6 May Newsletter Ideas, Successful Examples & Templates
May marks the end of spring and the build-up to summer. It’s a time when people get more active, start planning vacations, and look forward to seasonal fun. This shift in energy creates fresh opportunities for businesses to reconnect with customers, introduce new offers, and position themselves ahead of the summer rush.
From a marketing perspective, May is one of the highest-converting months of the year, just behind November and December. Studies show that many consumers are ready to spend, treat themselves, and celebrate the change in season.
It’s also packed with moments worth celebrating. For example:
- Star Wars Day (May 4) is a fun, culture-driven chance to boost engagement, even if you’re outside the entertainment niche.
- Mother’s Day (May 11) is one of the year’s biggest gifting moments, perfect for personalized recommendations and emotional storytelling.
- Memorial Day (May 26) marks the unofficial start of summer and a major opportunity for patriotic sales campaigns in the U.S.
- Mental Health Awareness Month opens the door for value-driven content and meaningful brand messaging.
That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help you fill your email marketing calendar with timely, creative, and relevant ideas. Below, you’ll find real-life newsletter examples, content ideas for key events, and smart ways to keep your email strategy aligned with May’s moods and moments.
In May, businesses across industries often see a rise in traffic and shopping activity. But while it’s an active month, it also has its challenges. The biggest one is Memorial Day (U.S.), the only major traditional sales event, which falls at the very end of the month.
The best strategy for the last spring month is to focus on smaller yet meaningful local holidays and observances. These give you the chance to connect with niche audiences through well-segmented, hyper-personalized campaigns.
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Free Email BuilderFree Email TemplatesIt’s also a great time to highlight month-long themes, show community spirit, build collaborations, re-engage audiences using modern formats like Postcards-powered interactive emails, and address timely issues.
Below is a list of one-day holidays, weekly and monthly observances, and niche-specific events you can use to shape your May email strategy.
One-Day Holidays:
- International Workers’ Day / May Day (May 1)
- Star Wars Day (May 4)
- World Laughter Day (May 4)
- Cinco de Mayo (May 5)
- Victory in Europe (VE) Day (May 8)
- Mother’s Day (U.S.) (May 11)
- Europe Day (May 9)
- Eurovision Song Contest Final (May 17)
- World Fair Trade Day (May 10)
- International Day of Families (May 15)
- Global Accessibility Awareness Day (May 15)
- International Museum Day (May 18)
- Memorial Day (U.S.) (May 26)
- National Creativity Day (May 30)
Week- and Month-Long Observances
- ALS Awareness Month
- Global Employee Health & Fitness Month
- National Military Appreciation Month
- National Mental Health Awareness Month
- National Photography Month
Niche-Specific Holidays and Events
- World Asthma Day (May 6)
- Lemonade Day (May 3)
- World Ovarian Cancer Day (May 8)
- National Eat What You Want Day (May 11)
- International Nurses Day (May 12)
- World Cocktail Day (May 13)
- National Apple Pie Day (May 13)
- International Astronomy Day (May 10)
- World Baking Day (May 18)
- International Tea Day (May 21)
- National Wine Day (May 25)
- Africa Day (May 25)
- National Hamburger Day (May 28)
- National Biscuit Day (May 29)
- National Macaroon Day (May 31)
You can use the calendar below to get ideas for your May email campaigns:
Email events calendar by Louisem
May offers plenty of creative marketing opportunities through local events and seasonal themes. From Cinco de Mayo to National Sun Awareness Week and National Photography Month, there are many ways to connect with your audience through timely, engaging emails.
Not sure where to start? Try promoting summer products, joining in on Star Wars Day, or supporting Mental Health Awareness Month. Here are a few ideas to inspire your campaigns.
1. Focus on Pre-Summer Campaigns
As summer approaches, customers begin planning vacations and outdoor activities. While shopping might not be their first priority, many still look forward to treating themselves with season-ready products. Late May is a great time to tap into that excitement with a well-timed email campaign.
