It isn't often that one can promise a definite yes or no in email marketing, so it comes as a bit of a disappointment to realise that just a year ago, the answer as to whether to embed video in an email was a definite no. Now some mobiles allow autorun, it is more of a probably no.

Most ESPs will not allow an auto-run on a video so a subscriber will have to click on it to make it start and then click again to get through to the landing page. If you embed the video on your own website, then by one click they are through to the landing page.

That's about as definitive as it gets.

The video should include a call to action wherever it is hosted. There is evidence to suggest that around three-quarters of viewers will not go through to the end of the video, hence the suggestion in a previous post that they should be kept to 60 seconds or less. 

Subscribers will anticipate the end and click onto something else. If it is on your own landing page, and there are 'buy now' buttons by the side of and/or above the video, then with any luck they might be the ones they choose. In any case, include a call to action during the video if it lends itself to that. If you have included a commentary then a quick: ‘Click on the button to the side' could be useful.

There is nothing to stop you publishing the video on YouTube or Vimeo. You will probably want to modify it slightly to include your URL as an overlay. Consider delaying posting so your subscribers see it first. 

Animated Gifs can be used as an alternative or inducement to watch your video. However, these can be immensely irritating to some – and in that I include myself – so testing is an essential.

The other essential is to test if the video is effective. Whilst it might look good, impress you and give the email marketing campaign a professional polish, if the statistics show that the costs outweigh any benefits then abandon it, even if you found the whole process thoroughly enjoyable. 

In case you missed our previous posts on the matter here are the links:

https://wizemail.co.uk/video-in-email-marketing/ and https://wizemail.co.uk/video-in-email-marketing-vol-2/