Prompt · Transactional
Shipping notification with a real ETA
Get the tracking number in front of them and set the arrival expectation.
- Email type
- Transactional
- Business
- Ecommerce
- Tone
- Friendly
- Length
- 70-110 words
The transactional email prompt
Write a plain-text dispatch notification from [BRAND] for [THE ORDER]. Words only — no HTML, no layout notes. Rules: - 70 to 110 words. - First line: it has shipped, with [TRACKING]. The tracking number is the reason this email is opened and it should be the first thing found. - Give [THE WINDOW] as a range across named days, not as "3 to 5 business days". A reader should not have to count weekends. - If the order was split, say what is in this shipment and what is still to come. An unexplained partial delivery is a support ticket every time. - Give [IF IT DOES NOT ARRIVE] in one line, with a threshold. Telling someone when to start worrying stops them worrying earlier. - No cross-sell, no review request, no discount. The reader is tracking a parcel. - Never invent a number, figure or date of any kind — that includes the tracking number, the carrier, the window and any delivery estimate. Use only what I have supplied. - No exclamation marks. No emoji. Sentence case. Write a subject line under 40 characters saying it has shipped, with the order number. Return subject, preheader, body, sign-off.
What to fill in first
[BRAND]- Your shop name as a customer would say it.
[THE ORDER]- Order number and what is in this shipment, if the order was split.
[TRACKING]- Carrier name and tracking number or link.
[THE WINDOW]- When it should arrive. A two-day window is honest; a single date usually is not.
[IF IT DOES NOT ARRIVE]- What to do and when to do it. "Wait 48 hours past the window, then reply here."
When to send it
The moment the label is generated, not when the parcel is collected. The gap between those two events is where “it says shipped but tracking shows nothing” comes from, so if your carrier does not activate tracking immediately, say so in the email.
What to change first
[IF IT DOES NOT ARRIVE]. Every parcel email tells people how to track and none tell them when to
stop tracking and start asking. A threshold — “if it has not arrived by Friday, reply here” — costs
one line and converts a stream of anxious check-ins into a single actionable message on the one
occasion something genuinely went wrong.
What good output looks like
Subject: Order 4417 has shipped
Preheader: Royal Mail, tracking inside. Thursday or Friday.
Order 4417 is on its way. Royal Mail, tracking number [TRACKING].
It should arrive Thursday or Friday. Tracking sometimes takes a few hours to show anything, so do not worry if it looks empty today.
If it has not turned up by Monday, reply to this email and we will chase it.
The prompt writes the words. Bring them here and the studio builds the campaign — branded, dark-mode safe, and ready to import.
Generate your ownIn the studio
A model writes copy. It does not write email.
Production HTML that survives Outlook, dark mode and a Gmail clip is a different job from writing the words. Describe the send once and export it to Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign or MailerLite.