Videos give email campaigns an element of interactivity that can intrigue, entertain, and even teach your subscribers in ways that the written word can’t.
This means better subscriber engagement, higher click-through rates, and higher conversion rates.
Surprisingly, with all of that, only about 25% of email marketers include video in their campaigns. That’s especially surprising considering that video email marketing has a 300% higher return on investment (ROI) than generic email marketing campaigns.
Now that you know that, I think you’ll agree — it’s time to elevate your marketing strategy with video email marketing.
There’s no end to the kind of content you can distribute using video email marketing, but here are 8 ideas to get you started.
1. Break down industry topics
Teach your subscribers something. Cover technical topics in a way that’s accessible to laypeople, or do a series on industry FAQs. Send them to a landing page with value added information and a call-to-action to increase leads.
2. Invite people to an event
A video invite is the next best thing to a hand-engraved invitation. Advertise sponsors or entertainment for an upcoming event.
Even better, if it’s an annual affair, share some footage from last year’s event. Remind returning patrons about how much fun they had last year, and give everyone a serious case of FOMO.
You can use this year’s footage next year too, but there’s no need to wait. Use it in an email thanking attendees for their participation, or send a blast to all subscribers announcing the event’s success.
3. Thank customers or give them more information about a recent purchase
Pair your email service’s automation features with video content personalized to the viewer. Create a thank-you or informational video to be sent to recent customers via email.
4. Show off a new product or service
What’s your next big thing? Are you adding new services or packages? Developing a new product?
Instead of describing your offering, show it off with a video. You can call attention to special details, demonstrate new functions, and inject some energy into what you do.
5. Share your story
Video email marketing is a great place to take people behind the scenes in your organization. Tell viewers about your history, employees, or operations. It’s a great way to humanize your brand.
6. Provide digital content samples
If you sell subscriptions or digital files, use your emails to offer a small taste of premium material. Use video to get people excited about the opportunity to win, buy, or learn. Tease included lessons or share prize lists.
Take advantage of these content sources again later. Share your favorite tip as a mini-lesson for subscribers. For contests, you can let people watch you pull raffle winners’ names out of a hat or display the entries of winning contestants. Livestream it at an announced time and then distribute a clip via email.
7. Give insider tips and tricks
Offer practical advice related to your industry. You can solve a common problem or list tips to help people get the most out of your products.
8. Offer testimonials or case studies
Happy customers have a level of credibility that you can’t match as a business. Ask customers if they would mind being recorded for a promotional video and then interview them about their experiences.
You can splice together fragments from different interviews or offer a whole minute or two with one particularly enthusiastic brand champion.
Another approach is to direct your camera toward the work itself rather than the customer. Display before-and-after videos of renovations, or take virtual guests to an event you produced.
If your industry isn’t full of telegenic moments begging to be recorded, you might use animation to jazz up a case study. Dramatize improvements with graphs and side-by-side comparisons.
Email marketing is the most effective distribution channel, and video is the most popular type of brand content. Put them together to maximize your reach and impact.
You can use video email marketing to increase your email click-through rate and conversions, explain concepts or demonstrate products, and strengthen your relationships with subscribers.
There’s no shortage of great ideas for using video in email marketing. It’s one of the best ways to persuade, inform, excite, and entertain subscribers.
So what are you waiting for? Pick an upcoming email and add a video to it.
