13 game-inspired email ideas to score big during sporting events

The surge of excitement during big sporting events is a perfect opportunity to connect with your audience. While sports-related organizations naturally benefit, all types of businesses can capitalize on the energy with themed sales, products, and interactive content.

In this article, we’ll look at 13 fun  and compelling games-themed email campaign ideas you can use to engage your subscribers. We’ll also highlight the essential dos and don’ts to consider when creating your sports-themed email marketing plan.

Craft winning newsletters and promos that race ahead of the competition. Perfect for getting a nice head start, winning over your audience, and getting record engagement!

Here are 13 email marketing ideas that you can use to capitalize on the popularity of a major sporting event. These concepts are designed to be relevant for all types of global competitions, from the world's largest multi-sport event to the championship football showdown.

Some of these ideas will work best for sports-related businesses or industries. But we’ve also included plenty of suggestions for how the ideas could work for almost any business.

1. Promote related products

Depending on your business, you  can promote products that will resonate with the spirit of the event. 

This could be obvious products like sports gear, gym subscriptions or sports training plans. But it could also be snacks for watch parties, travel experiences, or even services that help brands make the most of the event.

You may even be able to create specific products. For example, cafes, restaurants, or breweries could create sports-themed creations that tie into the themes of the event. Or clothing brands could launch a host city-inspired collection.

Historic Newspapers has an interesting take on the theme. They created a special summer games-themed book filled with relevant headlines from history. This is an excellent example of a non-sports brand leveraging the event's theme.

2. Start a sporting event-specific sale

If you don’t have or can’t create related products, you could still take advantage of the theme simply by using  sports-focused language to promote your offers, sales and products.

For example, you could run a special offer that people have to “Sprint to take up” before the games begin. Or offer “Champion level discounts” for the duration of the event. See our section on sports events-themed subject lines for more examples of the types of language you could use.

If you have enough products, you could create a daily sale for each day of the competition. Choose a different product in your store and promote each one with a big 24-hour discount. 

3. Include a sports quiz

Not all your content needs to be promotional. Adding fun, entertaining, or informational content can increase your newsletter’s value and keep people engaged. 

Test your subscribers’ sports knowledge with an interactive newsletter quiz. If you have subscribers from around the world, use dynamic content settings to show a quiz that is most relevant to the sports, teams or athletes of the subscribers’ countries.

MailerLite customers can easily create an email quiz using our quiz block. Just drag the block into your email, customize the design and then specify the questions and the correct answers. 

4. Poll your subscribers

Polling subscribers on topics related to the sporting event can help start a conversation. 

Ask who they think will win a high-profile match or game, how many medals their country will earn, or which sport they’re most excited to watch. You can then share the results in your follow-up emails.

This is also a great way to gain insights into your audience and tailor your content and offers accordingly. 

For example, a gym could ask if people feel inspired to start exercising during a major athletic competition, which activities interest them most, and what their biggest barriers to success are. 

The gym could then create products, services or content that meet these needs.

5. Tie sending times to big events

Email marketers are used to scheduling their messages at the times they know get the most engagement. 

They might use Smart sending features to ensure messages go out at the right time for each individual subscriber, or send emails at the same time each week so subscribers know when to expect the message.

During a major event, you could consider switching your sending times up to capitalize on the excitement around particular events. 

For example, you could send emails in the morning of a race, previewing the action. Or send one after an event to celebrate a big result, like in the example below. 

6. Offer tiered discounts

Build excitement with offers tied to your country's performance. You could offer an extra percentage off orders for every medal (or gold medal if you’re from a high-performing country) your country gets. 

Gamify buying by highlighting the fact that while the discounts will increase with time, so will the chances of the products selling out!

7. Show a countdown timer

Set anticipation to fever pitch with an in-email countdown timer set to either the start or the end of an event. 

Create a limited-time offer that starts at the same time as the countdown timer so that your subscribers have twice as much reason to be excited. 

8. Make event predictions

You might remember Paul the Octopus, who correctly predicted the results of all of Germany’s games in the 2010 international football tournament.

