Combining Email and Video Marketing: Yay or Nay?

 

 

The old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” is true. You can convey a lot more information about your product or company through video than you can with a page of cumbersome text.

 

YouTube is popular for a reason. People like to watch short videos. When those videos are entertaining, instructional, or informational, they get shared across social media. You can use this phenomenon to get free marketing for your company. 

 

Email video can lead prospects to your own website’s landing pages. There, you can control their journey from prospect to paid customer with either more videos or convincing sales language.

 

As with all marketing, there are right ways and wrong ways to implement video marketing. If you’re new to the game, read on for some tips on how to avoid making common mistakes.

 

Mistake: Embedding huge video files into your marketing emails. Mail servers usually have limits on data file sizes. If you don’t manage your video file size, your email may not even make it into your prospect’s inbox.

Fix: Aim for small file sizes. This will ensure it passes through the server gates.

 

Mistake: Embedding multiple video files into one email. Don’t assume that your videos are so fascinating that your prospects are going to click on all of them and watch them diligently. 

Fix: One video per email should be your limit. 

 

Mistake: Your videos are all serious and somber.

Fix: Humor sells. Don’t be afraid to add a little laughter to your prospect’s day.

 

Mistake: Your videos are like mini-commercials.

Fix: Answer this: How many times have you fast-forwarded through the TV show just to watch the commercials? Your videos should be entertaining like TV shows, not like commercials.

 

Mistake: You email a video every day to your mailing list.

Fix: Even if your email just says, “Hi,” you should never email any prospect everyday. That’s a non-stop ticket to the Blocked Senders list.

 

Mistake: You’re skimping on video quality.

Fix: There’s a reason film schools exist. There is a noticeable difference between professional and amateur video quality. Even if you can’t discern it, your prospects will. Make room in your budget for high-quality video.

 

The decision whether or not to use video in your email marketing is a serious one. Once you start, it’s better to remain committed so you can present a consistent marketing campaign. It does require extra time and money to implement, but once you establish a protocol for video ideas, production, and implementation, it can be fairly straightforward to maintain.

 

There are many resources available to help you manage your email and video strategy. Research what other companies are doing and decide how you can best make your business fit into this growing marketing niche.