This article is a step-by-step story about how Death Wish Coffee sold out their Halloween promo.
If you don’t know DWC, they market themselves as “the world’s strongest coffee” with ridiculous amounts of caffeine in it (thus the name).
Before we jump into it, let me tell you how NOT to run a Halloween sale:
Step 1: Send an email campaign with the “No Tricks, Just Treats” angle — because clearly no brand in history ever thought of that.
Step 2: When they don’t buy, blast a follow-up email to your entire list saying how scary it is the deal is about to end.
Step 3: When they still don’t buy, send a plain-text email from the founder 3 days after Halloween because “that’s the best practice.”
Sadly, this is how most brands approach Halloween sales.
If I had a dime for every “No tricks, just treats” email I received this year, I could probably cover my weekly grocery haul.
But luckily, there are still brands out there that decide not to follow the crowd and do something completely different.
Like Death Wish Coffee.
I’m not gonna lie…
If your brand has the word “Death” in its name, there’s extra pressure to launch a killer Halloween campaign.
Expectations are high, to say the least.
What is Emails That Sell?
Each week, I break down an email from a DTC e-commerce brand. Some of these brands are absolutely killing it when it comes to email marketing.
My goal with this series is to challenge conventional email marketing. Expect to learn different copywriting techniques, sales psychology, and consumer behavior — everything that moves you away from hard-selling discount campaigns and other mass-market tactics.
If you have an email you want me to break down, send it over to me on LinkedIn or at marketing@siimpettai.com.
Let’s get into it now:
So here’s what went down…
A week before Halloween, Death Wish Coffee teased a new product launch:
You can see a branded mug here and not much else.
But the second campaign, sent five days before Halloween, revealed the bigger story:
Apparently, they’d been working with a pottery to a launch limited-edition mugs for Halloween.
A few reasons why this email campaign works:
First of all, the gif along with the headline is ridiculous and immediately catches your attention.
But the content itself creates excitement around the launch.
Notice how they refer to the mugs as “mystery.”
Why is that?
Well, it turned out the whole idea was that if you ordered one of these mugs on Halloween, you wouldn’t know which design you’d get until it arrived.
This created intrigue…
Another VERY important thing:
They also mention that the mugs are limited-edition, meaning when Halloween arrives, only 750 samples will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
This scarcity tactic instantly generated urgency and desire.
When I clicked on the email, I was directed to an interview blog post:
In the article, they not only showcased the mugs but also talked about the craftsmanship and the care that went into creating them:
I thought this was super cool.
As a customer, this signals to me that these mugs aren’t mass-produced or just some cheap cash grab.
No, they actually partnered with a pottery studio that handcrafted each mug with immense care.
Another thing to notice:
To this point, there hasn’t been a single mention of the price of the mugs. Zero.
Leading up to launch day, you just knew the mugs were scarce and high quality.
On Halloween, they sent their final campaign:
Here again, they double down on the scarcity and urgency by mentioning “extremely limited” and “only 750 mugs” available.
And you know what happened?
You guessed it.
They sold out.
Just like that, $18750 in sales in one day.
From 750 mugs. $25 each.
No discounts.
No “pleaaaaaase buy” follow up emails.
No gimmicks.
Why?
Because they found an opportunity to launch a seasonal, limited-edition product that fit the target audience.
The final email campaign was there to capture the demand that was already created before.
Great job Death Wish Coffee.
TL;DR
Key takeaway #1: Don’t copy other brands. Best practices do NOT exist.
Key takeaway #2: Tell the story behind your product launch
Key takeaway #3: Use real scarcity, not spammy last chance emails.
Key takeaway #4: Let the price be a secret
Key takeaway #5: Your final email should capture demand, not create it
Key takeaway #6: Craft products that fit your brand identity
What’s next:
I’m not going to tell you to go buy Death Wish Coffee. I wouldn’t at least… that thing would probably have me living in the toilet for a week screaming for help.
But what you should do is get on their email list. Their marketing team is crushing it.
If you haven’t already, subscribe to my email list and get notified of every Emails That Sell analysis + my weekly newsletter.
