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Video Email Marketing: 7 easy ways to add video in emails

In this guide you will learn everything about video email marketing, and how to use it in your marketing strategy.

First published

02.05.2022

Last edited

19.03.2024

Read time

10 minutes


    By Ilija

    An economist by degree, a marketing manager at heart. Seeing my website on the first page of Google is what excites me most. I write mostly about email productivity, email management and AI.

    If you want to see your open rates and customer engagement increase, then consider adding video to your emails and newsletters.

    Here are 7 easy ways to incorporate video email marketing into your business strategy today.

    What is video email marketing?

    Video email marketing is an effective strategy used by marketers, business owners and entrepreneurs to increase the click-through rate and customer engagement of an email.

    It involves embedding or including a video in the body of the email. In some cases, the email may just include a link that directs the user to a webpage to view the video.

    Compared to bodies of text, a video in your email campaign can be more enticing to your customers.

    They can watch the video to learn more about your product or offering in a stimulating way that can’t always be conveyed through text.

    Videos can also be used for education, promoting, or entertainment.

    Your Inbox, Smarter

    Designed for business owners and freelancers using Outlook, Gmail and Apple Mail.

    How to use video in email marketing

    1. Use video as bonus content to entertain your audience

    You can get more email subscribers by giving them access to an exclusive video when they sign up.

    This type of bonus content not only engages the customer but also increases their loyalty to your company or brand.

    For consultants or coaches, you might include a video with extra tips or pieces of advice that aren’t normally available on your website, or get one of your clients or pupils to record a video testimonial where they talk about how your services helped them.

    If you’re advertising an event, you can include a video with behind-the-scenes footage to help build interest for attendance or ticket sales.

    Educational bonus videos can also attract customers. For example, you can craft a video explaining your company’s history or future goals. Or you can focus on one specific issue that your user base will enjoy learning more about.

    2. Send out your video in newsletters

    Text-heavy newsletters can be boring, especially if you’re sending them out on a regular basis. To spruce up your content, consider adding videos in addition to your content.

    Instead of writing a long text of updates, explain what’s new in an informational video.

    This way, you’ll get important information to your users fast (and without the fear of them skipping over something important).

    A weekly or monthly update in video form and be much more appealing to your subscribers.

    You can also highlight certain topics using videos. This could be a promotional video, behind-the-scenes content, or educational topics.

    3. Add an image that redirects to a video

    An embedded video can result in immediate views. However, it’s important to note that some email clients (including the big players like Gmail and Outlook) don’t support embedded videos in emails.

    If most of your subscribers have these providers, you’ll be better off including a still image that redirects to a video instead.

    The most effective way to do this is to create an image that resembles a video.

    It will have a screenshot and a fake play button that, when clicked, will redirect the users to YouTube or wherever the video is hosted.

    This is a UX trick that can result in more clicks and views.

    You can also choose to hide the video link behind a more design-oriented graphic.

    Again, it’s crucial that you choose an intriguing image. However, you’ll need to include a call to action to inform the reader that they should click on the link.

    4. Thank users for their purchase

    Even after acquiring the user, it’s still important to retain them. In this situation, thank you videos can be a great complement to your “recent purchase” email.

    Not only does this show the customer that you value their loyalty, but it also makes them more inclined to open up an email they might usually send straight to the trash bin.

    While a simple thank you message is enough, you can also include more information about the product they purchased.

    This could be a behind-the-scenes video of your office or factory, a message about how to care for their item, or even a discount on their next purchase.

    5. Embed your video in your team’s email signature

    Many people are unaware that they can use their email signature to increase user interaction. Think of it as a free promotional space that will be seen by anyone who gets an email from you.

    See Mailbutler Signature Feature in our video:

     

    There are specific ways to add a video to your signature. For one, you can create a small, static image, which should be thumbnail size). It can also include a play button to tell users that it's a video.

    You can also include a link in your signature with a catchy button to get them to click.

    For example, you can write “Learn more about our company!” or “Watch a 2-minute demo of our product”.

    The link will then redirect to the video or homepage, where they can access the content.

    Personalized videos can also work here. Simply record an introduction and a few facts about yourself.

    This is a great option for sales, support, or any employee working in a customer service field.

    6. Use a GIF

    You don’t have to record a long, drawn-out video in order to appeal to your user base. Sometimes, a simple animated thumbnail or GIF can have the same effect.

    These small, fun animations can also attract attention and increase engagement with your content.

    It’s okay to find predesigned GIFs online, but it's recommended to create your own visual content.

    This way, your users will get something unique and not something they’ve seen dozens of times all over the internet.

    For example, retailers might consider a short GIF of a model wearing an outfit.

    E-commerce companies can also show an animated image of rotating products.

    Another option is to include blinking or flashing text to highlight different sections of your newsletter.

    7. Send holiday greetings

    Staying relevant is important for your brand image. Even if you don’t have any new updates for your consumers, you can still send an email to show your appreciation

    This is especially useful around the holidays. Get your CEO to record a festive greeting or create a video with unique winter-themed products you want to showcase.

    It’s a small gesture that can keep you at the forefront of your user’s minds. 

    Similarly, you may also choose to send out birthday emails. If you collect personal data from your consumers, then a small video to wish them a happy birthday can be a nice touch.

