Are videos in emails effective for customer outreach?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 15 May 2025
Updated 19 Aug 2025
7 min read
The idea of using videos in email outreach for customer communication is exciting. It promises a more personal touch and a way to stand out in a cluttered inbox, potentially capturing attention in a way plain text or static images cannot. The appeal is clear: to forge a stronger, more immediate connection with recipients and convey complex messages efficiently.
However, the question of whether videos in emails are truly effective for customer outreach is nuanced. While the engagement potential is high, there are significant technical and deliverability hurdles to consider. It is not just about creating a compelling video, but also ensuring it actually reaches the inbox and is viewable by the recipient without causing issues for your sending reputation.
The undeniable impact of video in email
The data strongly suggests that video content can significantly boost email marketing metrics. Emails featuring video tend to see higher click-through rates (CTR) and improved engagement. Some reports even indicate that including video can increase response rates by two to three times over traditional text-only emails. For instance, studies have shown that videos can increase email click-through rates by as much as 65%, according to Wistia research. Including the word 'video' in your subject line can also boost open rates.
The effectiveness stems from several factors. Video provides a more personal connection, allowing recipients to see and hear a real person, which builds trust and rapport more quickly than text alone. It helps to humanize your outreach, making it feel less like a generic marketing message and more like a direct conversation. This personal touch is particularly valuable in cold outreach or customer success scenarios.
Beyond metrics, video is an excellent medium for conveying complex information or showcasing products/services in an engaging way. It simplifies communication, allowing you to explain solutions to customer queries or demonstrate features far more effectively than lengthy written descriptions. This enhances the overall customer experience and can ultimately expand your outreach efforts by making your message more memorable.
Key advantages of video emails
Higher engagement: Videos capture attention more effectively than text, leading to increased opens and clicks.
Personal connection: They add a human element, building trust and rapport with recipients.
Clear communication: Complex ideas or product demonstrations are often easier to understand visually.
Stand out: In a crowded inbox, a well-executed video email is more likely to be noticed.
To embed or to link: deliverability implications
While the benefits are compelling, the technical implementation of video in emails presents challenges, primarily concerning deliverability and rendering. Directly embedding a video file into an email is generally not recommended. Many email clients do not fully support embedded videos and will either block them, display them incorrectly, or flag the email as suspicious. This can lead to your emails ending up in spam folders or not displaying the intended content for a large portion of your audience.
Embedding videos directly
Deliverability risks: Can increase email size, triggering spam filters.
Rendering issues: Many email clients, like Outlook, do not support embedded video.
Spam flagging: Large file sizes and unusual code can lead to emails being marked as spam.
Linking to videos
Improved deliverability: Smaller email size, less likely to trigger filters.
Universal compatibility: Works across all email clients by leading to a web page.
Enhanced tracking: Enables detailed analytics on video views and engagement.
The recommended approach is to include a static image thumbnail of your video with a prominent play button, which then links out to a landing page or a video hosting platform (like YouTube or Vimeo). This method ensures broad compatibility across different email clients, as recipients click on a standard image link. It also allows for comprehensive tracking of video views, engagement metrics, and other web analytics that are not possible within the email itself.
Large file sizes associated with videos can significantly impact your email deliverability. Email providers often have limits on message size, and emails exceeding these limits can be rejected or sent to spam. While linking circumvents the direct issue of embedding large files, it is still crucial to optimize the size of the thumbnail image you use. Remember that even static images in emails can affect deliverability, so proper optimization remains key.
Best practices for successful video outreach
For video outreach to be truly effective, personalization is paramount. A generic video will likely perform no better than a generic text email. Personalize the video content itself, addressing the recipient by name and referencing specific interactions, needs, or challenges relevant to them. This makes the video feel tailor-made, significantly increasing its impact and perceived value.
Keep your videos concise and focused. In the fast-paced environment of an inbox, attention spans are short. Videos should generally be short, ideally under 90 seconds, to maintain engagement. Clearly articulate your message and include a strong, clear call to action (CTA). What do you want the recipient to do after watching the video? Make it obvious and easy for them to take the next step.
Smart video email strategies
Personalize: Address recipients by name and tailor content to their specific needs.
Be concise: Keep videos short, typically under 90 seconds, to retain viewer interest.
