Status: 7 November 2026. A practical guide, not legal advice. All names, dates and prices in the example are invented. Contracts and local rules can affect how and when you may change a price, so check your own situation.
The subject line has one job: the customer should know what the email is about without opening it, and should not feel tricked once they do. Name your business, say «prices» and give the date. Customers who read only the subject line still get the main fact.
Keep it under about sixty characters so it is not cut off on a phone. Use the sender name your customers already know, for example the business name or the owner's name.
2. Build the email line by line
Think of the email as five short blocks. Each one answers a question the customer would otherwise ask you by reply.
- First sentence: the change. «From 1 March our prices change.» Put the date and the fact in the first lines, before the thanks becomes a long introduction. One short thank-you can come just before or just after it.
- The prices. A short list of the services the reader actually uses: old price, new price. Show only the prices that change. If you sell hundreds of items, name the main ones and link to the full price list.
- The reason, in one sentence. For example higher costs for parts, wages or rent. Write only what is true and what you could show from your own records. Do not add a second reason «just in case».
- What stays the same or applies to existing bookings. Say what happens to bookings, quotes, vouchers or loyalty cards that already exist. This is the line customers look for.
- The way to ask, and the sign-off. Give one phone number or reply address that someone actually monitors, then close with a short thank-you and a real name.
Tone. Write the way you would speak to the customer at the counter: friendly, direct, without legal language. Use the same greeting you normally use with this customer. If you have both regulars and one-off customers, a personal first name in the greeting is worth the extra minute.
Length. If the email does not fit on a phone screen without scrolling much, cut the reason and the thank-you first, not the prices. Before you set the new numbers, work out the new price with your rounding and what the increase is in percent after rounding. You need that figure for your own planning, not for the email.
3. When to send it
This section is a practical rule of thumb, not a rule. Check your contract and local rules first: a subscription, a membership or a fixed-price agreement may say how and when a price can change, and that always comes before any tip here.
- Choose a start date that feels natural. The start of a month, a season or a year looks planned. The middle of a busy week looks arbitrary.
- Send early enough that customers can plan. Give customers time to plan, and more time if they have a standing booking or a membership. A customer who gets the email a day before reads it as a surprise.
- Avoid the wrong moment. Not right after a complaint, a mistake, a closure or a bad review. Not during your busiest week, when you cannot answer replies quickly.
- Pick a time when you can answer. Some customers reply quickly. Send the email when you or your team can respond calmly the same day, not just before a weekend away.
- Add one reminder. A short note shortly before the start date, with the date and a link to the price list, is usually enough. Do not send more than one.
- Tell your team first. The person at the till or on the phone should have read the email before the first customer reacts to it.
The same date and the same numbers should appear on your website, booking system and printed price list. Publish the new price list, marked «from 1 March» or your own date, when you send the email, and switch the prices you actually charge on the start date.
4. A filled-in example
This example is invented. «Northside Bike Repair», its dates and its prices do not exist. It only shows how the five blocks fit together. Adapt the structure, not the wording, so that it sounds like you.
Subject: New prices from 1 March: a note from Northside Bike Repair
Hi Sam,
From 1 March we are changing some of our prices. Here are
the ones that affect you most:
- Basic service: was $60, now $65
- Full service: was $120, now $130
- Workshop hour (repairs): was $70, now $75
The reason is simple: the parts we buy and our workshop
costs have gone up since last year, and we want to keep
repairing bikes the way we do now.
Anything you book or drop off before 15 January stays at
the old price, even if we do the work after 1 March. Your
stamp card is still valid.
The full price list from 1 March is on our website. If you have a
question, call us on 555-0123 or reply to this email.
I read every reply myself.
Thank you for bringing your bike to us.
Maria Keller
Northside Bike Repair
What this email does right: the subject names the date, the change comes in the first sentence, both prices are shown, there is one honest reason, the rule for existing bookings is stated, and the email contains one thank-you and no apology. In this invented case it would be sent in early January for a start on 1 March, and a two-line reminder could follow in late February.
More guides: price increase guides overview.
5. Before you press send
- Read it on your phone. Most customers will. Check that the price list is readable and nothing is cut off.
- Check every number against your price list. One wrong price in an email costs more than the time to check it.
- Send yourself a test copy. Look at the subject line, the sender name and the reply address as the customer sees them.
- Do not show the customer list. Use a mailing tool that sends individual messages, or put recipients in the hidden field, never in the visible address line.
- Use customers' contact details only for what they gave them for. If you are not sure whether you may write to a customer by email, ask your trade association or a lawyer, and use another channel, such as a notice or a call, for those you cannot reach by email.
- Do not paste real customer names and addresses into public AI tools when drafting. Write the text with placeholders and fill in the details afterwards.
- Have the answer ready. Decide in advance what you say to «Can I keep the old price?» so every reply is consistent and calm.
If you are also deciding the amount and how to handle objections, our guides How to announce a price increase to customers and How to raise prices without losing customers cover those steps.
FAQ
What should the subject line of a price increase email say?
Say what the email is about and when it starts, for example: New prices from 1 March. Name your business so the email is recognised. Avoid vague or cute subject lines, because the customer should know what is inside before opening it.
How long should a price increase email be?
Short. Four to eight sentences plus a short price list is enough for most small businesses: a thank-you, the date, the old and new prices, one honest reason, what happens to existing bookings, and a way to ask questions.
Should the price increase be in the subject line or in the first sentence?
Put the topic and the date in the subject line and the full facts in the first lines of the message. Do not hide the change at the bottom. Customers who find it late may feel misled.
Should I send a reminder before the new prices start?
One short reminder shortly before the start date is usually enough. Keep it to two or three lines with the date and a link to your price list. More than one reminder starts to feel like pressure.
This guide is a practical aid, not legal advice. LeZo, Andrin Portmann, Switzerland. Imprint · Privacy