Running pre-summer email campaigns can help boost engagement, showcase seasonal products, and re-engage existing customers. Just be careful not to overwhelm your audience.
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You can also use this opportunity to gather feedback. Ask subscribers about their preferences to help guide your summer campaign strategy and build a stronger plan for your June email campaigns.
To make the most of your efforts, follow these best practices:
- Analyze customer purchase history to segment your list accurately.
- Choose the right timing and frequency for your emails.
- Start small—send one campaign and follow up based on engagement.
2. Celebrate Star Wars Day
You might not be a fan of George Lucas’s epic space saga, but 102 million U.S. citizens are. Globally, the Star Wars fandom reaches into the hundreds of millions, with May 4th (Star Wars Day) driving major buzz across social media each year.
Even if your products aren’t related to the franchise, you can still join the cultural moment. For example, Scholastic invited readers to Turn Your Child Into a Reading Jedi, while Target ran a themed promotion titled Star Wars Fans: May the deals be with you.
Regardless of your niche, Star Wars Day is a great opportunity to connect with your audience, drive engagement, and boost conversions.
Here are some ideas for creating strong Star Wars-themed emails:
- Showcase Star Wars-inspired products. Even unrelated items can be framed in a saga-themed environment.
- Use Star Wars design elements. Tap into the brand’s recognizable colors and symbols to create visual appeal, like pairing black boots with Darth Vader’s iconic look.
- Share helpful listicles or themed content with a Jedi-worthy twist.
- Encourage fans to show off their fandom through replies, photos, or hashtags.
- Create engaging interactive emails with gamified elements using Postcards email builder.
Star Wars-themed email from MeUndies
3. Support Mental Health Awareness
Did you know the mental health industry is expected to surpass $500 billion by 2030? As people become more focused on well-being, customers increasingly favor brands that promote social responsibility and create stress-free experiences.
May, as Mental Health Awareness Month, is a great time to run thoughtful, value-driven campaigns. This is a sensitive topic, so the key is to approach it with authenticity, not sales pressure.
Here are a few campaign ideas:
- Share helpful mental health resources
- Raise awareness using relevant facts or statistics
- Collaborate with professionals or advocates in the space
- Encourage open dialogue through community-driven emails
- Donate a portion of sales to mental health organizations
Choose an approach that aligns with your brand and products. Keep the tone empathetic, create a safe space for your audience, and focus on meaningful engagement.
Mental Health Awareness-themed email from AllTrails
4. Create a Campaign on International Labor Day
International Labor Day, celebrated on May 1, is recognized in countries across the world, from EU nations and the UK to Australia, China, Japan, and much of Africa and South America. It honors the working class and is a strong opportunity to connect with your audience.
Even in the U.S. and Canada, where it’s not a public holiday, this day can serve as a meaningful occasion to acknowledge hard-working customers or team members, and humanize your brand in the process.
Here are a few campaign directions to explore:
- Celebrate Your Customers: Most of them are workers themselves. Use email to recognize their efforts and share an exclusive offer as a reward.
- Highlight Your Employees: Feature the people behind your brand in a heartfelt email to build trust and connection.
- Educate Your Audience: Use storytelling to spotlight the history of this date, including the 1886 U.S. strike that led to the 40-hour workweek and labor reforms.
You can add a seasonal spin with these ideas, such as creating a patriotic-themed promo using flag colors and meaningful imagery or offering a limited-time discount to re-engage inactive subscribers. You can also launch a summer guide or listicle to kick off the beach season in warmer regions.
Labor Day email from Masterclass
5. Leverage Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day, celebrated on the second Sunday of May, is one of the biggest gifting occasions of the year. It honors the love, care, and sacrifices of mothers, and audiences take it seriously. In fact, Americans spent over $35 billion on Mother’s Day last year alone.
