Make Every Subscriber a Winner: How to Use Email Scratch-Offs – Litmus

On average, subscribers only spend 8.97 seconds with an email. In the fast-paced realm of digital marketing, standing out amidst the clutter of promotional emails is no small feat. 

That’s why we’re thrilled to welcome the newest quick-start template on the Litmus Personalize block: Scratch-Offs! With just a few clicks, you can bring a sense of excitement and exclusivity into subscribers’ inboxes. 

The best part? No coding experience is required to add them to your emails, making them accessible to any member of your team to create.

Let’s dive into the possibilities with Litmus Personalize Scratch-Offs.

How it works

Scratch-offs are used to reveal an image after “scratching” a cover image. To participate in the “scratching,” subscribers will first click a cover image from your email. From there, they will be directed to a landing page where they can then “scratch off” the cover image to reveal the image underneath, with a call-to-action (CTA) button underneath.

Step 1: Design your scratch-off experience

Let’s talk about the core components of a scratch-off. There are three parts to designing a scratch-off in Litmus Personalize, all of which can be customized to fit your brand guidelines.

• Cover image: The image that is displayed in the email as well as the default image on the landing page. You can design your own in the quick-start template or upload your own.
  
• Reveal image: The image that is displayed once the user has “scratched” the cover image. Like cover images, you can design or upload your own.
• Landing page: The page your subscribers will be directed to once they click your cover image in an email. You can customize the URL, design, add a custom message, and customize the CTA button.

Step 2: Preview your scratch-off

After you’ve finalized the look and feel of your email scratch-off, the next step is to preview how it looks and test the flow and functionality of the landing page.

Step 3: Copy and paste the HTML in your email

Once you’re happy with your scratch-off experience, simply copy the HTML and add it to your email code. 

Friendly note: Scratch-offs are available in Litmus Enterprise and Litmus Personalize Pro plans.

How to use scratch-offs in email

The first thing that likely comes to mind is using email scratch-offs for promotions or discounts. Even if that doesn’t seem to align with your brand, we encourage you to give it a try—you might be surprised by the results! Here are four tips to help you use them effectively.

1) Determine scenarios that make sense for your brand

Although scratch-offs are often associated with retail or D2C/B2C, they can be effectively used in B2B contexts as well. Nonetheless, you’ll want to identify situations where the anticipation of a reveal makes sense for your brand.

To refine your approach, start by working backward from the reveal at question. Ask yourself: does this truly generate anticipation? Consider: what’s the payoff here? Does it warrant the effort while also building anticipation?

Here are some examples where a scratch-off can help garner excitement effectively:

Other ideas are to capitalize on novel, unique holidays (like Leap Day or National Donut Day). Or if it aligns with your brand’s personality, simply for a surprise-and-delight experience.

Our tip: reserve them for an audience you know is likely to engage!

2) Segment your audience

Here are some approaches to help you get the most out of email scratch-offs.

Send to a more active, engaged segment

To maximize the impact of scratch-offs in your email campaigns, you’ll want to focus on sending to highly engaged or loyal customers because they are more likely to follow through on the landing page and convert.

Consider dividing your subscribers into distinct groups based on their level of engagement, distinguishing between active clickers and those who are less active. 

For instance, a highly active and engaged subscriber is more likely to respond to your scratch-off than someone who hasn’t clicked in one your emails in the past month, increasing the likelihood of them taking action.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Litmus (@litmusapp)

Create multiple versions

Tailor your email scratch-off to suit the preferences and behaviors of each segment. For example, offer A can be exclusively targeted towards group A, while offer B is designed for group B. (Scratch-offs can also be used for A/B testing offers or reveals within the same segments, too!)

Meet them where they’re at

Consider where a subscriber is in their customer journey: are they a new customer on your list? Have they recently purchased from your brand? Determine the optimal touch points within your customer journey where a scratch-off might be beneficial. 

3) Use them strategically

While scratch-offs add an element of fun to your marketing campaigns, it’s essential to use them strategically. Avoid overusing scratch-offs in your email communications and reserve them for occasions when you have an enticing offer or valuable content to reveal so they don’t fall flat.

By saving scratch-offs for special promotions or noteworthy announcements, you can maintain their novelty and maximize their impact on your audience.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Litmus (@litmusapp)

4) Evaluate performance regularly

Keep a close eye on the performance of your scratch-offs to gauge whether or not they make sense for you (and prevent fatigue). This way, you can identify if there comes a point where subscribers are no longer responsive to scratch-offs.

Metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor are click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rate (e.g. whether a subscriber clicks the CTA on your landing page).

Stand out in the inbox

According to The State of Email survey, 36% of respondents say the most common way marketers personalize emails is through the subject line and preview text. While this is a great start, to succeed in today’s landscape—one that demands personalization—you’ll need to take things up a notch.

How? By creating a memorable subscriber experience, whether that’s with a live poll, personalized imagery, social proof—or a scratch-off. If you’re looking for a solution that helps you do all this in just a few clicks, Litmus Personalize might just be your match.