Email Marketing for Restaurants: The 8 Money-Making Campaigns Every Restaurant Must Send

I couldn’t figure it out.

I talked to dozens of restaurant owners about email marketing. And I kept seeing a pattern I didn’t understand:

The most successful restaurants were spending less time on email marketing than their peers.

It didn’t make sense ... until I looked at their emails.

Struggling restaurants only sent handwritten emails once in a while.

Successful restaurants sent automatic emails every single day. 90% of their emails were “set it and forget it.” That was the secret.

So I studied their best money-making emails. Then our team built them in Owner as ready-made templates. As Owner customers sent these emails, we got even more data to prove they worked.

It turns out, there are tried-and-true email campaigns every restaurant should send. These emails can grow your revenue upward of 10% to 20% and will pay you back on autopilot.

After you read this guide, you’ll have the eight most profitable emails for any restaurant. Emails you can set up fast.

Now, let’s dig in. 👇

3 reasons why restaurants need email marketing 

Before I get into those emails, it’s worth asking: Why bother?

I work with restaurant owners daily. I know they have very little time to spare on another marketing channel. Anything new needs to show a return.

In spite of that, I always tell owners that email marketing is worth it. No question. It can transform your business.

And that’s because it offers three unique advantages that other marketing channels don’t:

1. Email directly grows your sales

There are only three ways to grow your restaurant’s revenue:

1. Increase the number of new customers
2. Increase the number of repeat orders
3. Increase the average check size

Most marketing channels affect just one of those numbers. We know restaurant SEO matters, because Google sends 15 times more new customers than social media. That alone makes Google valuable.

When done right, email marketing grows revenue across all these areas. New customers, repeat orders, and larger check sizes.

Email marketing also has one of the lowest costs of all marketing channels. So every dollar you earn brings more in profit than other channels.

2. Email grows your sales per customer

I recently met a restaurant owner at a tradeshow and loved how she described email’s role in her business. “I see email like a bridge,” she said. “It helps almost-customers become customers, and one-time customers get to regular status.”

It’s a great metaphor. Email moves customers from one stage to the next. Email makes your customers more valuable.

After subtracting marketing costs, many one-time customers aren’t profitable. It’s their second order (and beyond) that makes them profitable.

This really matters for fast casual and takeout-heavy restaurants. These types of restaurants have lower-margin entrees that guests order frequently. Repeat orders are what make the business work.

3. Results from email are reliable

Email isn’t affected by the latest Google algorithm update. Or any algorithm update. No one controls email so no one can come in one day and change all the rules.

This is really important. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook update their rules all the time. These changes sometimes make reaching customers harder for restaurants.

For example, Facebook now sends 80% less traffic to websites than in 2021. Facebook posts used to be a great way for restaurants to find customers. Now, not so much.

Email is a channel you control. How well your emails perform is up to you. If you send great emails to the right customers, email marketing will work. It’s that simple.

Before you begin: Make sure to build your email list

Many restaurant owners tell me their biggest marketing regret is not collecting emails from Day 1.

You already know customer data gets trapped on DoorDash and Uber Eats. Third-party apps still make it almost impossible to export your customer data.

You don’t need to overthink this. Just don’t forget it. You’ll likely collect the most emails from the most obvious places:

• Your online ordering: ask for emails at checkout to share order updates.
• Your mobile app: get emails as customers are signing up.
• Your rewards program: ask for an email as a requirement to join.
• In-person orders: show the option on your POS or train staff to ask.
• DoorDash orders: drop a flier that offers 15% off if guests order on your website.

You can get creative, too. But start with these places first. A restaurant with a healthy order volume will collect emails a lot faster than you expect.

And that lets you reach so many more guests with the email campaigns we’ll cover below.

The 5 best money-making emails for restaurants

Email marketing is a lot simpler when you realize there are two main groups of emails.

And in those two groups, a small number of emails produce the biggest results.

Put another way, we can make money by setting up just a few emails.

After helping hundreds of restaurants with email marketing, I realized something. The best emails focus on the key moments a guest has with your restaurant.

At each key moment, you can send an automated email to influence a customer’s next step. That’s what makes these emails so powerful: they reach customers at just the right time. No wonder some milestone emails drive 30 times more revenue than one-off emails. 

