Myth Busting Video Email Performance Claims
As the adoption of video email gains momentum, so do the claims of what video email can deliver, in terms of taking your campaigns to the next level.
Today we are going to bust many of these myths, by sharing the findings from hundreds of A/B split tests which have informed us on the impact video email can have on campaign performance.
The top 5 video email Myths
Myth 1. Click Through Rates will improve over time.
Myth 2. Email Open Rates will be as much as 30% higher.
Myth 3. Email Click Through Rates will Increase.
Myth 4. Higher Average Order Values.
Myth 5. Conversion to Sales Rates increase.
Myth 1. Click Through Rates will improve over time.
This first myth claims that the click through rates from your video emails will improve, as your audience becomes familiar with receiving video email.
The hypothesis here is that a recipients familiarity with video email is related to their propensity to click on the email.
We have put this hypothesis to the test where we monitored a cohort of customers response to video email campaigns over a 3 month period. Our findings indicated that the click rates of the cohort did not shift with any significance over the 3 months if receiving video email campaigns.
Myth 2. Email Open Rates will be as much as 30% higher.
We frequently hear claims that adding video to your email will increase open rates. Given that recipients have no way of knowing if an email includes video content, the claim is simply fictitious and has no merit.
What we do know from our A/B split subject line tests, is that if you include the word video in your subject line, this can uplift your open rates.
Myth 3. Email Click Through Rates will Increase.
Our A/B split tests have consistently shown that adding video to your email does not increase Click Through Rates.
What we have learnt is that by applying some key response mechanics, in tandem with adding video, you can see moderate uplifts in Click Through Rates, but not at the level of 30%, which is often claimed.
Myth 4. Higher Average Order Values.
It’s claimed that video emails deliver higher average order values for ecommerce stores.
The justification for this is that the respondents to video email are of a higher quality, than those responding to image and text based emails. We have not seen any evidence to support this claim.
These calls to action can be incorporated within the video footage, at time of video shooting or added in post production as a graphical overlay, preferably in a format that resembles a button.
Myth 5. Conversion to Sales Rates increase.
The hypothesis is that the video content in the email engages the recipient and leads to a significant uplift in conversion to sales rates.
Our A/B split tests have consistently proven that adding video to the email, has no significant impact on the conversion rate to sales.
With 5 myths busted lets now move onto establishing the foundational approaches which will help you develop highly responsive and effective video email campaigns.
What are the top strategies for responsive video email campaigns?
Ok, so that’s enough Myth-busting for one day, now let’s move onto consider the strategies which lead to successful video email campaigns. To start, here’s three approaches that are foundational to creating a responsive video email:
- Tip 1. Place your video content at the head of your template.
- Tip 2. Your video duration should be between 30 and 45 seconds long.
- Tip 3. Include a button, directly beneath your video content, with a relevant call to action, such as, Watch the full Video, or Discover More.
What content works best in video email?
When selecting your video email content consider these 2 findings from our hundreds of A/B split tests.
- Product Demonstration, or Short Tutorial videos, are highly effective when added to emails. Use cases include: makeup application tutorials, power tool demonstrations, and before and after videos.
- Inspirational content delivers high impact and engagement. Use cases include, walk through videos of properties for sale, travel videos, which preview the destination highlights, and apparel retailers, who showcase their collections both on, or off, the catwalk.
Test the impact of adding video to your email campaigns
Here at Video Email, we are strong advocates of A/B split testing. So, when you’re in the early stages of adding video to your emails, we’d encourage you to design a simple A/B split test. The A/B tests would put video email to the test, versus your usual email designs, which feature images. In these tests, use the 3 metrics of:
- Unique Clicks
- Total Clicks
- Conversion to Sales, or an Action
For video email to be viable, it needs to deliver uplifts in these 3 metrics, at a level which delivers value, greater than the incremental cost of adding the video to your campaigns.
