Hi, I’m Layla, content producer here at Dotdigital and your go to for planning your social media calendar. As spring continues to bloom, April brings plenty of opportunities to refresh your social content with vibrant and uplifting ideas. With seasonal celebrations like Easter, it’s a great time to create campaigns that feel joyful, engaging, and full of personality.

Below, you’ll find the key themes and dates to help guide your April content planning. From light-hearted seasonal posts to thoughtful campaigns, these ideas will help you connect with your audience and keep your social feeds relevant, creative, and full of spring energy.

Important social media calendar dates in April

April 1 – April fool’s day #AprilFools

April 2 – World autism awareness day #WorldAutismAwarenessDay

April 3 – Good Friday #GoodFriday

April 4 – International carrot day #InternationalCarrotDay

April 5 – Easter Sunday #EasterSunday

April 6 – Easter Monday #EasterMonday

April 6 – International day of sport for development and peace #SportForDevelopment

April 6 – Tartan day #TartanDay

April 7 – World health day #WorldHealthDay

April 10 – National siblings day #NationalSiblingsDay

April 11 – World Parkinson’s day #WorldParkinsonsDay

April 14 – Garden day #GardenDay

April 15 – World art day #WorldArtDay

April 20 to April 26 – Lesbian visibility week #LesbianVisibilityWeek

April 21 – National tea day #NationalTeaDay

April 22 – Earth day #EarthDay

April 23 – St George’s day #StGeorgesDay

April 28 – Workers’ memorial day #WorkersMemorialDay

April 28 – World day for safety & health at work #SafetyHealthAtWork

Themes for the month:

Stress Awareness Month

April 1 – April Fools Day

April Fool’s day is the perfect opportunity for brands to show their playful side and connect with audiences through humor. Known for light-hearted pranks and jokes, the day encourages creativity and gives marketers the chance to step outside their usual tone with fun, unexpected content. Many brands use the day to launch fake product announcements or surprising “collaborations” that catch audiences off guard. Think about unexpected partnerships between completely different brands or exaggerated new features that are clearly too good (or too strange) to be true. These types of posts can spark conversation and curiosity across social channels.

April 5 – Easter Sunday

Easter is one of the biggest seasonal moments in April, bringing themes of renewal, celebration, and time spent with family and friends. For brands, it’s a great opportunity to create bright, cheerful content that taps into the playful spirit of the holiday. From Easter egg hunts and spring-themed giveaways to limited-time offers or themed product bundles, there are plenty of ways to make your campaigns feel timely and engaging. Social media is also a great place to get creative. Think about colorful visuals or asking your audience to share their own Easter traditions. If you’re looking for more inspiration, explore our guide to Easter marketing campaign ideas for creative ways to make the most of the season. By leaning into the light, joyful tone of the season, brands can create content that feels festive while encouraging conversation and interaction.

April 6 – Tartan day

Tartan day is a celebration of Scottish heritage, and it’s a great chance for brands to showcase tartan-inspired products across social media and email marketing campaigns. Limited-edition collections or seasonal pieces featuring classic tartan patterns can be highlighted with vibrant visuals, styling tips, or product spotlights to catch your audience’s attention. To make your campaigns more engaging, consider creating interactive content. For example, short videos where you ask the public what they think of your tartan pieces, polls about favorite patterns, or user-generated content campaigns encouraging customers to share their own tartan looks.

April 14 – Garden day

Garden day is the perfect opportunity to showcase greenery and outdoor living. Interactive campaigns work particularly well: share DIY gardening videos, step-by-step planting guides, or polls asking followers about their favorite flowers and plants. Highlighting seasonal promotions or curated “garden essentials” collections can drive engagement while giving your audience practical and inspiring ideas to enjoy their gardens this spring.

April 15 – World art day

World art day is a celebration of creativity, expression, and inspiration, making it a perfect moment for brands to launch artistic campaigns and eye catching content. For social media and email marketing, you can highlight creative products, behind the scenes design processes, or collaborations with local artists to engage your audience.

April 21 – National tea day

National tea day is the perfect opportunity for brands to create fun social posts and themed email campaigns that highlight everyday comfort. Consider featuring tea-inspired promotions, limited-time offers, or lifestyle content like “perfect tea break” moments or curated afternoon tea bundles. Invite your followers to share their quirky tea habits, favorite blends, or morning routines. These types of posts naturally spark interaction and make your campaigns feel personal and relatable.

April 22 – Earth day

Earth day is a key opportunity for brands to share their commitment to sustainability and connect with audiences around environmental causes. Social media and email campaigns can promote eco-friendly products, green initiatives, or tips for reducing environmental impact, helping your brand become purposeful and relevant.

April subject line ideas

April is the perfect time to focus on content that feels vibrant, thoughtful, and engaging. To help you plan with ease, we’ve gathered creative ideas inspired by April’s key social moments and seasonal highlights.

Here are some April-themed subject line ideas to inspire your campaigns:

April fool’s day – We couldn’t resist a little April Fool’s mischief…

Easter – Hop into something special this Easter

International carrot day – Fresh flavours for your spring menu

Tartan day – Tartan-inspired favorites for your wardrobe

World health day – Healthy habits you can start today

National siblings day –  For the person who knows all your childhood secrets

Garden day – Spring into gardening season  

World art day – Your dose of colour and inspiration

National tea day – Tea time just got better…

Earth day – Sustainable swaps for every day

These subject line ideas are a starting point, but they work best when shaped with your brand’s voice. Add personality, emojis, or a touch of urgency to help them stand out and drive opens.

For an extra layer of inspiration, try tapping into AI-powered tools like Dotdigital’s WinstonAI, perfect for sparking fresh ideas, tweaking tone, or fine-tuning subject line length.

Spark engagement with your April marketing campaigns

April is a great time to keep your social feeds lively while tapping into seasonal moments and bursts of creativity. From springtime celebrations and awareness days to playful, lighthearted campaigns, the month is full of opportunities to engage your audience in meaningful ways.

Matt is a specialist solicitor who deals exclusively with the law of technology, data protection, and AI. From database management to email compliance, here’s a marketer-to-marketer guide to staying compliant without losing your supporter engagement.

Watch the on-demand video here, or on the Dotdigital Academy if you’re a customer, and read on for a quick summary of the key findings.  

When did the soft opt-in law come into force?

A very important thing to note is that this law came into force on the 5th of February 2026. It is very new, and we don’t have guidance on how it’s enforced at the moment. 

The Information Commissioner’s Office, which is the UK state-appointed regulator of data protection, published draft guidance in consultation form only last year, and Cripps was one of a few participating law firms that contributed to that consultation by explaining to the ICO how we think this law should be interpreted.

The ICO has not finalized that guidance, and it hasn’t been published yet, which means we’re still waiting for the regulator to tell us how it thinks the rules should actually apply. But we do have the draft guidance, which is what we’re drawing on here. The information in this blog and the on-demand video is to be taken as a guide and does not constitute legal advice. 

What is the charitable soft opt-in?

The charitable soft opt-in law allows charities to contact individuals who have shown interest in their charitable activities or offered support, without needing explicit consent, but there are rules to consider. 

What has changed for charities?

• Soft opt-in cannot apply to databases created before February 5, 2026
• The charity must be defined by law as a charity, specifically defined in the Charities Act 2011, Section 1
• Charities must keep charitable and commercial databases separate
• Supporters must always have an easy way to update preferences or unsubscribe
• Mixed messages are not allowed 

What do we mean by mixed message? 

There is a key difference between charity communications and commercial communications. 

Commercial communications involve selling products or services, whereas charitable communications focus on fundraising and donations. Mixing the two, like including product launches in a charity newsletter, can violate soft opt-in rules. Course offerings or services typically fall under commercial activities if offered through separate trading entities.

For marketers, this separation is about clarity and trust, so that supporters know exactly what they’re opting into.

