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Original
2026-01-01
Modified
2026-03-10
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<p>In 2023, 12.6M people watched the women’s March Madness tournament during peak viewership.</p>
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<p>March Madness 2025 proved the tournament's staying power, with the<a>men’s championship game</a>drawing in 18.1 million viewers-the most since 2019.</p>
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<p>The event smashed expectations:<a>Forbes reports</a>that the finale was the most watched women’s college basketball game to date.</p>
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<p>The 2025<a>women’s championship</a>, meanwhile, attracted an average viewership of 8.6 million and a peak of 9.9 million, making it the third most-watched women’s final in history. While down from<a>2024’s record of 18.9 million</a>viewers during the national championship-high because of Caitlin Clark’s star power-viewership for the 2025 women's final still demonstrated impressive growth, up 75% from just 3 years prior.</p>
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<p>And even though viewership dropped by 15% YoY for the men’s March Madness tournament, almost 15M people tuned in for that, too.</p>
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<p>All of this is exciting news for ecommerce brands: those numbers reveal just how many people the tournament reaches.</p>
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<p>All of this is exciting news for ecommerce brands. Historically, March Madness was primarily marketed toward men. But last year’s viewership numbers reveal a much more inclusive reality. Your audience opportunities for March Madness have basically doubled this year.</p>
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<p>Whether your customers are enthusiastic basketball fans or just people who like your products, March Madness marketing campaigns are a fun way for your brand to increase sales and build more loyalty.</p>
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<p>Whether your customers are die-hard basketball fans or just folks who like your products, March Madness marketing campaigns are a smart way for your brand to increase sales or even just build more loyalty with your existing subscribers.</p>
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<p><strong>Important note:</strong>The NCAA trademarked “March Madness” and plenty of other phrases associated with the college basketball tournament. If you want to use the sporting event to promote your products, you’ll need to get creative. (To avoid a fine, stay away from using the<a>NCAA’s trademarked terms</a>.)</p>
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<p><strong>A word of caution before you read on:</strong>The NCAA trademarked “March Madness” and plenty of other phrases associated with the college basketball tournament. That’s why, if you want to use the sporting event to promote your products, you’ll need to get creative. (To avoid a fine, stay away from using the<a>NCAA’s trademarked terms</a>.)</p>
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<h2>1. Repurpose a successful minor holiday campaign for March Madness</h2>
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<p>If you need some inspiration for that creativity, you’ve landed in the right place. From subject lines that pique interest to some truly unique email design, this article will teach you everything you need to know to nail a slam dunk on revenue.</p>
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<p>When March Madness rolls around, you have a fairly short window to create a timely, relevant campaign before the tournament is over.</p>
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<p>Discover 150+ Ways To Sell More All Year</p>
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<p>Before you start from scratch, perform an audit of past minor holiday campaigns to see what worked. Note holiday-agnostic elements that contributed to the campaign’s success, such as offer type, email subject line, and product benefits.</p>
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<p>Align your marketing campaigns with relevant holidays and year-round celebrations. </p>
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<p>Once you’ve identified what worked, use an<a>AI marketing agent</a>to recreate elements of the campaign with a March Madness angle. For example, you might prompt: “Our 4th of July campaign last year brought in significant revenue when it highlighted our moisture-wicking technology. Create a similar March Madness campaign promoting our athletic socks to college basketball fans, but this time also highlight our team color options.”</p>
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<h2>1. Win the jump ball with an intriguing subject line</h2>
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<p>A marketing agent can create everything from an attention-grabbing<a>email subject line</a>to body copy that connects team spirit with your product features.</p>
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<p>The<a>subject line of your email</a>is the first thing your readers see. Think of it as the start of the game or the tip-off.</p>
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<h3>March Madness marketing example: Naturium’s clever word play gets them on the board</h3>
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<p>Here are a few examples of well-crafted March Madness subject lines:</p>
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<p>Skincare brand<a>Naturium</a>grabs attention<em>and</em>complies with NCAA trademark limitations in this March Madness marketing example and its product-specific subject line, “Moisture Madness Ends Tonight⚡️⏰”.</p>
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<ul><li>“Go for the win with free shipping on your order!”</li>
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<p>If you wanted to extend a campaign like this beyond email, you could send a text message alert during halftime: “Final hours for 10% off 🏀 Shop now before the buzzer.” And if the option is available to you, you could also send visually rich<a>RCS alerts</a>showing a carousel of products with “Shop now” buttons that lead directly to product pages.</p>
