The first official day of fall 2019 lands on September 23 and, if you haven’t started planning your fall campaigns, now’s the time to do it. Read on for some fall newsletter templates to help get you started.
Fall is a significant transitional time for many, mainly because of the massive change in season. The season is not only known for being back-to-school season, but also for significant holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving.
If your marketing team is lacking fall campaign ideas, why not consider sending out a fall newsletter?
Why you should consider a newsletter in your seasonal email marketing arsenal
Communication is vital between you and your audience members and, while many have begun turning their attention to sharing on social media, email marketing is still the most effective. When it comes down to overall ROI, email marketing provides the most for your dollar, raking in an average of $38 for every $1 spent.
When it comes to sending out fall email campaigns, the options are endless and, depending on your niche, can be informational or can help rake in donations or revenue through sales.
8 fall newsletter templates we absolutely love
Many consumers are already in the fall state of mind, thanks to back-to-school season and pumpkin spice lattes. For those who need some help jumpstarting the creative process, consider the following list of fall newsletter templates.
1. Football (or sports) templates
This football-themed fall newsletter template stood out for several reasons:
- The sports theme
- Use of the non-traditional color scheme
Fall is a season that’s associated with bright oranges, reds, yellows, and the occasional black and green. This template pushes the envelope by going completely dark to create a sense of intensity. The intensity is great, especially considering it’s paired with the fall sport of choice, football, which is an intense sport. Plus, the black and white will stand out in your subscribers’ inboxes.
This template can be altered for a newsletter that talks about fall sporting activities, competition, setting goals, and more.
Source: Emma
Takeaway: Don’t be afraid to go nontraditional with your fall design. Small fall-themed design aspects can pack a significant punch. In this case, the football theme lends to ideas surrounding competition, sports, planning, goal setting, and more.
2. Back-to-school templates
When consumers think of fall, many instantly think “back-to-school season.” School supplies, backpacks, and adventure all come to mind.
This fall theme made us instantly think “back to school.” The child in this template is supporting a backpack and he looks to be on a journey, both of which complement the notion of “back to school” wonderfully.
Source: Campaign Monitor
While this particular ad doesn’t suit a newsletter, the template can be altered to fit the needs of a newsletter with ease. Remember, in this case, it was the imagery that stood out to us the most.
Takeaway: Imagery plays a massive role in designing your fall newsletter templates. Make sure you are choosing images that stand out and fit the needs of your brand. It’s okay and encouraged to think outside the box a bit.
3. Autumn greetings template
Why not start the new season off by offering your email subscribers an Autumn greeting?
This particular template stood out because of the greetings located at the top, but also because of the warm feeling it gives us when we look at it. This warmth goes hand in hand with the theme of an Autumn greeting.
The warm colors are what give viewers that warm and fuzzy feeling. Your newsletter can then be geared towards several fall-themed topics, depending on your niche.
Source: Emma
Takeaway: Colors play an essential role in how your email subscribers feel your newsletter. Common warm colors that you should consider include darker oranges, yellows, greens, and reds.
4. Outdoor templates
When it comes to outdoor fall newsletter themes, there are thousands of different options out there.
We chose this particular template because of its simplicity. It maximizes whitespace to make each section of the newsletter stand out, which is essential for those who only skim the emails that land in their inbox.
Source: Campaign Monitor
This template can easily be customized to feature a more fall-themed header image, and each of the images that mark a new topic section can be customized according to the topic.
Takeaway: Simple doesn’t have to mean boring. Maximize your fall newsletter template’s whitespace to make it easier to navigate for your readers.
5. Sensory templates
We’ve already touched on how imagery and color choices can make your readers feel one way or another. However, did you know that the right combination of these design aspects can also appeal to your readers’ other senses?
In this fall newsletter template, the smoky blending of the colors in the header image makes readers feel as if they’re sitting underneath this tree and feeling the fall breeze in the air. With that breeze, we can smell the autumn air, feel the breeze across our skin, and maybe we’re sipping on one of those pumpkin spice lattes.
What we really loved in this example was how that one image, placed up against a white background, could convey so much. Again, this whitespace is showing the reader where they should be focusing, and that’s on the breezy fall image.
Source: Emma
Takeaway: Make sure you’re using design elements to your advantage and reach your readers on a deeper level by playing to all their senses.
6. Image-focused templates
Images, once again, play a significant role in why we love this email newsletter template. Pinterest goes ahead and curates some fall favorites for their readers to check out, and they do so by featuring images with fall colors and objects to them.
This can be done for several newsletter topics, depending on the niche.
Source: Really Good Emails
Takeaway: Don’t be afraid to choose images over a ton of copywriting with your email newsletters.
7. Story-focused templates
This particular fall email newsletter template stood out, again, for its color choices, but also because it reminded us of fall campfire-style storytelling.
The trees in the background instantly made us think of Little Red Riding Hood and her adventures through the forest. The white overlay then reminded us of scribe paper once used for writing down these fairy tales.
This layout instantly makes us feel as if there’s a story coming our way, which is great when a brand is sending a newsletter to their readers full of updates and brand news.
Source: Emma
Takeaway: Theme your email newsletter design to help instantly prepare your reader for the materials that are to come in your newsletter. In this case, readers are expecting a story, which is ideal when brands are going to be updating readers on testimonials and company updates.
8. “Fall” pun templates
In AARP’s fall newsletter, they went above and beyond the traditional fall theme by reminding readers how they could “fall” in love with their city.
This template could be easily modified to cater to a variety of topics across many industries. Readers could “fall” in love with your new products, your latest news, or with recent testimonials left by those who’ve used your products or services in the past.
Source: Really Good Emails
Takeaway: Love doesn’t have to be reserved for the holidays or Valentine’s Day. Remind readers why they love the fall season in your next newsletter. Creative wordplay is a great way to catch your reader’s attention.
Start building your free fall newsletter template today.
With a few ideas now under your belt, you may be asking yourself how to get started with building your fall newsletter template.
Campaign Monitor has a free-to-use email template builder that can quickly get you started. To build your fall email template, simply follow these steps:
- Choose your template design.
- Use the drag-and-drop feature to edit your template as you wish.
- Hit “Preview.”
- If everything looks correct and the way you want it to, hit “Finish and Save.”
Source: Self Made/Canva/Campaign Monitor
Wrap up
When it comes to designing your email newsletter template for the first day of fall, don’t overthink it. Have your content ready and then begin designing the layout of your email. Some key design points to keep in mind include:
- Maximizing imagery and colors to evoke emotions in your readers
- Balance out your use of whitespace, images, and copy to deliver the most compelling message
- Always have a clear, actionable CTA that leads readers to a landing page on your website
Looking more specifically for back-to-school newsletter ideas and templates? Take inspiration from these templates for both educators and businesses.