5 Winning St. Patrick’s Day Marketing Ideas That Work

I recently spoke with a freelance web designer from Boston, who voiced what many small business owners are thinking: “I watch big brands roll out elaborate St. Patrick’s Day campaigns while I’m sitting here wondering how to make the holiday relevant without looking cheesy.”

Her struggle hits home. As small business owners and freelancers, you know you should use seasonal opportunities like St. Patrick’s Day, but the ‘how’ often leaves you stumped.

She tried everything from “lucky” discounts to green-themed portfolio pieces – some worked, many didn’t, and the lessons learned were invaluable.

That’s why in this guide, I’ll share practical St. Patrick’s Day marketing ideas that worked not just for her, but for many small businesses.

Best St. Patrick’s Day Marketing Ideas:

Why Market Your Business on St. Patrick’s Day?

Americans spend over $6.9 billion celebrating St. Patrick’s Day each year. That’s a lot of green beer and shamrock merchandise. But this holiday isn’t just about luck and leprechauns.

For small business owners and freelancers, St. Patrick’s Day is a unique chance to connect with customers in ways that bigger brands often miss.

While large companies focus on massive promotional campaigns, you can create more personal, meaningful connections with your audience.

Here’s why you should consider marketing during this holiday:

• People are already in a spending mood and looking for special offers
• St. Patrick’s Day content tends to see higher sharing rates
• It’s a perfect time to show your business’s personality
• The holiday works for virtually any business type

But the real magic happens when you plan ahead.

You don’t need a massive marketing budget or a huge team to make an impact. You can try any of the strategies I’m about to share with just a bit of creativity and the right tools.

St. Patrick’s Day Marketing Ideas That Actually Work

Here are some simple St. Patrick’s Day marketing ideas that are great for small businesses and freelancers who want more people to visit their website and get involved.

1. Run a St. Patrick’s Day Giveaway or Contest

If you want to get more people to visit your website for St. Patrick’s Day, you can’t go wrong with a giveaway or contest. Running a giveaway is a fun way for your audience to engage with your brand, while driving brand awareness and targeted website traffic.

I’ve learned that St. Patrick’s Day giveaways work best when you run them right on your website, not just on social media.

Instead of keeping the engagement you generate on your social media channels, you bring people straight to your website. This gives them more opportunities to engage, subscribe to your email list and potentially convert into customers.

If you use WordPress, RafflePress, one of the best WordPress giveaway plugins, makes it super easy to run professional-looking giveaways. Its drag-and-drop builder is easy for beginners, and is packed with features that drive traffic, leads, and social engagement.

Here’s what makes a St. Patrick’s Day giveaway with RafflePress really great:

• Ways to enter that bring people to your website: Like asking people to visit certain pages on your site to enter.
• Social media actions that help spread the word: Like getting people to share, follow you, or tag their friends.
• Email sign-ups to grow your email list: Getting people to join your email list as part of entering.
• A special page just for the giveaway: A page that’s designed to get people to enter the giveaway.

The best thing? You can set up your whole giveaway in less than 30 minutes. Just pick a ready-made giveaway template, change the prizes to what you want, and watch people start entering.

Just look at Smash Balloon – they got over 3,500 new email sign-ups from just one giveaway using RafflePress. And you don’t have to be an expert to do something like that.

To help you get started, take a look at these St. Patrick’s Day giveaway ideas that users love.

And about prizes – they don’t have to be super expensive. Giving away your own products or services often works better than just giving away gift cards. That’s because it brings in people who are really interested in your business, and they’re more likely to become customers later.

For more inspiration on choosing the right giveaway prize, see these giveaway prize ideas.

2. Display Discounts on Your Website

Another St. Patrick’s Day marketing idea that works for many brands involves running time-sensitive discounts on your website. Good discounts can really boost your sales, making your numbers look amazing.

But, just putting a simple “17% off” banner on your website isn’t enough. The real trick is showing your deals in ways that grab attention and make people want to buy.

Let’s look at some discount ideas that actually work for St. Patrick’s Day:

• “Lucky 17” Deals: Offer 17% off, just on March 17th.
• “Green Tag” Specials: Give discounts on things that are green or have green in them.
• “Pot of Gold” Bundles: Do “buy one, get one” deals.
• “Rainbow’s End” Free Shipping: Offer free shipping if people spend over a certain amount.
• Flash Sales: Have sales that only last for a short time, with timers counting down to create excitement.

Now, to really make these discounts work their best, think about how you show them on your website. That’s where tools like OptinMonster can help.

OptinMonster is a popular lead generation tool that helps increase subscribers and leads with eye-catching popups and opt-in forms. With this tool, you can show your deals in a way that gets way more people to buy.

For example, a company called Human Food Bar uses OptinMonster and gets 1,800 new sign-ups every month with popups – and they don’t annoy people doing it!

Here’s how to use OptinMonster to make your St. Patrick’s Day discounts super hard to miss:

• Eye-catching St. Patrick’s Day Popups: Make popups that look good and fit the holiday theme.
• Exit-Intent Offers: Show discounts when people are about to leave your site to try and keep them there.
• Countdown Timers: Use timers in your deals to make people feel like they need to buy now.
• Targeted Page Offers: Show deals that make sense on different pages of your website.
• A/B Testing: Try out different messages and looks to see what works best and get better results.

