New here? This is Inbox Hacking, a Free Newsletter for Awesome email marketers eager to increase their Awesomeness. Email marketing insights, tools, & tactics sent twice per week. Someone forwarded you our Newsletter? Please join over 12,552 Email Marketers and sign up for your Free subscription. Today we cover video content subscribers want and how to use the Super Bowl & holidays in email campaigns.
3 huge holidays coming up, Inbox Hackers. Ok, the Super Bowl (Feb. 12th) is the only life-or-death one, though I don’t advise forgetting Valentine’s Day (14th). Yeah, mattress makers made up President’s Day (20th), near as I can tell.
Nonetheless, be sure to utilize holiday campaigns in your upcoming emails because these events will be on subscribers’ minds.
A great way to do this is with video content linked in your emails. Not just any videos. The type of content people actually want to watch. Come with me as we break down 5 video types, plus, I rounded up 10 things people hated 🖤about emails they got in 2022.
Why Video in Holiday Campaigns?
📺 64% of viewers are more likely to purchase after watching a video
📺 59% of executives would rather watch video than read text
📺 ‘Video’ in subject line can reduce unsubscribe rate by 26%
Perhaps you’ve been too busy working hard to notice humans are becoming too lazy or too tired to read.
Video rescues them.
Benchmark put Vlogs at the top of their list for video content people are eager to watch. They use Gary Vee as an example, showing his personal side.
Does Gary give me a headache? Sure. But imagine reading 5,000 words from him. 🤕
Same high-energy and incredibly-vague advice, just not as easy to consume.
Video with a personal side is hard to pull off unless you have a big personality and love being in front of the camera.
But the Super Bowl brings easy opportunities for holiday campaigns . How hard would it be to get your company’s team to make predictions then rate the Super Bowl ads? Get those on video. Link to them in an email campaign and get your subscribers to respond with their thoughts.
How the Sausage is Made
“Take, for example, the iconic Mr. Roger’s episode where he showed us how crayons were made. For most of us who grow up watching that show, that’s one episode we’ll never forget, and mostly because we learned something new about something we loved.” ~Benchmark
I never saw the crayon episode or forgot it immediately🙂.
These types of videos are popular to this day though.
People like watching creation processes. Cable TV still runs these shows depicting the manufacturing of:
- Beer
- Computer chips
- Pork products
- Taffy
- Mattresses
Won’t go viral as wardrobe malfunctions at halftime shows but I don’t recommend scandalous videos for your marketing.
Do you need a cool product for ‘how-it’s-made’ vids? No. Just a love for what you do – good theme for Valentine’s Day campaigns.
If you have a service instead of a product, people love watching that as well → Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe had huge ratings.
Tutor Subscribers via Email
A tutorial video series in an automated email sequence would be a hit with subscribers if they need help. There’s no ‘if.’ Remember? People are lazy or exhausted. Some, not very 💡🙋🏼♂️.
25% watch instructional videos to learn new skills for their job, while 22% are genuinely interested in the topic.
“When creating your own video tutorials, it’s important to start with an area or product of yours that is commonly hard for your customers to understand or that typically prompts a lot of questions.” ~ Benchmark
What if your product or service is super simple to use? Some users will still struggle with aspects. Not only that, think about the opportunities to create tutorials on related products and services.
Think:
- Software that integrates with yours
- Boat maintenance if you sell fishing rods
- HubSpot how-tos when you offer marketing
- Zapier video tips to complement your productivity courses
- How to pre-clean your home before hiring a maid service (prevents shame)
Get the picture? These how-to videos can be easily linked in emails via GIFs showing key parts of the full video. When possible, use a before & after GIF.
Live Webinar
Live video is intimidating.
But if you need to rake in more leads, webinars can work wonders.
You can use an email series to build up anticipation over the course of weeks. Be sure the webinar reveals knowledge your audience couldn’t get on your blog or social media.
Don’t have anything special like that? Then don’t do a webinar.
Inspiration in case you think you don’t have something special to talk about.
