What is the most effective duration for a video email?
What’s the optimum duration for a video email?
From 5 split tests we sought to establish the most effective duration for an embedded video in your emails
❓ How long should the video be that I add to my email?
This is one of the top 3 questions we are asked when marketers are planning their video email campaigns.
To answer the question we conducted the following test across 5 verticals:
eCommerce – DTC Apparel, where conversion to sales was the KPI
Automotive – Where test drives was the KPI
eCommerce – Cosmetics, where conversion to sales was the KPI
Movie distributor – Where ticket sales was the KPI
Video Games – Where on an in game purchase was the KPI
For each verticals we developed 5 pieces of content as follows:
🔷 30 second video
🔷 20 second video
🔷 15 second video
🔷 10 second video
🔷 A still image from the video (0 seconds)
Each piece of content was derived from a master video that was between 60 and 90 seconds in duration.
Each email featured 2 calls to action, one within the visual content (video or still image) and a second positioned immedately below the visual content.
The content within the emails for each vertical was identical bar the visual at the head of the email, which was one of the 5 derivates above.
The 5 versions of the email where mailed to randomised segments of the audiences to remove any audience bias from the test results.
➡️ What where the results of the tests?
Across all verticals the still image version of the mailing outperformed all video variants of the mailing.
The still image version delivered higher click through rates and higher conversion rates than any of the video versions of the mailing.
The most responsive video duration version was the 20 second version across all verticals, though these click through rates where 26% below those delivered by the still image version of the mailing.
In a similar pattern, the conversion rate delivered by the still image was on average 32% higher than the conversion rate delivered by the embedded video versions of the mailing.
The most effective duration for video email is….
✅ The optimum duration for video emails is 0 seconds, as a still image outperforms all tested video durations from 10 seconds through to 30 seconds.