How can you collect soft-opt in details?

When you collect the contact details for soft opt-in, you have to have one of two things. You have to either make sure that you’re collecting the details where the recipient has expressed either: 

1. An interest in one or more of the charity’s charitable purposes
2. Or, they must have offered, or be providing support

Charity database compliance guidelines

Compliance is all about smart and careful data management as well as meeting the legal requirements. 

The key points to consider are: 

• Adherence to GDPR and PEC regulations, ensuring legitimate interest and consent are clearly documented
• Starting a new database from expressions of interest is ideal, though not always realistic
• Using segmented datasets within a single database is acceptable, as long as they are clearly flagged
• Human error is the biggest risk; careful handling of multiple lists is critical to prevent data breaches

For marketers, this means designing your supporter journey and campaigns with compliance baked in, not as an afterthought.

Soft opt-in data collection tips

Soft opt-in is a subtle but powerful tool for charitable campaigns. 

• Contacts can be added without explicit consent as long as they can opt out easily
• Re-engaging previously opted-out contacts is sometimes permissible under the new law, especially for older opt-outs
• Always provide clear unsubscribe options to avoid regulatory issues

This is a reminder that soft opt-in doesn’t mean “ignore the rules,” it means being thoughtful about how you engage supporters while respecting their preferences.

Email compliance guidance

Email remains a critical channel for charity marketers. Matt outlines the key points to remember: 

• Unsubscribe links should be clear, ideally at the bottom of every email
• Offer a “unsubscribe from everything” option alongside more granular preferences
• Soft opt-in applies to SMS and other marketing channels, but not to data from third-party platforms like Facebook or JustGiving, where the charity isn’t in direct contact
• Proper CRM implementation is essential to avoid compliance mishaps

Matt also flagged upcoming ICO guidance, expected later this summer (2026), which will give further clarity on charitable soft opt-in compliance.

Bottom line for charity marketers

The new charitable soft opt-in law is a chance to rethink how you engage supporters responsibly. By keeping databases clean, communications clear, and consent transparent, charities can continue to fundraise effectively while staying fully compliant.

For charity marketers, the takeaway is that when you plan ahead, segment thoughtfully, and respect your supporters’ preferences, your communications will stay on the right side of the law.

Check out the full on-demand webinar to get the full rundown and comprehensive Q&A session with Matt. If you’re a Dotdigital customer, catch up on the academy here, if you’re not a customer, you can check it out here.

We’ve launched AI that learns your brand voice, two-way SMS, and a wave of new and improved integrations that mean less time wrestling with data and more time using it. Here’s everything that’s new.

Create content in your own brand voice

AI is an amazing tool helping marketers all over the world work smarter and faster, but AI-generated copy is all starting to sound a bit… samey. You don’t want to sound like every other brand, and we don’t either.

Dotdigital’s WinstonAI learns exactly how your brand sounds. Upload your guidelines, share some examples of your favorite content, or just answer a few questions about your writing style, and WinstonAI will start writing (and checking) your campaigns in your voice, not a generic one.

You can share dos and don’ts, flag words you’d never use, and point to real examples of your brand at its best. The more you give it, the better it gets. And from there, WinstonAI picks up on your industry, identity, tone, and the kind of language your audience expects. Test and refine the output as you go to make sure every word sounds like you.

For marketers using Dotdigital, this means faster campaign creation, less time tweaking, and content that sounds authentically you.

Plug in Dotdigital to your favorite AI tools

If you’re already using ChatGPT, Claude, or another AI tool, you can now connect it directly to your Dotdigital account to get faster, conversational insights. It works through something called a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server.

An MCP server is a standardized way to let AI tools talk to platforms like Dotdigital. Setup depends on your AI tool of choice, but can be as easy as copying and pasting a URL, ID, and secret key from your Dotdigital account. Check out our simple setup guide here.

Once connected, you can ask your AI tool real questions about your data, and even ask it to take action, like creating marketing lists and adding contacts to lists. Put it to work with prompts like these:

• “Show me our email open rates for the past 3 months, broken down by week.”
• “Show all contacts tagged as VIP in Dotdigital.”
• “Create a new list called ‘Event Attendees – Q4’ and add all contacts who filled out our October survey.”
• “Show average Net Promoter Score from last month’s responses.”
• “How does our open rate compare to the industry average in retail?”

Plus, you’ll soon be able to use it to build new email templates and much more using insights from your account. It’s a faster, more conversational way to get more out of your data.

Have real conversations with two-way SMS

SMS is one of the best-performing channels for marketers. And it’s now two-way. You can now view and reply to SMS responses directly inside Dotdigital, in the same place you already manage your WhatsApp and chat conversations.

When a customer replies to a campaign, you can see what they’re responding to and act fast and with context. Customizable quick replies and keywords like “STOP” are filtered out, so your team only sees active, engaged conversations.

Use two-way SMS for lead qualification, appointment confirmation, feedback collection, product recommendations — basically any moment where you want a speedy response from an engaged customer. No more flipping between tools and channels to talk directly to your customers.

Easier WhatsApp subscription management

You can now manage WhatsApp opt-ins using our API, as well as within the platform, so you can track consent consistently across email, SMS, and WhatsApp. This is especially useful if you’re working with custom integrations or third-party data flows.

Pull more data out of Dotdigital with fewer API calls

The new Events API is for teams that pull large volumes of data from Dotdigital. Now you can pull more data in a single API call. Think: opens, clicks, page views, bounces and unsubscribes. You get more up-to-date data, fewer headaches, and a cleaner connection to whichever CRM, CDP, or analytics platform you’re using.

Bring your whole data stack together

If your team runs on Databricks, Snowflake, or BigQuery,  you can now sync order, contact and product data into Dotdigital. Integrating your marketing data with your data warehouse lets you build on your single source of truth, so data from other tools and platforms you’ve connected to it can flow straight into Dotdigital, with no custom pipelines needed. 

And getting data out has gotten more powerful, too. We’ve expanded our data firehose to push more insights, including contact updates, consent changes, and preference updates automatically into your tech stack. For teams using both firehose and data warehouses, a full two-way sync is possible.

Get deeper data syncs with updated HubSpot CRM integration

The Dotdigital and HubSpot integration has had a serious upgrade. You can sync lists, email and SMS opt-ins, custom properties (like deal value and industry), plus marketing events, form submissions, and custom events as usable data in Dotdigital.

In practice, these upgrades look a little like this: two contacts sign up for your webinar. One attends, one doesn’t. This data syncs from HubSpot to Dotdigital to trigger the relevant follow-up campaign — no workarounds and no need for third-party tools to connect your CRM and marketing automation platform. 

Target subscribers at exactly the right moment with Recharge

If you’re a subscription-based business, customer subscription data is some of the most powerful insight you can act on, and now it’s in Dotdigital. Our new Recharge integration syncs subscription data into your Dotidigital account, so you always know where a customer is in their subscription journey, whether they’ve hit pause, are due for renewal, or are ready to upgrade. That context turns into campaigns that land at exactly the right moment.

Surface customer reviews and UGC inside your emails 

Two new integrations with BazaarVoice and Judge.me make it easier to bring social proof and user-generated content (UGC) into your campaigns. With new app blocks now available for the popular review platforms, you can pull star ratings and reviews directly into your email campaigns. Convince any undecided shoppers to convert with your top five-star ratings. 

Website personalization that stays fresh

Personalization is only as good as the data behind it. Our latest update to Fresh Relevance makes it easier to keep your data current. Now, you can drag-and-drop any Dotdigital audience to your Fresh Relevance Slots and serve hyper-personalized web and email experiences based on real behavior and insight data like recent purchases, eRFM scores, and channel preferences. Personalization should move as fast as your customers, so as soon as their behavior changes, their experience refreshes, too. 