This holiday gives businesses across industries a powerful opportunity to connect with their audience, humanize the brand, and drive loyalty and conversions. The key is to strike the right emotional tone: authentic, thoughtful, and not overly promotional.
Here are a few Mother’s Day newsletter ideas to inspire your campaign:
- Create Personalized Gift Guides: Help customers skip the search by recommending meaningful, thoughtful gift options that suit different types of moms.
- Highlight Product Benefits: If you want to avoid a direct sales pitch, show how your product or service makes a great gift through relatable use-case examples.
- Build Emotional Connection: Celebrate the role of mothers through heartfelt messages, stories, or testimonials from your team or community.
You could also invite your team to share what motherhood means to them, spotlight how your brand supports moms, or feature real customer stories. These small touches go a long way in building deeper relationships with your subscribers.
Mother’s Day email from Nanit
Memorial Day is a key date on the U.S. email marketing calendar. It’s a federal holiday that honors fallen service members and supports veterans and military families.
It’s also considered the unofficial start of summer, a time when people gather outdoors, celebrate with loved ones, and do a little shopping. That makes Memorial Day a strong opportunity to connect with your audience, show appreciation, and remind them of your brand in a meaningful way.
Here are a few thoughtful ways to build your Memorial Day campaign:
- Tap into Patriotic Pride: Use this moment to honor service members. A thank-you message paired with red, white, and blue design elements helps align your brand with the holiday’s deeper values.
- Frame Your Offer as a Thank-You: Memorial Day sales are common, but you can stand out by presenting your promotion as a token of appreciation. A heartfelt message and thoughtful design go a long way.
- Send a Message, Not a Sale: If you’re skipping promotions, consider a warm, standalone message that reflects on the meaning of the holiday. This strengthens your brand image and builds trust.
- Bring in Summer Vibes: Many associate Memorial Day with the start of the vacation season. Use visuals and messaging that reflect barbecues, beach trips, and sunny weekends to make your products feel timely and relevant.
Memorial Day email from Simmons
Key Elements of a Successful May Email Campaign
May has fewer major events than other months, but with the right subject lines, visual style, and messaging, you can still create high-performing campaigns that feel fresh and timely.
1. Write Effective Subject Lines
As the transition from spring to summer, May brings a sense of energy and lightness. Your subject lines should reflect that mood. Use playful language, seasonal puns, cultural references, and emojis to catch attention and boost open rates.
Here are some May subject line ideas to inspire you:
- Never Fear, May Is Here!
- No work, all play – It’s May today!
- MAYbe You Should Open This…
- Sun’s out 😎 and so are our May sale items
- Mother’s Day May Extravaganza
- May the Fourth Be With You…
- Prices worth taco-in’ about
- Memorial Day Your Way
- Ultimate Maycation is finally here!
- Act fast! May deals disappear fast.
2. Use a Vibrant Theme to Represent May
Email design helps your message land faster and more effectively. In May, people are thinking about summer, holidays, and outdoor fun. Use colors, fonts, and imagery that reflect the mood of the season and support your campaign’s purpose.
Color
May is rich in vibrant colors, thanks to flowers like hawthorn and peonies and bright green landscapes. Traditional color palettes for May are playful and lively: pink, yellow, orange, red, purple, lime, and soft blues. Trendy shades like beetroot magenta also work well when balanced with neutrals like white or navy.
You can also draw inspiration from the wedding season or holidays like Mother’s Day and Memorial Day. Try combining pastel tones with bold accents to give your emails a fresh, energetic vibe.
May color scheme from Color-hex
Typeface
Choose fonts that feel fresh and warm. Handwritten scripts or rounded typefaces work well for campaigns centered on Mother’s Day, mental health, or spring renewal. Look for designs with subtle curves, loops, or seasonal details like flowers.
For Memorial Day, a bold serif or classic font can add a sense of tradition and respect. Think Roman or Vivaldi styles, something with weight and authority.
