✍️ What makes a good Valentine's Day email subject line?
The best Valentine's Day subject lines lead with love, gifting, or a wink of wordplay, then earn the open with specifics. Across 1,127 real examples, the average runs 37 characters, and 31% lean on discount language. Short, warm, and concrete beats clever: name the gift, the deadline, or the deal.
Name an exact percentage21%
Use discount language31%
Top Valentine's Day subject line words
off136
gift126
gifts107
sale69
20%52
Top emojis
❤128
💘72
💕38
💌34
💝22
🎁
Gifting & gift guides
“New Additions to the Sale! Shop Up to 70% OFF 🛍️”Adore Me “A Valentine’s Gift, Just for You 💝”Azazie “Last day to get our (free) Valentine's gift… don't miss it!🍫”Magic Spoon “Shop the look of love with our Valentine's cases”OtterBox “A Valentine's Gift From Us to You! ❤️”SHEEX “A Valentines Day Gift for YOU 🩷”Odacite “Last chance to grab a Valentine’s gift that lasts ❤️”Slumblr 🏷️
Discount-led
“Andy, last chance to get up to 15% off this Valentine's Day”Qatar Airways “Last Chance! 20% Off Our Valentine's Day Collection”Elie Tahari “Final Valentine: Get Up to 70% OFF”Adore Me
“Last Chance: Up to 20% Off The Valentine’s Day Sale”HiEnd Accents “💔 Heartbreak: Up to 50% OFF Valentine’s Day Sale ends tonight!”CBDfx “Valentines Day Sale 💘 No jitters included”MUDWTR “LAST CHANCE For Up To 65% Off Valentine's Day Picks 💘”Comrad “Valentines’s Sale is here”noo.ma “⏰ Schnell sein: -20% Valentine’s Special endet bald”SNIPES “Hey, Valentine! Here's 20% Off!”Team EBY ✉️
Love & wordplay
“Happy Valentine's Day! Wait…”Martie “One Last Chance to Catch Valentine's Seafood Savings!”Sizzlefish “Last chance, Valentine ⏰”Nood “Don't Miss Out: Valentine's Deals Inside!”MUDWTR
“Make wildlife your Valentine”RSPCA “Forgot Valentine’s Again?”NADS “Need a burning ceremony after Valentine’s Day?”Solo Stove ✉️
Everything else
“Skip the Flowers, Choose Glow ❤️”SK-II “your hair’s perfect match 💘”K18Hair “Better than a box of chocolates”Bala “From “What?” to “Tell me more!””EARGO “The winter just got cooler”Love Stories
“Celebrating Galentine’s Day: a toast to true friendship! ?”Cabi 💬
Valentine's Day subject line FAQ
When should I start sending Valentine's Day email campaigns?
Late January. Gift shoppers start browsing two to three weeks out, so introduce gift guides in the last week of January, then shift to urgency as February 14 approaches. Lines like Love Stories' "Last chance: only 24 hours left" and maude's "ends tonight." show how tight that final window gets.
Does "gifts for him" and "gifts for her" framing still work?
Yes, because it removes decision friction for stressed shoppers. The more specific the audience, the better: OH LÀ LÀ CHÉRI's "For the Valentine Babydoll lovers" speaks to one buyer instead of everyone. If you have purchase or browse data, segment the send rather than cramming both audiences into one line.
How do I write Valentine's subject lines for single subscribers?
Flip the holiday. Self-love, treat-yourself, and Galentine's angles let you ride the season without assuming a couple, and a pattern interrupt like Martie's "Happy Valentine's Day! Wait…" earns curiosity from everyone. Some brands also offer a one-click opt-out of Valentine content in late January, which protects list health.
Should I use heart emojis in Valentine's Day subject lines?
Sparingly, and with intent. With the average line running 37 characters, one emoji adds color without eating mobile preview space, but inboxes fill with identical red hearts by early February. Bones Coffee Company's "Last call for Valentine's brews 💔" works because the broken heart breaks the pattern.
Designing your Valentine's Day email?
Design it in Figma and export production-ready HTML straight to your ESP with the Email Love plugin.Build it in Figma →