How To Use Video In Email Marketing

To use video in email marketing, add a short clip as a linked thumbnail or GIF preview that opens the video in a browser, and use it for bonus content, personalized product help, new product announcements and a look at your company culture.

Marketers spend a vast amount of time writing high-quality long articles that can be included in an email newsletter. Preparing such materials becomes a difficult task as you need not only to create valuable content but also to craft engaging emails that make subscribers want to open them. 

However, often such efforts pay off little, and the result is unsatisfactory. The reason is today users are more interested in getting insightful and enjoyable content that doesn’t require a lot of attention and immersion. 

In this regard, email marketing focuses on embedding video content that is informative, entertaining, and easy to perceive. 

However, the question arises: which clips should you send to readers, so they are as effective as possible and, ultimately, bear fruit for the company? 

This article will discuss the benefits of embedding video in the newsletter and what content to include that will help engage the audience and boost your business. 

Video Email Ideas At A Glance

Obvious Benefits Of Using Videos In Emails

Video in email marketing goes a long way in improving communication with your customers and clients. 

Here’s why: 

• Information presented engagingly is much better perceived by users than long texts; 
• Motion pictures allow you to build an emotional connection with customers; 
• Visuals allow you to demonstrate products and services better; 
• Images and videos significantly increase the number of people visiting a website, blog, or social media pages; 
• Email templates are becoming more eye-catching and interactional; 
• You can get analytics and see how many users watch clips, how long they watch, and how many times users click on a link.

How To Create A Clip For An Email

At first glance, it may seem that creating a clip as part of your marketing strategy is not an easy task. You start thinking about the necessity to hire video editors who can shoot high-quality clips and make a motion picture. 

No worries! The good news is that today it’s pretty simple to produce a high-quality and powerful video, even if you do not specialize in video editing. What’s more, you do not need to buy professional equipment since smartphone cameras allow you to get high-quality footage. Therefore, you need as many good shots as possible, which can later be perfected using simple video editing tools. 

To make your videos look great, you can try an easy-to-use video editor like WeVideo, Movavi Video Editor, or OpenShot. With this software, you can apply different amazing filters, make the video flow smooth, add captions, and much more. 

Best Ways To Use Videos In Emails 

• Offer bonus content 

Users love exclusivity, so you should consider adding bonus content to your emails if you want to get their attention. This could include sending unpublished clips to customers that cover a topic of interest related to the products they have purchased or your company’s internal processes. 

If you organize various events for clients, both online and offline, you can provide them with the opportunity for early access. You can also talk about creating goods and the materials from which the product is made. An exciting way to demonstrate this is to create an animated video, which can be easily done using Animemaker.

Offering pleasant bonuses is one of the email marketing best practices that will significantly increase the interest of your regular customers, and you will be able to build strong relationships and healthy communication with them. 

• Follow a personalized approach 

Companies collect a huge amount of data about their customers, and such data can be used to provide customers with a personalized approach and targeted messages. It’s great when a company values each customer, and you can show it to them if you offer to view something that will be of interest to each client. 

Based on purchases made, you can send in clips that detail the product or how to use it. Also, keep in mind that this approach implies that you will address users by name, which will not go unnoticed. 

The design of your newsletter is also of great importance as its primary goal is to evoke users’ interest. Take a look at the best video newsletter examples and find some inspiration for your design. 

If you want to provide your customers with an even more personalized experience, you can use Yusp, which will help you collect information and prepare custom-made offers.

• Announce new product lines 

In most cases, users only become aware of the release of new products from various companies after the new products go on sale. In this regard, there is nothing better than to heighten the public’s interest and give them at least a little look at the new products that will soon be available for purchase. 

Typically, companies inform their customers through publications on social networks, where both potential customers and regular customers can find out about it. A great way is to include product videos in emails for customers who subscribe to the newsletter. 

Thus, you will be able to inform your regular customers much earlier than everyone else knows about it, which will play in your favor. If your company provides a pre-order option, be sure to mention it. 

• Demonstrate your corporate culture 

A great way to improve communication with your customers is to showcase your company culture. Usually, buyers know little about what happens inside companies, what they do, what principles they adhere to, what they strive for, and what becomes inspirational. 

This will not only allow people to get to know your company better but will also allow them to understand who is behind the process of creating products. First of all, it will emphasize your individuality. Secondly, it will help make your connection with customers stronger. Ultimately, you will see that this will have a significant effect on the image of your company. 

How To Add A Video To An Email

Most email clients, including Gmail and Outlook, do not play video inside the message, so the most reliable method is a clickable preview:

• Host the video: upload it to YouTube, Vimeo, your website or your email platform’s video hosting.
• Create a thumbnail: take a still frame or a short animated GIF and add a play button so it looks clickable.
• Link the image: link the thumbnail to the page where the video plays.
• Add context: write a short line about what the viewer will see and a clear call to action next to it.
• Test before sending: preview the email in the main clients and on mobile to check the image and link work.

Some email platforms support HTML5 video for clients like Apple Mail; if you use it, always include a fallback image for everyone else.

For more ideas and help, see our guide to why video belongs in your marketing strategy.

You can also compare top email marketing agencies and top video production companies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you embed a video in an email?

Only some email clients, such as Apple Mail, can play embedded HTML5 video. Gmail and Outlook do not, so most marketers use a thumbnail or GIF with a play button that links to the video online.

Does video in email increase click-through rates?

Video previews often attract more clicks because a play button invites action and the content feels more engaging than text. Results vary, so test emails with and without video on your own list.

How do you add a video to an email?

Host the video online, create a thumbnail or GIF with a play button, link that image to the video page, and add a short description and call to action. Test the email in major clients before sending.

Conclusion 

Traditional email marketing practices are outdated. Now, users are interested in learning more about the activities of companies and their products through video. The above ways to include video in your newsletter will help you build relationships with customers at all stages of the sales funnel and positively impact your company’s reputation.