Video email marketing is a process that, when done correctly, can bring leads back to your website where they can view an informative website video that both educates and reinforces the benefits of your product and service. Using video within your email marketing nurtures your sales leads and helps them make the decision to become customers.

Using Video Email Marketing to Nurture Sales Leads

Video email marketing falls under the “Nurture” phase of the video-to-lead funnel. This sales funnel involves a website video series that first engages prospects, earning their trust. After engaging prospects, the next website video series continues to deliver interesting information, but with a goal of converting these prospects into leads. Finally, once converted and opted into your email marketing campaign, you’ve earned the right to present a website video that reinforces your message. You are now in the nurturing phase.

As you know, you must have permission in order to begin an email marketing campaign. Using video to engage and convert your prospects sets the stage for video email marketing. If you’ve followed the video-to-lead funnel strategies we’ve previously discussed, your leads will know that each website video in the past was engaging, informative, and relatively short. When they receive an email marketing message from you containing a link to a website video, they’ll expect more of the same and trust your video email marketing messages.

Website Video Messages

In most cases, your video email marketing messages will contain links back to your website video where visitors can learn more about the benefits of your products and services. In order to be effective, each website video should be related to the original call to action. For example, if you’ve prompted the prospect to download a buying guide for kitchen appliances, your email marketing campaign should include content relevant to people interested in buying kitchen appliances. This isn’t the time for an email marketing campaign about remodeling bathrooms. Therefore, your website video should be related to that initial action. For instance, you might create a website video focused on how your appliances save energy in the kitchen and reduce utility bills.

In addition to being relevant, your video email marketing campaign must also be focused on benefits. In the email marketing example above, appliances that save energy in the kitchen deliver a benefit to the sales lead: they reduce utility bills. Your prospects may love that your appliances have a specific feature such as a built-in timer, but people don’t buy features; they buy benefits. Make sure that each website video focuses on benefits and your video email marketing campaign will be much more likely to connect with your leads.

How long should your video email marketing campaign be? As with general email marketing, each campaign will be unique. Before you produce a single website video, you should first map out your email marketing strategy. Think about the following:

• What is your primary goal for the video email marketing campaign?
• How long is the buying process for your particular product or service?
• What interval is right for sending messages?
• How many contacts do you need to make?

Once you know the primary goal, make sure that each website video supports that goal, educates sales leads, and reinforces benefits. After identifying the length of the buying process, you can create a website video email marketing campaign of a similar length. For example, if the average kitchen appliance buyer spends a month researching before buying, your video email marketing campaign might be three to four weeks long. Your email marketing message intervals will be determined by the overall length of the campaign and the number of contacts you feel is appropriate to educate, nurture, and ask for the sale.

Video email marketing is an important part of the video-to-lead funnel. You’ve worked hard to engage and convert your prospects. Now it’s time to nurture them and bring them back to your website for more relevant information.

How have you used video email marketing? Share your thoughts in the comment section below: