May is a great month for running themed newsletters as it has numerous events and holidays you can capitalize on.
From Memorial Day weekend to Mother’s Day, there are many May newsletter ideas you can try to engage your subscribers.
If you want to send weekly newsletters centered around one monthly theme, then there are great options for that as well.
In this post, you will find a list of holidays and special occasions in May 2024, some great May 2024 newsletter ideas, and 50+ May newsletter subject lines.
Let’s get right to it.
Holidays in May 2024
Here’s a list of all major holidays and special days in May 2024.
May 1: Loyalty Day
May 2: International Harry Potter Day
May 3: Laughter Day
May 4: Star Wars Day and International Firefighters’ Day
May 5: National Space Day and Cinco de Mayo
May 6: National Nurses Day and International No Diet Day
May 8: No Socks Day
May 12: International Nurses Day
May 13: World Fair Trade Day
May 14: Mother’s Day
May 15: International Day of Families
May 16: National Do Something Good for Your Neighbor Day
May 17: Endangered Species Day and Bike to Work Day
May 18: International Museum Day
May 25: National Wine Day
May 27: Memorial Day
May 31: World No Tobacco Day
Check out these newsletter ideas, categorized by mon-long, week-long, and day-long themes.
May Newsletter ideas for month-long occasions
There are several themes you can use for the month of May. Here are month-long events that you can center your May newsletters around.
1. National Mental Health Awareness Month
Utilize the mental health awareness theme in your May newsletters by:
- Spreading mental health awareness
- Providing useful tips to cope with mental disorders
- Sharing self-care tips for your audience
- Interviewing mental health experts and sharing excerpts
Check out how Calm uses mental health as a theme for its newsletter and effectively promotes its content and app.
Image via Really Good Email
2. Better Sleep Month
One of the May 2024 newsletter ideas you can implement is to use “good sleep” as your theme for the month. Use your newsletters to:
- Share tips on how to sleep better
- Spread awareness of sleeping disorders and their prevalence
- Provide a curated list of products to get better sleep
Here’s an example of a newsletter that offers tips on how to sleep better.
Image via Really Good Email
3. National Bike Month
If you’re in an industry where biking is a relevant topic for your audience, then this is a great May newsletter idea for you. You can:
- Share tips on bike maintenance and care
- Curate a list of biking events and trails
- Provide a list of tips for safe bicycling
- Promote your products, if you sell bikes or related products
One great way to celebrate National Bike Month is by offering discounts, as in this example.
Image via Really Good Emails
May Newsletter ideas for week-long occasions
Here are some week-long events you can use as May themes for your newsletters.
4. National Small Business Week (April 28 – May 4, 2024)
This event is perfect for companies whose target audience is small business owners. You can leverage this theme in your newsletters by:
- Giving a shoutout to some local businesses you support
- Sharing tips for launching a successful small business
- Encouraging your audience to support local businesses in their communities
- If you are a small business owner, you can send a campaign to your audience, remind them about it this week, and ask them to support your business by choosing you over big ecommerce players.
Check out this newsletter sent by GoDaddy to celebrate National Small Business Week.
Image via Really Good Emails
5. Be Kind to Animals Week (May 5th to 11th)
This occasion is one of the May newsletter ideas that anyone can use, regardless of industry and niche. Everyone loves animals and you can use it as a theme for your newsletter. Here’s what you can do.
- Share a list of animal shelters and rescue organizations
- Encourage your audience to volunteer at such organizations
- Provide a list of tips to take care of pets and be kind to animals
Here’s an example from Native Pet where they share a list of ideas to treat pet dogs with love and kindness.
Image via Really Good Emails
6. National Nurse’s Week (May 6th to 12th)
Looking for May newsletter topics that will appeal to most people? Celebrate the contributions of nurses during the National Nurses Week.
Here are some May newsletter ideas for you to try:
- Highlight the contributions of nurses in the healthcare system
- Interview a nurse and share excerpts from the interview
- Ask readers to show appreciation for nurses within their communities
Here’s another newsletter idea—thank the nurses—as UF Health has done in the newsletter below.
Image via UF Department of Urology
May Newsletter ideas for day-long occasions
Instead of using May themes for a week or month, you can choose to celebrate various days in your weekly May newsletters.
Here are some special occasions and events you can use for your May newsletter.
7. Laughter Day
Use humor as your May theme and send funny newsletters that make the readers laugh or smile with joy. Spread joy through your May newsletter by:
- Sharing a joke or a limerick
- Adding a funny meme or GIF
- Using funny visuals to make people laugh
Check out this newsletter by BuzzFeed with funny cat pictures that are bound to bring a smile to the readers’ faces.
Image via Really Good Emails
8. Star Wars Day
Star Wars is a cult classic, and an entire generation of Americans are fans of this phenomenal movie franchisee. No matter who your target audience is, you will likely find some Star Wars fans among them.
Design a Star Wars themes newsletter this May and engage your audience with exciting content.
Here are some ecommerce newsletter ideas you can try:
- Use Star Wars themes and colors for your May newsletter
- Promote your range of Star Wars-themed products and merchandise
- Add some famous quotes or dialogues from the movies to your emails
Check out how MeUndies uses this occasion to promote their Star Wars product collection.
Image via Really Good Emails
9. Cinco de Mayo
This is a popular Mexican celebration, one you can use as a theme for your May newsletter. There’s a large Mexican community in the US that celebrates the day and you can connect with them by celebrating the occasion together.
Try these May newsletter ideas to celebrate the occasion and connect with your audience:
- Share the history of the festival or facts related to it
- Promote your products that are apt for the celebration
- Curate a list of ideas for how to celebrate the occasion and make it festive
- Share a list of traditional Mexican recipes people can prepare for the celebration
Alternatively, you can simply offer a discount on your products, just like Forever 21 did in this email.
Image via Pinterest
10. Mother’s Day
This is one of the best May school newsletter ideas to target a younger audience. However, it works just as well on adults. After all, who doesn’t love their mother?
Here are some May 2024 newsletter ideas to celebrate Mother’s Day with your email subscribers:
- Curate a list of gift ideas for mothers and promote relevant products
- Share stories of women employees in your company who are mothers
- Run a Monther’s Day sale or promotion and use your newsletter to promote it
Here’s an example of a Mother’s Day newsletter by Headspace, which offers a 20% discount on its subscription for the occasion.
Image via Really Good Emails
11. Memorial Day
This is one of the federal holidays in the US, one that most people celebrate with pride. No matter what type of business you run, you can use this as a theme for your May newsletter and engage your audience.
Here are some May 2024 newsletter ideas you can try for this Memorial Day weekend:
- Share stories of famous army veterans and their bravery
- Offer special discounts and offers to veterans and their families
- Run a sitewide discount or sale to drive more purchases
- Provide a list of ways in which people can support veterans and their families
You can also donate a % of your profit from the weekend’s sales to the families of veterans, just like On/Go has done in this example.
Image via Really Good Email
Looking for ready-to-use May newsletter subject lines? Here are some great options for three of the biggest occasions this May.
Cinco de Mayo email subject lines
Check out these amazing Cinco de Mayo email subject lines and use the one you like in your May 2024 newsletter.
- A Cinco de Mayo Party to Remember 🎉
- 5 Fast Cinco De Mayo Facts
- Big Cinco de Mayo sale! Don’t miss out
- Savor the flavors of Mexico this Cinco de Mayo
- Ready for Cinco de Mayo happy hour?
- Cinco de Mayo Fiesta – 20% Off
- What’s the True Meaning of Cinco De Mayo?
- Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with our spicy deals
- Join us for a Cinco de Mayo celebration 🎊
- Tacos, Tequila, & Terrific Service at Marylou’s Kitchen
- Get ready for a fiesta on May 5th
- A Cinco de Mayo celebration like no other
- Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with traditional Mexican recipes
- Holy Guacamole! It’s A Cinco de Mayo Fiesta! 🎊
- Let’s make Cinco de Mayo delicious
- Cinco de Mayo deals you won’t want to miss
- LIMITED TIME: $5 Off For Cinco De Mayo!
- Explore Mexico this Cinco de Mayo
- Cinco de Mayo Special from [COMPANY NAME]
- Shake Things Up This Cinco de Mayo
Mother’s Day email subject lines
Here are some great Mother’s Day newsletter subject lines that you can use for your May newsletter.
- 3 Mother’s Day Gifts Mom Will Love
- 💝 A gift she will remember forever
- Celebrating the wonder of motherhood 🎊
- Just in Time! New Mother’s Day Must-Haves
- HOURS LEFT— Our Extended Mother’s Day Sale ends tonight!
- “A Gift for Mom & A Gift for You!”
- Find her a gift in less than 60 secs
- Get mom what she really wants🎀
- Sending love and gratitude to all the amazing moms
- Here is your early bird coupon for Mother’s Day
- This Just In: Mother’s Day Gifts, $50 & Under
- 30% Off Sitewide for Mother’s Day!
- Happy Mother’s Day from the Entire Team at [Company Name]
- Sweet surprises for the sweetest moms: Happy Mother’s Day
- Don’t Blow Mother’s Day! (Order Your Gift Today)
- Every Day Should Be Mother’s Day
- Happy Mother’s Day – 10% Off this weekend
- Because moms deserve the best 🤗
- Last Minute Mother’s Day Gifts She’ll Love💝
- It’s time for Ma to go to Spa!
Memorial Day email subject lines
Looking for some engaging Memorial Day email subject lines? Here’s a list of options for you to choose from.
- Quit Clicking & Get Grillin’
- 30% Off Memorial Day Sale
- Stars, stripes & SAVINGS!
- Memorial Day GIVEAWAY!
- STARTS NOW! Memorial Day flash sale
- Veterans Get a Bonus Gift This Memorial Day
- 👀 Exclusive Memorial Day Sale Sneak Peak!
- Memorial Day savings – save 25% off EVERYTHING!!
- Our Annual Memorial Day Sale is Here
- The Memorial Day Sale Starts at Midnight! 🕛
- Memorial Day sale: 10% off sitewide
- How We’re Honoring Memorial Day
- Suns out 😎 and so are our MDW sale items
- Salute-worthy savings in honor of Memorial Day 🎊
- Memorial Day Your Way
May newsletter ideas: Wrap up
There you have it—some of the best ecommerce newsletter ideas for May 2024 and ready-to-use email subject lines for key occasions.
Use this post to get inspiration for your May 2024 newsletters and drive audience engagement like never before.