Available as a private preview for Dotdigital and Fresh Relevance customers.

Launch and test popups without a developer

You can now launch, test, and disable popup campaigns on any web page instantly and without involving a developer. You control where the pop-up appears and preview it before go-live, so you can fine-tune the experience and drive more conversions.

That’s a wrap

Every update in this release is built to give you the tools to move faster, make smarter decisions, and create customer experiences that actually resonate. Whether that’s AI that learns your brand voice, data that flows freely across your stack, or channels where you can have real conversations — it all adds up to giving you more control, context, and ways to act on what you know. 

If our new AI updates caught your eye, we’re diving deeper into the world of AI content creation. Join us on April 8 for a free webinar session on how to use AI without losing the voice that makes your brand unique. 

Save your seat

• APAC, April 8, 4 pm AEDT
• EMEA & Americas, April 8, 3 pm GMT, 11 am EDT

Paid channels are getting more expensive, with customer acquisition costs jumping 40–60% between 2023 and 2025. Organic reach can vanish overnight thanks to algorithm changes, and tighter privacy rules make tracking and attribution harder than ever.

All of this points to one thing: the growing importance of owning your audience.

What is an ‘owned audience’?

When we say ‘owned audience,’ we mean the people whose contact details you actually hold yourself, rather than relying on a third-party platform like Meta or Google to give you access (and charge you for it).

Owned channels like email and mobile give you direct access to people who’ve chosen to hear from your brand. These people give you their contact details, such as email and phone number. That connection brings stability, visibility, and long-term value – things rented channels can’t match.

At Dotdigital, we really believe that focusing on owned channels is where marketers can benefit the most. Our recent acquisition of Alia Software reflects that focus, responding to the challenges marketers face every day.

Milan Patel, CEO of Dotdigital, explains:
“Over the past few years, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with CMOs and ecommerce leaders and a consistent challenge keeps coming up. Paid marketing channels are becoming harder to control, more expensive to scale, and are delivering less predictable returns.”

Alia helps ecommerce brands capture onsite visitors with sophisticated pop-ups. Beautifully designed pop-ups, AI-powered no-code A/B testing, and smart triggers all work together to enhance the customer experience and gather valuable contact info, often achieving a 15%+ opt-in rate.

Shaan Arora, CEO of Alia, says:
“Capturing the earliest moments of the customer journey helps brands improve conversions and build richer relationships.”

The hidden costs of relying on other channels

The drawbacks of social media marketing:

• Algorithm guesswork: social media platforms don’t publish their algorithms, or when they’ll change, so what works one day can flop the next. The mystery around these algorithms can keep you guessing and feeling obliged to watch every one of Adam Mosseri’s Instagram stories, or following a plethora of LinkedIn ‘experts’ to try and keep up.
• Account instability: platforms can suspend or ban accounts with little notice. Appeals are frustrating and not guaranteed, and getting support from Meta Business Suite is often a headache. Anyone who’s been there knows the struggle.
• Limited data ownership: social platforms collect tons of insights about your audience, but that data stays with them. If you switch tools or pivot your strategy, those valuable insights don’t follow.

The drawbacks of paid ads:

• Volatile costs: competition, bidding, seasonal trends, and market conditions all affect how much you pay.
• Unpredictable outcomes: sudden rule changes or platform updates can drastically alter campaign performance.
• Short-term focus: paid campaigns are great for immediate acquisition, but they don’t build long-term customer relationships on their own.

The drawbacks of display ads:

• Engagement can be low: audiences often scroll past ads, and conversions aren’t guaranteed.
• ROI can decline: relying solely on paid channels risks high costs and diminishing returns over time.
• Great for quick wins, not long-term growth: PPC and paid search get your brand in front of people ready to buy, while social ads help more people discover you. They’re powerful for results today, but they can’t replace the foundation you can build with owned channels.

Paid channels are an important part of a modern marketing mix, but they work best when paired with a foundation of owned channels that build lasting relationships.

How email and mobile marketing give you control of your audience

Owning your audience means having direct permission to communicate with customers through channels you control. Email and mobile marketing are two of the clearest examples of owned channels. When someone shares their email address or phone number with your brand, they are choosing to hear from you.

You can communicate with your audience directly. That can be through newsletters, promotional emails, loyalty updates, event invites, fundraising updates, and so on. These channels give you much greater control over delivery, timing, and messaging as you can personalize for each recipient.

The practical benefits of owned channels:

• Full control over delivery and timing: schedule sends or trigger campaigns based on real customer behavior.
• Personalize at scale: use real customer data about preferences and actions, rather than relying on a third-party platform’s categories.
• Predictable rules: unlike social platforms where algorithms can change overnight, updates are largely published in advance, so you can adapt and optimize.
• Compounding relationships: the more you learn about your audience, the better your campaigns get, and engagement grows over time.

Why first-party and zero-party data matter

Owning your audience isn’t just about having a subscriber list. You also get to own the customer data that comes with an email address, building up a clear picture of each contact over time as you record each individual’s interactions with your content with a mixture of zero and first party data.

First-party and zero-party data explained

• First-party data is data you collect via your own channels, such as purchase history, email engagement (like clicks), website behaviour, and app interactions.
• Zero-party data is information your customers proactively choose to share with you when you ask for it. This includes their name, preferences, interests, communication choices, and product needs.

Benefits of owned data

Together, these let you build experiences that feel genuinely personal and relevant. Better segmentation, more relevant messaging, campaigns that reach people through the channels they actually prefer. And crucially, the data belongs to you, regardless of how the advertising landscape evolves.

How to grow your email and mobile audience

Building an engaged and loyal subscriber base takes time, but there are smart ways to make sure you’re attracting the right subscribers and setting up the relationship for long-term success.

Practical ways to grow your owned audience

• Offer real value upfront: exclusive content, early access, or loyalty perks give people a genuine reason to subscribe.
• Make it easy to subscribe everywhere: add clear sign-up moments via pop-ups, website forms, checkout flows, apps, and social channels.
• Use social to feed your owned channels: encourage existing followers to join your email or mobile lists. This boosts reach and protects your audience if a platform changes or disappears.
• Launch a referral program: subscribers who join through a trusted recommendation come in with built-in trust.
• Start strong with a welcome series: set expectations, deliver value early, and improve long-term retention.
• Encourage sharing: include a “forward to a friend” link in emails and invite your audience to create user-generated content (UGC) on their own channels that will boost reach and grow your list organically.

Over time, these strategies help turn anonymous visitors into known contacts who have chosen to build a relationship with your brand.

Take control of your audience and future-proof your marketing

Owning your audience does not mean abandoning paid search, social media, SEO, or influencer marketing. These channels still play an important role in helping brands reach new audiences and build awareness.

The shift is about where the weight sits. When email and mobile marketing form your foundation, everything else becomes a funnel that feeds into it. Paid campaigns drive traffic, social builds awareness, search supports discovery, and the long-term relationship happens in channels you own and control.

On top of that, owned channels are more predictable and cost-effective: you don’t have to worry about sudden algorithm changes or bidding wars, and the audience you build is yours to engage anytime.

If you’re looking for greater consistency, stronger customer relationships, and more predictable results, building your owned audience is the smartest investment you can make.

But with inboxes getting crowded, it takes more than a themed image or a “green” subject line to get noticed. Creative ideas, well-timed campaigns, and a personal touch can help your emails stand out and connect with your audience.

In this guide, we share practical tips, themed subject lines, and real campaign examples to help you plan a St. Patrick’s Day email campaign that grabs attention, delights subscribers, and drives results, wherever they are in the world.