I’ve studied the data from hundreds of thousands of milestone emails we’ve sent through Owner. I’ve seen which ones work.

And in this next section, I want to help you set up the most profitable milestone emails for your restaurant. The data is clear: these emails drive the most revenue in the shortest amount of time.

Campaign #1: Cart abandonment emails

Let’s start with our “almost-customers.” These are guests who add items to their cart without checking out.

It turns out, lots of guests do this: Data suggests more than 70% of carts are abandoned. Whatever the number, there’s no arguing that abandoned carts = money left on the table.

There’s two things I love about these campaigns. First, they work fast. My friends Mo and Omar, co-founders of Talkin’ Tacos, send great cart abandonment emails. They set these emails up in minutes with Owner, and they now earn shy of $2,450 in new sales per month.

Second, these emails are simple to make. Your copy and visuals can be direct. Nothing fancy. Just remind guests what they left in their cart and show them a picture.

Make sure it’s easy to complete the order right from the email. Preferably, in just a few clicks.

These emails work on me all the time. It makes sense. A million things can distract guests before they finish ordering—especially on mobile. Later, when they’re free, they might want the exact same order. All it takes is a reminder.

💡 Tip from Adam: Abandoned cart emails are maybe the only “quick win” in restaurant marketing. I’m serious! They produce near-immediate results. There’s zero risk. And their performance generally stays the same over time. I highly recommend them.

Campaign #2: Welcome email

When a guest shares their email with you, it’s important to set expectations upfront. That way, you make it clear why your emails will be worth opening in the future.

We can do this with a welcome email. These emails are sent in the first two days or so after a guest leaves their email with us.

Rahul at Saffron Indian Kitchen sends a great one. His welcome email says, “Hey, I saw you just joined us. By the way, our newsletter gets you access to specials, new discounts, and more.” The benefits of staying subscribed are clear. And this helps increase open rates for future emails.

The welcome email starts with a win-win offer, too.

Rahu recommends guests try direct ordering from his app. He reminds guests his app has rewards built-in and it saves them money. Add to that, 20% off your first direct order is hard to resist.

No wonder this email alone drives over $1,000 in sales per month for Saffron. And it keeps driving sales every single day, just like clockwork.

Campaign #3: First-time customer campaign

If you look at all your customers today, I bet a majority are single-order customers. As we covered, one-time customers aren’t super profitable.

First-time customer campaigns try to earn that initial reorder. The one that makes customers much more profitable.

These campaigns also have another job: to get feedback. That way, you can fix mistakes for future customers. This almost always improves your reorder rate over the long term.

To start seeing improvements here, focus on these two emails first:

1. First 24 hours: “We’d love your feedback”

The first 24 hours aren’t the time to nudge customers to order again. You’re not yet sure they enjoyed their first meal.

So let’s ask them. We can also use this email to hear about any issues they had. That gives us a chance to make things right and reduces the risk of getting a negative review.

My friend Antoinette, owner of Ottavio’s Italian Restaurant, sends a powerful feedback email. 

One hour after an order is delivered, an email goes out and asks guests to score their experience. If guests are unhappy, an automatic reply is sent saying, “We’re sorry we let you down. We’ll be in touch right away.”

If guests say they had a five-star experience, a follow-up message asks if they’d post it online. Guests are even given bonus loyalty points for taking the time to do so.

It’s simple but powerful because it accomplishes so many things at once:

• Earns more positive reviews. It catches happy customers at just the right time to leave positive feedback.
• Redirects unhappy guests. Usually, direct contact with unhappy customers helps you resolve their issue more successfully.
• Invites guests to leave feedback. Feedback is a gift. Every restaurant owner should seek it out. And this email makes sure it’s always coming in.
• Shows guests that she cares. Antionette really cares about her customer’s experience. And that shines through in her email.

2. First 7 days: “You might also like …”

Once we’ve gotten feedback and fixed any issues, now we can start staying top of mind with customers. 

I’ve tested this extensively and found that showing happy guests what else is on your menu works wonders. Within the first week, send guests an email that recommends new menu items based on what they’ve ordered. You can also set this up in Owner in just a few minutes.

