Working with customers has its twists and turns for user experience and email marketing managers. With emails flooding inboxes, marketers may struggle to set their messages apart from the competition.

So, how do you stay afloat and keep up with customer expectations? That is when email gamification comes into play.

What email gamification is all about

Email gamification goes beyond playing games – it is about having a sense of achievement, reaching goals, facing challenges, fostering communities, growing, and having competitions. The game itself is only part of a broader strategy, and only when all elements are combined do they make up gamification.

Adding gamified elements – quizzes or spin-the-wheel modules – boosts the average order value by 50% at the very least. How? Recipients get involved rather than just scrolling.

Why you should care about email gamification: key statistics

While some perceive email gamification as trivial entertainment, it finds its use in Software as a Service (SaaS) or eCommerce businesses. Let’s have a better look at the numbers to eliminate doubts.

SaaS

• Emails with gamification elements got 1,000% higher conversion rates than those without gamification
• Solemnly mentioning “Gamification” in the subject line improves open rates by 25%
• The open rate (OR) of gamified emails increased by 740%

eCommerce

• Gamified emails reached a 220% higher click-through rate than standard promo emails
• An average check increased in value by 15%
• Return on investment (ROI) rose by 300% and went from 150–600% to 700–1,100%

When email gamification is the perfect retention tool

In terms of customer retention, email gamification can be an element of connection or a gesture of gratitude. Gamified elements keep customers involved, thus building deeper connections and positive brand associations.

Rewarding loyalty

“Thank you for choosing us” is a standard, but it does not have to define your loyalty programmes. Internal bonuses, loyalty cards, or credits are elements that deepen relations. If you can offer gamified participation in loyalty programs, it is best not to miss it.

Creating excitement during product launches

Product launches can be as exciting to customers as to marketing and product teams. How? Email gamification lets people feel involved rather than being bystanders.

For example, using a puzzle quiz to reveal an upcoming feature may add a feeling of intrigue.

Surprising subscribers for holidays

Holidays are a golden opportunity for both salespeople and marketers. Gamified campaigns are key to encouraging engagement while keeping the festive mood up.

Spin-the-wheel or creativity works best for SaaS, where discounts are rare. With games, businesses avoid overwhelming people with discounts but still increase conversions.

Sharing educational content

Gamified elements can share educational content in an engaging and easy way. Quizzes test knowledge of the niche, provide tips, and remind customers of product features, at the very least. Moreover, consistency in gamified educational content results in improved open rates.

Regular communication to stay on top of the mind

Regular communication keeps the brand on top of the recipient’s mind, and with gamification, even significant emailing gaps can be your advantage. Gamified elements spark intrigue and help smooth waiting time while fostering better connections.

Email gamification best practices

Email gamification requires a complex approach and careful consideration, so let’s check the best practices for maximizing gamified emails.

Offer participants clear and achievable goals

A good game has a purpose and a clear path, and email gamification is no different. For example, let them collect credits for each resolved puzzle in the email campaign and exchange those for a discount.

Outline a set of rules to achieve this goal

Without proper guidance, the game’s purpose quickly becomes blurry and unreachable. While most elements appear intuitive, keeping customers acquainted with what awaits ensures clarity and increases the likelihood of participation.

Provide feedback to let participants track their progress

How does one measure their success in the game? By checking the progress bar or experience level, and gamification is similar.

Feedback in gamified emails boosts motivation and lets players adjust their steps based on the notes received. In the end, effectiveness and engagement increase.

Add a character to ensure coherency

An on-brand theme and character make a game relatable and build stronger associations with a brand.

It is easier to recognise the character you have been rooting for than trying to analyse the email design and determine the sender.

Let your players share their results to give them a sense of belonging

Both companies and customers benefit from sharing and celebrating wins. A competition board or a button to share results on social media encourages people to compete and invest more time in the game, thus boosting your engagement rates and increasing brand virality

Encourage exploration to discover different game outcomes

Different actions lead to various outcomes, increasing the sense of discovery and uniqueness of a game. Сonsider adding multiple variations of results or timelines to create personalised experiences.

Allow participants to skip the game

Ideally, the game catches a customer’s breath and encourages engagement. However, making participation mandatory should be avoided.

A good game is associated with non-invasive time spending, so letting people manage their experiences is highly recommended.

Technical challenges in email gamification and how to solve them

Our experience and user feedback confirm that coding skills remain a major obstacle to gamification since email providers require different sublanguages of HTML for compatibility:

• AMP HTML: Ensures compatibility with Gmail and Yahoo recipients
• HTML5 and CSS3: Targets users on Apple Mail, Samsung Mail, and Thunderbird
• Web version as a fallback: Outlook’s compatibility rules make adding a fallback web version essential to ensure that your customers will be able to experience the beauty of the game

To ensure that all your subscribers can interact with a game, you need to include all these versions in one template.

You can address these challenges by working with development and design teams or using gamified modules. With gamified modules, all code-related concerns are handled automatically – you just need to adjust the content to align with your brand.

Wrapping up

Email gamification is a way to keep brands and customers connected, and implementing proper practices positively impacts customer retention. When emails become a separate experience, customers tend to return.

The key is to keep it simple and engaging – with these up your sleeve, fostering deeper connections comes naturally.

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