The secret to success is all about when and where you show your offers. For example, you could show your “Lucky Deals” popup after someone has been on your site for 30 seconds, meaning they’re interested.

Or, show your “Pot of Gold” discount when they’re about to leave to try and get them to buy something before they go. OptinMonster makes setting up this kind of smart targeting really easy.

3. Post St. Patrick’s Day Themed Content

Social media posts for holidays often don’t hit the right note. Many businesses use too many holiday decorations or just post general holiday messages that don’t really do anything. Instead, make your content work harder for you.

Start by thinking about what you want to achieve with your business. For instance, if you want more people to visit your website, think about sharing daily tips or special holiday offers. Make sure each one links to a specific page on your site.

If you want to sell more, share what happy customers are saying. Add a little holiday touch and make it easy for people to buy.

Remember to use holiday themes in a subtle way. Small touches like a green color or a simple holiday icon are better than using too many obvious holiday images.

Always focus on being valuable first. A marketing company could share information about how holiday campaigns are performing. A restaurant could show off their special holiday menu items.

Software companies can create how-to guides about their products with a holiday theme.

I really like how Chicago Explore used quick facts to engage its audience with St. Patrick’s Day content:

To keep people interested, use different types of content, like:

• Quick tips that people can actually use
• Peeks behind the scenes of your holiday preparations
• Spotlights on your product’s features with holiday uses
• Customer stories with a holiday angle

Lastly, always include a clear next step for your audience. Whether it’s telling them to visit your website, sign up for a special deal, or make a purchase, guide them on what to do next.

4. Create a St. Patrick’s Day Landing Page

During the holidays, many businesses commonly miss an opportunity. They create special offers, but then direct everyone to their regular website homepage. This often doesn’t work as well as it could.

For your St. Patrick’s Day promotion, it’s a better idea to use a specific landing page. A landing page keeps visitors focused on just your special offer, without all the other distractions of your normal website.

Tools like SeedProd, one of the best drag-and-drop WordPress page builders, make it easy to build these landing pages, even if you don’t know how to code.

In fact, a study by SeedProd and OptinMonster shows that using dedicated landing pages can really lower the expenses of getting new customers.

To make your holiday landing page effective, be sure to include these things:

• A clear headline: Make sure it immediately tells people what your offer is.
• A simple design with a few holiday touches: Add a little bit of the holiday theme, but keep it subtle. A green button or a small shamrock icon is enough.
• A short, clear description: Explain your offer briefly and simply.
• One main button or form for action: Have one clear way for people to take the next step you want them to take.
• A mobile-friendly layout: Ensure your page looks good and works well on phones and tablets.

Remember to keep the design clean and avoid too many holiday decorations. The main thing you want people to notice is your offer, not just the holiday theme.

Finally, it’s important that your landing page matches what you promised in your ads or social media posts. If your email mentioned a St. Patrick’s Day discount, your landing page should clearly show that same discount right away.

For a full walkthrough, see our guide on how to create a landing page in WordPress.

5. Promote Your Offers Via Email Marketing

Email marketing is often a really good way to tell people about your St. Patrick’s Day deals. Think about it – these are people who already know your business and have said they want to hear from you, which is a great start.

But, there’s a right and wrong way to do holiday emails. You don’t want to just send a basic “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” message that doesn’t really do anything.

Instead, plan a short set of emails in the weeks before March 17th. Maybe start about two weeks before with a sneak peek of what’s coming. Then, as the day gets closer, send emails with more details and stronger calls to action.

To make your holiday emails work well, keep them simple and focused. Each email should have:

• A clear subject line: Make sure it quickly shows what your offer is.
• A short and easy message: Quickly explain the special deal.
• An obvious call to action: Use one main button or link that takes people to your landing page.
• A feeling of needing to act fast: Add a deadline, like “Offer ends March 17th,” to get people to act now.

For even better results, you can divide your email list and send different offers to different groups of customers. For example, new people who signed up might get one kind of deal, while regular, loyal customers could get something extra special to thank them.

Finally, and most importantly, make sure every email leads somewhere specific. Don’t just send people to your general website homepage. Instead, send them to the special St. Patrick’s Day landing page you made, so it’s a smooth and focused experience for them.

Begin Your St. Patrick’s Day Marketing Plan

Getting your business ready for St. Patrick’s Day doesn’t have to be hard or cost too much. Just pick a few of these St. Patrick’s Day marketing ideas and do them well.

Start planning early, even if you’re only doing a couple of things. If you’re having a giveaway, set it up first because it takes time for people to join. Then, plan your other deals around it.

Ready to plan your St. Patrick’s Day giveaway? Start using RafflePress today and set up your first one fast.

You may also find these other marketing tips helpful:

• Best Digital Marketing Campaigns to Boost Leads
• What Is Social Proof in Marketing? (+ How to Use It)
• How to Use Contest Marketing to Grow Your Business
• Twitter Marketing Strategy Tips to Grow Your Brand
• Proven Facebook Marketing Tips for Small Business
• Referral Marketing Ideas Proven to Earn More Customers

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