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<li>“You’re in our Elite 8 🏀Claim your rewards now.”</li>
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<h2>2. Gamify your March Madness campaign to collect customer data</h2>
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<li>“Filled out your bracket yet? Madness is almost here.”</li>
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<p>During March Madness, people are typically looking for ways to support their favorite teams and engage with the tournament. They’re gathering in bars, placing friendly bets, and gamifying their own experience.</p>
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<li>“Slam dunking into your March inbox with a Madness sale!”</li>
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<p>One of the most popular ways to make March Madness your own is to turn your campaign into a game. Brackets, polls, and competitions give customers a reason to engage with your brand during the tournament.</p>
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<li>“Don’t miss out on the Madness 🏀 Get exclusive offers now!”</li>
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<p>More importantly, these types of interactive campaigns are an opportunity to learn more about your customers’ preferences. When someone votes for their favorite scent, color, or product feature, you're gathering data you can use to<a>personalize their experience</a>long after March Madness ends.</p>
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</ul><p>Not sure where to start? Check out<a>Klaviyo’s Subject Line AI</a>. It can help you improve your subject lines, streamline your campaigns, and customize your message based on your brand and goals. Just plug in verbiage around “March Madness” and watch it upset your expectations.</p>
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<h3>March Madness marketing example: Happy Wax gathers product preference data with tournament voting</h3>
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<h3>Brand focus: Farmhouse Pottery’s subject line gets them on the board</h3>
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<p>In this March Madness marketing example, home fragrance brand<a>Happy Wax</a>uses a tournament bracket to capture the excitement of the season. But the campaign also serves a practical purpose: to collect customer scent preferences.</p>
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<p><a>Farmhouse Pottery</a>appeals to their audience<em>and</em>manages to avoid NCAA fines with their subject line, “MUG MADNESS SALE”.</p>
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<p>Every time a customer votes, Happy Wax learns which scent they prefer. This is data they can use to personalize future product recommendations and segment customers by scent families for targeted campaigns.</p>
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Source: Farmhouse Pottery<p>The brand’s email also announces an enticing discount in the headline and alongside each product shot.</p>
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<h2>3. Add March Madness visual elements to existing product photos</h2>
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<h2>2. Turn March Madness content into a game</h2>
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<p>You may already have a lot of product shots that relate to basketball or team sports. But if you don’t, that doesn’t mean you need to invest in a photo shoot to create them for March Madness.</p>
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<p>During March Madness, people are typically looking for ways to support their favorite teams and celebrate the tournament. They’re not only watching the games at home-they’re gathering in bars, placing friendly bets, and razzing their colleagues when a favorite team gets knocked out.</p>
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<p>If you’re short on time and resources, you can adapt what you already have. If you sell activewear, for example, you can use an<a>AI image editor</a>to switch out an existing background for a basketball court. Or, if you sell products that have nothing to do with sports, you can switch a background color to match a certain team's colors.</p>
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<p>One of the most popular ways to make March Madness your own-without infringing on those aforementioned trademark laws-is to turn your email content into a game.</p>
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<p>These are small details that can add the bit of relevance you need to pique someone’s interest during March Madness.</p>
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<p>Whether it’s a bracket, a competition, or just an infographic, your brand can evoke the same feeling of hype that comes with being a basketball fan.</p>
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<h3>March Madness marketing example: Little Sleepies uses seasonal visuals</h3>
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<h3>Brand focus: Beardbrand’s elite email demands attention</h3>
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<p>In this March Madness marketing example, pajama brand<a>Little Sleepies</a>features basketball-print pajamas across multiple product categories. They’ve matched their email design accents to their March Madness collection to amplify the timeliness and relevance of the campaign, which features a “sibling match-up” set perfect for family game time.</p>
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<p><a>Beardbrand</a>’s email is beautifully designed with a March Madness-style bracket of famous men with mustaches. The only call to action (CTA)? To vote for your favorite mustache.</p>
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<h2>4. Consider customer service a March Madness revenue generator</h2>
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Source: Beardbrand<p>This is an interesting, somewhat risky move: There are no product shots, no discounts offered, and no obvious path to purchasing-even after the user clicks “CAST YOUR VOTES,” they don’t land on a product page.</p>
