How to Make Money Online with Virtual Scratch Cards: A Viral Marketing Case Study

ScratchYourself is a website which allows you to win cash prizes by scratching away on a lottery-style scratch card. If you are looking for a great way build up your online brand presence or position in any social community on the web, here is a concept that has great potential.

Unlike traditional lucky draw scratch cards that one attacks with coins or fingernails, ScratchYourself is flash-based and allows you to rub away using basic mouse movements.

Upon doing so, you’ll immediately discover if you won any special prizes which include instant cash prizes of $10 to $50.00 during ScratchYourself’s initial promotional period.

What is fascinating is that you can email the scratch card to anyone or embed it on your blog so that others can scratch it. If they win a prize, you’ll win a prize as well. The only restriction is that prizes are only awarded to U.S residents who are above 13 years old.

Nonetheless, I’ve created a scratch card for Dosh Dosh because I have some interesting thoughts to share about their website. Do try scratching the card below so you’ll get a feel of how it works:

TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington has some comments on how ScratchYourself makes money and also suggests a reason behind its attractiveness:

The company’s business model is to attract advertisers to sponsor prizes (cash, products, coupons). If ScratchYourself turns out to be trustworthy and can circumnavigate the rather complicated federal and state regulations governing sweepstakes, brands could be attracted to this.

You get a good long look at the image underneath the scratch area, which is more than can be said for most banner advertising. And publishers will like the ability to win the same prizes as their readers.

In my own opinion, here are some key benefits of viral business ideas like ScratchYourself:

• Cool Branding. Everyone likes to win a prize of some sort. The interactive nature of the scratch card provides mild excitement and a sense of fun, qualities which the user will perhaps come to subconsciously associate with a business brand.
• Rewards regular customers/audience. A variation of the ScratchYourself concept could be used to build audience and market loyalty. Limiting circulation of the scratch card to a core group of individuals might also build in-group solidarity and support for your business.
• Viral Marketing. Bloggers have a natural incentive to promote the scratch card by putting it on their blogs because they will stand to win something when others do so. Imagine getting your sponsored logo being actively viewed by thousands of people through a wide variety of blogs.
• Opportunities for Affiliate marketers. ScratchYourself is an excellent example of how flash-based applications can be used by affiliate marketers to build their mailing list.The incentive to sign up after winning a prize or an entry into lottery sweepstakes is very strong. Providing similar motivators and spreading them virally has a massive list-building potential.
• Grows Social Networks and Communities. The success of social communities or networks depend a great deal on the size of their userbase. A viral application or tool like ScratchYourself is one of the best ways to monetize social networks in the long-run. It creates buzz and consistently attracts memberships, which increases your ability to make money from advertising/sponsorships.

If you’ve been reading Dosh Dosh, you’ll already know that I’m a very big fan of using social websites and viral marketing to generate overall traffic and brand exposure for websites and blogs.

Coming up with a concept like ScratchYourself’s cards for your own online business or blog will not be difficult. It just requires some brainstorming, initial promotional legwork as well as a great programmer/designer that knows exactly what you need.

The cost and initial time invested in coming up with an excellent viral concept can get you plenty of much needed exposure as well as new customers or blog readers.

Definitely something to think about when you are planning your next marketing campaign.