Successful Restaurant Email Marketing: A How-to Guide

Boost restaurant sales with expert email marketing tips. Learn how to build a list, craft engaging content, and turn subscribers into loyal diners.

You have a drool-worthy menu, a welcoming interior, and outstanding service that customers cannot stop talking about. However, in the current competitive economy, word-of-mouth and foot traffic are no longer enough for ensuring that tables are full daily. Although social media and review sites are relevant, no other digital marketing channel has a higher ROI than email marketing, which is also the most convenient method to connect to customers on a regular basis.

Being the most established digital marketing strategy, email is still picking up momentum, with 4.48 billion expected users in 2025! Intrigued? To get the smoking benefits of restaurant email marketing, read on.

Why Email Marketing Belongs on Every Restaurant’s Menu

It Provides a Direct Line to Patrons

You need reviews, customer feedback, or you want to tell about a special event; no matter what, email marketing for restaurants provides you with a personal approach to communicate the offers, updates, and other information to the subscribers.

It Drives Customer Retention

A restaurant’s profitability depends on acquiring new patrons and getting them to return often. Regarding retention, email outperforms other methods by 56%. Developing relationships through relevant, valuable email conversations is crucial for repeat business.

It Offers Better Value Than Paid Ads

While the organic reach of social media platforms continues to decline, ad costs keep rising. Marketing enterprise email solutions allow absolute control over when and how you correspond with patrons.

It Gives Customers What They Want

Not only is email marketing for restaurants a cost-effective outreach. Studies also show consumers genuinely want to receive exclusive discounts and deals through email.

Convinced that an email marketing API strategy should be on the menu at your restaurant or cafe? This guide will help you:

• Build a subscriber list
• Create engaging newsletters
• Craft mouthwatering subject lines
• Implement best practices for success

So let’s get cooking!

Top Ways to Build a Restaurant Email List

Building an email marketing restaurant strategy begins with a list of active subscribers. It requires consistency and creativity, but you can make your list grow if you gather addresses in both the online and offline environments. You already have loyal customers who visit your social media and restaurant site on a regular basis, and therefore, the next step is to get their emails.

Here are eight seasoned techniques for growing subscriber lists.

Offer Wi-Fi Access in Exchange for Email Addresses

Getting emails via Wi-Fi sign-up is nothing new. Provide an opt-in portal to access your restaurant’s Wi-Fi network in exchange for contact details. Services like Captivi make this easy.

Strategically Place Signup Calls-to-Action

When customers arrive at your restaurant, they are visually immersed in the environment. Put signs with your website address and email signup messages by the door, at the host stand, on tables, and in restrooms. Educate employees to clarify the advantages of signing up.

Request Emails on Receipts and Comment Cards

Many visitors love completing comment cards while waiting for their check. Put a checkbox option for signing up for a mailing list on cards and receipts. Give your clients a reason to subscribe, such as 10 percent off their next meal.

Collect Emails via Mobile Payment Apps

Some apps, such as Square, will automatically send a receipt to the customer via email. Include a sign-up for a mailing list in the receipt emails and mobile payment processes. Give them a sign-up incentive in the form of a special discount or freebie.

Use Website Popups and Opt-In Forms

Website visitors are prime email subscriber candidates. Use slide-in popups and embedded sidebar or footer opt-in forms to catch their attention. Offer a freebie like a food discount or drink coupon to encourage sign-ups.

Create Dedicated Landing Pages

If you already have a social media following, leverage it to grow your email list. Create a dedicated landing page solely focused on email signups. Promote it on all social channels through links and posts.

Send Post-Meal Follow-Up Emails

The best time to ask for contact info is after a positive dining experience, while it’s still fresh. Train staff to politely ask for emails at checkout mentioning benefits like discounts and special invites.

Automate Customer Review Collection

The easiest way to quickly gain reviews from happy patrons is by sending automated review request emails through platforms like Stamped. Reviews boost visibility and new customer conversion.

Serving Up Appetizing Email Content

You’ve assembled a savory list of subscribers. Next, keep them engaged by dishing up delicious content catered to their interests and your offerings. Avoid blasting nothing but promotions. Instead, sprinkle in a variety of informative and fun updates.

Here’s what to include in appealing restaurant newsletters:

• New or seasonal menu previews
• Birthday/loyalty club offers
• Special event invites & RSVPs
• Happy hour and daily special promos
• Behind-the-scenes content
• Customer surveys & feedback links
• Holiday hours/closures
• Gifs/memes & social media links
• Takeout/delivery instructions

Crafting Crave-Worthy Email Subject Lines

Catchy subject lines convince recipients to open emails. If no one opens, no one reads. Spend time creating irresistible subject lines for restaurant email marketing examples focused on value and intrigue.

Here are restaurant email examples sure to tantalize taste buds:

• Celebrate Your Birthday with Us! Enjoy 50% Off Your Meal
• Our New Fall Menu is Here! See the Delicious Details…
• Thanks for Visiting! Have 25% Off Your Next Meal On Us
• 2-for-1 Craft Cocktails this Friday! RSVP to Save Your Spot
• We Miss You! Have a Complimentary App with Us This Week

Sprinkle promo subject lines in between informational ones so you don’t come across as too salesy.

Essential Ingredients for Restaurant Email Success

Automate Campaigns to Save Time

Manually sending emails to hundreds or thousands of subscribers is extremely time-consuming. Leverage automation tools to schedule newsletters, promotions, surveys, and review requests according to date, time, or customer action triggers.

Segment Your List by Interests and History

Group contacts into segments like first-timers, regulars, food preferences, birthday month, anniversaries, etc. Then cater the content accordingly. New visitors may receive more promotional emails, while loyal regulars could get more VIP offers.

Personalize Message Content

Merge personalized details like names, menu favorites, loyalty status, and purchase history to make each subscriber feel special. Personalization boosts open and click-through rates significantly.

Ensure Branding Consistency

Maintain the same color scheme, logo placement, imagery, and voice across all emails. Subscribers should instantly recognize emails as coming directly from your brand. For even better visibility and authentication, implement BIMI.

Continuously Test and Optimize

Regularly A/B test email components like subject lines, content, layouts, calls to action, send times, etc. Determine what resonates best with your audience and improve metrics.

Integrate with Social Media

Add social media links to your email footer. When running promotions in emails, encourage shares and drive momentum through all channels. Coordinate emails and social posts for maximum impact.

The Winning Recipe for Restaurant Email Success

In the fiercely competitive restaurant industry, capturing customer attention and repeat business is vital for success. Email marketing delivers the highest ROI of any digital channel while fostering lasting patron relationships.

Follow this recipe to start filling more tables through email:

• Collect customer emails consistently online and offline
• Engage subscribers with varied, valuable content
• Write tempting subject lines that compel opens
• Focus on automation, segmentation, and testing
• Integrate email with your other marketing activities
• Continually tweak strategies based on performance

Treat email subscribers similarly to in-restaurant patrons. Craft communications and offers you’d genuinely appreciate as a customer yourself. Curate a stellar dining experience in your emails, and patrons will surely return for more!

The keys are creativity, consistency, value, and conveying your passion for amazing food and service in every message. With the right recipe, restaurant marketing emails will bring new guests streaming through the doors and regulars chomping at the bit to return.

Start cooking up some best restaurant email marketing campaigns and watch reservations fill up! Your hungry patrons can’t wait to devour what you dish out next. Menu expanded, ingredients prepped… now start whisking!