4 video email marketing examples you'll want to copy ASAP

Like all of the blogs I have written for IMPACT, the process for this one would not be complete without conducting research to find the best examples that I could share with you, my wonderful audience. 

But, you would be surprised to know, considering using the word ‘video’ in just the subject line is shown to boost open rates as much as 19%_, that it was actually incredibly hard to find good examples to show you all. 

*Send help* 

Enter, Super Mom. That’s right, I happened to be on the phone with my mother when I was doing research for this article, and because she’s a fantastic mom, she jumped right into her own inbox to help me out. 

As she was looking through and opening a bunch of emails she probably wouldn’t have opened otherwise, she would say over and over again that the companies sending these messages were missing opportunities to send her content about their products or to share news in a video instead of text that she wasn’t going to read anyway. 

Now, my mom is not a marketing professional, she’s an accountant, but it was clear even to her that businesses were missing opportunities to communicate using a medium that would have been more effective than simply sending her a message with more text to read. 

To put it plainly, if you’re not using video as part of your email marketing strategy, you’re missing opportunities to present your content to your buyers in an engaging and more human way. 

The following examples I’m about to share with you (one yes, my mom did end up finding, shout out mom) are different ways you could spice up email marketing. 

What makes great email video marketing?

Great email video marketing leads with the video. It enhances the content of what could be a generic, text email with something that humanizes the message and aids it visually. 

🔎 Related: 18 email marketing best practices you need to know for 2021

A great video email also makes it clear that the video is the primary focus.

To do this, the subject line often clearly articulates that this message contains a video. You’ll also see the video close to the top of the message so it’s the first thing a reader sees. Lastly, it includes an eye-catching thumbnail with a clear button or call-to-action to view it. 

Let’s take a look at some brands that put these and other video email marketing best practices into action. 

1. Explainer | Comptrain

It would not be an article I wrote if I did not incorporate a fitness example. I’m calling this example an ‘explainer’ video because that’s exactly what the following video does. 

Comptrain is a company that programs workouts for the competitive and everyday CrossFit athlete who’s looking to maximize their potential. This video was embedded in their email discussing what the next training cycle is, the goal of the cycle, and what’s going to be included in the weekly programming to help athletes reach their outcomes.

Notice that this YouTube video is unlisted: this allows only people who have received this email can click on this video. 

The body of this email is simple and the video appears as one of the first things you see as the recipient. 

Based on the text above, notice how this video acts as a teaser if you will for their Pro subscription. 

If you’re an athlete who watched this video and is not paying for Comptrain Pro already, what more motivation do you have to sign up than a more comprehensive breakdown of strategy directly from the coach who’s writing the program?

By giving users who are on the free plan an opportunity to see the content they’re missing out on firsthand in this email, Comptrain not only uses this explainer video to talk through the new programming cycle, they also dangle the bait of unheralded advice straight from the horse’s mouth to a group of engaged, qualified contacts. 

Design-wise, the video is emphasized: It’s big with a play button across it and it’s placed ahead of the text,  signaling that it should be watched first. 

2. Announcement | Elon University

As an undergraduate at this beautiful university in North Carolina, the holidays were one of my favorite times of the year. And, as a media powerhouse, it’s not surprising to me that even during the pandemic, Elon would turn to video to showcase what is truly a magical time on campus. 

They used the following video embedded in an email to introduce a new holiday video series:

While this announcement could have been text-based in the email, the video allows us to have a sneak-peek of what’s to come using b-roll from the stories and capturing the essence of the Luminaries in shots from around campus. 

For alums like me, seeing this video gave me an emotional reaction of nostalgia, and I find myself feeling more interested in the series and looking forward to the holiday cheer after what has really been a doozy of a year. This video worked in the context of the email because it was able to show rather than tell what to expect this year out of the holidays at Elon, however, this is not a perfect example.

I would recommend creating a more engaging thumbnail that has a more vibrant background with a headshot of Dr. Book from within the video. However, this is still an idea to copy because it elicits more of an emotional reaction from the audience than text alone would. 

3. Personalized Video | IMPACT

The examples you’ve seen so far are effective, but I wanted to throw a totally different example out there. 

Here we have an email from my colleague David Little at IMPACT, following up with a prospect. 

The structure of the email is simple, it’s the video thumbnail and the link to the resources he discusses. 

This plain-text approach makes the clear focus of the line of communication the actual video. 

Take a look at the video itself.

David is sincere, apologetic and provides context to the resources he is providing. The video humanizes what could have been a rather generic sales email.By creating a layer of honest, upfront, and professional video for this email, David continues to develop a trusting relationship with prospects that will make the overall buyer’s journey more successful. 

If you want to create better relationships with prospects and present yourself to customers in an authentic way then I suggest giving 1-1 video a try in your next email to a prospect.

🔎 Related: Why your marketing strategy should include personalized video [Infographic]

4. Customer Testimony | Working Against Gravity

Nutrition is a very personal thing. So to raise your hand and say you need help and that you’re not sure what you’re fueling your body with is right for you, takes a lot of guts. 

Working Against Gravity (WAG) pairs nutrition clients with coaches who listen to their needs and put them on a plan that aligns with their fitness routine and goals to get them on track, hold them accountable, and teach them how to eat to fuel their bodies. 

In a recent campaign to attract prospects who are still on the fence, they complied stories in the video below of current and past clients who share their experience working with WAG coaches. 

Think of it this way: How many times have you consulted with a friend or took time to research reviews of a product or service before you purchased it? Adding a customer journey or testimonial video to an email can replicate that experience.

What WAG did in this video, having people obviously shoot their own testimonials, on their own cameras and compiling it together brings a level of authenticity to the content. 

By showing the different people who use the service and who have benefitted from it, they’re giving anyone watching the video to say “hey, one of these stories sounds just like mine, maybe I should give this whole nutrition coaching thing a try.”

At the end of the day, we just want to be able to identify how something could work for our specific situation. What better way to do that than showing a real-life example of how it can be done. 

We’re ready to start adding video to our emails, but wait, there’s more… 

If you’re reading this article and you haven’t even started with email marketing yet, let alone adding video to your emails, well, we’ve got a course for you. 

But if your next step is to step your email game up, I hope this article gave you some ideas on how to get started. I’d recommend taking this course on how to get started with building your video sales and marketing strategy to get even more fired on how video can make impactful difference with you communicate, engage with and are seen by your audience and prospects.