Clear CTA: Guide recipients to their next step with an obvious call to action.
Strategic timing: Consider if a video is best for the first outreach or a follow-up.
Consider the timing of your video introduction in your outreach sequence. For cold outreach, introducing a video in the first email might be too aggressive or perceived as intrusive by some recipients. It could be more effective to build initial rapport with text-based emails, then introduce a personalized video in a follow-up message once some interest has been established. This can help mitigate the risk of annoying recipients or being flagged as spam early on.
Video type
Ideal use case
Benefit
Personalized intro
Cold outreach, sales follow-ups, welcome messages
Builds rapport, establishes human connection, increases reply rates.
Product demo
Feature explanations, onboarding, problem-solving
Simplifies complex information, shows value visually.
Testimonial/case study
Lead nurturing, sales enablement, building credibility
Provides social proof, enhances trust, overcomes objections.
Educational content
Webinar invites, industry insights, how-to guides
Positions you as an expert, provides value, drives engagement.
Navigating challenges and avoiding pitfalls
One significant pitfall is the potential to annoy recipients. While some appreciate the personalized touch, others may find unsolicited videos intrusive or time-consuming, especially if they are not expecting them. This is particularly true for initial cold outreach. If recipients perceive your video emails as spam or too pushy, it could lead to higher unsubscribe rates, spam complaints, or even getting your domain or IP address on a blocklist (or blacklist), severely impacting your overall deliverability.
Another challenge lies in the resource intensity. Creating personalized videos takes time and effort. While the ROI can be high, it is crucial to accurately assess whether the investment in video creation, editing, and distribution aligns with your business goals and available resources. A poorly produced or generic video can do more harm than good to your brand image. Furthermore, consistent monitoring of your email metrics is essential to ensure that video emails are indeed improving engagement and not detracting from it.
Risks to avoid
Recipient annoyance: Unsolicited videos can be seen as intrusive, especially in cold outreach.
Resource drain: Producing quality, personalized videos requires significant time and effort.
Poor quality: Subpar video production reflects negatively on your brand.
Always ensure you have fallback content for email clients that do not display images or HTML correctly. This means providing a clear, concise text alternative for recipients who cannot view the video thumbnail. Furthermore, make sure your recipients have opted in to receive communications from you. Sending videos to unconsenting prospects (even if technically possible) significantly increases the risk of negative sender reputation, which can lead to emails landing in spam folders.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Use a compelling, personalized subject line that hints at video content to increase open rates.
Ensure videos are brief and to the point, respecting the recipient's time and attention span.
Always include a clear call to action within your video and accompanying email text.
Implement a static image thumbnail with a play button linking to the video on a landing page for optimal deliverability and tracking.
Common pitfalls
Directly embedding large video files into emails, which can lead to deliverability issues and spam flagging.
Sending generic, unpersonalized videos that fail to resonate with the individual recipient.
Neglecting to provide fallback content for email clients that do not render video thumbnails.
Not considering the recipient's consent, leading to potential annoyance and spam complaints.
Expert tips
Integrate video emails strategically within your broader outreach sequence, not necessarily as the very first touchpoint.
Continuously test and monitor the performance of your video email campaigns to refine your approach.
Focus on building genuine connections through video rather than just pushing a sales message.
Utilize video analytics from your hosting platform to understand viewer engagement and optimize future content.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says a good approach involves directing the customer or prospect to a landing page from the email. This allows for more thorough tracking through views, heatmaps, and general web analytics.
2024-05-23 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says that sending a video screenshot with a play button linked to a platform like YouTube is a common and effective method.
2024-05-23 - Email Geeks
Final thoughts on video email
In conclusion, videos can indeed be highly effective for customer outreach when implemented thoughtfully. They offer a powerful way to enhance engagement, build personal connections, and convey messages with greater impact than traditional text or static visuals alone. The key is to leverage the medium's strengths while mitigating its inherent challenges.
This means prioritizing personalization, keeping videos concise, and always linking to an external platform rather than embedding directly to ensure deliverability and optimal user experience. By adhering to best practices and understanding the potential pitfalls, you can harness the power of video to elevate your customer outreach and achieve stronger results.
Many email clients, like Outlook, do not support embedded video.
Spam flagging: Large file sizes and unusual code can lead to emails being marked as spam.
