10 Super Effective Video Email Marketing Secrets for Business

Those videos are popular and bring great success is well-known, but the video email marketing secrets behind that success aren’t. With 4G technology growing rapidly worldwide (source) and 5G technology already operational in 34 countries, video consumption is only going to rise. And because video provides a multi-sensory experience, businesses are rapidly moving to use video in email marketing in order to attract, engage and widen their customer base. 

Under video email marketing, you use an embedded image or GIF in your email, so that when your recipients click on that image or GIF, they will be able to watch your video. 

That way, you can leverage your email subscriber list, engage them visually and guide them further in your sales funnel. And once people begin watching your brand through videos, they will become familiar with your brand, leading to better conversions.

Before we delve deeper into the secrets of video email marketing, it’d be a good idea to have a quick look at some of the benefits of using video in email. 

Here are the top 5 benefits:

1. Gets better click-through rates

A GetResponse study reported that video emails increase click-through rates by 96 percent. In an age where marketers have to struggle for a rise of every percentage point, such figures are truly phenomenal.

2. Slashes your unsubscribe rates

A test conducted by Eloqua suggests that video email can reduce your unsubscribe rates by as much as 75%. In simpler terms, it would mean 3 out of every 4 people will choose to stay back with you: truly a huge number, by any standards. 

3. Boosts your open rates

Video can increase your email open rates by up to 13%, as per a report cited by Mediaposts. That’s a big payoff, because open rates contribute to your CTRs, and, ultimately, to your revenue.

4. Even senior executives prefer it. 

Videobrewry quotes a study by ForbesInsight, which revealed that 59% of senior executives said they’d rather watch a video than read text. A far cry from the outdated belief that videos attract only teens but not senior decision-makers.

5. Nearly everyone’s using it

A Wyzowl's State of Video Marketing Survey mentioned by HubSpot found that ‘86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool’. Naturally, you don’t want your business to be left behind.

Now that we’re all excited about the tremendous opportunities that videos have to offer, it’s time to dive deeper. 

Let’s take a look at what little-known secrets for video email marketing you can use to engage better and drive growth using your video email system.

1. Make videos a part of your sales process

Sure you have drip campaigns and all that with which to nurture leads and take it up right through conversion. But ever notice emails can’t always manage to get the ‘voice’ right and deliver that human touch, something so vital in tech-driven sales today?

The video makes it easier than you’d believe. One of the simplest video email marketing hacks is to have your sales teams record a short video on their smartphone or laptops and send it across to engaged leads. That’s it. 

This video could simply be a ‘Hey, are you up for a quick 15-minute call this Thursday?’ message. Or it can show how a particular product feature works. Or answer specific questions. Nothing fancy, and yet this is one of those video email marketing secrets that work like a charm.

Why this works: Such videos work primarily because they are brief, natural, and spontaneous. Your prospects appreciate that you’re thinking of them and trying to solve their problems. And that your sales teams are displaying the initiative without waiting for fancy studio lights or expensive recording.

2. Use videos with your CRM workflow

People check out products but buy brands. This marketing adage means that even if your prospects keep evaluating different products, they’ll most likely purchase a brand that resonates with them. And video is certainly a great idea for brand building.

One of the best video email marketing tips that experts offer is using video to make the buyer journey easy. Use your CRM to understand what stages your prospects are in. 

Are they completely new to your product category? In your email, include a short video that explains the kind of problem you solve. Be sure to keep it brief, because, at this stage, your prospects have a very short attention span. 

Are they at the BOFU (Bottom Of FUnnel)? Customer testimonials in videos will likely work better because they are already aware of the problem and have probably evaluated other alternatives too. 

Why this works: Your CRM knows a great deal about your customers and prospects, so you’ll be pushing only highly targeted video content. Video email marketing, when tied with your CRM, works because it’s data-driven.

3. Share your local event details

Video technology has made the world a small place in a strange way: we’re all near and yet far away. Chances are we know more about a business thousand of miles away than we do about our neighborhood store.

Here’s the best part of using email. Using video in email marketing, you can easily get more visibility (and more footfalls, if that’s the objective) for your local events. It’s not how big the event you’re hosting is, it’s how you engage more people into it using email. 

It’s important that more than selling the event, you sell the inputs. If there are some stellar speakers coming over, show their credentials! If you’re a micro business with extremely small team size, show your office dog that’s pampered by everyone. Give it a human touch, above all. 

Why this works: Telling your email subscribers about the event you’re holding is pretty much like an RSVP invitation. Your video email lets people see the location you’re hosting the event at and the energy and preparations you’re putting into it; it becomes difficult for prospects to ignore you.

4. Don’t forget the good old GIFs

Here’s another of those video email marketing secrets that somehow people forget often. When did you last use an interesting meme or GIF to engage your audience? If your answer is ‘Been a while’, it’s high time you put your video email marketing software to some creative use.

Adding GIFs to your email is a great idea. Once you’ve made sure your overall message and your brand voice match the GIFs you’d be using, there’s no reason to hold back. Some firecrackers, a popular animation character (even your own brand mascot), a funny line from a sitcom… you have virtually infinite opportunities.  These fun, ultra-short video-like files are a common hit across various product categories. 

You can either create these GIFs, use a ready-made GIF or use one of several tools out there to create one. What’s more important is the results they bring in - they will pleasantly surprise you!