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<p>During high-volume March Madness promotions, customer service can become an extension of your marketing strategy. Agents are having conversations with customers, and those conversations can create more revenue opportunities.</p>
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<p>But the experience is fun. It’s the kind of activity someone might forward to a friend or use as an excuse to check out from work for a few minutes. It’s also memorable, and we think this email does a lot to establish brand awareness and build trust.</p>
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<p>Say a customer is asking about whether they’ll receive their t-shirt or jersey in time for game day. If your service agents can say their shipment is set to arrive early, they’re talking to a happy customer-one who may be open to hearing about a complementary hat or limited edition shoes.</p>
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<p>Short on time or resources? You don’t have to go as far as creating a tournament bracket concept to ensure you’re making the most of March Madness.</p>
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<p>Better yet, during high-volume periods, it’s ideal if customer support can happen in a self-service<a>customer hub</a>that’s also built for sales. If your customers are able to check on their orders on your website, that same place should be where they can get March Madness product suggestions from an<a>AI customer agent</a>.</p>
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<p>Instead, consider what small tweaks you can make to your email campaigns in order to stand out to raving sports fans.</p>
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<h3>AI customer service example: Happy Wax moves faster during a high-volume holiday</h3>
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<h3>Brand focus: Olive & June subtly alludes to The Big Dance</h3>
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<p>After implementing an AI customer agent, Happy Wax saw a “dramatic reduction in support tickets,” says Rachel Fagan, VP of marketing. “This is especially valuable heading into BFCM, when inquiries surge.”</p>
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<p>To the naked eye, this email from<a>Olive & June</a>follows their typical brand formula: highlight a variety of nail polish colors to inspire shoppers to make their next purchase.</p>
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<p>In just 90 days, over<a>half of conversations handled by the AI agent</a>were fully resolved without any service team involvement. “Customers get instant answers, and our team gains bandwidth for high-touch moments,” Fagan explains. “That’s setting us up for success this BFCM.” (The same principle applies to other high-volume seasons and holidays.)</p>
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<p>But with one headline choice-“March Mani Madness”-Olive & June successfully nods to the famous tournament without uprooting their entire content marketing and<a>CRM strategy</a>for the month.</p>
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<h2>5. Send messages timed to everyone’s personal game</h2>
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Source: Olive & June<p>If you look closely, the only language that aligns with the basketball tournament is in the headline at the top. If there’s a tip to take from this example, it’s that you don’t have to overdo the allusion. One small acknowledgement is enough.</p>
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<p>Timing is everything during March Madness. Send a message about a flash sale too early, and customers forget about it. Send it too late, and they’ve already made plans or spent their budget elsewhere.</p>
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<h3>Brand focus: Freshly Picked dangles a slam-dunk discount</h3>
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<p>Instead, use AI to send each customer your March Madness promotion when they're<a>most likely to engage</a>based on their historical patterns, on the<a>channel they’re most likely to engage</a>with. Someone who typically opens emails at 7 a.m. would maybe jump on your flash sale before their morning routine. Someone who clicks on texts at 8 p.m. would maybe engage when they're settling in to watch evening games.</p>
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<p><a>Freshly Picked</a>sent this March Madness marketing email with a code to get 20% off. The email starts off with a subject line that touts their “BIGGEST” sale in March, then goes on to reference the basketball tournament in several places-the discount code is “PLAYOFFS” and the copy below the product shots nods playfully to the season.</p>
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<h3>March Madness marketing example: GhostBed drives urgency for their sale</h3>
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Image source: Freshly Picked<p>“March has been full of sale madness”: this copy essentially explains what the subscriber can get as part of the promotion, using March Madness terms.</p>
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<p>Here, mattress brand<a>GhostBed</a>sends a March Madness marketing promotion with bold urgency: "BIGGEST DISCOUNT EVER!!! 60% OFF SITEWIDE" with the code MARCH60. The subject line immediately signals both the hook and the massive discount, while the preview text, “Ready to find your perfect mattress?” speaks directly to customers who've been considering a purchase.</p>
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<h2>4. Study your audience to personalize your plays</h2>
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<h2>Personalize customer relationships on a 1:1 level with Klaviyo</h2>
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<p>Every player and coach in the NCAA tournament watches hours of film to learn everything they can about their opponents, giving them the best chance of hoisting up the national championship trophy come the end of March.</p>
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<p>Minor holidays like March Madness are a good opportunity to connect with your customers through personalized moments.</p>
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<p>Your customers may not be opponents, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn everything you can about them. Knowing your subscribers-and segmenting them by their interests-will help you send more personalized, relevant email campaigns.</p>
