A campaign that collects orders ahead of fulfillment—popular for restaurants and seasonal items.
Related reading: Thanksgiving Email Campaigns: Strategy, Subject Lines & Templates
What is a Pre-Order Email?
A Pre-Order Email invites customers to reserve products or meals before they are ready to ship or pick up. It smooths demand, reduces last-minute bottlenecks, and helps plan inventory and staff. Restaurants use it for holiday menus (pies, sides, bundles), and retailers use it for limited or made-to-order items.
When to send
- Restaurants: Announce 2–3 weeks before the event or holiday; follow with a “low stock” reminder 7–10 days out and a final call 2–3 days before pickup.
- Seasonal products: Announce when production is locked; add reminders tied to quantity limits or ship-by deadlines.
Key elements
- Clear offer: Menu or product list, pricing, quantity limits.
- Logistics: Pickup/delivery windows, preparation or reheating notes, cut-off dates.
- Simple CTA: “Pre-order now” or “Reserve my order.”
- Trust cues: Refund policy, availability indicators, contact info.
How to build it in Mailpro
- Create the campaign in the Mailpro builder using a menu/grid or product block.
- Collect details with Mailpro Forms (pickup time, quantity, notes).
- Automate reminders with Automations
- Track performance in Email Statistics with UTM-tagged links.
Accessibility & compliance
-
Use live HTML text and descriptive
altattributes for images. - Show your physical address and a visible unsubscribe link.
- For any paired SMS reminders, respect local quiet hours and opt-out rules.
See also
Mailpro and pre-order emails
Pre-order updates, scheduled along the journey
Set up pre-order confirmation, shipping-date updates and launch reminders in a single Mailpro flow — your customers stay in the loop from order to delivery.