    In addition to increasing brand awareness and customer loyalty, these “checking in” emails can also drive users back to your site to make a purchase.

    Tips to make videos more appealing to your audience

    1. Include personalized elements

    Personalized elements in your video email marketing

    Personalized elements in your video email marketing campaigns can transform your users into loyal customers. And while it’s impractical to create a video for each individual user, there are still ways to add personal touches to your campaigns.

    For example, you might choose to send out newsletters to certain groups (ex: people who purchased raincoats, people who attended your webinar, etc.).

    Then, you can record a custom message that personally speaks to them.

    Another way to personalize the experience is to monitor how much of the video has been watched.

    If you notice that customers stop watching at a certain point, you can send a follow-up email to remind them to finish. 

    2. Use the word “video” in email subject lines

    There’s no point in recording a video if no one is going to open your email in the first place!

    Having a catching subject line will attract customers and let them know that you have visually appealing content waiting for them.

    Some examples of great subject lines include “A video message about XXX” or “Video Story: How to Do XXX.” If you're not sure which subject line works best for your message, then run an A/B test to see if users prefer one style over another.

    3. Use high-quality graphics

    The quality of your video plays a vital role in your video marketing email. Make sure your video is shot with good recording equipment (your video shouldn’t be discolored or pixelated).

    You can also add filters or other effects in post-production.

    The way you upload and store your video can also impact the quality. The longer your video, the longer it will take to load or process.

    This also applies to videos with a high frame rate.

    Therefore, it's important to find the balance between high-quality resolution and fast loading times to make sure your customer isn’t waiting for ages for the video to buffer.

    4. Keep the video short

    Not only do long videos take ages to load, but they also run the risk of boring your customer.

    Your viewers are busy, and thanks to social media sites, they’re also used to digesting content that’s just a few seconds long.

    You should try to keep most of your email marketing videos to under 30 seconds. It might be hard to condense your message to that frame, but it's important for the attention span of your viewers. 

    Of course, tutorials, webinars, and other information content might be longer.

    This is perfectly acceptable, especially if your customer has set aside time to educate themselves with your video.

    But generally speaking, the shorter the video, the better.

    5. Include a CTA

    When creating your video campaign, it's important to clarify what you’re exactly trying to achieve. Do you want more people to buy a product?

    Do you want them to register for an event? Should they call you for an appointment? Whatever it is, make sure to include a call to action at the end of the video and improve your closing lines with other tips.

    A clear and compelling CTA will give users focus and direction on what they are expected to do next. 

    6. Add subtitles or captions

    Many people watch videos while they’re on the bus or in the office. That means the audio is often off or muted.

    If you want to convey your message through video, it's crucial that you include subtitles or captions for people to follow. 

    Making your video accessible to others reduces bounce rate and increases interaction.

    If they don’t have audio turned on, then they’re very likely to exit the video or even ignore your entire email. 

    7. Upload your video to a shareable website

    Who wouldn’t want their video to go viral? Making your video shareable can increase views and conversions. Although your customers can forward your email, it's easier for them if it's hosted on a site like YouTube or Vimeo.

    That way, they can simply copy and paste the link to send to their friends or followers.

    8. Appeal to emotions

    Getting someone to click on your video is one of the hardest things about video email marketing. Your call to action has to be informative and also appealing to the user.

    One of the best ways to increase video click-through rates is to appeal to the user’s emotions.

    Instead of describing or writing out the video title, think of something creative that might spark something in your customers.

    Happiness, belonging, and even greed and fear can be the basis for your powerful marketing campaign.

    9. Enable autoplay and turn the sound off

    If you’ve embedded a video in your email, then set it to automatically play once the email is opened. This way, users will immediately be drawn into your content with minimal effort.

    However, having audio on can be very annoying, especially if the user opens the email at work or in public.

    Therefore, it’s important to turn the sound off if you’re enabling autoplay. Of course, they can always click to turn the sound on if they want to listen to what is going on.

    Video email marketing FAQs

    How effective are video emails?

    Research shows that adding videos to your emails can result in a 200-300% increase in click-through rates.

    In addition to this, including the word “video” in your email subject lines and/or email body can boost open rates by 19% and lead to a 26% decrease in unsubscribes.

    All of these figures show that video emails are an extremely powerful and effective marketing tool.

    What is an example of video email marketing?

    A great example of video email marketing is any email newsletter or update with a product demo video. More often than not, showing is better than telling. Other good examples of video email marketing include:

    • Customer success video emails (increase conversions)
    • Behind-the-scenes video emails (educate, entertain, and show off your brand)
    • “Thank you for your purchase” video emails (show you care)
    • Holiday greetings video emails (help you remind your customers you’re here and show them you appreciate them)

    How do I make a video autoplay in an email?

    It depends on your email client. For example, Gmail doesn’t allow you to embed videos in your messages.

    It only lets you add links to videos published on video hosting platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion.

    If you want to embed videos in your Gmail emails that play automatically, you’ll have to use a third-party tool or extension.

    Conclusion

    As you can see, video email marketing can be a powerful tool for increasing conversions and brand loyalty.

    It’s something that all business owners, entrepreneurs, and business owners should utilize when developing their marketing campaigns.

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