Rahul from Saffron Indian Kitchen sends another great email in this style. And it’s super profitable.

Rahul noticed in-person customers always asked him and his staff asked for recommendations. Then he thought to himself, “Well, what about guests ordering online?”

So, Rahul used Owner to create a new campaign. Now, guests get two to three emails after their first order that recommends dishes they’d probably like. These emails also feature great photos and a button to reorder in one click. All sent automatically.

The results were almost instant. Rahul earned $4,000 in repeat orders just 30 days after setting these emails live.

Campaign #4: Repeat order emails

We’ve set up emails for new customers. Now it’s time to stay top of mind with guests who’ve ordered multiple times—our regulars. This is the bread-and-butter of email marketing. 

Discounts and special offers are a powerful way to do this. But we need to be mindful of profit margins and not train customers to always expect discounts.

I recommend using the discount ladder approach, created by business owner Drew Sanocki. Here’s how it works:

• Initial phase: after a short period of no orders (~30 days), the customer receives a small discount (e.g., 5%–10%).
• Intermediate phase: if the customer didn’t bite after the first offer (~60 days), the discount increases (e.g., 10%–20%).
• Final phase: as a customer begins slipping away (~90 days), the discount reaches its highest level (e.g., 20%–30%).

Let’s break this down by looking at examples from a single brand: Domino’s. That way, we’ll be able to see the full set of emails they send over time.

My reward points are shown at the top of the emails below. Note how they increase over time. The number of times I’ve ordered affects what emails I receive.

1. Initial discount

Domino’s leads with a $3 off coupon—a good example of the discount ladder in action.

It takes it further by promoting it in an interesting way: the discount is a reward for your tip. If you tip $3 or more, the initial discount sends it back to you.

This is smart. We don’t want to offer too large of a discount for only a little bit of inactivity. Guests could love your food and just be away on vacation.

2. Loyalty program enrollment

Regulars that join your rewards program order 17% more often on average. If you run a quick-service restaurant, rewards programs are very profitable.

So it’s smart to advertise your rewards program as part of your repeat order emails. Focus on the benefits of joining: the rewards themselves and how guests earn them.

I really like how Domino’s frames things. Every two orders should earn you something free.

That helps make rewards feel concrete and simple. Guests think, “Hey, I get pizza twice a month. So that means I’ll earn rewards fast!”

3. High-margin bonus offer

Discounts work best with menu items that already have high margins. This way, the customer still feels great. But you don’t lose money or eat into the margins for your higher-ticket items—like meat-based dishes.

Here, Domino’s offers a free (high-margin) dessert, but sets a minimum order size. This is to ensure guests at least consider an entree to reach the minimum.

Even if the customer skips the pizza, Domino’s still doesn’t lose much money over the dessert.

4. New rewards unlocked

A guest’s reward progress must be easily visible. In the mobile apps that Owner builds, for example, we display progress right on the homepage.

You can take this even further. Send targeted emails to guests once they unlock the next reward or level in your rewards program. Or right when they’re about to unlock a reward. This ideally happens whether they order in your app or online.

The key with these emails is to visually show guests what rewards they can claim. High-margin sides are best because they get guests to “complete” their order with an entree.

5. Special app offers

Restaurant mobile apps are wildly effective. Owner’s data on apps is clear:

• Restaurants with apps get 85% more return customers than restaurants without an app.
• Regulars who use a restaurant’s app order two times more on average than non-app customers.

Domino’s is willing to offer a generous discount to get guests to use their app. Especially after they’ve seen guests order enough to be considered a regular.

If you have the data, base discounts for first app orders on what app customers are usually worth. It may make sense to break-even on their first order—app customers are that valuable.

6. VIP offers

Your “VIPs” make large or consistent purchases from you. These customers are worth a lot.

I used to think the loyalty program campaign covered it. But I’ve since learned that some restaurants have VIP guests who are in a whole different league. Sometimes, only 2% to 3% of their customers are VIPs.

You’ll have to define when a guest reaches VIP status based on your numbers. Maybe it’s five times the average number of orders. Whatever you use, create discounts that appeal to these valuable guests:

• Special combo offers: VIPs order a lot of food. So they’re the most likely to order a large combo. Send them an offer that discounts a group of items with a high check size.
• Rewards for feedback: How can you get more VIP customers? Ask them! VIPs are so valuable it’s worth sending them a discount in exchange for feedback.