You could try something similar by predicting what will happen during the ongoing athletic competition. You could make the predictions yourself or perhaps a furry friend can be your oracle.

If they turn out to be particularly talented, your brand could get as much attention as Paul did back in 2010. 

Alternatively, access the wisdom of the crowd by asking your subscribers who they think will win each event and then tracking their accuracy. 

9. Have fun with puns

Have some fun by adding jokes, puns, memes, and other content to your emails. There are tons of sports-related puns and plays on words that you can use; you’ve probably spotted a few in this article! 

But if you need some inspiration, ask our AI writer to come up with some for you. Provide details about your offer and theme and the tool will provide suggestions in seconds!

10. Focus on equipment

If your store sells sports and athletic equipment, you could focus on the products that athletes will be using and highlight that you sell these goods. 

Unisportsstore highlighted the cleats players will wear at the Euro 2024 soccer championships, but you could easily do something similar for  any major football event or other global sports competition.

11. Start a champion-level challenge

Get your subscribers involved by running a sports-inspired challenge. This could be anything from encouraging people to spend 20 minutes a day walking, to a more intense fitness-related activity like burpees. 

The challenge could even be something unrelated to sports that nonetheless tests your audience’s mental strength. 

Be sure to incentivize subscribers to take part by offering prizes. Fitness app Freeletics does this by entering anyone who completes its burpee challenge into a prize draw. 

12. Focus on the location 

The location of a global competition is almost as important as the event itself. Consider introducing the host city and its key locations. You could even ask subscribers to submit images of themselves at the host city.

There are obvious opportunities for travel companies here, as these brands can offer tours of the most important areas. 

Other businesses can also create interesting content with the right angle. For example, a restaurant could focus on the city’s cuisine, or a clothing brand could focus on the local fashion.

13. Share statistics and facts

Wow your subscribers with fun statistics and facts related to the relevant sports event . For instance, you could share something amazing, like how Michael Phelps has 28 medals, or something mind-boggling, like the fact that over 165,000 towels were used at the London summer games.

You can also turn your statistical research into a valuable digital product. Compile your fun facts into a deeper analysis or an exclusive report. For example, create an infographic of "100 Mind-Blowing [Sports Event] Facts" and offer it as a lead magnet, or an exclusive "Sports Data Deep Dive" guide that you can sell to your audience using MailerLite's digital products feature. This strategy transforms an engaging email tip into a business growth tool.

An effective subject line is key to a winning email. These phrases use event-inspired language to grab attention and boost open rates. Here are over 20 subject lines you can use for your campaigns, from the start of a season to the big finale.

For more subject lines, use our AI generator to create themed subject lines tailored to your messages.  Just tell it what you want your message to be about, and it will create options based on your input.

Once you’re happy with a subject line, use our free email subject line tester to explore its effectiveness with respect to length, reading level, personalization, and so on. Then tweak the subject line accordingly to further increase open and click rates! 

Ready to take your campaign to the next level? Here are some final tips to ensure your email marketing efforts are a total win, no matter the season.

Leverage your expertise

Think about what makes your business unique. Do you have a founder with an inspiring story? A behind-the-scenes process that's fascinating to watch? Use the energy of a major event to highlight your brand's strengths. While you may not be able to offer a peek into a global sports village, you can give your subscribers a unique look at your business, its people, and the passions that drive it.

Motivate and inspire

Major sporting events are filled with stories of perseverance, teamwork, and success. Tap into this by sharing motivational content that resonates with your audience. You can profile an athlete with an interesting backstory or share an inspiring quote related to success and hard work. Your goal is to uplift your subscribers and connect your brand with positive, aspirational feelings.

Celebrate the moment

These events are special because they bring people together. Use your newsletter to celebrate the moments your audience cares about most. This could be a recap of a particularly exciting match, a shout-out to a specific athlete, or a summary of key highlights. By focusing on shared experiences and triumphs, you make your brand feel like part of the larger celebration.

Hopefully, these ideas have ramped your inspiration up to 11. Now’s the time to take some of the tips and use them in your own  sports-themed email marketing. Start planning your campaigns today!