Why St. Patrick’s Day emails work

Even if it’s not your biggest holiday, St. Patrick’s Day gives you a seasonal reason to connect. People expect things like themed promotions, playful content, and a bit of fun in their inbox. It’s a chance to:

• Surprise and delight your subscribers
• Highlight seasonal products or offers
• Boost engagement with themed campaigns

While you’re here, check out more key marketing dates for 2026 by region:

• 2026 marketing calendar: UK edition
• 2026 marketing calendar: US and Canada edition
• 2026 marketing calendar: Australia and New Zealand edition
• 2026 marketing calendar: SEA and Japan edition

St Patrick’s Day subject line ideas

St. Patrick’s Day is a great chance to make your email subject lines stand out, grab your subscribers’ attention, and get them clicking. Here are some subject line ideas to give your campaigns an Irish touch:

Subject lines that are lucky and playful

• “Feeling lucky? Don’t miss this deal!”
• “Your lucky email is here!”
• “Shamrocks and savings inside”

Promotions and discounts

• Luck is in the air: St. Paddy’s Sale 
• Exclusive St. Patrick’s Day deals 
• St. Patrick’s Day flash sale – up to 25% off
• A little luck for your wallet: 20% off today only
• Green means go! Special deals inside

Product tie-ins

• Go green: our St. Patrick’s Day picks
• Find your pot of gold with these items
• Limited edition green collection inside

Subject lines with emoji’s

1. Luck is in the air: St. Paddy’s Sale
2. Exclusive St. Patrick’s Day deals
3. Your pot of gold awaits
4. Go green this St. Paddy’s
5. Cheers. St. Patrick’s Day offers
6. Win big: St. Paddy’s giveaway
7. Avoid the pinch: St. Paddy’s wardrobe
8. Festive St. Patrick’s Day recipes
9. Top o’ the mornin’: 17% off this St. Paddy’s Day

If you’re inspired by these themed subject lines but want even more, WinstonAI can help. With Dotdigital, you can quickly:

• Generate new subject lines
• Tweak the tone
• Rephrase text
• Add emojis

St. Patrick’s Day email examples and strategies

To help you create a great St Patrick’s Day campaign, we’ve compiled a list of email marketing examples and strategies you can take inspiration from.

1. Reward your most loyal customers with an exclusive St. Patrick’s Day offer

St. Patrick’s Day is a great opportunity to make your top customers feel valued with early access or exclusive promotions. Limited-time, themed offers create excitement and a sense of privilege, encouraging engagement and driving conversions.

For example, MeUndies has used this approach effectively with a secret St. Patrick’s Day sale. Subscribers receive a unique code to access the discounted prices before anyone else, adding a feeling of exclusivity. The email’s playful visuals and festive copy spark curiosity and excitement, making recipients eager to explore the offer.

By combining holiday-themed messaging with VIP treatment, you can increase open rates, encourage immediate action, and strengthen customer loyalty, all while keeping the campaign fun and relevant to the season.

2. Show off your St Patrick’s Day collection

A themed collection is a simple way to give your customers a reason to shop. Seasonal products naturally draw attention, spark interest, and encourage purchases that tie into the holiday.

Pandora demonstrates this well with its St. Patrick’s Day collection. The brand features green and clover-inspired jewelry, from necklaces to bracelets and earrings, designed to delight anyone looking to celebrate the occasion in style.

In this email campaign, Pandora brings the collection to life with vibrant visuals and playful, relevant copy. Subscribers are invited to “push their luck” with these festive pieces, guiding attention toward the seasonal selection and inspiring engagement and purchases.

3. Get your audience involved with a St. Patrick’s Day contest

Contests and giveaways are a fun way to encourage participation, generate excitement, and connect with your audience during St. Patrick’s Day. 

Saladworks illustrates this well with its St. Patrick’s Day gold coin contest. Subscribers are invited to enter for a chance to win free salads for an entire year. The festive theme and attractive prize spark curiosity and motivate recipients to take part.

Participation requires visiting a local Saladworks location, which not only engages the audience online but also encourages traffic and potential sales in-store. 

4. Boost engagement with gamified emails and countdowns

Interactive elements like games, quizzes, or countdown timers are a fun way to keep your audience engaged and motivate them to act. They build anticipation, spark curiosity, and can drive higher click-through rates and conversions.

Hairtamin does this well in their St. Patrick’s Day campaign with a “Luck of the Irish” spin-the-wheel game. Subscribers are invited to try their luck and win discounts across the site, while a ticking countdown timer adds urgency, encouraging them to participate before time runs out.

By combining gamification with a sense of immediacy, Hairtamin turns a simple email into an engaging experience that drives clicks, keeps recipients entertained, and boosts conversions.

5. Delight people with holiday-themed freebies

Holidays are a great chance to give your customers something extra, helping build loyalty and strengthen your connection with them. Offering themed freebies like printable activities or small creative gifts can make your St. Patrick’s Day campaign stand out.

Crayola does this with its email campaign, providing free St. Patrick’s Day printables for coloring, a DIY game using Crayola pen lids, and an exclusive email-only deal.

By combining fun activities with a special offer, Crayola gives parents and children an engaging experience that celebrates the holiday while encouraging clicks and driving traffic to its site.

How to personalize your St. Patrick’s Day emails for better engagement

Adding a personal touch can make your emails feel more meaningful to each subscriber and increase the chances they’ll open, click, and engage. Here’s how to do it:

1. Use dynamic personalization to tailor each email

Use subscriber data to tailor your emails. Include names, location-based offers, or recommendations based on past purchases. Even small touches, like referencing a favorite category or past order, make your messages feel thoughtful and relevant.

2. Use AI to help create great subject lines and email copy

Tools like Dotdigital’s WinstonAI can help generate subject lines, suggest body text, or rephrase content to better match your audience’s tone. This saves time while keeping your copy fresh and engaging.

3. Segment your audience for targeted campaigns

Divide your audience into groups based on engagement, purchase history, or preferences. You can create separate messages for loyal customers, first-time buyers, or subscribers who haven’t engaged in a while. 

Maximize your St. Patrick’s Day campaign with cross-channel engagement

Email doesn’t have to work alone. Combining it with other channels helps your holiday content reach subscribers wherever they interact most and can help drive better results. 

Here are a few examples:

1. Combine emails with SMS reminders

Send SMS messages to highlight exclusive deals or limited-time offers. 

2. Link emails to social content

Promote your holiday campaign across social media with themed posts or contests. 

3. Use automation to follow up

Set up automated flows triggered by opens, clicks, or purchases. For example, you could follow up with a reminder for those who opened but didn’t click, or send a thank-you email after a purchase.

Ready to create your St. Patrick’s Day campaign?

With these St. Patrick’s Day subject lines, themed campaigns, and creative examples in mind, you’re ready to start building your own emails.

This holiday is a perfect chance to experiment with new tactics that you may not have tried before. Try playful ideas, test different approaches, and see what resonates with your audience without overthinking.

Want even more ways to plan ahead? Explore our 2026 holiday marketing calendar for inspiration on campaigns throughout the year.

Watch the full recording of the session and see the data being presented in real time, or scroll on for a quick summary of the key findings and links to download the full reports.

So what did we discuss?

Rand presented findings from a new study on search behavior and market trends that he worked on with Datos. The study analyzes website visit patterns and platform usage across traditional search engines, AI tools, and e-commerce platforms. The data revealed that while Google maintains significant market share in traditional search, search behavior is increasingly happening across multiple platforms including social networks, e-commerce sites, and AI tools, with Amazon being the top search platform in the US. 

The discussion also dug into new insights about the relationship between AI tools and traditional search, emphasizing that both remain important for optimization strategies and overall marketing that supports commerce and economies.

Search trends in 2026 

A recent research project with Datos on clickstream data, analyzed website visit patterns, revealing that traditional search engines accounted for 10% of visits, AI tools 1%, and e-commerce 3.28% in Q4. Confirming that Google’s market share remains stable, despite some reports of decline, and that AI mode adoption is currently low, but increasing as Google becomes more aggressive with its promotion of AI mode and AI overview search results.

