Game on 🎮

Published: Thu, 05/23/24

Updated: Thu, 05/23/24

Image of a video game controller, crossword puzzle, and quiz options on fuchsia background

Hi there friend,

My little boy used to hate math. Practicing math facts stressed him out, using snap cubes just distracted him, and trying to apply problems to real world scenarios proved unsuccessful. What did work? Turning his math learning and practice into a game.

We would play hide and seek, and every time he found me, he got 3 points. Next thing he knew, he was skip-counting by 3 like a champ! (I didn’t do a good job of hiding 😉).

Next, we created a game where every time he solved a math problem he got a chance to roll a ball and knock down a block castle I had built. This approach replaced his anxiety with confidence and fun memories, and he has been rocking math ever since.

This kind of gamification–the integration of game mechanics into non-game environments–isn’t just for kids; it can absolutely be applied to your email marketing efforts as well. Incorporating game-like elements into your newsletters can transform reader engagement from passive to active, making your content not just informative but also interactive–and fun!

In last week’s newsletter, we experimented with a quiz that shared current email marketing statistics–and let’s be honest, unless you’re a stats person, that’s a pretty dry topic. There were quite a few links in that newsletter, but the one that led to the landing page with the quiz answers was the most clicked–by a lot (Thanks everyone 🥹).

Getting customers to open your emails is one thing; encouraging them to engage with them is something else entirely. This is why gamification is so powerful: games are engaging by nature.

In addition to increasing your click-through rates, gamifying your email marketing can also lead to improved customer retention. Creating something fun for your customers to enjoy shows that you value them. As an added bonus, interactive content allows you to gather more data on your subscribers' preferences and behaviors, which you can then use to further tailor and improve your campaigns.

Ready to push start? Check out this list of ideas you can try in one of your next newsletters!

Gamification Ideas 💡

Quizzes & Surveys: Create short, engaging quizzes related to your industry or content. Offer instant feedback and rewards to participants.

Challenges & Competitions: Encourage subscribers to participate in challenges. It could be a photo contest, a creative writing challenge, or even a puzzle-solving competition.

Point Systems & Rewards: Let subscribers earn points for opening emails, clicking on links, or participating in activities. Points can be redeemed for discounts, free products, or exclusive content.

Interactive Stories: Develop choose-your-own-adventure stories that guide readers through different scenarios based on their choices.

Mystery Offers: Send out newsletters with a mystery discount or offer. Subscribers can click through to reveal their reward, creating a sense of anticipation and excitement.

All of these ideas can be done using segmentation and AWeber landing pages! (Check out how this AWeber customer pulled off an incredible scavenger hunt using AWeber landing pages.) Be sure to use analytics to track how gamified elements affect your open rates and click-through rates.

Combined with your other email marketing strategies, email marketing gamification is bursting with potential. The ultimate end goal should be to make sure your customers are simply having fun. We could all use more fun.

Ready to play? (And enter to win a prize?!)

We can’t end this newsletter without doing a game ourselves! Have you ever played the word puzzle game, Connections? Honestly one of my favorite games–I pretty much play it every day. We have our own version here for you to play! To check your answers click on the landing page link below.

If you click the link to the answers, you will be entered to win our Email Marketing Masterclass for free! We will reach out to the winner next week!

AWeber Lists

Create four lists of four related words. (Hint: it's all about AWeber!)

➡️ Check out the answers and enter to win here!

(By clicking the link you’ll automatically be entered 🙌 )

What did you think of this email?

❤️❤️❤️ Loved it. Can't wait to get the next one.

💔 I didn't really care for it.

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