10 of the Best Thank You Emails & Subject Lines (Examples, Tips & Templates)

Most thank you emails are hollow and won’t stop your clients or customers from thinking it’s a lie.

“You’re not grateful; you’re just happy to have my money.”

That’s what they think! 

And some botched-up automated emails saying thanks won’t change their opinion. You’re just another shark to them, sitting in a shabby office puffing away on a fat Cuban cigar.

But what if there’s a way to change that? What if there’s a way to write thank you emails to make them think you’re one of the good guys? Genuinely grateful for their custom. They might buy from you again and tell their friends about you.

The solution?

Write your thank you emails correctly — that’s all it takes.

In this article, you’re about to learn how to do that. You’re going to get templates, advice, and examples that will help you write thank you emails like a pro. But first…

What exactly are thank you emails?

In broad terms, thank you emails are a way to express gratitude towards a client or customer. They’re a way to show the customer purchasing from you that you appreciate their custom.

However, thank you emails aren’t exclusively for customers.

There are a ton of reasons you might need to say thanks in an email.

Here are a few of them:

• When someone purchases a product or service.
• A subscriber signing up to your email list.
• Customers enquiring about a service or product.
• Businesses reaching out to you.
• An invoice being paid.
• Thanking loyal customers at Christmas, thanksgiving, etc.
• Someone attending an interview.
• Saying thanks to your employees.
• And so on.

Thank you emails — are they necessary?

There’s no legal requirement to send them, but you should send them if you want to improve your business and potentially increase your sales. 

Imagine buying a product online; you hand over your hard-earned cash, and you get no email saying thanks.

Nothing.

All you get is a lousy written confirmation email. How would that make you feel?

Would you be thinking: 

“Oh my, this company is fantastic, and I can’t wait to buy from them again, they’re professional, and I’m going to tell all my friends.”

Probably not.

You’re more than likely thinking:

“These cowboys just took my money and not even a lousy thank you note. They were all bells and whistles before the sale, but since the sale, nothing — maybe I should have gone elsewhere, maybe I will next time.”

That’s how you’ll feel. 

And that’s why they’re necessary.

When should you send a thank you email?

Most (decent) email marketing software services will offer behavioral-based emails, which can automate your email sending based on a trigger.

A trigger is an action taken by a customer or client on your website.

For example:

If visitors sign up to your email list, they will enter their details and click on the subscribe button. This button will have a trigger attached to it that will instruct the email software to send a confirmation email, followed by another email thanking them for signing up.

We can attach these triggers to buy now buttons and even links to other pages.

This strategy offers many benefits, such as lead nurturing, but the main reason I’m telling you this is to realize that you can and should send your thank you emails as soon as the visitor sets off the trigger.

If they click the subscribe or buy button, send the thank you email a few hours after the confirmation email. There’s no excuse not to do this because we can automate it using marketing automation software like Encharge through the flow builder.

Besides the above, you can send thank you emails unrelated to website purchasing within a week of the event. For example, if you need to send an email thanking a business associate for a service, send this within a week.

Look at the table below for timescales on sending thank you emails.

Thank You Emails Timescale

5 crucial tips for writing thank you emails

You now know a little more about thank you emails. You know when to send them, how important they are, and why they are necessary.

When writing your own, consider these five crucial tips:

1. Personal touch. I bark about this all the time because it’s so important. When writing emails, you should always use personalization to create a better relationship with the receiver. Simple touches like adding their name to the email subject line and body will produce better long-term results than you realize. Instapage backs this up, stating that marketers see an 82% increase in open rates when personalizing emails.
2. Automate like a human. Email automation is acceptable and recommended, but write like a human being and don’t use an obvious template when you do it. Instead, spend time writing your emails before adding them to your autoresponder. 
3. Be specific. When writing the email, aim to be precise where possible. For example, show order details and any other important information — this will show the person reading it that you spent a little time writing it.
4. Show gratitude. Thanking your clients/customers at the beginning and again at the end of the email is the minimum requirement. Still, you can go further by offering them a free report — i.e., a 10% discount or some other gratitude gift. This method works wonders for business relationships.
5. Offer help. Provide your email address, personal phone number (when possible). Let the client/customer know they can contact you with any issues and provide links to helpful information. This simple approach goes a long way with customers and clients — they feel wanted, appreciated, and it could boost your business in the long run.

10 automated and live thank you email subject lines.

Right, let’s get into some real-life examples.

We’ll start with the subject lines.

Subject lines are essential and should include a clear understanding and come with a personal touch.

Here are ten subject line templates to get you started:

1. Thank you {{person.firstName}} 
2. {{person.firstName}} thank you for your booking
3. Personal thank you message for {{person.firstName}}
4. {{person.firstName}} we want to show our gratitude
5. {{person.firstName}} we’re so grateful for your custom
6. {{person.firstName}} thank you for [purchasing]?
7. Thank you for attending the webinar {{person.firstName}}
8. Hey {{person.firstName}} thank you from the heart
9. Thank you for choosing us {{person.firstName}}
10. A genuine thank you message for {{person.firstName}}

And here are a few real-life examples from businesses and colleagues around the world:

Example 1: Frugal Feminista Store. 