AI search behavior research

With Google still dominating traditional search, AI tools like ChatGPT are starting to show declining usage, as Google’s Gemini gains market share. The research found that audiences are searching across many domains beyond traditional search engines. 14 out of 41 domains that were looked at received visits from over 20% of US desktop devices and 15 domains reached similar stats in the EU. Rand emphasized the importance of focusing on the channels and search engines your specific audience and customers are already engaging with, rather than jumping on general trends. This is particular important if you have an audience that uses social media networks and e-commerce sites.

Search platform market share analysis

Rand presented data on search behavior across different platforms, revealing that while Google maintains a significant market share, other platforms like Amazon, YouTube, and Bing are also major search destinations. The analysis showed that search outside traditional engines represents about 20% of total searches, with e-commerce and social networks accounting for additional shares. Rand noted that Google’s dominance appears to be shrinking slightly when compared to overall web search activity, but is still clearly demonstrating its staining power in the ranks of traditional search platforms.

Cross-platform search behavior data

The data shows that search behavior is happening across multiple platforms beyond traditional search engines. Key findings included Amazon being the top search platform in the US, YouTube* having lower search rates than expected despite its popularity, and ChatGPT showing flattened growth in search activity. The discussion addressed questions about the definition of search across different platforms and the impact of social media on search behavior, with Rand emphasizing that while platforms like YouTube and Instagram may not show high search rates, they still represent significant opportunities for content optimization.

*A point to note here is that many search results that end with YouTube content consumption, don’t necessarily start on YouTube. They are likely to start on Google, with YouTube videos being surfaced as search results.

AI and search optimization 

Rand discussed how AI tools are additive rather than replacing traditional search right now, noting that while AI visibility in Google is important, with 16% of searches now showing AI overviews, the focus should remain on both traditional and AI search optimization. 

Bonus content – marketing is a superpower

With it being noted throughout the session that politics and economical uncertainty play a huge role in how audiences, particularly consumers, adapt their behavior, we finished the discussion by getting a little deep and thinking about the part that marketing plays in the world right now. When asked about marketing’s relevance during challenging times, Rand emphasized that marketing has, and has always had, a positive impact on the world by enabling commerce and free market economies. It allows marketers to build a career around something that they’re truly passionate about, and it allows audiences to find items, hobbies, interests, information and tools (for work or leisure) that help them embrace what makes them happy and brings fulfillment. Letting us all lead better, happier and more interesting lives. So make sure you follow the data that helps your audience find your marketing. 

The session concluded with Rand sharing links to the research reports that were discussed, which can see visuals from in the session recording, or downloads for yourself: 

Further reading: download Rand’s search behavior reports:

• Search everywhere – share of search by platforms, an analysis of 41 websites with significant search activity

• The inconsistency of AI search results – who ChatGPT gives different answers to the same questions

• The state of search – behaviors trends and clicks

At the same time, not everyone celebrates Mother’s Day, so your messaging needs to be considerate and inclusive.

In this guide, you’ll find five practical email ideas, along with tips on timing, personalization, and creative ways to drive engagement so your campaigns feel smart, human, and memorable.

When is Mother’s Day? (Plan your send schedule)

Mother’s Day falls on different dates around the world (and changes every year too) so it’s important to know your audience when planning your email campaigns:

• United States: Sunday, May 10th 2026
• United Kingdom & Ireland: Sunday, March 15th 2026
• Australia & New Zealand: Sunday, May 10th 2026
• Other regions: Dates vary here, so it’s best to check local calendars

Mother’s Day campaign calendar

A week-by-week timeline can help you map out your emails and promotions effectively. Here’s what that might look like:

• 4-6 weeks before: Start brainstorming offers, creative ideas, and content
• 3-4 weeks before: Prepare email assets, landing pages, and segmentation
• 2 weeks before: Launch teaser emails to build anticipation
• 1 week before: Send main campaign email with key offers
• 2-3 days before: Last chance reminder or limited-time offers

Planning ahead

Most marketers start planning 6-8 weeks in advance. This gives you enough time to test things like subject lines, refine segments, and align your cross-channel messaging without rushing at the last minute.

Mother’s Day is part of a bigger trend in seasonal spending

Holiday seasons are seeing steady growth in consumer spend, and Mother’s Day plays into that too.

According to the latest holiday shopping insights, total consumer spend increased from $241.1 billion in 2024 to $257.8 billion in 2025. That tells us people are still willing to buy for meaningful occasions and emails that make the decision easier can tap into that behavior.

People are actively looking for thoughtful ideas and timely offers during these moments. When you match that mindset with relevant content, you’re more likely to connect and convert.

Know your audience before you click send

The key to a successful Mother’s Day campaign is understanding who you’re talking to and what matters to them. Segmenting your list helps your emails feel relevant and personal.

Here’s how to segment your email list:

• Gift-givers vs. mothers: Tailor your messaging depending on whether someone is buying a gift or receiving one. Gift-givers might appreciate product guides, special offers, or delivery reminders. People may prefer content focused on celebration ideas or self-care.

Set up a preference centre

Some recipients may prefer not to engage with Mother’s Day. In this case, a preference centre lets subscribers choose the type of content they receive. You can offer options like:

• Only receive gift guides or promotions
• Skip Mother’s Day emails entirely
• Opt-in for reminders about other seasonal campaigns

Giving your audience control reduces the risk of unsubscribes and helps your messages land in the right inbox at the right time. You can see a further example below.

Mother’s Day email marketing examples

1. Showcase personalized gift recommendations

Mother’s Day is a great moment to promote gifts that feel thoughtful and personal. Even small custom touches, like monograms or engraved messages, can increase perceived value and drive conversions.

If you offer personalization, make it easy to find and simple to use. Call it out clearly in your email and show examples of what customers can create.

A good example of this comes from Dior, which promotes bespoke engraving across its product range for Mother’s Day. The brand also supports the purchase with complimentary shipping, samples, and premium gift wrapping. These details can help remove friction and make the buying experience feel seamless from start to finish.

How to apply this to your campaign:

• Highlight personalization in your subject line or hero banner
• Show a real example of a customized product
• Reassure shoppers with clear delivery timelines
• Promote value-adds like gift wrap or free shipping

This approach tends to work well for last-minute shoppers and early planners. It gives people a way to send something that feels meaningful without adding complexity to people’s buying journey.

2. Respect your audience while sending seasonal emails

While examples and ideas can inspire your Mother’s Day campaigns, it’s just as important to consider your audience and how often you’ll reach them. For instance, not everyone celebrates Mother’s Day, and it can be an upsetting time for some people. Your messaging around the occasion should be thoughtful and sensitive, and actually, opt-out campaigns aren’t necessarily the answer.

If you are going to be sending lots of campaigns for Mother’s Day, you can give subscribers control over what they receive without sending a separate, standalone opt-out email.

Before considering an opt-out campaign, ask yourself how many emails you plan to send. If it’s just one, a separate opt-out message may be unnecessary. Opt-out options are most useful when subscribers are likely to receive multiple emails about the occasion in a short period.

A better approach is to use your existing preference center and then make use of segmentation tools to let subscribers tailor their experience. This way, you show care, avoid asking your audience for extra emotional labor, and keep engagement healthy.

Tips for thoughtful and inclusive campaigns:

• Have an understanding that the day will look different to everyone, so make sure your content is sensitive and inclusive
• Highlight the option to opt out of any sensitive occasions in one go in your preference center
• Use inclusive language such as ‘for the moms, step-moms, mother figures, and anybody you want to celebrate

3. Create a gift guide that makes buying easy

A gift guide helps your customers decide faster. Instead of scrolling through your entire catalog, they get a shortlist built for the occasion that reduces friction and makes the purchase feel effortless.