Why this works: GIFs are the quintessential video emails: brief, engaging, and effective. And besides, GIFs are supported by all email clients, which means your recipients will never have trouble viewing them.

(Suggested GIF below, only for representative purpose)

5. Create engaging tutorials

As businesses become sophisticated, so do their products. A lot of things, from SaaS products to your microwave, may have some functionalities that aren’t strictly intuitive. So how do you explain to your prospects all that stuff?

Short, but engaging tutorials are the answer. Here’s one of our most favorite video email marketing tips ever: don’t try to stuff everything in one single video or else they’d become too complex. Instead, break down the explanations into smaller, more digestible chunks. 

Creating a series of tutorial videos will also give you a chance to tell stories. Add nuggets of various uses cases while you discuss your product features in the videos. That way, your customers will be able to discover more.

Why this works: Creating tutorials is not just about explaining features. When you make explanatory videos, you’re basically telling your prospects that you care for them and that you’re going the extra mile to make sure they get the most out of your products. 

That, and the additional value that customers derive after learning from your tutorial videos, explains why tutorials are one of the most successful of all the video email marketing hacks.

6. Storify your customers’ experiences

It’s not always easy for your prospects to fully articulate their problems or the solutions they’re looking for. Sometimes they don’t know there exists a more efficient way of doing things, so they simply make do with whatever is their own legacy system.

Here’s one of the most well-kept video email marketing secrets: never forget small details, because they make the story more credible, and more relatable. 

Here’s a sample. The VO in one video says: ‘A restaurant chain was struggling with their service training.’ and shows the exterior of a food joint. 

The VO in another video says: ‘A deli, headquartered in sunny Florida and specializing in Italian food, was facing some challenges on the service front…’ and the visual proceeds to show sun-kissed Miami beaches, then zooms to a table where patrons are waiting for their orders to be served, their faces clearly unhappy with the service.

No prizes for guessing: the second video becomes more understandable, more relatable. 

Showcase real use cases. Video record how customers have used, and ultimately benefited, from your product. And be sure to leverage emotions within these stories.

Why this works: It’s social proof. When your prospects see that others have used your product successfully, they’ll begin to trust your product’s ability to solve their problem. And that prompts further action.

7. Let video lead the way

This one is one of those video email marketing secrets that’s known to many marketers but used by very few. 

So this is how it works. You first design a nice, attractive thumbnail image for the video. (Be sure to make the thumbnail realistic by laying the Play arrow over the image). Next, add a link to the image. Finally, insert the hyperlinked image inside your email. And hit Send.

When your subscribers open your email, they notice the image and click on the play. But the video doesn’t play right there; instead, it takes them to your landing page where the video begins to autoplay (don’t forget to set the audio off as default). 

There. You’ve not only made the subscriber take the click action - which is good for your email sender reputation - but also led them to your landing page.

Why this works: This one works for a very interesting reason. The video thumbnail image has led your subscribers to the correct landing page. In addition to the CTA of your powerful video, the persuasive landing page encourages more people to take action. So basically you get two shots at conversion.

8. Play the video with just one tap

Sounds too obvious? Trust us, more marketers than you’d believe forget this.

When someone opens your email and wishes to watch the video in email, they shouldn’t have to go through a series of routines before they can watch the video. A single tap is all that should take to watch a video.

Why this works: You want to make things easy for your subscribers. Every additional action you require them to make will reduce the number of people who’d actually watch the video. Don’t make them have to work or think too hard. For the technically oriented, it’s called avoiding cognitive load on your subscribers.

9. Test your videos

Different people may use different email clients to read and write emails. Some of us use Outlook while others use Google workspace. Some of us like to check our emails on our laptops, while others prefer using their smartphones for emails. 

Naturally, each of these platforms and devices has something unique in terms of functionalities. Which is why you want to check whether the video renders properly on all devices, across all email clients. 

Make testing a part of your video email marketing process. You don’t want to realize that the video link was incorrect - after you’ve hit Send to your entire email list!

Why this works: It works because you’ve taken the pains to make sure it works, ahead of actually sending the email. 

10. Do a bunch of other things

It may sound cliche, but what you can do with videos is only limited by your imagination, because video is an audio-visual medium. 

Here are three of the many things you can do with video in email. 

• Think your customer might have nearly used the deo they bought 3 weeks back? Send them a replenishment email that nudges them to buy another bottle before they completely run out of it. 
• Thinking of a special sale only for your regular customers? Go ahead, create an enticing video and send it in your email. 
• Want to celebrate the anniversary of your customer’s first purchase from you? Do it with a video email.

Why this works: This is one of those video email marketing tips that’s truly open for creativity. It works because you’re making your customers and prospects feel special. You’re pleasantly surprising your customers - and that’s why it works.

There’s so much you can achieve with the right video email marketing software and a little bit of imagination and. The video email marketing secrets that we’ve discussed have brought results for other businesses and they can definitely work for you.

More importantly, video is here to stay, and with faster internet connections and improved devices, video consumption is only going to increase. This also means that sooner or later, all businesses will pivot towards video for marketing. The sooner you adopt video for your business promotion, the earlier you’ll see results. 

Why not try it today?

Check out our blogs to learn more about Video First Marketing. Also, to get a free consultation on video marketing and video hosting, contact us.