How to Increase the CTR of your Email Marketing Campaign with Video

Email marketing continues to be one of the most powerful tools to move your prospects from one step of your sales funnel to the next. 89% of marketers use email marketing campaigns as a primary channel for getting leads. But people are getting bombarded with sales outreach more than ever before. So it’s imperative that you make your emails grab attention.

Adding video to your email marketing strategy increases your click-through rate and open rate. Plus, it makes you stand out from everyone else.

You can use videos in all sorts of emails like:

• Newsletters
• Promotional emails
• Nurturing emails
• Awareness email marketing campaigns
• Event invites
• Follow up emails

Videos simplify complex ideas and present them in an engaging and comprehensive form.

In fact, including the word “video” in your subject text can increase open rates by 6%, and adding an engaging video thumbnail can increase your clicks by 50%.

The fact that some email providers don’t allow you to embed videos in the email directly is good news. Linking a video to an external page can help you gather information on your audience that would help you make better decisions in your future email campaigns.

Add a catchy thumbnail either at the start, middle, or end of the email and add a little play button on it to indicate that the image links to a video. Then you can hyperlink it to a page in your website (or wherever you’ve uploaded the video) and gather a lot more information like the average view duration, the clicks, the views, repeat views, etc.

You can also hyperlink a word from your email or add a CTA button, but I’d recommend you do this with an image instead. That would increase your click-through rate big time.

The thumbnail is more important than you think. It not only serves to grab attention but also primes the viewer for what they’re about to see. Here is what to keep in mind when creating your thumbnail.

1. Use a high-quality image
2. Add a catchy title that makes people take action
3. Try creating a GIF if possible
4. Use your face

Now that you know how to embed your video and create a catchy thumbnail, let’s talk about the best practices for adding video to your email campaigns.

1. Use the word ‘video’ in the subject. When people know that they can watch a video, they are more likely to open the email.

2. Include video captions. They are important for several reasons: better accessibility, better SEO, and just in case people watch your video on mute.

3. Use a GIF of an animated thumbnail if possible – moving images like gifs are just as attention-grabbing as videos.

4. Embed videos in your email signatures. It’s a great idea to introduce yourself with a short video. Your recipients will definitely remember who you are.

And last, but not least – perform tests. Every company’s different, and what has worked for us might not work for your company. So, A/B tests your campaigns with different subject lines, thumbnails, and text to see what converts best.

If you’re serious about adding video to your email campaigns but unsure how to get started, download our FREE eBook on how to create your video marketing funnel.