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<p>The tournament runs for just 3 weeks, and customer interest peaks and fades quickly as teams get eliminated. By the time you manually create custom images, build omnichannel campaigns, and segment your audience, the moment might already be gone.</p>
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<p>One of our favorite segments for March Madness is geographical location, so you can send emails that are personalized to the team people are likely rooting for. To gather the information you need before the event, use a<a>welcome email series</a>or a<a>sign-up form</a>.</p>
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<p>Klaviyo can help you quickly adapt your campaigns for March Madness, with:</p>
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<p>If that doesn’t feel like an authentic move for your brand, use your subscribers’ location to make an educated guess about which team is their favorite.</p>
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<ul><li><strong>K:AI (Klaviyo AI) agents:</strong>Prompt K:AI Marketing Agent to generate fresh March Madness content ideas, create on-brand campaign messaging, and adapt past successful campaigns for the holiday. K:AI Customer Agent, meanwhile, can resolve common customer questions and build confidence among shoppers.</li>
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Source: Klaviyo<p>For example, you might<a>create a segment</a>of everybody who lives close to Durham, North Carolina, then send them emails with a Duke University theme.</p>
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<li><strong>Klaviyo Remix:</strong>Take your standard product image and prompt AI to add basketballs, change background colors to match March Madness themes, or add court-inspired textures-all without leaving your email editor.</li>
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<p>6 April Fools’ Day marketing ideas that’ll have you laughing all the way to your revenue goals</p>
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<li><strong>Omnichannel campaign builder:</strong>Design multi-step campaigns across all channels in one place, and automatically reach customers where they're most likely to engage.</li>
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<p>April 1 may be one of the toughest days of the year for brands to take advantage of. Here are 6 April Fools’ Day marketing ideas to consider in 2024.</p>
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</ul>
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<h2>5. Optimize your offense with A/B testing</h2>
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<p>If you run the same play over and over again, your competition is going to catch on-and you’ll start to lose.<a>A/B testing</a>your subject lines, preview text, and email content helps you optimize your email strategy to help you send winning emails game after game.</p>
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<p>Here are a few things to try:</p>
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<h3>A/B test your subject lines</h3>
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<p>Getting off to a good start can make or break a basketball game. Similarly, the subject line of your email is a great place to start A/B testing because it’s the first thing your audience sees.</p>
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<p>You can test a lot of different approaches, like:</p>
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<ul><li><strong>Emojis:</strong>Using emojis in your subject line adds personality to your emails. Try testing to see if a basketball emoji works in your March Madness campaign.</li>
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<li><strong>Discounts:</strong>Are you running a March Madness promotion? If so, see if mentioning the discount in your subject line helps increase open rates.</li>
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<li><strong>Word count:</strong>Experiment with shorter vs. longer subject lines to get a feel for the word count sweet spot that piques your readers’ interest enough to read the subject line all the way through, but also open the email.</li>
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</ul><h3>A/B test promotions</h3>
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<p>Including a discount in your emails can make the difference between someone purchasing or not.</p>
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<p>It’s a good idea to A/B test different types of promotions in both your subject lines and your content to see which ones move readers to open and purchase.</p>
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<p>Try testing the following promotions:</p>
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<ul><li>Dollar-based discount</li>
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<li>Percentage-based discounts</li>
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<li>Free shipping</li>
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<li>Free gift(s)</li>
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</ul><h3>A/B test email content</h3>
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<p>March Madness gives you a unique opportunity to test creative, fun, singular content. By testing different versions of an email with a split audience, you can identify what content resonates the most with your audience and produces maximum engagement.</p>
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<p>Not sure if March Madness will resonate with your audience? Test your March Madness email campaign with your audience against generic content to see if it drives clicks and conversions.</p>
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<p>Use the results to inform whether you double down on a similar campaign next year or spend your time on other ventures.</p>
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<p>Get tips and tricks for your holiday marketing all year long.</p>
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<p><a>Learn more</a></p>
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