How to improve your email marketing campaign using video

Did you know that one in ten people have over 1,000 unread emails? Chances are that you’re one of them. It’s extremely common to subscribe to hundreds of different websites and receive millions of emails each week. And how can you even catch up with that? We end up opening just the emails that we actually care about, and leave the rest unopened forever, collecting dust in the “Promotions” tab. But what can you possibly do if you’re running one of these email campaigns that get unopened by the receivers? 

Well, the magic is to create (and send!) emails that people actually want to receive. This is when video content comes to save the day. Including video in email marketing campaigns is a great way to improve opening rates and overall email performance. Just by adding the word “video” in the subject line of an email, the opens of a message increase by 19%, so it’s clear that video content is the way to go!

But before you start shopping for a video production company or brainstorming script ideas, let’s talk a bit about the type of videos that work better for email and how to use them effectively.

Video in email campaigns: Which types of videos are an instant match?

There are many different types of video content and the best way to choose between them is to think about the context in which you’ll be sending it. But certain types will work better for email campaigns, and you’ll surely want to take advantage of that.

Educational videos

If you want your emails to be opened and read by a large portion of your audience, you’ll need to offer them valuable information. Educational videos, especially well-cut videos using a skilled video editor like VEED, are a great way to do that. Moreover, you can also convert videos into different formats, ensuring your content is accessible to a wider audience. To make your videos even more engaging, using a YouTube thumbnail maker app can help create eye-catching thumbnails that entice viewers to click on your content.

Educational content about subjects related to your field of expertise is something that your audience will find interesting — and it will position your brand as a referent in that subject. Knowledge is power!

This is a kind of marketing content that is also very shareable. If it’s high-quality and relevant to your audience’s interests, you’ll find that it’s a type of content that gets a lot of resends! People love to share valuable information with their friends, family, or colleagues.

Educational videos can come in a lot of different shapes and colors! You can choose to make a live-action video, or something more easy-going, like an animated video! Take this as an example:

Behind the scenes

If your customers subscribed to your mailing list, it means that they’re interested in the way that your brand does things. These kinds of customers are usually very eager to know what happens behind the curtains of your company: how does it work? Who are the people behind it?

With behind the scenes videos, you can show the true, human side of your business. At the same time, you’ll stir up the curiosity of the people that are subscribed to your mailing list — and curiosity is a powerful motivator! It will make your audience open your emails and boost your open and click-through rates.

Product videos

Some mailing campaigns are made to promote certain products or present new ones. That’s when product videos come into play.

Making product videos is a great way to introduce your product in a very detailed and thorough way. They don’t leave out any details in the explanation of the features of the product, and they show exactly what the special value that positions it over the competition is. 

This is a great video type to send in email marketing campaigns that are aimed to sell — Product videos increase sales more than 85% of the time because when people are considering purchasing a product, they often want to see exactly how it will work. And these videos are a great way to help customers “try before they buy”, just like they’d do in a physical store.

Explainer videos

Last but not least, one of the favorite types of videos for all marketers — Explainer videos. These are short pieces (between 60 to 90 seconds) that describe how a product or service works, but they do it in a much simpler and entertaining way than product videos.

While product videos will help you in the final stages of a typical buyer’s journey (when people are looking for detailed information on a certain product), explainer videos work best when included in the middle of the funnel: the moment when your audience needs information quickly and effectively.

Explainer videos use storytelling in a way that’s engaging and that will make your audience feel identified with your content. From traditional animation to motion graphics, and even whiteboard animation, explainers give you a lot of versatility to make just the piece your brand needs. By using an AI video maker, you can streamline the creation process, ensuring your explainer video is both professional and tailored to your audience's needs, while saving time and resources.

How to make your video email campaign shine?

Now that you’re aware of the best types of videos to include in your mailing campaign, it’s time that you know the truth. Yes, including video is great for mailings! But you need to do it the right way if you want it to work.

This is how you do it!

Let people know they’ll be watching a video

Video content makes people want to open their emails and take a look at what your campaign has to offer. The thing is — how are they going to know that you’ve got a video for them if you don’t let them know?

It’s easy. Include a heads up in the subject line of your email and that way your audience will know that they’re in for a treat. Whether you decide to do it by using a phrase or by being bold and adding “VIDEO” in all caps, the rule is simple: include the word “video” in your subject line to increase open rates.

Link, don’t embed

Let’s set it straight. It would be great to just embed a video in your email campaign, but most email providers don’t have the right compatibility and they won’t show the video correctly in the body of an email. Most of them will just show a “fallback image”, which is a random image that looks like the video but ends up taking the viewer to another page.

So, what does this tell us? Don’t try to embed your video in the email. Link it instead, to ensure that all of your audience will be able to watch the video, regardless of their email provider.

And how should you do it? By linking it to an image that resembles a video, but that’s chosen strategically by you (so it’s not just a fallback image!). Take a screenshot of the most attractive part of your video, use it as your chosen image, and add a “play” button on top of it to let people know they’re going to be watching a video.

This way, you’ll be able to increase your clickthrough rates and take people to the page of your choice — a landing page that contains your video and more information, your YouTube channel, etc.

A pro-tip? Take it up a notch and, instead of using an image, link it through a gif!

Wrapping up!

Video is an amazing tool to boost email marketing campaigns. It’s a valuable piece of content that viewers love to receive, consume, and share — and the stats certainly prove it!

But video content is also an investment, and if you’re going to include it in your email campaigns, you need to make sure that investment is going to be profitable. That’s why you need to carefully select a video production company that’s professional and that ensures that you’ll get the high-quality content that your audience is expecting to receive from you.
A high-quality video will boost brand trust! So don’t settle for any video — choose one that’s tailored made for your brand and your audience’s interests.

So, are you ready to make your email marketing shine with video content?

About the author

Victor Blasco is an audiovisual designer, video marketing expert, and founder/CEO of the explainer video company Yum Yum Videos. Besides running the business, he’s a lifelong student of Chinese philosophy and a passionate geek for all things sci-fi.