This example is a simple thank you subject line where the business thanked a client for attending a coaching call.

Example 2: Credit karma

Credit Karma uses this subject line to say thanks for using their service for the past 12 months. 

Example 3. Hope University.

The University of Liverpool used personalization to thank someone who had signed up to attend an open day event.

Example 4: Marie Forleo

Marie Forleo uses personalization and an Emoji to make the subject line stand out. A recent article on OptinMonster reports that using Emojis in emails can increase the effectiveness of your marketing by 70%.

Example 5: eBay

This subject line is from eBay thanking a lead for registering on their website.

Example 6. Director to the employee.

This subject line was from a director at a company thanking his receptionist for helping him with a contract.

10 templates and live thank you email examples. 

Let’s move on to the actual emails.

Below is a list of ten automated thank you email examples from a range of websites online. 

They use personalization and are written purposely to make the client or customer feel good about your business. 

Thank you email template for loyalty

This email template is suitable when you need to thank your subscribers for the loyalty they have shown you over a set time.

You can set this up to go out automatically in your email marketing software.

Unsplash, thank you email example

The email example below is from Unsplash. They’re thanking a client for reaching a set amount of views using their website.

Thank you email template for an order

The following template is suitable when you are thanking a customer for an order.

Blankenship Dispensary email example

The example email below is from Blankenship. It’s an email they use to thank the customer for placing an order with them.

Information request thank you email template.

Use this template when replying to a customer or a potential customer inquiry.

GMC example email

The example below from GMC is a simple message thanking a subscriber for requesting information.

Thank you for Аttending an event template

This template is excellent to send to all of your clients who attended a live event or seminar.

Design & Ethics email example email below:

Design & Ethics uses the following email when thanking clients who attended a recent event. Notice how they get them to go to Facebook to watch the highlights.

Seasonal thank you email template.

You can use this template for any seasonal (holiday) event throughout the year.

Playstation happy holidays email example

Playstation has created a smart-looking seasonal email template that offers a gift for the customer.

Take a look below.

Thank you for booking template

When someone books an event such as a seminar, live show, workshop, etc., you can use this template to write your thank you email.

Liverpool university booking email example

The example below is from a university in the UK. It’s thanking a potential student for booking a place on the open day.

Subscription email template

This template is ideal for subscription services such as Netflix and Clickfunnels. Notice how it provides everything the subscriber needs to know in one email.

Dazn email example

Dazn is a sports tv service available through a monthly subscription. The email below is their thank you email when signing up.

Signing up to email list thank you email

Probably the most popular email to send. This template is suitable to use when a subscriber signs up to your email list.

The template insinuates that a tripwire incentive was used on the squeeze page.

Pat Flynn’s excellent thank you email example

This email example is from the excellent Pat Flynn. 

Thank you for trying our services email template

You can use this template when thanking a customer for trying a service. This service will typically be a free trial.

Chipotle email example thanking a customer for trying a service

The below email is from Chipotle, and although basic, it does use an incentive by giving the subscriber free points.

Thank you email for providing feedback template

The final template is suitable for thanking your email list for filling in a feedback form or questionnaire.

Pro tip: Use our Free AI Subject Line Generator to get more ideas for your subject lines

Revolution Tea email example

The email below is from Revolution Tea. They thank their customers for filling in a survey that provides them with helpful information about their products.

How to automate sending a thank you email in Encharge

These emails can be automated using your email marketing software. You can set them up to go out at a specific time.

For example:

If a customer purchases a product from your website, you can send a thank you email to go out a few hours after the confirmation email.

Or you could send out a thank you email 24 hours after a webinar.

It’s easy to set up.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it with Encharge.

Step 1: Create a flow

Create a new flow from the Flows page.

Step 2: Choose a trigger

Choose the trigger that will send the thank you email automatically. For example, “New Stripe Payment”. 

Check out the previous section for example triggers that you can use for this particular type of email.

Step 3: Connect the trigger step to a Send Email step

Add a Send Email step and link the trigger step to it. Create the thank you email using one of the templates presented in this post.

If you want, you can also add a wait step between the trigger and the Send Email step instead of sending the email immediately.

Step 4: Name and activate the flow

That’s pretty much it. You have just set up an automated email flow. Now, when someone makes a purchase, they will receive your personalized thank you email.

Do you want to try this live?

Take Encharge for a spin with a 14-day free trial and implement your thank you email using these steps.

Final thoughts on thank you emails

You now have 10 email templates and live examples to help you write your thank you emails. I’ve also provided 10 subject lines templates and 6 live examples.

This article provides enough information to create a series of emails that you can add to your email flows and send them out using automation.

Remember to use personalization, and spend a little bit of time perfecting the templates.

Try to come across as being grateful and sincere.

While the email templates are a great starting point, it’s best to edit them to suit your needs and business — use them as a base for creating your own.

A simple thank you can go a long way with customers and clients.
So make sure you have your thank you emails written and loaded into your marketing automation platform.