How Animated Explainer Videos Can Boost Email Open Rates

Even though email marketing is an old-school marketing practice, it is still very effective today. It is one of the best channels of communication with your customers.

Nowadays, the number of emails we receive every day is fast-increasing. That is why we become more selective in which emails to interact with. It also means that we need to take a fresh and creative approach to an email marketing strategy.

To make your emails more successful, you should rethink their design and add a pinch of new style and design. You should produce a creative piece that will motivate your customers to open the next emails sent by your company. An appealing animated explainer video may become the answer. As one of the biggest graphic design trends, animation fuels creativity in different parts of marketing.

Benefits of Using a Video in Email Marketing

They also admit that animation helps set a brand apart from others due to its creativity and it can be very beneficial for a business. You should only know how to use an animated video in marketing in the right way.

Besides these facts, a video is a universal channel for brand presentation and product introduction. It helps interact with the audience at a more emotional level, making an impact via the sound and a visual part.

Masterfully combined with email campaigns, a video can spice up your email marketing strategy and make emails even more memorable for customers, so as they want to open your email again to see what’s new inside.

Illustration by Mari Seroshtanova

Customer Loyalty, Brand Voice, and Email Video

Customer loyalty is uber-important for brand success online because it provides fertile soil for long-term harmonious relationships with a target audience. Loyalty helps a business generate even more conversions and motivate people to return to a brand again and again. To make your email campaigns bring better results for your business, you should make your strategy based on the intention to build customer loyalty and trust. An excellent example of the animation that drives customer loyalty is an explainer video created by Explain Ninja for Pipedrive.

The animated explainer videos used in emails sent to your customers can significantly contribute to your brand voice and help it sound even more unforgettable.

In the email video, you can uncover the customer’s possible problems, suggest solutions for them, and show that a company cares about its customers. You can also incorporate video-testimonials in your email campaigns. This tactic can also find its reflection on the company’s website since feedback given by previous clients work as your best advertising.

For example, you can create a visually stunning promo-email with a lovely video-testimonial inside and send it to a target group that is already close to making a purchase. This final step can motivate people to complete the desired action quickly.

To shape a strong brand voice, you can use fun and exciting animated explainer videos that describe your company’s practices, products, and services in a simple, easy-to-digest, and creative way.

There is a whole variety of explainer video types. You just need to choose the one that fits best for your email campaign. Using a creative approach to an email video, you grow chances to make a lasting impression on the audience.

The Best Tips to Use a Video in Email Marketing

Here we will outline to do’s and don’ts that will level up your email marketing strategy and drive the best outcome for a business.

#1 Use the word “video” in the subject line

Placing the word “video” in the subject line, you let customers understand that it is a very unusual email, and it has an incredibly engaging content inside. This practice may seem strange. However, it is beneficial.

Do not allow your creative effort to be wasted in vain only because people do not open your emails. Let them see that your company is going to show them something entertaining and original at a glance. You can simply put the word “video” in brackets right aside from your primary email topic. For example:

How to Attract Even More Clients to Your Small Business [Video]
3 Simple Steps to Build Your Physical Wellness [Video]

#2 Turn Autoplay Off with Embedded Videos

When combining a video with an email, you can allow people to interact with an embedded video directly in the email. Another option is to use a photo and redirect people to a website where they can watch a full video.

In case if you have decided to place the entire video right in the email, do not forget to turn the autoplay feature off. Otherwise, a video will be played automatically, and it will feel like a company leaves no option for a user but to watch a video. Let people decide whether or not they want to do it.

Although, if you want to redirect people to a website when they click on the video thumbnail, you needn’t switch the autoplay feature off.

#3 Optimize the Thumbnail

There is no second impression, and there is only one chance to make the first impression. Not to waste this chance, you need to create an eye-catching thumbnail that will be a presentation picture of your video. It will be the first thing customers see when they open the email. Make sure that it looks inviting and motivates to click on a “play” button.

The thumbnails should look memorable, stylish, and give a quick idea of what a video is about. We recommend using images from your videos and avoid photos from free photo stocks. It will help you make your video look distinguishable.

#4 Place the Video After Your Text Copy

When creating an email for your customers, make sure that you have placed a catchy text copy before a video. It should tell people the reason why this email has appeared in the inbox and give a brief context about what they can expect to see in a video.

If the video is loading for a long time, a short description preceding it will let a person know what action your brand is encouraging them to take.

Closing Thoughts

Everything new is well-forgotten old. Email marketing is not a blast from the past but an active practice that just needs a fresh update to renew its power. The animated video is a great idea to use in creative email campaigns. It will help engage customers, create emotional connections with a company, build customer loyalty, motivate people to open your next emails, and drives conversions.