Why Using a Scratch-Off in Email is Your Best Bet in 2019

The battle over attention has been raging since, well, since forever. Technology and the incredible amount of content being created every day hasn’t helped in terms of getting people to focus.

That can be seen in the decline of email open and click-through rates. As of early 2018, Epsilon found that “email click rates in North America have failed to increase on a year-over-year basis for 18 consecutive quarters.”

Yikes.

So how to combat that?

Going all in on interactive content

One way is through interactive content. This type of content is sticky. It keeps bringing readers back to your site again and again.

Plus, interactive content works. In a poll from Litmus, creating interactive email experiences is one of the most commonly cited trends that marketers are focusing on — now and into the future.

It helps build brand loyalty with readers, it produces higher click through rates, and it gets people actively engaging in your stuff.

And that’s exactly what you need right now to combat lagging attention spans and content shock where you only have a few seconds to grab a reader.

Today, we’re going to look at one specific type of interactive content using scratch-off in emails. You’ll see why this is a really cool way to get readers invested in your brand.

Diving into scratch-off emails

First, the basics.

What is a scratch-off email?

If you’ve ever gotten a lottery style scratch card or needed to get the pin number off a gift card, then you’ll be familiar with the experience. Basically, you take your fingernail or a dime and scratch a box that has a thin layer of coating over it revealing a prize or number underneath.

Part of the reason why scratch-offs are so popular is that they tap into the psychology behind reveal marketing.

When you have one of those cards in your hand you’re curious, very few people are going to put it down because they don’t want to miss out on the prize. And the kinetic nature of physically having to perform an action to get a result makes you emotionally more attached to the process.

Now, take all of those same concepts and apply it to email marketing. With scratch-off emails you can.

How Scratch-It Emails Work

You’ve got the basics down, so let’s take a look at a scratch-it email in action.

Here’s what it would look like to your reader in their inbox.

Pretty cool, right?

This type of email is something that is going to catch the attention of a lot of readers. And you can use scratch-it style emails for all sorts of different interactive experiences including offers around discounts and savings, coupons, and even gifts.

Now here’s the fun part, actually scratching for a prize.

When your email reader clicks and scratches away that first layer, a hidden message appears beneath, just like if it was on a scratch card in real life.

Check it out.

Here’s the entire experience in action, just click and scratch to see it come to life!

The results are displayed right there. And, unlike with most lottery cards, you’re always going to be a winner when it comes to scratch-off emails!

With this type of email, you’re accomplishing a lot of tasks at once.

First, you’re grabbing the attention of readers right from their inbox. It’s hard to resist a fun or interesting email that really stands out in a sea of seeing the same stuff over and over.

Next, you’re encouraging your readers to get active. To get the full benefits of the email you are sending out they have to actively engage to get the results, even if they don’t end up acting on them. That starts building conditioning right from the very start.

Finally, scratch-it emails can help improve click through rates which can lead to more sales over the long term.

When you add all those up, these type of emails can really be a winning combination that your organization can deploy to your next email marketing campaign.

Putting it all together

Now that you’ve got a good handle on what scratch-off emails are and how they can benefit your brand, what are you waiting for? Give these a try and get people on your list excited to check their inbox.