is, but the flavor remains a mystery.
In addition, the brand makes it ridiculously easy for customers to keep tabs on the emerging Huel family member by effortlessly adding the launch date to their calendars.
Fishwife
This teaser email example doesn’t take itself too seriously, and yet somehow it manages to make a tinned fish launch sound as exciting as it gets. The recipients only get a weak hint of what the new product looks like, which is guaranteed to make them curious for more.
The email aesthetic perfectly matches that of the main website, ensuring brand continuity and recognition. The call to action is spelled loud and clear — those who don’t sign up for SMS updates are likely to miss out on this limited-edition offer.
Be Good Bakery
Up next, another colorful teaser email that masterfully stirs up anticipation and keeps the audience guessing what awaits them. The copy is vivid, personal, and intentionally intriguing, and it’s paired with a fun image of the brand’s mascot.
The vibrant design is guaranteed to catch the user’s eye. Finally, there’s a clear CTA along with an additional invitation to explore the brand’s existing products in the meantime, which ties the whole message together.
Organics Ocean
Some teasers ought to be more detailed than others due to the nature of the offer — if you promote an upcoming sale, you don’t want to leave your audience in the dark regarding the exact discounted items. This example shows how to maintain some level of intrigue and spark action even then.
This teaser clearly states when and where the sale will take place and why it makes sense to start filling up shopping carts a bit before the Black Friday frenzy begins. At the same time, it doesn’t list every single product that will be on sale, which should motivate the users to actively check out reduced prices by themselves.
Framer
Our final teaser email example emphasizes the power of minimalism — there are no flashy visuals, tacky colors, or anxiety-inducing countdowns. The all-black design naturally draws attention to the copy and the CTA, leaving no room for distractions.
The teaser is enhanced by the offer to participate in a sweepstake with a chance to enjoy the new Framer for free for a year. This kind of incentive is guaranteed to motivate your audience to give your teaser another look and take it more seriously.
How to create a teaser email with SendPulse
If you are looking for a quick way to create and send out professional-looking teaser emails in an automated manner, SendPulse is here to help you. Our platform comes with a collection of customizable responsive templates for brick-and-mortar businesses as well as eCommerce and freelancers. Each template can be edited and further improved upon in our intuitive drag-and-drop builder. You can add your logo, brand colors, and other content to make its design truly yours.
The built-in AI writing assistant makes crafting relevant, region-specific messages a breeze. The spam checker and A/B tests are there to guarantee that your emails won’t remain unopened or disappear in someone’s inbox. With the help of audience segmentation and variables, you’ll end up with a highly tailored, memorable newsletter. Once your campaign is live, you can analyze your open, click-through, and unsubscribe rates right from your work panel.
It’s possible to explore the capabilities of our platform even with a free plan — it comes with 15,000 monthly emails. More feature-rich plans start at $10 a month, billed monthly. You can save 20% by paying annually.
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