How to Integrate Video Email to Boost Email Click through Rates

Video marketing is the next frontier in online marketing. Industry trends indicate that up to 64% of marketers are looking to expand their video marketing budgets.

Traditional as it is, email is the cornerstone of all online marketing activities. Compared to all other channels, email generates the highest return on investment.

Against this background, the coming together of email and video is a match made in heaven, so to speak. Study after study has shown that video can significantly increase email click through rates, sometimes as high as a 55% increase.

Some marketers are less inclined to incorporate video into emails for various reasons such as turning off subscribers, increasing email load time, or lack of content. However, adopting a video email strategy does not require extensive expertise or a large budget.

Here’s how to integrate video into your email campaigns to improve click through rates:

Relevant and interesting content always wins

Not all emails necessitate a video. It is important to establish a video email plan that lets you determine which events or activities need to be incorporated into email.

For example, for every webinar you host, you may decide to include a teaser video to get subscribers psyched up for the event.

Product demos, interviews, how-to’s, live events, company news all offer great opportunities to include a video in your email newsletter.

Do not let your video email strategy become too rigid. Make the most of trends and current affairs that may be of interest to your audience and piggyback on these to engage your audience. A surprise video from the company CEO, an impromptu office dance, or an unplanned customer surprise all make interesting content to share on email.

Choose your integration method wisely

Should you embed your videos directly onto the email so subscribers can access it from their inbox? Or, should you just include a screenshot and link the video to another page?

Due to the limitations posed by some email clients, it is best to add a video screenshot and include a link to the video.

The problem with embedding is that some email clients such as Gmail and Yahoo do not support video format. When it comes to mobile, only iOS devices currently support video.

Ideally, the video link should direct subscribers to a dedicated landing page or your website. It is also possible to direct traffic to YouTube, but this all depends on the goals of your email campaign.

If you are promoting a webinar for example, a dedicated landing page that supports the video is absolutely necessary. In your email, tell your subscribers why they should click through the video link and what you want them to do. In other words, make your call to action available and visible in the email.

You may direct traffic to your website or to your YouTube channel if the content is simply educational or informational.

Adhere to email best practices

Your newsletter could contain the best video, but a poor subject line could keep your subscribers from opening the email to watch the video content.

In addition to creating and sharing compelling video content with your subscribers, you also want to persuade them to click through the email.

For example, emails that include the word ‘Video’ in the subject line are far more likely to attract a greater click through than those that do not.

Use your subject lines creatively to compel your audience to watch the video contained in the email for example, by pointing to an incentive, creating a sense of urgency, or addressing the recipient by their name.

Stand Out

At a time when email users are receiving tons of messages in their inbox, standing out from the crowd and getting subscribers to click through requires creative strategies. Video is an excellent way to improve visibility for your emails, extend your reach and continuously engage your list in fresh and new ways.