Top 5 viewed webinars on YouTube:
- Forex trading (how to)
- Intermediate fasting (real doctor guide)
- Kid actors webinar (Q&A)
- 3D design (software walkthrough)
- Learning software (to pass medical exams)
Number 6 was the same doctor showing how to lower stress. This Medical Dude (MD) knows how to make webinars hot.
Video Testimonials
55% of adults under 50 have watched videos reviewing products.
The last edition of Inbox Hacking featured using reviews in your email campaigns.
Holiday campaigns such as President’s Day are perfect for implementing reviews alongside holiday sales.
Reviews produce conversions and boost profits.
And nothing convinces people to give your brand a try more than video reviews.
Not hard to get if you have a ton of happy customers / clients. Ask!
If you’re new or only serve a handful of large customers, it can be a challenge.
New brands: offer a freebie of some sort in exchange for an honest video review.
Those with busy large clients may have to settle for an audio clip review… insert it into a video. Get creative. Or find a creative.
Video and Holiday Campaigns Summed Up
Not every video idea is a good one. What your audience wants and needs should determine the video content your organization creates.
It’s easy to get caught up in what’s trending on TikTok and want to duplicate all those views.
But how likely are you to get the same results? Would views lead to measurable results if so?
Some trends are more sticky and mainstream. Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl resonate with nearly everyone. President’s Day is known for big sales.
Use top-of-mind holiday campaigns along with video that relates and resonates. Not just in February. March and onward.
As Promised: Digging in the trenches of Reddit, I found…
10 Things People Hated about Emails during the Past Year
- Netflix using subscribers’ wrong first name
- Email ads for restaurants that don’t include coupons
- Unsubscribe links in plain text
- Having to submit the same info repeatedly via email (job application)
- Despising Google Workspace
- Passive-aggressive cold emails
- Opening line→ “I hate to email you again, but”
- Having to write subject lines
- Colleges telling you to “relax with family & friends during holidays”
- Being fired via email. (People, we live in a society!)
*HubSpot tips to keep subscribers happy.
Knowledge Base
Knowledge is power, but first, a little ET motivation.
Monetize your email list via paid communities. Examples, predictions, opportunities.
AI-fueled launches? Helps validate new product ideas.
Improve your brand’s B2B experience for Gen Xers. Why? Globally, they call most of the shots.
7 Newsletter Ideas for February (includes 2 Valentine’s).
Instagram dying? (🤞🏼please pull the plug)
50% – 70% Open Rates. Consistently. Inbox Mailers can do it for you too. Schedule your FREE Demo.
Self Help
92% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know.
“People they know” are on your email list.
Are you asking these fine subscribers to recommend your newsletter, services, or products?
I am. Please forward this email to marketing people you know.
See? Easy.
Make it easy for your subscribers to share your email content.
And if your “share request” is the same as it was in 2021, how about refreshing it?
*4 ways to rustle up referrals (from Marketing Profs).
*Shout-out to Inbox Hacking Subscribers →
📂Esther at WorkaMajig (project management)
🎙Evette at Interview Valet (podcast marketing)
Facts and Stats
- 80% of new leads never translate into sales (Invespcro)
- Abandoned cart conversions jump to 6.33% when sent within an hour of a user’s shopping session
- Dec. 2022: Apple Mail Privacy used by 59.5% of Litmus users.
*Pre Inbox Mailers Quote Circa 2009… “Bad timing nearly caused the extinction of frogs in the 1980s.”
~ Gwen ‘Frogger’ Rogers🐸
Good timing = higher click volume and 50% – 70% Open Rates. Inbox Mailers. Schedule your FREE Demo.
Marketing Musings
It’s easy to become cynical about holidays.
But holidays (even odd ones) are great ways to generate email campaign ideas.
If not for Valentine’s Day – what would you write about in February?
- Cold as hell?
- Gloomy skies?
- Modern Ice Age?
Real inspiring!
Look, 7.3 million cases of writer’s block have been cured by holidays. Many of them stupid. Most made up.
Lucky for you and me they were.
Use this 2023 content calendar so you don’t struggle for ideas this month or next (St. Patrick’s Day is on a Friday this year🍀).
💡You’d be surprised how calendars give you ideas for specific list segments.
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