Side note: Can I send too many emails?

You might be thinking, “Adam, these are great. But will I end up sending too many emails?” Yes, that is possible! But, I guarantee that “too many” is much higher than you think.

We’ve been looking at Domino’s emails. Here’s what it sent me in under a month:

Now, this is every email they sent. Seasonal offers, local specials, etc. I don’t recommend this many emails. But I’d bet you can send more than you are now.

Campaign #5: Win-back emails

Sometimes, customers stop ordering from you just because they got busy. This is actually good news in disguise: these “inactive” regulars are a goldmine. 

Inactive regulars already enjoy your food. You just need to give them a reason to return.

Phillip Hang, founder of Sushi Me Rollin’, runs a super profitable win-back campaign. He uses Owner to automatically message regulars who are starting to slip away.

Every customer receives an email sequence after reaching these milestones:

• Once the customer has placed an order at least 3 times
• Once the customer hasn’t ordered in the past 45 days

These guests are sent an email that shares their past orders and a special discount to reorder. That helps Philip ensure that he’s reaching regulars who already enjoy his menu. And he emails them just as they’re beginning to lose interest.

This email brings a lot of regulars back in. Phillip increased repeat orders by more than $1,500/month just a few weeks after setting it live.

🧰 Advanced tip: Find more profitable customers

We’ve covered the best milestone emails to make money. But you know your business. So if you want to look for new “key moments” in the customer journey, here’s a tip:

The RFMA model is how pro-marketers find key customer moments. Here’s how it works:

• Recency (R) is the number of days since a guest’s last order.
• Frequency (F) is the total number of times a guest has ordered.
• Monetary value (M) is a guest’s total spend—the sum of all their orders.
• Action (A) is a standalone action a guest takes on your website, in your mobile app, or even at your restaurant. 

Using these metrics, you can find any key moment in the customer journey. This helps you find moments that are important to your unique business. Then you can email customers at exactly the right time.

Send these 3 email campaigns to boost orders

Of course, not every email fits neatly into the customer journey. Some campaigns work best as a one-time promotion. Or when automatically sent based on a seasonal event.

I call emails in this category promotional emails. These emails you don’t want to fully automate, because they work best with your voice and personality.

There’s a small set I’ve found that does really well. They’re campaigns that promote something you want all of your guests to see.

Just remember, you only want to send promotional emails to active guests. These are guests who have ordered in the past 90 days or so. Sending promotional emails to inactive guests will hurt your open rates and waste money. So only target active guests.

With that in mind, now I want to share the most profitable promotional emails I’ve seen:

Campaign #1: Weekly/monthly specials

Promotional emails are based on actions you take. That’s what makes them powerful.

My friend Timarie Shibley, the owner of Doo-Dah Diner, sends one of my favorites. She and her husband, Chef Patrick, create a new special for the menu that’s available just for that week.

They’d been looking for ways to get regulars to return more often. So Timarie thought, “Why don’t we just take our specials menu online and email it to guests?” She now sends out a weekly campaign to every subscriber sharing the week’s special.

The design is beautifully simple. First, a crisp photo of the food up top. Then, a rich description under it sharing what goes into the dish, how it’s prepared, and so on. Finally, a button to order the special for dine-in or takeout.

During a typical week, this email drives $500 in additional sales. That’s $2,000 a month, or $24,000 a year, minimum. Sometimes, these specials are a huge hit and the extra sales are multiple times that.

This is one email that can’t be fully automated. But Timarie does something smart to save time. She rotates between 20 to 30 different specials during the year. These specials already have her photographs and written descriptions. And she knows they’re popular from previous order data.

Timarie’s email has all the great traits of a promotional campaign: scarcity, urgency, and a consistent schedule. Guests know these dishes won’t be available past the week, which encourages them to act.

Campaign #2: New menu items (or changes)

New menu items are a magnet for regulars and new customers alike. It also takes a lot of effort to introduce a new menu item, so you should always promote them.