May typeface from Designcuts
Motifs
Use visuals that capture May’s blend of spring warmth and summer excitement. Popular choices include flowers, green landscapes, outdoor scenes, and subtle holiday nods. Tie motifs to events such as dark, space-themed elements for Star Wars Day, or patriotic graphics near the end of the month for Memorial Day.
Keep designs cohesive and avoid overloading your emails. A few well-placed seasonal elements are more effective than trying to represent every theme at once.
May graphics and motifs
We’ve also compiled some May newsletter ideas from brands to help you find inspiration for your campaigns:
1. Spring Vibes Email by JCrew
Email from JCrew
This minimalist email from JCrew captures the warmth and freshness of spring. The nature-inspired visuals and seasonal palette complement the 30% discount message, creating a design that feels light yet purposeful. Every detail from the CTA to the info block is woven naturally into the layout, making the promo feel organic and easy to follow.
2. Mother’s Day Email by Headspace
Email from Headspace
Headspace simplifies Mother’s Day gift-giving with a well-timed, two-part email. The first block announces the holiday and sets the tone, while the second offers helpful recommendations and a 20% discount. The soft visuals and thoughtful structure turn a simple promotion into a meaningful and user-friendly experience.
Email from Polaroid
Polaroid’s Star Wars-themed email blends product with pop culture. By referencing The Mandalorian and placing their product in a recognizable scene, they tap into the franchise’s popularity while staying on-brand. It’s a strong example of using current events to make an otherwise unrelated product relevant and timely.
4. Memorial Day Email by On/Go
Email from On/Go
On/Go’s Memorial Day email takes a sincere approach by highlighting military families. A warm family photo sets the tone, while a patriotic theme reinforces the holiday. The promotion feels like a thoughtful bonus rather than the focal point, helping build trust and emotional connection with readers.
5. Promoting Adventure Spirit by Arc’Teryx
Email from Arc’Teryx
Arc’Teryx uses the seasonal shift toward outdoor activity to position its products. The visuals evoke adventure and exploration, and the layout supports a clear narrative. Even if not every product directly aligns with the theme, the overall tone makes the message feel cohesive and well-timed.
6. Boost Your Affiliate Sales: A Postcards Template
This holiday-neutral email template from Postcards is a great example for May promotions. With a clean structure, bold CTAs, and spring-friendly colors, it’s built to fit any product or offer. Each block, from hero to footer, serves a clear function, making it an easy base for personalized campaigns.
Customize Affiliatoo with Postcards for FREE
7. Cinco De Mayo Email by Taco John’s
Email from Taco John’s
Taco John’s goes all-in on Cinco de Mayo energy. The bright visuals, bold fonts, and colorful layout mirror the fun and vibrancy of the event. This email shows how to lean into cultural celebration to boost engagement while keeping the product (tacos) at the heart of the message.
Design Stunning May Emails with Postcards
Now that you have ideas for designing your May email campaigns, creating a high-converting email is simple with Postcards. Follow these three steps to craft a visually stunning and engaging campaign:
1. Choose a Template
Start with a conversion-optimized email template from Designmodo. These professionally designed templates make it easy to plug in your products, content and offers so your campaign feels fresh and ready to be published.
2. Customize Your Template
Once you’ve selected your preferred template, click on it to preview, then Edit in Postcards.
Next, use Postcards—a drag-and-drop visual email builder to personalize your email. Adjust colors, images, and text effortlessly without coding to make sure your newsletter reflects your brand.
3. Export or Integrate Your Email Software
Once your email is ready, export the HTML or integrate it with your email platform.
All our Designmodo templates work seamlessly with Gmail, Outlook, and all major ESPs, which makes distribution hassle-free.
The best part about Postcards is that you can get started for free. Choose any Spring template or create your design from scratch with Postcards today.
Get Started with Postcards for FREE
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