You can start by grouping products in a way that makes sense for your audience. You might organize by:

• Price point, such as “Under $25” or “Luxury picks”
• Interests, like food, fashion, or self-care
• Recipient type, such as new moms or grandmothers

In your email, you can position the guide as a shortcut. Use a strong headline, clear category buttons, and concise product descriptions. Keep the layout clean and mobile-friendly so readers can scan and tap without thinking.

FEED Projects provides a good example of this. In its Mother’s Day campaign, the brand grouped products into a dedicated Mother’s Day shop, catering to different budgets and preferences. By narrowing the options and presenting them clearly, it made the decision process smoother for shoppers.

How to strengthen your gift guide email:

• Lead with a clear benefit, such as “Find the perfect gift in minutes”
• Limit the number of featured products to avoid overwhelm
• Add clear CTAs for each category
• Reinforce delivery deadlines to drive action

4. Bring your cause to life

Mother’s Day is a great opportunity for non-profit organizations to spread awareness about their cause and engage their audience in a meaningful way.

Instead of focusing on products, you might:

• Share a story that reflects your mission
• Invite supporters to take a simple action
• Encourage donations in honor of a mother or caregiver
• Create a digital gesture, like sending a message of support

St. Baldrick’s Foundation do this well. It’s a small action but it reinforces the mission and gives people a meaningful way to participate.

How to apply this approach:

• Keep the message clear and emotionally grounded
• Focus on one primary action
• Show the real-world impact of participation
• Make it easy to share with others

When done well, a mission-led Mother’s Day email deepens engagement and reminds supporters why they care about your cause in the first place.

5. Drive sales with interactive offers and engaging giveaways

If you want to stand out in a busy inbox, add an interactive element to your Mother’s Day campaign.

You could try:

• A spin-to-win discount
• A limited-time mystery offer
• A giveaway tied to a purchase
• A social entry contest that drives sharing

Scentbird ran a “Mother’s Day mystery sale” featuring a spinning wheel that revealed surprise offers. The interactive element added anticipation and encouraged immediate action from people.

How to apply this approach:

• Keep it simple and easy to understand
• Tie the reward to a clear next step, such as shopping or subscribing
• Add a deadline to encourage action
• Make sure it works smoothly on mobile

Interactive campaigns work best when they feel effortless. If customers can engage in seconds and see value right away, you increase the chances they’ll convert.

Mother’s Day email subject lines

Your subject line is your email’s first impression and it’s often the difference between an open and a pass. For Mother’s Day, a well-crafted subject line can boost engagement and drive sales. Here’s some tips to consider:

Solve a problem or meet a need: Think about your audience. If they’re shopping last minute, let them know you have a solution. Example: “Order today to get it in time for Mother’s Day.”

Make it personal: Include names or other details to make the email feel one-to-one

Keep it short: Aim for 50 characters or less so it’s clear at a glance

Use emojis wisely: A well-placed emoji can make your email stand out but try not to go overboard too

Test and iterate: Try A/B testing different subject lines on small segments before sending to your full list to see what works best

Subject lines to avoid: Try to avoid clichés, overly vague phrases, or anything that feels insensitive. It’s best to keep your tone genuine, clear, and relevant

Mother’s Day email subject line examples:

Urgency

1. Last chance to get gifts for Mother’s Day
2. Mother’s Day delivery ends soon, don’t miss out
3. Order by [date] for on-time Mother’s Day delivery
4. Only a few days left to find the perfect gift
5. Don’t wait, Mother’s Day is almost here

Personalization

1. [First Name], make this Mother’s Day special
2. [First Name], we’ve picked gifts your mom will love
3. A Mother’s Day treat, just for you
4. Make her smile this Mother’s Day, [First Name]
5. [First Name], your Mother’s Day gift guide

Emoji variants

1. Mother’s Day gifts she’ll love
2. Sweet ideas for Mother’s Day
3. Don’t miss out on Mother’s Day delivery
4. Show Mom she’s appreciated
5. Gifts that make her day extra special

Mixed approaches

1. Your guide to Mother’s Day in one click
2. Thoughtful gifts for every kind of mom
3. Celebrate her with something she’ll adore
4. Make her Mother’s Day unforgettable
5. Gifts, surprises, and a little love
6. Mother’s Day made easy
7. Find the perfect gift, delivered on time

How to write your Mother’s Day email copy

When it comes to writing your email copy, it’s about finding the right balance between emotion and promotion while keeping your message clear and actionable.

Setting the right tone

• Emotional: Focus on celebration, connection, and appreciation. Think about what would make your reader feel cared for or inspired
• Promotional: Highlight your offers and product benefits clearly but keep it warm and helpful

Here’s examples of email copy you can use:

Gift guide:

“Not sure what to get this Mother’s Day? Explore our curated gift guide to find something she’ll love.”

Last-chance:

“Time’s running out! Order today to get your Mother’s Day gift delivered on time.”

Story-led:

“Meet Jane, who made this Mother’s Day extra special with a thoughtful gift from our collection.”

Writing CTAs that drive clicks

• Keep them action-focused: “Shop gifts now,” “Send a surprise today,” “Browse our Mother’s Day collection.”
• Make them clear and relevant to the email’s goal
• Position them prominently so readers don’t have to hunt

Mother’s Day email design tips

Good design helps your email stand out, guides the reader’s eye, and makes it easy for them to take action. For Mother’s Day, aim for visuals that feel thoughtful, authentic, and on-brand. Here’s some ideas:

Choose visuals that feel real and thoughtful:

Instead of defaulting to bright red backgrounds or generic flower stock images, use colors and imagery that fit your brand and feel personal. Think soft pastels, product-in-use shots, or moments that show genuine connection. This makes your emails stand out and feel like they were made for your audience and not just anyone’s inbox.

Mobile-first design

• Most people check emails on their phones, so start your design with small screens in mind
• Single-column layouts, clear fonts, and buttons that are easy to tap make it effortless for readers to engage
• Short text and well-sized images help your message land quickly

Use imagery authentically

• Show real moments using photos of real people, products in use, or experiences that feel genuine
• Focus on gifts, celebrations, or small moments your audience can connect with, rather than generic “Mom holding flowers” shots.
• Your visuals should help the story you’re telling, not do all the talking for you

Accessible email design checklist

• Add alt text to every image: This helps screen readers describe your visuals so everyone can understand your message
• Use high-contrast text: Make sure your text is easy to read against the background
• Write clear link text: Links should explain where they go and not just say “click here”
• Follow a logical heading structure: This makes your content easier to navigate for screen readers, like h1, h2, h3, h4
• Use more than color to communicate: Use other cues like text, icons, or patterns to give life to the information you’re sharing

Building your Mother’s Day email campaign

A thoughtful email sequence keeps your brand top of mind and helps readers take action without feeling overwhelmed. Here’s a simple framework you can follow:

Email 1: The early bird (2-3 weeks before)

• Purpose: Spark interest and start the conversation
• Content ideas: Teasers about your gift guide, early access to offers, or inspiration for thoughtful gifts
• Tone: Friendly, helpful, and lightly promotional

Email 2: The main campaign (1 week before)

• Purpose: Highlight your key offers and make it easy for readers to shop
• Content ideas: Gift guides, featured products, or special bundles
• Tone: Clear, motivating, and solution-focused

Email 3: The last-chance reminder (2-3 days before)

• Purpose: Create urgency and encourage action
• Content ideas: Remind readers of deadlines, limited stock, or shipping cutoffs
• Tone: Friendly but urgent. You want to help them act without feeling pressured

Email 4: Day-of or post-Mother’s Day follow-up

• Purpose: Celebrate the occasion or keep the connection going after the holiday
• Content ideas: Thank-you messages, exclusive post-Mother’s Day offers, or sharing customer stories
• Tone: Appreciative, engaging, and brand-aligned

Recommended send times and frequency

• Early bird: 2-3 weeks before Mother’s Day
• Main campaign: 1 week before
• Last-chance reminder: 2-3 days before
• Day-of/follow-up: Day-of or within a few days after
• Keep the frequency moderate to avoid overwhelming your audience while staying top of mind

Measuring and tracking your campaigns

Tracking performance helps you understand what worked, where to improve, and how to make next year’s campaigns even better.