There are a lot of approaches you can take. Let’s run through what that might look like if we added “birria tacos” to our menu:

• Exclusive preview. A pre-launch for a new menu item? You bet! Imagine an email that says, “🔥 Coming Friday: New birria tacos.” Then you share how guests have been asking for this dish, why you’re excited about the recipe, and so on. Then, the next step …
• Limited time offer. We’ll give rewards members two times points for ordering birria tacos in the first week. Maybe we’ll also offer a discount for first-time customers. I’ve seen the normal discounts work twice as  well when they’re tied to a new menu time.
• Positive review. One week after launch, we’ll send a follow-up email with positive reviews from guests who tried the birria tacos. If we have a hit, social proof is a great way to get people excited. In this follow-up, we might offer a free high-margin side for all orders of birria tacos this month.

All that is to say, new menu items give you lots of options to send promotions over email. You just have to get creative.

Campaign #3: Restaurant promotions

There are two types of restaurant promotions that work well over email: recurring promotions you run on a schedule, and seasonal promotions that appear during events. Let’s cover both now.

Recurring promotions

Of course, you can’t create new menu items every week. So how about a special that celebrates your flagship menu item?

Speaking of tacos, my friends Mo and Omar from Talkin’ Tacos handle this perfectly. They automatically email guests every Tuesday afternoon to remind them about Taco Tuesday. This is a promotion where they offer 20% off tacos and taco meals.

This reminder email lists all the relevant dishes. It also highlights the savings from ordering directly from their website and app. That’s where guests must order to get the discount. Their strategy earns more than $500 every single Tuesday. But there are even more reasons to love this approach:

• It gets guests to order directly. The Talkin’ Tacos promotion is only valid on the brand’s website and app, not on DoorDash. I recommend you do the same.
• It helps keep guests engaged. Regular promotions get more engagement than random specials guests aren’t anticipating. Regular specials become part of guests’ routines. Like a Taco Tuesday lunch break with co-workers.
• It can create local buzz. Regular specials can also take on a life of their own outside of emails. Most local spots I know get a huge chunk of the neighborhood to show up for the famous specials.
• It gives you a reason to email. Simply put, a recurring special gives you a good reason to message guests every single week.

Seasonal promotions

Seasonal events draw people out looking for something to do. Targeted emails and promotions can drive them to your restaurant as a solution.

Campaigns for seasonal events don’t have to be one-offs, either. In the example below, we’ll send a before, day-of, and follow up broadcast for the Super Bowl.

You know the playbook. Draw in guests with event-specific dishes or themed menus. Sweeten the deal with a discount to encourage higher spending or attract big groups.

Here’s how I like to take these campaigns to the next level:

• Run an in-person contest. Events are all about community. Themed contests are perfect for standing out in a sea of similar promotions that day. For example, on the Super Bowl, you could let guests predict the score. The winner gets a free meal or steep discounts.
• Reward your regulars with points. Reward bonuses are great for getting regulars in the door and building some initial buzz. Regulars order a lot and they bring friends. So offering two times points during the event is a bargain to get them to show up.
• Run last-minute promotions. Plans can change last minute; we’ve all been there. I’ve found last-minute deals work especially well for events where guests go out. “Super Bowl party rained out? Come join us in the next hour for half-off nachos.”

Great local spots almost always have a few event experiences to look forward to per year. So make these events show up in your community and in guests’ inboxes.

Bonus campaign: Brand/story newsletter

Everyone loves a compelling story. If you can find one from your business or life, it’s amazing material for a marketing email.

One that applies to every restaurant is the origin story. And one of my favorite examples comes from Sam and John, the owners of Metro Pizza in Las Vegas.

Sam and John credit storytelling as a big reason why they’re one of the nation’s highest volume pizzerias. They tell their story everywhere, especially in their emails. A week after someone joins their email list, they send a message sharing how Metro Pizza came to be. You can read a version of it here.

‍Here’s the thing: Their story fits the brand they want to project. Metro Pizza pride themselves on being the neighborhood pizzeria for families.

And their story is one of family, heritage, and traditions. So Sam and John share how being in the pizza business runs in their blood. This is a family business where your family can come and make their own memories. Their story fits their brand.

These emails might not have the instant sales impact like others I’ve shared. But I believe it has a massive sales impact over the long run. Even if they’re not measurable right away.

How to measure the impact of your restaurant’s email marketing

Once you’ve set up even basic marketing automation for your restaurant, you’ll send many dozens of emails per day. So, how do you know if they’re working?

You’ll hopefully see sales and revenue climb. But we need to go deeper to determine if that’s due to your emails, or something else.

Once again, there are a million things you can track. But if you want a clear view into what’s driving sales, here are the metrics I recommend:

1. Direct and total revenue from email

Marketing’s bottom-line metric is always revenue. It’s the same for email.

I’ve shared a number of campaign results with you in this post. Modern marketing platforms, including Owner.com, make tracking revenue per email easy. That’s not the only thing that makes an email campaign successful. But it’s the most important one.

There’s another way I recommend you track revenue, though. And that’s the percentage of your restaurant’s revenue coming from email marketing. This is a great “health check” that shows if email is working for your restaurant.

I’ve seen successful restaurants earn 10% to 20% of their total revenue from email marketing. The type of restaurant you run affects this a lot. But if you currently drive less than 5% of sales from email, that’s a sign there’s more work to do.

2. Email list size and growth

Growing your email list grows your business. New emails aren’t revenue, but they’re the next best thing.

Pair this metric with the total amount of revenue you’re earning from email. If revenue is outgrowing the number of emails, your campaigns might be over-performing. Great!If it’s the opposite, that’s a sign to make some improvements to your existing email campaigns.

3. “Green light” engagement metrics

It’s easy to get distracted over the many engagement metrics for email marketing.

Instead, I aim for “green light” engagement. Once you reach a minimum for a specific metric, you give yourself the green light to move on. You can always revisit these numbers later.

I recommend the following green light benchmarks for restaurants:

• 35% open rate, which shows you’re sending relevant emails to the right people. Open rate tells you how many emails in a campaign were opened by people who received it.
• 1.2% click-through rate, which shows the content in your emails are compelling. Click-through rate tells you how many opened emails drove at least one click.
• 0.2% hard bounce rate, which shows you have a good list of active emails. A hard bounce is an email that’s returned to the sender because of an invalid address. 

Remember, the campaign type has a big impact on what “good” performance looks like. An order confirmation email will have a much higher open rate than a promotional email.

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3. Repeat order rate

The next two metrics measure whether email marketing is getting repeat customers. Since that’s its most important job, we need to measure it separately.

First up, repeat order rate is the percentage of customers who make a second order in any given period of time, like a month or quarter.

You can calculate your repeat order rate for a given period with this formula:

(Number of customers who ordered more than once / Total number of customers) x 100

But what you really need to do is compare how this number is improving over time. For example, this month versus last month or quarter over quarter.

Most benchmarks I’ve seen say you have a “good” reorder rate at these percentages:

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4. Customer lifetime value

Customer lifetime value, or CLV, is the total revenue you expect to earn from a customer across all of their orders with you.

It’s a rough gauge on how much the typical guest is “worth” to your restaurant, in total. Here’s how to calculate it:

(Average order value x Average order frequency x Customer lifespan)

CLV is a little bit tricky. The ranges of a “good” CLV vary quite a bit even within restaurants of the same type depending on the cuisine.

If you’ve already looked at your prime costs, then some back-of-napkin math may be all you need. You really just want CLV to be higher than how much you pay to acquire the average customer.

Escape the new customer treadmill with email marketing

One of the first times I helped a restaurant with email marketing, they said, “Adam, I’m hoping email helps me off the new customer treadmill.”

We’ve all felt that. Chasing the next new customer, never feeling like we can catch our breath. With such slim margins, that’s a serious problem for too many restaurants.

Email marketing is the solution. It does so many important jobs for restaurants:

1. Email catches one-time customers we otherwise would have lost.
2. Email is the best channel to stay top of mind and turn customers into regulars.
3. Email is a direct line to our customers that no platform can cut.

Email marketing makes your current customers more valuable. So you don’t always have to chase after new customers.

I’ve shared all the email marketing tactics I know. What’s left is getting the right marketing tool and putting them into action.

If that sounds good, schedule a demo to check out Owner. We can partner up and help you set up the automatic campaigns I shared above in just a few clicks.

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