Benchmarks to aim for:

While results vary by industry and audience, here’s some general global benchmarks to keep in mind for Mother’s Day campaigns:

• Open rate: 55.4%
• Click-through rate (CTR): 3.7%
• Unique open rate: 37.3%
• Unique click-through rate: 1.4%

These numbers are a guideline so it’s always best to compare against your own past campaigns for the most accurate insights.

Key metrics to track:

• Engagement: Opens, clicks, and CTRs
• Conversions: Completed purchases or desired actions
• Revenue impact: Average order value and total sales
• List health: Unsubscribe and bounce rates

Analyze and improve:

• Look at which subject lines, content, and CTAs drove the most engagement
• Identify which segments responded best like first-time shoppers, loyal customers, or gift-givers
• Note timing and frequency insights: did early-bird or last-chance emails perform better?
• Use these learnings to refine next year’s campaign strategy, messaging, and timing

Create a Mother’s Day campaign your audience will love

Mother’s Day emails work best when they feel personal, thoughtful, and easy to act on. Whether you’re sharing gift guides, highlighting meaningful stories, or adding interactive offers, the goal is to make it easy for your audience to celebrate event.

Use these ideas to plan campaigns that connect, engage, and drive results without overcomplicating the experience. A little thoughtfulness goes a long way in creating emails your subscribers will actually look forward to opening.

When I joined Max Spielmann as Digital Marketing Manager in August 2024, I inherited an email program that looked busy but wasn’t actually working.

You know the setup:

• Hundreds of thousands of contacts
• Constant sends
• Leadership asking “why aren’t we seeing results?”

The answer was uncomfortable but clear. We were doing a lot, but we weren’t doing it smart. Here’s what happened when we stopped sending to everyone and started sending to the right people.

Why our high-volume email strategy wasn’t working

Max Spielmann has been turning memories into printed photos and personalized gifts for over 70 years. We’re part of the Timpson Group, with stores across the UK in supermarkets and high streets. But our email program was stuck in a different era.

The problems were stacking up:

• We had a massive database bloated with inactive contacts from in-store photo kiosks Segmentation was based only on open rates (thanks, iOS privacy updates)
• We had a “sales are down, send another email” mentality instead of strategy
• Our automations showed customers generic category pages instead of the actual products they’d looked at
• And no one was really owning email as a channel

For a small team managing marketing across multiple Timpson Group brands, something had to change.

Cleaning up data for better results

Working with my Dotdigital Customer Success Manager, we tackled the scariest part first: our contact list.

I discovered that people signing up through in-store photo kiosks had engagement rates way below those who signed up on our website. These contacts were inflating our send volumes but contributing almost nothing to revenue.

What we did 

Step 1: Focusing on the contacts that actually matter

We got ruthless and removed long-term inactive kiosk customers, dropping our average newsletter sends from 323,000 to 63,000. We also introduced double opt-in for new kiosk sign-ups because quality beats quantity every time.

People get nervous about reducing volume, and I did too. But with the right insights in place, testing it on a handful of newsletters was enough to show the impact. 

We also rebuilt our segments from scratch based on what actually matters like:

• Click behavior
• Browsing activity
• Purchase recency

Step 2: Making our automations smarter and more relevant

Our browse abandonment emails were sending customers to generic category pages and our welcome series was asking people to leave reviews, without knowing if they’d even made a purchase. And all it took to show improvements were a few simple changes:

• Now our browse abandonment shows customers the exact products they looked at, not a “here’s everything” link
• We extended the journey with a follow-up email to give people another nudge
• And we added purchase checks to the welcome series so customers who’d already bought didn’t get irrelevant review requests

It was a mix of technical setup, design refresh, better messaging, and rules that just weren’t there before. We also tested consistently throughout the year because we needed to know what resonated before peak season hit.

Step 3: Planning peak season with data-driven emails

With cleaner data and smarter automations, we approached Christmas differently. Instead of panic-sending to everyone, we sent more strategically while actually reducing volume.

For December 23rd (consistently our biggest shopping day), we pulled back on discounting and focused on convenience messaging for last-minute shoppers. It worked.

The monthly calls with my Dotdigital Customer Success Manager made all of this possible. For a team our size, having someone I can bounce ideas off and get answers from has been invaluable. I bring challenges, and he gives me the blueprint to execute.

The results

Here’s what happened during our peak period:

Overall email performance:

• Revenue up 41% year over year
• Sends down 63% year over year
• Open rates jumped from 35% to 42%
• Click-through rate doubled from 1.58% to 3.17%

Automation performance:

• Revenue up 78% year over year
• Automations now drive 38% of total email revenue (up from 30%)
• Conversion rate more than doubled from 17% to 37%

The results aren’t just from cutting inactive contacts. They came from testing, better designs, and consistently sending relevant emails to relevant people over time.

My recommendations for other marketers

The numbers got people’s attention, but the efficiency story really resonated with leadership. Senior people in the business like results that make sense. The fact that we drove growth with fewer sends (and didn’t have to spend more) went down really well. Especially when other channels are getting more expensive year over year, having email working better isn’t just a good story internally.

I’m definitely getting more questions about email than I was before. It’s become a strategic conversation, not an afterthought.

Why this worked

Dotdigital has been really good for us. The drag-and-drop builder means I can make changes myself without waiting on developers. The automation builder with visual notes means I can document why I built things a certain way, which is crucial when you’re managing multiple brands.

You wouldn’t think a 150-year-old business like Timpson is doing sophisticated email marketing in the background. But we are, and we’re doing it with a really small team. You don’t need massive resources. You just need the right approach and the right partner.

What’s next

In-store data is the big opportunity. We could almost replicate all our email campaigns around those kiosk machines if we sorted out the data properly. Multi-channel expansion is on the radar too. SMS and WhatsApp are still untapped, and for customers using their phone to get photos onto the kiosk, it makes sense to explore those channels.

As performance marketing costs continue to rise and new privacy laws make tracking more limited, in some areas, we also find ourselves dealing with platform algorithms that shift without warning.

This means marketing teams are under pressure to deliver growth while having less visibility and control over the levers they’re pulling.

That’s why we’re delighted to announce we’ve acquired Alia Software Inc., an AI-powered, on-site conversion and list-growth platform, built exclusively for merchants on Shopify.

This isn’t just an acquisition. It’s a deliberate step toward helping marketers strengthen organic growth strategies and scale their owned data systems, at a time when that capability is becoming a competitive necessity.

The challenge of turning anonymous traffic into owned opportunities

Brands are still investing heavily to drive up traffic, but all too often that traffic remains anonymous.

If a visitor leaves without subscribing, identifying themselves, or sharing preferences, the brand has paid for a moment of attention, without yielding any tangible results. Making the ability to convert anonymous visitors into known, consented contacts one of the most powerful growth tactics available.

Alia enables brands to use AI-driven pop-ups and interactive experiences that are intelligently timed, context-aware, and brand-aligned. Instead of generic overlays, merchants can optimize when and how visitors are engaged, increasing subscriber conversion and enhancing the customer experience. And most importantly, Alia captures first and zero-party data at the earliest stage of the customer journey. That data becomes the foundation for smarter email, SMS, and cross-channel engagement within Dotdigital’s CXDP.

Owned data is not optional

As acquisition costs rise and privacy standards evolve, brands are realising something fundamental: You don’t own paid channels and you can’t control platform algorithms.
But you can control your owned data ecosystem.

By integrating Alia’s capabilities into Dotdigital’s CXDP ecosystem, we’re strengthening our ability to help marketers:

• Engage visitors at the earliest possible moment
• Grow high-quality email and SMS audiences faster
• Capture richer zero-party data to power deeper personalisation
• Improve marketing ROI through better targeting and automation
• Build a scalable owned data strategy within the Shopify universe

Alia already supports more than 2,700 merchants and has built a strong reputation within Shopify. Bringing that expertise into Dotdigital accelerates the Dotdigital roadmap and helps to strengthen our customers ecommerce success.

The acquisition advantage

This move is designed to help marketers rebalance their growth strategies by focusing on owned channels and data quality.

Our vision has always been to build an end-to-end customer experience and data platform that supports intelligent, personalized marketing at scale. Strengthening on-site conversion and zero-party data capture is a natural evolution for the Dotdigital group.

I’m looking forward to welcoming Shaan, Cory, Bill, Jake, and the entire Alia team to Dotdigital as we continue building a platform designed for the realities marketers face today.

Milan Patel
CEO, Dotdigital

We talk a lot about email (it’s kind of our thing), but SMS is quietly becoming the channel marketers can’t afford to ignore. It’s immediate, personal, and (when used well) seriously effective.

The challenge? Knowing when and how to use it. Too much and you’ll fatigue your audience. Too little and you’re leaving revenue on the table.

To help spark some ideas, we’ve pulled together seven real examples from brands using SMS with Dotdigital to solve genuine marketing challenges. From B2B beauty suppliers to water companies, these use cases span industries, audiences, and objectives, but they all have one thing in common: results.

Want even more detail on these examples? Download our SMS inspiration guide for the full breakdown.

Want the full SMS inspiration guide?

Our SMS inspiration guide features all seven of these examples with visuals, pro tips from the marketers behind the campaigns, and practical takeaways you can apply today.

Download the guide

1. Treat SMS subscribers like VIPs

Minerva Beauty – B2B

When B2B beauty brand Minerva Beauty wanted to maximize the impact of major sales and product launches, they didn’t just add SMS as another channel. They made it an exclusive one.

Their SMS subscribers are treated as a VIP audience, getting priority access to sales, new launches, and special offers before anyone else. 

The results:

That sense of exclusivity pays off. Their final sale reminders via SMS consistently outperform email reminders (including abandoned cart emails), and SMS click-through rates beat email across all campaigns.

Why does this work?

By positioning SMS as a VIP channel rather than a catch-all broadcast tool, Minerva Beauty gives subscribers a reason to stay opted in. Scarcity and early access create a sense of privilege that drives action.

Pro tip from Payton Adams, Brand Creative Specialist: 

2. Make SMS the go-to channel for time-sensitive offers

EMU Australia – Retail

Australian footwear brand EMU Australia uses SMS as part of a cross-channel mix alongside email and social, but with one key distinction: SMS is reserved for the moments that matter most. Limited-time offers, VIP early access, and flash promotions are delivered via text to their most engaged customers.

The results:

The brand reports strong open rates and has gained valuable insight into channel performance, confirming that SMS is their best-performing channel for time-sensitive campaigns.

Why does this work?

EMU Australia’s approach is a masterclass in restraint. By keeping SMS for genuinely urgent, high-value moments, every message carries weight. Their audience knows that when a text arrives, it’s worth paying attention to.

Pro tip from Alex Stepins, Digital Marketing Coordinator:

3. Drive urgency (and 20% of campaign revenue) with flash sales

Kissed Earth – Retail

Health and beauty brand Kissed Earth needed to make sure loyal customers were the first to know, and the first to shop during key sales events. They use SMS for short, high-value messages designed to create urgency and exclusivity: flash sales, early product releases, and VIP access events.

The results:

During their Afterpay Day Sale, SMS drove 20% of total campaign revenue. And cross-channel campaigns that included SMS consistently saw higher click-through rates, conversions, and revenue than those without.

Why does this work?

Kissed Earth treats SMS with intention. Every message delivers clear value and a reason to act now. That respect for the channel (and the audience’s attention) sustains performance over time instead of burning through goodwill.

Pro tip from Amy Goodsell, Head of Marketing:

4. Remove friction from the booking process

1001 Optometry Healthcare Australia – Services

When 1001 Optometry noticed a drop-off in online bookings, they rethought the entire journey. Instead of sending patients a link to an online booking form, they tried something simpler: a text message asking customers to reply “Y” if they were interested in booking an eye test.

The results:

That single-letter reply removed all the friction from the process and triggered a call-back from the team to confirm the appointment. The result was a significant uplift in both confirmed and attended bookings, with SMS delivering the immediacy and cut-through that emails and online forms couldn’t match.

Why does this work?

This is a brilliant example of meeting customers where they are. Booking an appointment online involves multiple steps and decisions. Replying “Y” to a text takes two seconds. By lowering the barrier to engagement, 1001 Optometry turned passive interest into booked appointments.

Pro tip from Kharisma Lazuardi, Head of Marketing and Ecommerce:

5. Collect customer feedback (and reduce complaints)

Anglian Water – Services

Anglian Water needed customer feedback on upcoming rate changes, but engagement on other channels wasn’t delivering the volume of responses they needed. They turned to SMS, using it to notify customers ahead of tariff changes and invite them to share their views via a short survey, with a prize draw as an incentive.

The results:

The campaign drove over 200 survey completions and, crucially, reduced the volume of customer complaints and contact compared to similar communications sent via other channels.

Why does this work?

When you need to communicate something sensitive (like a price increase), the channel matters as much as the message. SMS feels more personal and direct, and by pairing the notification with a feedback mechanism, Anglian Water turned a potentially negative moment into a constructive two-way conversation.

Pro tip from Dean Rice, Service and Communications Performance Lead:

6. Reach the audience that email can’t

Royal College of Nursing – Memberships

When the Royal College of Nursing needed to maximize voter turnout on a proposed pay award, they knew email alone wouldn’t be enough. In the final days of the campaign, they targeted members who hadn’t opened previous emails, or who didn’t have an email address on file, with a concise, action-oriented SMS.

The results:

The result was a 46% voter turnout, with SMS activity in those final days pushing participation up by around 3%. The SMS campaign itself achieved a 32% click-to-delivered rate.

Why does this work?

This is SMS at its tactical best. By using it as a follow-up channel rather than a first touchpoint, the Royal College of Nursing reached a segment of their audience that was otherwise invisible. The timing (final days of a deadline) and the directness of SMS were the perfect combination to drive last-minute action.

Pro tip from Eleanor Dearn, Senior Communications Manager:

7. Capture feedback while the experience is fresh

Goodwood – Events

Event organizer Goodwood faced a common challenge: getting timely, actionable feedback from festival attendees. When they sent a post-event email survey after the five-day festival, they got a 10% completion rate. Decent, but not great.

So they tried a different approach, sending a targeted SMS survey on the actual day each attendee was at the festival, complete with a prize draw incentive. 

The results:

The completion rate jumped to 25%, more than double the email figure.

Why does this work?

Timing is everything with feedback. The closer you capture someone’s response to the experience itself, the richer and more accurate the data. SMS is perfectly suited for this because it reaches people in the moment, wherever they are. No need to open a laptop, find the email, or remember how they felt three days later.

Pro tip from Taylor Bryant, CRM Executive:

Ready to add SMS to your marketing mix?

These nine examples show that SMS isn’t a one-trick channel. Whether you’re driving flash sale revenue, collecting feedback, reducing booking drop-offs, or reaching audiences that email can’t touch, SMS delivers when it matters most.

The common thread across every example? Intentionality. The brands seeing the best results aren’t blasting their entire list with texts every week. They’re using SMS for the right message, to the right audience, at the right moment.

If you’re ready to explore what SMS could do for your business, take a look at Dotdigital’s SMS capabilities or download the full SMS inspiration guide for more detail on every example featured here.